Cities like New York, London, and Chicago have fantastic subway systems that are extremely effective in controlling their traffic flow. Smaller cities that have grown significantly over the past few years are starting to lean toward the use of metro transit rails. These trains can easily and cheaply transport people all across town, from their neighborhoods to the central business district. If Austin were to have a metro rail system, travel time, costs, and traffic would all decrease, making Austinites content. This would also effectively reduce pollution considering how many gas-guzzling vehicles would be off the road. It may cost the government a lot to install these rail systems, however, I am willing to bet that many commuters would happily fund this project due to the complaints of traffic in the city.
In 2011, there was a rail built from Austin to Leander. During this project the Austin government was able to demonstrate how to obtain voter approval for a new rail system, how to build that system with a tight budget, and adjust schedules to maximize ridership potential. Austin is clearly capable of handling an assignment such as a city wide rail connecting the downtown area to neighborhoods across the developing urban area. Who wouldn’t want to avoid parking downtown or sitting in traffic on Mopac? I’m all for a metro rail system that covers the whole city.
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Constructive Criticism
The Author of the blog “Metro Rails” writes about traffic getting progressively worse in Austin. The author points out cities such as New York, London, and Chicago use a subway system to control the traffic flow, and smaller cities that are growing are now are leaning towards this option as well. The author makes the following points:
The trains could “transport people all across town, from their neighborhoods to the central business district.”
If Austin had a metro rail system put in place, it would decrease travel time, costs, and traffic, thus, making people happy.
It would decrease pollution as many vehicles would be off the road.
It would cost the government a lot of money, but many commuters would happily fund this project due to the current issue of the traffic in the city.
A description is provided stating that there was a project in 2011 that involved building a rail from Austin to Leander. The government was able to provide predictions on “how to obtain voter approval for a new rail system, how to build that system with a tight budget, and adjust schedules to maximize ridership potential.” The author believes Austin is capable of installing a city wide rail.
This article is intended for Austinites. The author argues that the trains could “transport people all across town, from their neighborhoods to the central business district”. This is a given, however what should be mentioned is who needs this the most and who would benefit the most, such as college students and single mothers. What impacts would this have on the economy of Texas in the future? More people would be enabled to go to school because travel would not be as expensive. It would also positively affect people that work in the central business district by alleviating some of the traffic.
The statement the author makes about the metro system decreasing travel time, costs, and traffic, thus, making people happy is a valid point. However, it could have been emphasized more by providing more specific examples of how the average person would benefit. Providing statistics of an average car note, monthly gas expenses, and insurance costs in Texas would provide information pertaining to a potential number of savings for the average person.
The point the author makes about pollution decreasing is great. However, it could have been better emphasized by providing statistics of Texas population growth. Those statistics would help explain how this issue is only getting bigger and how pollution is increasing alongside the growing population.
While the author correctly argues that this rail project would cost the taxpayers a lot, it is not clear if commuters would be happy to funds this project as they suggest. Perhaps locals would possibly be turned off to the idea of funding another rail after witnessing the low ridership of the current rail system.
The author also brings up a project in 2011 that involved building a rail from Austin to Leander, and how the government was able to provide predictions on “how to obtain voter approval for a new rail system, how to build that system with a tight budget, and adjust schedules to maximize ridership potential.” This statement is not very well connected to the entire objective of the article, as the author fails to mention if the project was considered successful. Something else that could have been brought up is Project Connect, which is a current plan for a line of urban rail. Their vision is for Central Texas to have a “high-capacity transit system”, a lot like what the author the mentioned blog post is referring to.
In conclusion, I believe the author’s blog post was well thought out and well written, but would have benefited from more statistics and real life examples. I also welcome new forms of public transportation in Austin and believe rail is a great start.
While I agree with Longhorn Liberties that “traffic in Austin has gotten progressively worse over the last few years”, I am not sure that creating a metro rail system in Austin would help.
I read an article by Amanda Haight where she explained that Austinites must first adopt a public transportation based lifestyle before millions of dollars are invested. Building a metro rail system in Austin would be difficult because it would have to be built around the city, whereas New York has had their underground subways since 1904. Cities like New York have been able to grow around their public transit system and there has always been room for it. Austin is constantly under construction and there is only so much it can fit. Building the rail in Austin would be very expensive and Austinites would have to be willing to give up their cars and use the rail. I think that if Austinites support the idea of making a metro rail system and actually use it, then the metro rails could be a good solution to the traffic problem.
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