tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:36:10 +0000light railAustintransitPortlandLRTTODquality of lifeUrban Raildensitypublic transportationstreetcartravelCapital MetroEugeneMetroRailRed Linedevelopmentdisappointmenttransit-oriented developmentDARTOregonSan AntonioTexasValhallaarchitecturebusdesignfantasyfundinginsightland valuesmapmatrixmobilitypedestrianplanningproperty valuesresearchstationssuburbssubwayurbanviabilityzoning1L3383392983987Austin-San Antonio Commuter RailBRTCARTSCATSCuritabaEconomistHSRHannoverHighlightMTAMayorNIMBYNYCSimCitySouth CongressTTITriangleTwitterUniversity of Oregonalternativesattractivenessauto-dependentb/wbest possible outcomebus stopcitiescommuter railconnectionsconviniencecoolcrazy ideasdatadowntowndrivingeconomic impactefficientenvironmentextended essayfreedomgreen linegrowthlegalitymaglevmethodmonorailmoving forwardneighborhoodsnetworksnewnewsnext-genoldplaceprogressprogressivepub crawlrantregionsridershiprunoffruralrural transitsafetyscoringstresstownhomesurbanizationwalkingwaterRoaming cities and urban places, with rural interludes. Spending most of the year in Eugene, Oregon, summering in the 'burbs of Austin, Texas.http://mylrt.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Matthew)Blogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-9192362295397165134Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:18:00 +00002010-07-01T16:57:12.454-05:00Austinauto-dependentrantruralAnd I restart my posting with a rant about living on the edge of nothingness. Don't get me wrong, I like rural areas, and small towns, but living in the countryside with nothing to do doesn't jive with me at this time in my life. I've begun to wish (even though I know it would've never happened) that instead of moving from the suburbs to the countryside (like I dreamed of when I was a kid), that http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2010/07/trapped-in-nowhere.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-6871817954587452468Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:51:00 +00002010-02-18T06:50:46.525-06:00architecturedowntownEugeneneighborhoodsOregontransitUniversity of OregonDecided to update the blog; been a bit of a long hiatus recently due to moving to Eugene, Oregon to attend the University of Oregon and major in Architecture, with architecture studio being a lot of the reason for having so little time to blog. Spending multiple all-nighters working on models is not a conducive environment to write in.So for most of the year, I'll be changing my focus from Austinhttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2010/02/update-from-eugene.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-7578121306003848865Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:49:00 +00002009-10-07T01:58:47.562-05:00Austinlight railplaceprogressUrban RailLooks like Austin might be just a little bit closer to voting on the City's urban rail project, which unlike MetroRail, will actually garner ridership, as it connects three of the main employment centers in Austin: UT, the Capitol, and Downtown, with some of the northern inner-city neighborhoods. And that's just in the first phase."A Long Route to Go" - Austin Chronicle If it ever gets completed,http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/10/progress-on-austin-urban-rail.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-59267682926797604Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:20:00 +00002009-09-16T02:22:57.050-05:00AustinLRTmapstreetcarTexasUrban RailJust a drawing-out of the proposed Austin Urban Rail System, a streetcar/LRT hybrid that the City is thinking about since CapMetro went through with the MetroRail boondoggle.View austin urban rail in a larger maphttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/09/austin-urban-rail-system-map.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-3438687447808109210Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:48:00 +00002009-09-12T02:24:39.181-05:00Austindisappointmentgreen linelight railLRTPortlandpublic transportationUrban RailValhallaMap by The Transport PoliticPortland, that transit Valhalla, opens its newest light rail line today, the Green Line, which connects northern Clackamas County to downtown Portland, and adds a new North-South Transit Mall (with a re-routed , to compliment and alleviate traffic off of the original East-West Transit Mall. It's been in the works for near 35 years now, as the Portland Tribune writes inhttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/09/portland-opens-green-line.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-215101163809856236Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:10:00 +00002009-09-12T01:23:49.702-05:00Austinbusbus stopCARTSrural transitFound this while hunting through the web of transit-agency pages for the Austin area, CARTS, the rural transit provide, who also provides commuter service and city bus services to San Marcos and Buda, has this idea for improving it's rural bus routes. Really interesting idea to make it nicer and safer to ride their rural routes. One could dream of eventually a system of rural routes connecting http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/09/rural-bus-stop-concept.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-1800400050775969031Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:00 +00002009-08-28T10:00:01.064-05:001L383392983987AustinCapital Metrofundingpublic transportationSouth CongressLeft for Guadalupe Mountains this morning, I'll try to autopost articles over the next few days, until I get back on Tuesday. Anyways, a couple weeks ago I went on a bus odyssey, as I like to call them, with a friend; plans were to take the 983 express from Lakeline P&R in NW Austin downtown, and then transfer to the 1L/1M, which goes across the river, and get off on South Congress and wander http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/08/bus-odd-yssey-to-soco.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-561600215815793202Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:20:00 +00002009-08-27T21:01:38.963-05:00alternativesdensityPortlandstreetcarsuburbstransitWhat always seems to get lost in the discussion about Portland's streetcar system is that not all of it runs through dense, urban, massively successful redevelopment like South Waterfront or Pearl District, or already existing dense neighborhoods such as Downtown and Portland State; some of it runs through leafy, almost suburban neighborhoods (now note, these aren't Sunbelt-suburban, more like http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/08/thoughts-on-portland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-8749175149090732861Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:16:00 +00002009-08-26T10:22:56.216-05:003Austinbuspub crawlpublic transportationI've heard of Light Rail Pub Crawls before (see Phoenix, AZ: here), but never bus pub crawls, especially not in Texas, and not Austin. Not a reason for me to ride the 3 (I'm more of a 1L guy), but if I see a lot of drunks on it whenever I do ride, I'll know why!The No.3 Bus Pub Crawl - Austin Chronicle (Photo by John Anderson)http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/08/never-ridden-3-yet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-7819634203879679187Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:31:00 +00002009-08-26T10:09:04.275-05:00AustindensityMetroRailNIMBYRed LinesuburbsTODtownhomesurbanDecided to actually rise from the blogging "grave" today, and post some things. Browsing through the news-stand today, and there's several significant Austin development-related articles out there, especially for dense, more urban development. Apparently a transit-oriented development of a kind is still in the works up in Cedar Park, one of the last segments of Avery Park to be built out. Gary http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/08/austin-urban-development-round-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-4864306546487391034Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:43:00 +00002009-07-28T00:48:36.821-05:00AustincitiesenvironmentOregontravelurban...and am trapped drawing fantasy transit maps for Austin still. Need to do more writing of depth, about Austin and its urban environment versus other cities, etc.This is also where people could suggest thins for me to write about?... :-)http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-from-second-trip-to-oregon.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-4739167952794691199Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:33:00 +00002009-07-11T00:21:11.406-05:00AustinfantasymapsubwayAfter some other comments, came up with a freelance Austin subway map. Pretty fantasy stuff.View Austin Subway Fantasy in a larger mapWhat do ya think?http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/07/austin-subway-fantasy-map.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-895388352535322569Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:51:00 +00002009-06-02T02:01:16.141-05:00AustinMetroRailplanningRed LineTODtransit-oriented developmentView Larger MapAirport at Lamar, that's where Austin's first attempt at Transit-Oriented Development is supposed to be built. Well, apparently the proper intersection is Lamar at Justin, but who knows of Justin Ln., outside of the Brentwood and Crestview neighborhoods?(artist's rendering)It's to be called Midtown Commons at Crestview, a 73-acre site in total, being completed in phases, consistinghttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-austin-could-look-like-part-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-6567193839865483232Sun, 31 May 2009 01:20:00 +00002009-05-30T23:17:41.729-05:00AustindensitydevelopmentpedestrianTODtransitTriangleDense, walkable development in Austin, outside of Downtown, UT, and SoCo, is a rare bird indeed. Unlike cities such as Portland, Oregon, and even Dallas, Austin hasn't had a rail transit infrastructure extant to provide a stimuli to densify or create greenfield New Urbanist developments. However, it new walkable developments exist, and in some of the oddest places, too.Streetcar Lofts, Pearl http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-austin-could-look-like-part-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-945216543784848549Wed, 27 May 2009 01:39:00 +00002009-06-02T01:05:04.611-05:00BRTfantasyLRTstreetcarBeen playing around with making up LRT, Streetcar, and BRT routes for a fantasy Austin transit system.View Austin Transit Fantasy in a larger maphttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/05/austin-transit-fantasy-map.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-6833062850612696166Sat, 23 May 2009 22:07:00 +00002009-05-23T17:10:17.737-05:00Twitter...I'm back. Or at least I hope I am. Refocused the blog too, hopefully over the summer I'll have the opportunity to do some hands-on reportage.And by the way, I Twitter.http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/05/oh-yeah_23.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-4028173901223875695Sat, 23 May 2009 22:01:00 +00002009-05-23T17:07:00.516-05:00Capital MetroMetroRailoldRed LineMaybe it's just that I'm extra jaded today, but I thought this article (Metro Jacksonville), an overview of CapMetro's MetroRail Red Line, and the development around it, is relatively naive. Never seen it before, either.MJ is advocating a Red Line-style DMU line as a replacement for Jacksonville's proposed BRT lines. They put it forward as >...an affordable alternative for a traditional light http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/05/metrorail-article-id-never-seen.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-6018894843056487523Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:44:00 +00002009-03-20T17:50:44.384-05:00Austindesigndisappointmentlight railplanningprogressiveviabilityzoning...in a bad way?Read this post by M1EK, summing up some of CapMetro's recent screw-ups......and wondered, why the heck does Austin always get screwed over? I mean, first, the defeat of the 2000 light rail plan, then the passage of the 2004 commuter rail proposal, its continual delays, the delays of the urban rail plan, the cut-backs in express bus service, lack of any good new urbanism, and http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-makes-austin-different.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-2719837633108609692Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:27:00 +00002009-03-19T19:40:55.626-05:00crazy ideasHSRmaglevmonorailnetworksnext-genFrom Wired.com, crazy ideas in Michigan: Michigan Could Be Home To Maglev SuperhighwayLawmakers in Michigan are considering plans to build a high-speed, hydrogen-powered maglev rail line that would carry people between Detroit and Lansing using specially built cars, buses, and trucks...Talk about scalability! All the problems of roads, maglev, monorail, cetc. combined!This is the only good part, http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/03/good-bad-and-crazy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-783849130317740782Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:05:00 +00002009-03-07T20:34:56.821-06:00Austinlight railnewstransitUrban RailCommunity Impact: Proposed urban rail could relieve road congestion© Community Impact 2009Latest news that I've seen about the Austin/CAMPO Urban Rail project recently was a page-long article in the Leander/Cedar Park edition of the Community Impact newspaper. Gives some nice definitions of what the heck they're meaning by "urban rail", and where they plan to route the train, ans well as some http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/03/urban-rail-in-austin.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-1913469142522898942Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:47:00 +00002009-03-07T20:04:27.138-06:00EugeneLRTPortlandtravel...the Oregon saga...I was there to visit colleges. Scoped out Reed College [pics] in Portland, as well as University of Oregon [pics] in Eugene. Both were amazing schools with very, very nice campuses benefiting from being within amazing, walkable neighborhoods, and great public transit.Also went downtown in Portland, and did some street photography... [more]http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/03/much-later.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-3772292152628721246Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:26:00 +00002009-02-22T13:28:59.426-06:00disappointmentLRTPortland...I never got to ride the MAX in PDX. Or take pictures of it ever.I'll update later today on what I did do there.http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/02/if-it-wasnt-already-obvious.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-8821035564106429659Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:46:00 +00002009-01-16T21:02:56.747-06:00Eugenelight railPortlandtravelI leave for PDX on Sunday, and hope to update this blog with some travelogues while there, from riding MAX and/or the streetcar. Or from seeing the Eugene BRT. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on attractions in Portland?Itinerary:Sunday: Fly AUS-PHX-PDX, have the afternoon in PortlandMonday: Have the morning in Portland, probably leave for Eugene in the afternoonTuesday: Spend the day inhttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/01/suggestions-for-portland-visit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-554503340461814185Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:08:00 +00002009-01-04T14:15:47.198-06:00light railPortlandtravelValhallaFinally get to visit Light Rail Valhalla (Portland, Oregon) in two weeks. Hopping a Southwest flight to Phoenix, then another to Portland in two weeks. Visiting Reed College and the University of Oregon on that Tuesday and Wednesday; two days to play around Portland!Can't wait to ride TriMAX and the Streetcar. Only ridden two other LRT lines: the F-Market line in San Francisco, and the VTA in Sanhttp://mylrt.blogspot.com/2009/01/trip-to-portland-in-works.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7844630024566736132.post-6662983434170996288Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:14:00 +00002008-12-13T17:29:55.357-06:00growthMTANYCquality of liferidershipsubwaytransitEspecially with the gains in ridership they've been having in the last several years...NYTimes - New York City Grew, but Traffic Didn’t (c) NY TimesApparently, in the last "boom" period that NYC's had, transit actually increased its ridership at greater rates than vehicle traffic. Which is pretty awesome; in Lower Manhattan, vehicle traffic actually decreased, as people abandoned taxis and cars http://mylrt.blogspot.com/2008/12/who-deserves-bailout-mta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Matthew)0