4 ms·

Having done a lot of driving through the Texas triangle, I can tell you that the biggest detriment to HSR would be the fact that you still need a car after you

Having done a lot of driving through the Texas triangle, I can tell you that the biggest detriment to HSR would be the fact that you still need a car after you get off your train. I've taken the greyhound/megabus between cities, and it's pretty decent, but then I either need someone to drive 30 mins one way to pick me up or shell out $30+ for an Uber to get to where I need to go, and then more Ubers if I need to get around afterwards. To make the intercity transport really compelling, the cities themselves need good public transport coverage, and the triangle cities are too damn big for that to happen in the foreseeable future. They have some, but it takes forever and the reach isn't that high. I'd rather have a mostly self driving car that can take me 80% of the way on the interstate highway between the cities.

rizzom5000 6y ago
A mostly self-driving car could work and I can't speak for the Texas Triangle, but most of the south has horrible public transit. An interesting example, perhaps, is Raleigh, NC to DC. Raleigh has awful public transit options. The public transit in DC is pretty great actually. Driving (in the best case) is six hours, and Amtrak is about 7.5 hours. Still, who in their right mind would ever willingly want to drive in DC traffic? If you are going to DC for the weekend, the Amtrak wins every single time in my opinion; even with a mostly self-driving car.
Ericson2314 6y ago
Right, it's important that cities getting HSR stations are compelled to do some sort of metropolitan public transit and upzoning. We should be very cleareyed that the sunbelt cities are built all wrong, but also underestanding that they can be fixed.
- galangalalgol 5y ago
  How do you fix them? That seems really hard!
  - Ericson2314 5y ago
    As long as they are still growing, it's mainly a matter of redirecting the growth. Only a stagnant city is "too poor to change"; everything else is just cowardly politics looking for excuses. Per https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/09/18/cars-and-trains-urbanism/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/09/18/cars-and-train... we have a lot of bullshit compromise, when the ugly truth is both cars and non-cars are positive feedback loops for which there is no reconciliation. But this is also an opportunity, provided the government has guts. Do what Barcelona did, and overnight "guerilla urbanism" block roads. Bikeshare, including some cargo wagons to signal a commitment to more people other than single yuppies is also good, and is so much cheaper than subways it might as well be considered tactical urbanism. Do congestion pricing. Tax parking lots. When property values adjust as everyone tries to get at the high foot traffic, high job density hot area, you are winning. Finally, we need a national carbon tax / quotas. And as opposed to trying to ration gas to people we should just give them a carbon dividend. That will also suck people out of the suburbs like turning on the electromagnets!
    - galangalalgol 5y ago
      The last 80 years of growth in those cities has been strictly seaparated residential zones actively designed to discourage foot traffic. Twisty confusing roads with one entrance to a neighborhood, and no sidewalks. Unless the growth includes tearing out old houses how can it fix those problems?
      - Ericson2314 5y ago
        The last 80 years of residential growth. But what about officespace? If it's all decentralized office parks, yeah that's going to be harder. But if there is a strong "central business district" (America's tend to be denser than Eeurope's for some reason) that can be a foundation to go outword from. Basically infill that with some residential and work outwards from there, redeveloping the burbs only once the core is saturated and there's some momentum.

rizzom5000 6y ago

A mostly self-driving car could work and I can't speak for the Texas Triangle, but most of the south has horrible public transit. An interesting example, perhaps, is Raleigh, NC to DC. Raleigh has awful public transit options. The public transit in DC is pretty great actually. Driving (in the best case) is six hours, and Amtrak is about 7.5 hours. Still, who in their right mind would ever willingly want to drive in DC traffic? If you are going to DC for the weekend, the Amtrak wins every single time in my opinion; even with a mostly self-driving car.

Ericson2314 6y ago

Right, it's important that cities getting HSR stations are compelled to do some sort of metropolitan public transit and upzoning. We should be very cleareyed that the sunbelt cities are built all wrong, but also underestanding that they can be fixed.

galangalalgol 5y ago
How do you fix them? That seems really hard!
- Ericson2314 5y ago
  As long as they are still growing, it's mainly a matter of redirecting the growth. Only a stagnant city is "too poor to change"; everything else is just cowardly politics looking for excuses. Per https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/09/18/cars-and-trains-urbanism/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2019/09/18/cars-and-train... we have a lot of bullshit compromise, when the ugly truth is both cars and non-cars are positive feedback loops for which there is no reconciliation. But this is also an opportunity, provided the government has guts. Do what Barcelona did, and overnight "guerilla urbanism" block roads. Bikeshare, including some cargo wagons to signal a commitment to more people other than single yuppies is also good, and is so much cheaper than subways it might as well be considered tactical urbanism. Do congestion pricing. Tax parking lots. When property values adjust as everyone tries to get at the high foot traffic, high job density hot area, you are winning. Finally, we need a national carbon tax / quotas. And as opposed to trying to ration gas to people we should just give them a carbon dividend. That will also suck people out of the suburbs like turning on the electromagnets!
  - galangalalgol 5y ago
    The last 80 years of growth in those cities has been strictly seaparated residential zones actively designed to discourage foot traffic. Twisty confusing roads with one entrance to a neighborhood, and no sidewalks. Unless the growth includes tearing out old houses how can it fix those problems?
    - Ericson2314 5y ago
      The last 80 years of residential growth. But what about officespace? If it's all decentralized office parks, yeah that's going to be harder. But if there is a strong "central business district" (America's tend to be denser than Eeurope's for some reason) that can be a foundation to go outword from. Basically infill that with some residential and work outwards from there, redeveloping the burbs only once the core is saturated and there's some momentum.