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The problem I have with light rail in Bellevue is that it isn't very useful unless you live within walking distance of a station. I consider it to be mostly a b

by genwin 13y ago

The problem I have with light rail in Bellevue is that it isn't very useful unless you live within walking distance of a station. I consider it to be mostly a boondoggle.

potatolicious 13y ago
I disagree, though I see where you're coming from. The trick with mass transit - particularly permanent infrastructure like rail transit, is that you're not really building it for right now, you're building it to shape the future. My go-to example for this is Toronto, Canada. They built the subway in the 50s and put stations in extremely low-density neighborhoods. Nonsensical at the time naturally, but if you take a gander on Google Maps today, nearly all of these subway stations have evolved mini-cities around themselves, and the surrounding suburbs have realigned to maximize accessibility to the subway station. Rail transit is always betting on the future rather than today. The question is if Bellevue is willing to redevelop around the infrastructure - or if the disproportionate power held by Kemper Freeman et al will put a stop to it. The natural evolution of neighborhoods around transit infrastructure is not subject to the curation of taste and wealth than has been emblematic of the development of Bellevue until now.
- genwin 13y ago
  > Rail transit is always betting on the future rather than today. Agree! But it's too late for Bellevue. Its low-end houses are already $500K. It'll take $billions (including plenty for lawsuits) and decades to get stations within walking distance of most people. Better to install next year a more flexible "subway" consisting of buses (Rapid Ride as it should've been). The plan is for Bel-Red Road to become an artsy light-rail corridor, with densely packed restaurants and condos. When that becomes reality my kids will have mostly only 2 choices: a tiny condo for $500K in today's dollars, or a junky 1950s house for $1 million+. And the city will be a lot more crowded than it is today. I don't think Bellevue will be livable at that point. That's not all the city planners' fault of course. My go-to example is Montreal's Metro system. I like how they use long buses so there's no loud squealing of metal wheels on rails.

by genwin 13y ago

The problem I have with light rail in Bellevue is that it isn't very useful unless you live within walking distance of a station. I consider it to be mostly a boondoggle.

potatolicious 13y ago

I disagree, though I see where you're coming from. The trick with mass transit - particularly permanent infrastructure like rail transit, is that you're not really building it for right now, you're building it to shape the future. My go-to example for this is Toronto, Canada. They built the subway in the 50s and put stations in extremely low-density neighborhoods. Nonsensical at the time naturally, but if you take a gander on Google Maps today, nearly all of these subway stations have evolved mini-cities around themselves, and the surrounding suburbs have realigned to maximize accessibility to the subway station. Rail transit is always betting on the future rather than today. The question is if Bellevue is willing to redevelop around the infrastructure - or if the disproportionate power held by Kemper Freeman et al will put a stop to it. The natural evolution of neighborhoods around transit infrastructure is not subject to the curation of taste and wealth than has been emblematic of the development of Bellevue until now.

genwin 13y ago
> Rail transit is always betting on the future rather than today. Agree! But it's too late for Bellevue. Its low-end houses are already $500K. It'll take $billions (including plenty for lawsuits) and decades to get stations within walking distance of most people. Better to install next year a more flexible "subway" consisting of buses (Rapid Ride as it should've been). The plan is for Bel-Red Road to become an artsy light-rail corridor, with densely packed restaurants and condos. When that becomes reality my kids will have mostly only 2 choices: a tiny condo for $500K in today's dollars, or a junky 1950s house for $1 million+. And the city will be a lot more crowded than it is today. I don't think Bellevue will be livable at that point. That's not all the city planners' fault of course. My go-to example is Montreal's Metro system. I like how they use long buses so there's no loud squealing of metal wheels on rails.