INDIANAPOLIS | Light Commuter Rail | App

[cailes]

56 - 44 in favor of on the Indystar poll so far.

If its doing good on there, I think the odds will sway further towards yes.

Positive to see

[cailes]

There wasn't an official question/answer period after the presentation but we were able to mingle with officials after the fact. I got to speak with Ehren Bingamen for a few minutes and one of my biggest questoins was how this study took into account things like the Downtown Indianapolis Streetcar Corp plan, which is also a privately funded initiative exploring a downtown circulator streetcar. Ive gotten to talk back and forth with Steve Devoe of their board and he says that they support the CITTF plan, but were not a specific component of it.

Similarly, Bingamen said that he thought they had been considered as well but due to the lack of a plan by them, that they better figure it out soon, or the window of opportunity will be gone.

Beyond that, the rest of the questions I had were minor, and I figure there will be plenty of time for asking them at the various meetings being held.

It was a neat experience. My wife took photos for ME for a change at the event. Im usually her assistant since she is the professional. We got to talk to the Mayor for a bit. He was encouraged by young people like my wife and I being there because there is a lot of work to do in the younger generation to keep the steam going in this thing.

[UrbanIndy]

Originally Posted by cailes

56 - 44 in favor of on the Indystar poll so far.

If its doing good on there, I think the odds will sway further towards yes.

Positive to see

I hope the question on the actual ballot is worded by whomever has put together referendums in the past. It's always fun to read them and say "duh!," then vote yes...

[mobyhead]

Originally Posted by cailes

Ive gotten to talk back and forth with Steve Devoe of their board and he says that they support the CITTF plan, but were not a specific component of it.

I know Steve. I do know that he and his family played a part in getting the ABA Indiana Pacers to town in 1967. He knows how to get stuff done.

[CorrND]

How does the Streetcar Corp not have a plan yet? They formed almost 2 years ago, so you would think they could have at least a rough outline for inclusion in the Indy Connect plans.

My thought? Two circulators:

North/South & Business Oriented -- Lilly, CBD, State House, Methodist:

South on Capitol
East on Merrill (utilize the closed section under the RR tracks)
North on Delaware
West on 16th

East/West and Student/Entertainment Oriented -- Indiana Ave, Mass Ave, IUPUI

South on University
East on New York
North on New Jersey
West on Michigan

Or thinking outside the box on the East/West circulator:

SE Indiana Ave.
East on Vermont
NW on Mass Ave.
West on St. Clair

[cailes]

There are all kinds of ways they could do it. Apparently they hired the guy who designed the Portland streetcar to do the analysis and it will be the cost analysis type of output that this recent study put out I think.

They will have something shortly according to Steve. Who knows what the circumstances are behind why its taken so long, but at least they are looking at it.

[cailes]

I started doing my part this weekend. I talked to three people in the arts community this weekend who had heard nothing about this yet. So I spread the word.

Also, anyone see that they bought some ad space on the big electronic billboard next to the fairgrounds on Fall Creek Parkway?

[JohnM Indy]

Originally Posted by cailes

Also, anyone see that they bought some ad space on the big electronic billboard next to the fairgrounds on Fall Creek Parkway?

I also saw a billboard yesterday on I-74 west (inbound) near Shelbyville.

[cailes]

So has anyone from the board been going out to these meetings? I know a couple people in the blogosphere have been out (myself included). There are more slides and information to look at in the meetings compared to what is on the website.

I havent filled out the paperwork that they handed out yet. I have a fat folder of papers yet to fill out. The thing that really strikes me about this, is deciding how they are going to build the commuter lines. If you look at other "commuter" rail lines, ridership is always low. Probably because of peak hour operation and the sort of deal. They talk about short cycling the commuter lines closer to downtown during the day in a light rail type of deal so it makes me wonder, why even consider making it heavier rail type? The NE corridor approved the DMU types of engines, but now that the inniative has been struck and a funding option at least being talked about, why not consider double tracking it, making it electric and at the least, double tracking a good portion of it, and then single tracking once you get closer to the burbs and offer a 30 minute headway type of service during peak hours while maintaing the double track operation 10-15 minute headways inside the loop.

Just some thoughts. No one has been posting about it, so Im curious how people have been thinking about this topic on this board.

[GarfieldPark]

I think what you are describing is one of the things being considered. The technology question -- ie DMU or electric -- would be a good question to discuss at some of the meetings. I wonder what type of train technology would work best for a "dual use" type of corridor. (One that might have more frequent service - with more stops that are closer together in the central part of the region -- with primarily a.m. and p.m. peak hour trips at less frequent intervals to serve the "commuter" riders in the outer parts of the region.)

I believe there are DMU trains that can work well to provide both of these types of services on the same corridor. If the passenger vehicles can stay on separate rail lines from freight trains - they may not have to build "heavier" vehicles, which are required for "crash-worthiness" on the dual use types of corridors. On the NE corridor - there are no freight trains - so that might be possible - although there is still an issue dealing with the final routing of passenger trains into Union Station. Those tracks do have lots of freight traffic. With DMU technology, overhead electric wires wouldn't be needed - so there could be cost savings associated with that. There is a lot to figure out. The federally required environmental impact studies are being worked on now -- so hopefully, many of those types of questions will begin to be answered.

[cailes]

The NE DEIS is all they have going on right now. Going to be a little bit til its done I think but it will be interesting to dig through and see what it says once its all done.

Another thing on the mind of the planners is the old rail bypass that runs around the southern side of downtown. I was at the CIRTA meeting back in January and they seem to be generating some kind of activity around getting that thing repaired and up to standards so that they can ask CSX to use that to get through indy thereby opening up Union Station for passenger type traffic alone. That would be huge but the kicker is that they estimate $150 million to get that beltway back in good condition to handle the kind of traffic that rolls through downtown freight wise right now.

EDIT: I got to talk to a couple people at one of the Indyconnect meetings. I think it was Phillip Roth of the MPO manning the rail table and I asked if they were going to reconsider using electric instead of DMU in light of this inniative actually opening up broader funding avenues and he said that is an option. Lori Miser was the one who highlighted the issues around the CSX beltway. So its on their radar but they havent even arrived at a decision regarding these items yet.

[cailes]

A minor update on the NE Corridor topic

NE Corridor AA/DEIS Project

Learn about the Northeast Corridor Alternatives Analysis/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (AA/DEIS) project, an initiative of Indy Connect. After a brief presentation highlighting the background of the project, the conceptual alternatives under consideration, and the environmental process, participants will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with members of the project team to gain additional information and engage in detailed discussions about the NE Corridor AA/DEIS.

Project kick-off meetings for the NE Corridor AA/DEIS will be held on the following dates, with additional meetings to follow.



Wednesday, March 17th at 7:00 PM

Julia Carson Government Center

300 E Fall Creek Parkway

Indianapolis, Indiana



Wednesday, March 24th at 7:00 PM

Hamilton County Government Center

One Hamilton Square

Noblesville, Indiana

[cailes]

I feel like Im beating a one man drum here, but has anyone checked out the Indyconnect map? They updated it to give a general idea of how far the daily north/south light rail runs would run up to. 38th street on the north side, and just inside 465 on the south side. The initial media stuff didnt highlight that...

[GarfieldPark]

That is interesting news. To have frequent, throughout the day (and into the night) hours - serving that larger area of the Central City is good. Thanks for keeping us up-dated.

[CorrND]

Good eye and cool news! That southern terminus is probably University of Indianapolis. Frequent service there would be a great idea.

[ablerock]

It's weird/sucks that the light rail line doesn't quite hit the airport. It also sucks that it's not slated for implementation until 2025. I think this entire plan could have a much more aggressive timeline, especially as it's fairly conservative.

[cailes]

Did anyone make it to the meeting last night? I was taking care of my sick and 38 week pregnant wife so could not make it to the meeting.

Was expecting something in the newspaper this morning, but saw nothing. Nor on the IBJ.

[GarfieldPark]

Ablerock: "It's weird/sucks that the light rail line doesn't quite hit the airport. It also sucks that it's not slated for implementation until 2025. I think this entire plan could have a much more aggressive timeline, especially as it's fairly conservative."

Ablerock --- where did you get the idea that the light rail line to the airport is not scheduled until 2025? I've never seen anything that showed any dates associated with any of the potential improvements. Maybe I just didn't look far enough.

[cailes]

The time line is roughly like this:
Expanded bus service near term.
NE Corridor operating in 5 years.
South Corridor operating in 10 years.
East/West LR operating in 15 years.

[ablerock]

Originally Posted by GarfieldPark

Ablerock --- where did you get the idea that the light rail line to the airport is not scheduled until 2025? I've never seen anything that showed any dates associated with any of the potential improvements. Maybe I just didn't look far enough.

"The report proposes phasing-in bus service enhancements over the next five years. The northeast rail line would begin in five years, a southern passenger rail service in 10 years and Washington Street light rail in 15 years."

http://www.ibj.com/task-force-endors.../article/16305

Now do you believe me? ;-)