Rail line wouldn't be cheapWatchdog: The Great Train Debate By David Slade (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Supports confident money can be found 
Deborah Varallo Commuters leave Nashville, Tenn., on the Music City Star train. Officials are researching whether a similar rail line serving Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville would be feasible. 
The Post and Courier 
The Post and Courier Flash FileWould a commuter train from Charleston to Summerville cost $46 million, or something closer to $146 million? "That's the sort of thing we are trying to figure out," said Jennifer Humphreys, a senior transportation analyst with Wilbur Smith Associates who is leading the region's third study of commuter rail. Train supporters are confident money can be found for the proposed rail project, but the price tag is a fast-moving target. Creating a 22-mile commuter rail service for Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville would certainly cost more than the $46 million estimate cited in a 2006 Wilbur Smith study. The more detailed study now under way should produce a better cost estimate by August, along with an estimate of the cost of rail to Moncks Corner. "If you can do it under $10 million a mile, you're doing well," said David Carol, a former Amtrak official in charge of Charlotte's Northeast Corridor rail plan, which will cost an estimated $9 million per mile. Rail supporters are quick to point out it can cost $40 million to widen a single mile of highway. Through that lens, the cost of a train to Summerville looks small, compared to the $300 million the state plans to spend widening just over 8 miles of Interstate 26. Rail opponents typically compare the cost of trains to the cost of public buses. In that light, the train project looks like a big expense, costing at least several times the entire annual budget of the Charleston Area Regional Transit System. $46 million not enough The $46 million estimate is certain to grow because it did not include the cost of track rights, which could be millions of dollars. As in Albuquerque, Nashville and Charlotte — the three cities used as examples in the 2006 study — Charleston commuter rail would use existing freight tracks, which sounds cheap and simple but is usually not. Using a freight line often requires upgrades to rail crossings and the track itself, in addition to buying the right-of-way or negotiating an agreement with the owner to use the track. "You can't just buy trains and put them on the track," Humphreys said. Charlotte, for example, agreed to pay Norfolk Southern $21 million for the right to use a section of track for 50 years, and agreed to pay for extensive track upgrades. "Getting track access from Norfolk Southern is a complex challenge," Carol said. "The line we are upgrading for commuter rail is a short line that only sees one (freight) train a day, and it's in poor condition." The proposed Charleston/Summerville commuter rail would operate on Norfolk Southern tracks, but there's no estimate of the cost of track rights. CSX Corp. owns the track to Moncks Corner. "We need to have a proposal with sufficient detail," Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said. "We have room for additional traffic, but we don't know how much they would need." Also missing from the $46 million estimate was money needed to acquire property in Summerville for a train station, and land in downtown Charleston where part of the rail line sits beneath a privately owned business. Ongoing costs Once you build a commuter rail service, there are substantial annual operating costs. Just like the bus system operated by CARTA, commuter rail lines lose money on every passenger. 
The Post and Courier "It is a very expensive use of public money, but that's not to say it's a poor use of public money," Carol said. Nashville and Albuquerque are talking about new taxes to pay for their train expenses, while Charlotte already has a half-cent sales tax in place. "You have to make it work politically," said Chris Blewett, Albuquerque's Rail Runner Project Manager. "We've done a lot of polling, and this (train) has a lot of support, around 75 percent, and those are numbers that are hard to argue with." "The need for this, and the benefit, is so obvious that it puts the operating expense in the category of things you just solve," said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who chairs the regional Council of Governments rail committee. The 2006 rail study for Charleston/Summerville estimated that the train system would need $1.4 million more each year than what riders would pay in fares. Planners said the train could attract more than 1,600 round-trip passengers every day. Humphreys called the ridership projections conservative, but those estimates suggest a Charleston train would attract four times the current ridership in Nashville, and 60 percent more passengers than Albuquerque's train. Despite the financial hurdles, commuter rail service is being created in cities across the nation, and train supporters and regional planners believe it's possible to do the same in Charleston. "It will be about political will; public and political will," Humphreys said. Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 34 comment(s)
Posted by wheels2u666 on July 8, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
as a property owner in charlotte, (I bought a small condo when my son did 2 yrs at Johnson & Wales in charleston and then my son finished his schooling in chalotte,shame on charleston for letting that school go!! anyway, the condo is within walking distance to the light rail , the light rail in charlotte bascially borders a road like a savannah hgwy or rivers ave, ie.. close to livable neighboorhoods, where it has several stops and parking areas for people to walk/drive up to get on the light rail and go into "uptown" charlotte. Charleston proposal although good I just dont see working due to the fact it (the train tracks) run parallel to I-26 and its old industrial/crime ridden neighboorhoods, its not like the tracks run through hanahan or nearby nice neighboorhoods, if you expect people to drive their nice cars then leave them unattended in lots where lets face it the people who wont work but lead a life of crime will burgalarize these cars and or people walking to the trains, this is the reality of it, my condo in charotte is literally surrounded by apt complexes, and decent neighboorhoods the entire route to the "uptown" area, i just dont see this same scenario in charlestons push to go from summerville to charleston, before you invest hundreds of thousands or millions, why not try an idea like leasing 50 or more nice buses and stage them at different areas and run them from summerville/north charleston to west ashley , charleston, but have the buses available, people I believe would take a bus is they know it will be there at a given time, my son is now living in NYC, he lived in NJ for 8 weeks at that time, he took a bus at 415 am to the main train depot where he then caught a train to NYC, the point im making is the bus was there by 415-425 each and every day, not like Carta where you can and have to wait upwards to an hr, thats ridicilous people will take a bus if its on time every time, and gee if the buses dont work out, then paint them yellow and sell them to the school system, last time i read , ours our in terrible shape ,,,
Posted by zoomru on July 8, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jennifer Humphrey,
You need to take a look in the mirror young LADY!! "... a senior transportation analyst with Wilbur Smith Associates who is leading the region's third study of commuter rail."
A Senior ANALYST?? THIRD STUDY?? This is the biggest taxpayer rip off ???
I don't know how you sleep at night?? DO you have children?? You need to take a hard look in the mirror!! And then go to www.unimodal.com. For the money that is be spewed in this article...DO you know how much track could be laid out with out CONFISCATING all this land for rail easements??!! UN-BELIEVABLE?? This is a MAJOR ..MAJOR ...CORRUPT undertaking! Yet no one stands up except.. ME?!
JENNIFER..... "Just like the bus system operated by CARTA, commuter rail lines lose money on every passenger." WELL ..young lady thats why you find a system that can actually PAY for ITSELF!! SKYTRAN will be used for school bussing, public transit and if planned right ..be used for mail and small package delivery between 3 and 5 in the morning. What a travesty in urban planning if this solution is not even discussed or revealed to the PUBLIC for consideration. Jennifer....you mean that SWEDEN ..NORWAY and FLORIDA will take advantage of this form of transportation but yet WE won't?? The only reason that this article says that a train has 75% approval is that the little old lady 's they polled don't KNOW about SKYTRAN. When I discuss this with people...it makes their blood BOIL!!
JENNIFER...""It will be about political will; public and political will," Humphreys said." POLITCAL WILL?? Since when has OUR elected officials done ANYTHING on behalf to the public will? SMART cars have been available in Europe for the last decade?!! Has any public official CLOSED one..ONE landfill in OUR state, Jennifer? Have they?
Why would you purposely build anything that you KNOW is going to lose money?? A train won't solve our school bussing...SKYTRAN will. A train won't solve CARTA's woes.....SKYTRAN will. A train will require major infrastructure and easement confiscation and funding....SKYTRAN can use exsisting easements and costs much less.
I smell a rat, SKUNK, litter BOX, and government SEWER!!
Posted by zoomru on July 8, 2008 at 10:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mayor Riley, Mayor Summey, Mayor Hallman, County Council Chair Tim Scott, Rep Scarborough, Gov Sanford, SC Senator McConnell, SC REP Harrell, House Whip "Grand Master Flash" Clyburn.....WHERE do YOU fine elected officials stand on this?? WHERE?? You mean to tell me that you are going to sit there and follow what some "STUDY" deems worthy?? Who stands to GAIN from the STUDY?? You fine gentlemen won't make a PUBLIC stand?? Even when you know that the system will LOSE money for taxpayers??? You COWARDS!! Instead of leveraging a system to answer both school and public transit issues; that with the right planning could actually Pay for itself..you OFFICIALS will sit on the sidelines until its time to CUT the RIBBONS??
WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? Obviously NOT leading our CITY ...COUNTY or STATE. Why should we do anything just because some OTHER city did it?? If that is your "TRAIN" of thought .....just go ahead and PAVE our State like L. A. and San Diego !!!
If we build MASS TRANSIT...it should SOLVE more than ONE problem ...NOT create MORE problems and LOSE MONEY!!!!
Posted by zoomru on July 8, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
300Million Widening.....67 Million Interchange Upgrades.....46 Million ? for 22 Miles...plus Millions for DEPOTS?? What are you people thinking??? These figures are conservative too boot. Lets just say 430 Million? How much SKYTRAN could be put up for that??? My Lord! With no easement confiscation??
How are you going to get trains to service Mt. Pleasant? Daniel Island? James Island? Johns Island? Build more BRIDGES??
Posted by common_sense on July 8, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The article clearly states that the trains LOSE money when operated..necessitating a tax to cover the difference. This is one big reason this will not work here. We're over-taxed as it is now.
Zoomru, your skypods won't work here either.
I'm just sayin...
Posted by berthelot on July 8, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why are we so worried about getting people into town from Summerville? We could have a park and ride stop near the intersection of 26 & 526, and then focus the rail lines on getting people around within Charleston.
Two lines: One that runs from the corner of Rifle Range & IOP Connector to the corner of Savannah Hwy. & 526, another from the corner of 526 & 26 to somewhere downtown. The two lines would intersect at some point in the middle and have as many stops near residential neighborhoods as possible (check out a map of the subway in Rome).
This way the people of Charleston could use it to go to work, run errands, etc. How many people from Summerville actually go to Charleston on a daily basis?
I know that would be incredibly expensive, but we must think long term here. As long as we continue to build highways we only enable people to use personal vehicles where they aren't really necessary.
Posted by vicupstate on July 8, 2008 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The 'nice' apartments and condos that wheels2666 refers too came AFTER the rail plans were announced. The South Blvd. corridor (that parallels the new rail line) was largely an abandoned industrial corridor. The Wilmore neighborhood in Charlotte (which the light rail runs passed) was maybe one cut above North Charleston's Union Heights eight years ago.
Posted by common_sense on July 8, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The way this area is laid out, along with natural barriers will not allow rail to be feasible here. Sometimes I think people want rail because it would be "cool". Taxpayers, I seriously doubt, can afford to foot the bill for something "cool".
I'm just sayin...
Posted by harlanh001 on July 8, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We really should be looking into using the West Ashley Greenway and West Ashley Bikeway for monorail/ lightrail lines. The right of ways are there, we would simply have to reinstall the rail infrastructure that was once there.
If you goto google maps, youll see they run through many major neighborhoods in west ashley straight to the Ashley River.
This idea is similar to the Atlanta Beltline currently underconstruction.
Posted by CaptPete on July 8, 2008 at 1:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just wondering once you arrive at the train station you still need to find a cab to drive you to the office. Then you need to find one in the evening going home. Things are too spread out here for this to work. Nothing is saved for riding the train.
Posted by a_set_love on July 8, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Heres an idea. If the people in the City of Charleston and the town of Summerville are so excited about this rail system let it run from Summervile down Hwy 61 into the downtown section of the City of Charleston.
I'm sure the mayors of the City of Charleston and the town of Summerville could raise the money thru crushing new taxes on their people. Their citizens won't mind. You could even run it from Summerville, thru Berkley County down into Cainhoy/Daniel Island.
You have solved the problem of natural boundries, accommodated the peoples who want to use it and made no costly changes to I-26.
And best of all, for most of you, it requires no travel thru the horrid City of North Charleston.
Posted by common_sense on July 8, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
a_set_love has it dead on. Rail is a pet project for someone. The groundwork is being laid for it now by way of this P&C series on the issue.
We're too spread out for rail to work here. Natural barriers also inhibit where things can be placed. In a centralized city, rail would probably work fine. Centralized cities are also used to confiscatory tax rates to subsidize rail, amongst other things.
Maybe that explains why we have so many northerners moving down here.
I'm just sayin...
Posted by wheels2u666 on July 8, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The condo complex I bought in was built in 1984 Vicup, my exit is Arrowood Rd exit 9 miles south of charlotte , beg to differ ,3 Yrs ago many Apt complexes went condo, I toured many of them, my point was that building along a major hgwy just because the rails are there isnt always or the best solution, Berthelot has a good idea also, from what i understand the light rail is looking to expand in other areas North, east west of charlotte, Ive also heard that they are looking towards Rock hill, innovative thinking no matter what, our train of thought is to just widen more roads but then i guess charleston was always smitten with Atlanta and "Gone with the wind" so we'll just be like a little atlanta and instead of 12 lanes now we'll settle for 8, and enjoy our "fresh" air for a few more years, Is it time to think of putting a dam on the edisto river , for our water woes in 30 years?
Posted by zoomru on July 8, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Common_Sense,...
..."Zoomru, your skypods won't work here either...."
Well ..if we are going to have something SHOVED DOWN OUR THROATS....wouldn't you want something that doesn't require the most LAND to be confiscated and would have a cost build out ..MUCH LESS?? If it didn't make MONEY in the first five years then dismantle it !! Take it apart ..SELL OFF THE PARTS TO OTHER CITIES . .. and then discuss a LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM!! At least you could sell off the part to cover the rail build out. I am certain though that it would be a hit and MAKE MONEY!!! It would be ON demand USE only??!!
Posted by truthseeker on July 8, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The cost estimates sure seem fairly reasonable. The port access road to run from the navy base terminal to I-26 is supposed to cost a whopping $300 million dollars.
Whether this rail program is 46 million or 146 million - it seems like a bargain price.
Posted by zoomru on July 8, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
People this is really about the transformation of the NECK AREA and everyone who stands to benefit. The MAGNOLIA PROJECT stands to gain a lot of funding for the land in the area if there is a train station there? Their just not going to give them land to have a trainstation there for nothing. With SKYTRAN ..that type of infratructure would not be required and the players would not stand to gain as much public dollars. In reality, if they had ANY brains, they would relize that they would be far better off financially. This is also about getting AMTRAK to come into a different station alltogether. Getting those track funds to cover the new track. They don't want to have two separate stations. Not only that..I'm sure there are certain payoffs for the MOVER and Shakers involved. Just wish the TRUTH was published!! Its really about the developers that are to gain and NOT the COMMON GOOD. They talk about THREE stops? Hmm? Magnolia Project, Coliseum Area, and Summerville Square??
For the amount of money being spent, a SKYTRAN buildout for the peninsula all the way to summerville could be done for the most part and move far more people....Talk about property values going up within a mile of each NODE on the peninsula...good LORD? The officials are cutting off their NOSE dispite their FACE.... Who are they kidding??
Posted by BigSargeofSC on July 8, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Summerville to Charleston: rush hour time 38 mins.
Summerville to Charleston: nonrush hour time 23 mins.
Charleston to Summerville: rush hour time 32 mins.
I wonder how someone can justify the expense of this expansion just to save not more than 15 mins. of cummute time.
Posted by pompusmaximus on July 8, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sorry but getting back to summerville from charleston in rush hour traffic does not take 38 minutes. More like an hour.
Posted by SmooveB on July 8, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Rail is one of those systems to which the "Fields of Dreams" model applies, in that if you build it, they will come. The "they" is not necessarily just riders, but also smart, clustered development and an increased tax base. In just about every major city where they've put in light rail, development has sprung up around the rail stops and nodes.
We subsidize the living bejeebus out of roads already: gas taxes, user "fees", "Federal "dollars" (e.g. our tax dollars shuffled around and sent back to us after the Beltway takes its cut), etc. "AMTRAK is so wasteful. We spend $1.8 billion on it per year and. . . " And that's the freaking toilet paper bill for Iraq for a year.
Build it now, while we have the chance. Or wait until it's in the "too hard to do" category (likely choice). Gas ain't getting any cheaper, and raods aren't she answer to much of anything except sprawl.
If they were smart, they would have engineered the Ravenel Bridge to have a light rail line hang off the other side from the pedestrian walkway! A mix of light and heavy rail is needed nationwide.
Posted by pompusmaximus on July 8, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Excellent point SmooveB. How are we going to endure these long commutes when gas is 6 or 7 dollars a gallon. By building this commuter rail system, we are ensuring a sustainable transportation network. Honestly, for those of you who are against the commuter rail, what is YOUR solution? Will you just continue to pay higher gas prices until you go bankrupt?
Posted by PalmettoDP on July 8, 2008 at 4:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gas may be 6 or 7 dollars a gallon - 15 or 20 years from now - but certainly not next week. Such a price would not be sustainable - it would cause stagflation which would kill demand (a lot less of us would be going to work period). Many developing countries are ending government subsidies on fuel because they can't afford it anymore - which will also reduce demand.
As I've said in other posts, I don't think we should think in terms of road vs. rail - we should look at investing in both. Having said that, our elected officials should not try to put in rail lines where very few are going to use them. Rapid transit buses are more practical in suburban areas, and they can have connections with rail lines that serve downtown (where rail is more appropriate).
Posted by wheels2u666 on July 8, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
both great posts smooth and pomp, look at the fight the bike people had to ensure a lane on the ravenel bridge, why not a light rail down the center of rivers ave? to just look at the tracks near I-26 is pointless
Posted by common_sense on July 8, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I see some urban planet types have infiltrated our fair board with their pie in the sky neo-urbanism.
The lay of the land here is not rail friendly, nor are the overburdened taxpayers.
I'm just sayin...
PS: Sarge is right..38 minutes from DT to Summerville is not bad at all!
Posted by bflosue on July 8, 2008 at 5:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There should be a line running along 17 from the Wando HS area thru downtown to Savannah Hwy/Main Rd. There should be another line running from downtown to the airport; then from the airport 2 lines running to Summerville and to Monck's Corner. There should be park & ride lots at each station, and CARTA buses should go to the train stations.
But it makes too much sense, which is why it will never happen here...
Posted by SmooveB on July 8, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pie in the sky neo-urbanism, eh? We'll see whose far out suburb becomes the new ghetto in 20 years, with McMansions packed with several/extended families, vinyl siding peeling like sunburned skin, and lawyer foyers stuffed full of crap. The smart money will move back towards the urban core, along with the high paying jobs.
They built an efficient rail system in Holland. Charleston is child's play. Unfortnately, the election and business cycle in this country has forced us to think in a time horizon measured in months, not years or decades.
I'm just sayin'. . .
Posted by pompusmaximus on July 8, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Agreed SmooveB! oh and who said this forum was a fair board? All I ever read on these forums is anti-government, property rights nut jobs who hate any kind of progressive thinking.
palmetto DP, for you to think that 6 dollar gas is 20 years away truly shows your ignorance of the situtation. Even if demand drops, oil is a finite resource that other developing countries will utilize.
Posted by majorjohnson on July 8, 2008 at 5:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is total pie in the sky crapola. As long as the people in the lowcountry insist on low density population and scatter businesses out over miles and miles, no mass transit system is going to work. Even places like Atlanta, New York, Chicago, DC, Los Angeles can't get people to pay what it costs to run their systems, and in any of those cities you can actually get to work, walk to lunch, grab some groceries and get back home. without ever walking more than a couple of blocks You can't do that here. You take the rail to North Charleston, then a bus to almost where you work, walk the rest of the way, have to take a taxi to get to a restaurant for lunch, another to get to the grocery store, then a bus to the rail stop to get back to your car. Not gonna happen ever. Throw in 100 degree heat in the Summer and rain, forget it...they'll take the car.
And zoomru, grow up and quit reading so many comic books. Skytran doesn't exist other than on paper and a very simplistic web site. It's science fiction. http://www.roadkillbill.com/PRT-SkytranA...
Posted by justjerry on July 8, 2008 at 6:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My question is this: 1600 round trips per day at 360 days per year is 576,000 tickets per year. Why not take the $1.4m that you are expecting to lose and divide by that number (the result is $2.43) and add that to the cost (that you have already decided will lose $1.4 million dollars per year) for a round trip ticket? How hard is that to figure out? If you think that at that price point you will discourage riders then that will indicate that there is not enough support for the project.
Posted by STREETLAW on July 8, 2008 at 7:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"The need for this, and the benefit, is so obvious that it puts the operating expense in the category of things you just solve," said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley.
That's the kind of rhetoric you can expect from a politician. If he has any documented proof of specific need and benefit, he sure didn't share it in this article. And his assertion that well documented problems with the plan are things you just solve is an euphanism for "throw taxpayer dollars at."
When Joe can solve the problems of third world roads and traffic in his own city, it would go a long way toward convincing me he knows what he is talking about. If Riley were to start a business with the mindset he has about this project, he would be broke in less that a year.
I frankly think a train, particularly a high speed rail that started in this area and went clear across the country would be a most civilized undertaking.
But just as CARTA is socialized wheelfare, the train project would seem to be the solution for a mass transit problem where there is no mass to transit.
It doesn't trouble me too much that these kind of collective projects don't make any money. But could they not perhaps break even?
Posted by Sick_Tired on July 8, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Has anyone considered the crime that will take place. Thugs from the city could make their way into Summerville and everywhere in between. There would have to be police officers riding these trains to protect people from robbery and assaults. I have no need for this thing. The folks who can't afford cars with the current gas prices may benefit, but so will the dirt bags.
Posted by berthelot on July 8, 2008 at 9:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hereby change my comment of 11:56 AM to that of bflosue at 5:10 PM - you have a much better route.
To those who say that the lay of the land is not "rail friendly": Would you call our land "interstate friendly", or any land for that matter? We change the land for our needs, that is how it goes these days.
Just look at the rail system in Europe, you can go to any small town by rail for a small fee every day of the week. The NY/NJ area has a great rail system that allows thousands of people to exist without a car (no I am not a yankee nor have I ever been one, my gggg grand daddy fought for the south, so don't start with that crap).
If all of the little cities in the US developed rail systems then all of us would benefit. We could travel within our region without great expense or the burden of paying for gas, parking, or driving. If you are extremely concerned about walking a short distance after leaving the train then you might want to take a serious look at your physical condition* and wonder why it is possible that the rest of the world can deal with it, can't we, the land of the free, home of the brave? *not including the handicapped.
I would ride every day, I guess that is my point.
Posted by certifiedfooln72 on July 8, 2008 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can tell you from experience that it takes more than 35-40 minutes to drive from Summerville to downtown Charleston. I drove the 19 miles from College Park Road to the Roper Medical Office building from April of 2007 til this past April. I would leave between 7am and 7:30 and most days it took at least 40 minutes, and on the really bad days more than an hour. From exit 203 to the 526 interchange is what took up the majority of the time, with traffic moving at a snails pace. I finally got a transfer from within my company to go to our North Area office off of Hwy. 78. I loved my job, but hated the drive. The drive added another 2 hours of work time to my day. I even tried to take the Express CARTA from the Super Kmart on Rivers to downtown. That worked pretty good during the summer, but when school started back, it took me almost as long to get down Rivers Ave. or 78 to the Kmart, as it would to go all the way downtown. Thus I went back to driving. Unfortunately, you cannot always wait for a job within a certain area. People have to drive from all points across this lowcountry to where ever the job is. Expanding 26 futher is NOT an option! The load of traffic has already surpassed what that road can support. We have to look for other non-car based options. Despite the fact of rising gas prices, we need more of a mass transit based transportation to get around in our ever growing lowcountry. We need to look at becoming more commuter friendly and earth friendly. As it stands now, the traffic going up and down 26 is moving slower than the dinosaurs did!!
Posted by chucktonian on July 8, 2008 at 10:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
it's time to dump the rail fantasy and get CARTA up to snuff.
where are the bus routes from summerville to downtown charleston? where are the bus routes from Moncks Corner? the public transportation system here is a JOKE. rail is the last thing we need
Posted by wucherer on July 18, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We americans are addicted to OIL. Most not everyone is use to jumping in their car and pushing that needle deeper into our vains. As far as light rail system it's a good ideal just as long as those who forced the massive explosion in population to fill their greedy pockets. I don't know if this is a good example but the times i used the PATH (Port Authority of New Jersey/New York) created their own revenue. Of course there were increased tolls but as i recall there were no tax increases or anyone's property value taxes included to maintain this rail system. Better forms of community travel is the safest compared to these local yahoo's who fantasize too many times behind the wheel passing me doing the legal speed limit and then complain about the increase of gas prices. Doh. Or increase the buses to include the surrounding counties of berkeley, dorchester and charleston. Another suggestion is having car pool lanes like in some other states i have traveled cuts down on the already crowded roadways. Oh another couple things, put down that cellphone and DRIVE! You can talk to your girlfriend when you get to your destination. People seem to have too many distractions to decrease your reaction time from some other yuts who couldn't muti-task doing a faster speed than what was legally posted. There is a electrically device that interrupts the cellphone to tower connect and would just love to zap any of those people out there that think their conversation is more important than staying focused on the road or the surrounding traffic view that gets unfocused by their own selfish need and greedy attitude.