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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Debating light rail? Think long term

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Does Clark County need light rail? That’s one of the most crucial questions in our community. Often, though, the debate deteriorates into a shouting match and everyone gets so wound up that we never get to the second question, which is almost as important as the first: Will our grandchildren need light rail?

Many local residents don’t want to look beyond the here and now when it comes to light rail. They’re not much interested in what happens elsewhere, or what our grandchildren might need 50 years from now. Blinders on and heads down, they’ve got their minds made up. But for those of you who haven’t already turned this page in disgust, here’s some information — good and bad — about light rail in other communities, plus a couple of links to valuable online sources that both support and criticize light rail.

Seattle — Last month, Sound Transit extended its six-month-old light-rail line two miles to Sea-Tac, establishing a 16-mile link from downtown to the airport. The negative news pertains to ridership, which at 14,639 riders per weekday is 31.3 percent lower than projected. This prompted Michael Ennis, director of the Washington Policy Center’s transportation research, to declare: “Sound Transit officials failed to deliver their promised ridership projections” of 21,000 riders per weekday. Oh, my! That sounds pretty bad, right?

Perhaps, but we who understand the difference between a projection and a promise are able to discern the positive news: 14,000 riders per day is a large load of people, and there’s ample reason to believe that number will increase, especially as Seattle’s grandchildren grow up. But please, don’t take that as a promise; it’s only my guess. For all I know, those light-rail cars might be rolling along cobwebbed and empty in a few years.

Phoenix — Such has not been the case in Phoenix, however. The 20-mile Metro line opened in December 2008 with many nagging doubts. Arizonans love their cars, and folks weren’t sure if the light-rail cars could hold up in the Phoenix heat. Indeed, there were several first-year problems, The Mercury News reported recently. But by the end of 2009, ridership was averaging about 40,000 riders per weekday, far above the projected 26,000. And now there’s talk of expanding the Phoenix light-rail system from 20 to 57 miles. Grandchildren are applauding among the cactus!

Even Texans ride light rail

Dallas — The 11-mile DART light-rail line opened in 1996 with about 18,000 daily riders. By the end of 2007, ridership had more than tripled to 65,000. And now, according to The Dallas Morning News, officials are arguing about whether a second downtown line (scheduled for 2016) should run by the convention center hotel and an underground station at City Hall. Golly, grandchildren are giddy in Big D!

Salt Lake City — When the 11-mile TRAX line opened in 1999, the weekday ridership average of 19,000 far exceeded the projected 14,000. And on Saturdays, it was 25,000. According to the Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE), Salt Lake City’s light rail opened a year ahead of schedule and $23 million under budget. CFTE also reports: “Sacramento’s system came in on budget and three months early. St. Louis’ system came in on budget and four months early.” Please, grandkids, hold down the noise!

Portland — Closer to home, CFTE notes: “When Portland’s (westside) MAX system opened in 1998, critics argued the 2005 ridership projections were overly optimistic. MAX surpassed its 2005 projections by its second year (2000), carrying 71,000 riders per day.”

CFTE offers a vast array of research and statistics in support of light rail. See for yourself at http://www.cfte.org. One of the best pages on this Web site is “Responding to Critics.”

WPC’s Ennis is among the most informed researchers of light rail, and his efforts reveal many of the warts and worries about light rail. His work can be found at http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/Centers/transportation/…/08_Ennis_LightRail.pdf.

Finally, I recommend a third source that — although lacking the expertise that these researchers offer — might be more fun to consult. Ask your grandkids about light rail!

John Laird is The Columbian’s editorial page editor. His column of personal opinion appears each Sunday. Reach him at john.laird@columbian.com.

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