Transit Plan Update

The Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) of Huntsville's Shuttle public transit system is moving along, and a draft map of the proposed changes to the system is now available. The final plan will be presented to the City Council in January. Some highlights of the plan include:

• Timed transfers between routes. The consultants performing the COA found that 44% of riders using the system transfer between routes, but the timing of the routes terminating at the Downtown Transit Center made for inconvenient and long transfer wait times of up to an hour. The new routes will meet downtown on the hour to allow for efficient transfers. 
• Increasing frequency on some routes, while decreasing frequency on others. Two routes, University Drive and Southwest Huntsville, will get thirty-minute headways, while the center city Red and Blue Core loops will be pushed back to hourly service.
• Elimination of routes. The Research Park and Tourist routes will be eliminated and absorbed into other existing routes. The Airport Road and Southeast Huntsville routes will be combined into one large loop, allowing for a one-seat ride from the south side to downtown, eliminating the current required transfer at Parkway Place.
• Extension of operation hours. Five routes will have their hours of operation extended up to one hour from the current 6am-6pm run time. 

For those like myself looking for a more gutsy overhaul of the transit system, remember that this COA assumed a revenue-neutral option-- the 2012 transit budget is $4.1 million. It would have been great however to see what the transit system could look like if the annual budget were increased by $1 million, or even $5 million; if fares were increased, or if Madison and Redstone Arsenal contributed to the system in exchange for routes in their areas.

James' COA


Here's some ideas that are completely feasible in the near-term and would increase ridership among "choice riders," who have other means of transportation but choose to take the bus. 

• Restore and enhance Research Park service. Completely eliminating service to Research Park would ignore the 50,000+ workers that are currently employed there. Start small with a frequent Lunch Shuttle between offices and the restaurants on University and Bridge Street, with service running every 15 minutes between 10am and 3pm. When funding is available, construct a Research Park transit hub and encourage companies to use shuttle vans (similar to the airport shuttles hotels use) to ferry their commuting workers between the hub and their workplace. 
• Introduce routes to the Airport, Madison, and the Arsenal. The taxi and rental car companies won't like it, but it's time for a bus route to the Airport. I would propose an express bus between Downtown and the Airport with a long-term parking lot at Research Park. With 63% of Madison's workers commuting to Huntsville* and infrastructure that can't handle a lot more traffic, Madison could use a few bus routes to the Research Park transit hub. And with the help of Redstone Arsenal, two peak-hour express routes-- one from Research Park, another from South Huntsville-- could give commuters an alternative to sitting in traffic at the gates**. When on the Arsenal, passengers could transfer to intra-base circulators or (even better) building-specific shuttle vans. 
• Make Courthouse Square the new Downtown transit hub. I challenge you to walk from the Transit Center on Church Street into the downtown core-- it is difficult, if not impossible. Maybe this will change when Church Street is widened in a few years and sidewalks are added, but even then, the city's transit hub is far from most significant attractions that would be useful for Shuttle riders, such as City Hall and the Courthouse, requiring a transfer for most. The infrastructure is already there-- eliminate some of the "free" parallel parking that causes confusion and delay around the Square and use that space for bus pull-offs, and shelters already exist nearby.
• New Transit Website. I cannot stress this enough-- much like a business, without a visible web presence, no one will know you exist. Currently, the website, http://huntsvilleal.gov/PublicTran/public_trans.php, is three pages deep from the city's home page, and finding most information is another two pages deeper. Start with a new domain name, like hsvshuttle.com. Make bus schedules and system maps easily accessible. And make real-time news and information available to the media and the public by creating Twitter and Facebook pages, and make sure they are constantly updated. 
• Small stuff. Wi-Fi on city buses, especially express routes. LED bus route displays on buses. Visible bus stop signs. More aesthetically-pleasing bus shelters.  

*Source: US Census Bureau

**I know someone is going to cite "security" as the reason why Redstone Arsenal does not currently have bus service, but most military bases near urban areas have transit service. Some examples: Camp Pendleton (Oceanside, CA), Fort Benning (Columbus, GA), and Fort Belvoir (DC metro).

I-565: Twenty Years Later

Twenty years ago this month, Interstate 565 was opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by city and state officials. Planning for the highway began in the 1960s and when completed, the cost of the entire 21-mile highway was around $500 million ($790 million in today's dollars). At around $38M per mile, the highway was a bargain by today's standards; if the same cost-per-mile estimates for the Southern Bypass ($65M) or Birmingham's Northern Beltline ($90M) were applied to 565, the cost may have been well into the billions.

Much of the interstate has served its purpose, carrying 100,000+ cars daily in some spots. It has cut cross-city trip times significantly (ask anyone who has lived in Northeast Huntsville for more than 20 years), and has been credited for making Madison the medium-sized suburban city it is today.  There is one portion, however, that has created headaches for engineers, drivers and planners alike-- the 2.4 mile "urban overpass." Only a few years after it was opened, cracks were found in many of the bridge girders. Whenever snow or ice threatens, the bridge is always the first to close, shutting down the city's major east-west arterial. And unknown to many drivers who use the overpass daily, the bridge has left a scar of underused land right in the middle of the city.

The I-565 Urban Overpass (outlined in light blue) occupies about 140 acres in the heart of the city. (Google Earth)

The overpass is underused volume-wise, especially the stretch between Memorial Parkway and Oakwood Avenue which averages about 45,000 vehicles per day-- less than many segments of University Drive. Also, the interstate's planners didn't think about the finite life span of an overpass-- most last up to fifty years, sometimes less, meaning that sometime in the next thirty years the cost of maintaining the overpass will become too great and we will have to talk about replacing it.

Overpasses as far as the eye can see, over Church St. (Photo credit: James Vandiver)

The officials at the 1991 opening ceremony praised the economic development opportunities that 565 would bring to the area, but when the time comes, replacing part of the highway with a surface or below-grade boulevard could bring substantial development as well. A boulevard would have a substantially smaller footprint than the current overpass structures, opening up valuable land near downtown for greenspace and development. It would also create a less hostile environment for bicyclists and pedestrians, and eliminate the physical divide between North and South Huntsville. Another added perk of eliminating the overpass is a redesign of the Parkway/565 interchange, which is badly needed even today.

Elevated freeway removal has been a growing trend in American cities-- even Birmingham is considering it in their long-term plans with I-20/59 downtown. You may have heard of Boston's "Big Dig" project, though that may not be the best example due to politics, shoddy engineering and massive cost overruns. Here are a couple of less infamous examples:

San Francisco: The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged several elevated freeways in the Bay Area, including the Embarcadero Freeway. The highway was replaced in the 1990s with an at-grade boulevard, a light rail line, and park space along the once-inaccessible waterfront. Here's a link to a video discussing the Embarcadero transformation and the recent removal of another San Francisco highway (the Central Freeway).

Milwaukee: In 2002, the Park East Freeway was demolished, opening up 24 acres of their downtown for redevelopment. Projects include residential (apartments and condos), an Aloft hotel, and the new world headquarters for Manpower. http://city.milwaukee.gov/Projects/ParkEastredevelopment.htm

In a quick search, I found that Syracuse, New Haven, and New Orleans are considering highway removal as well. The Urban Land Institute has a list of current and proposed highway removal projects in the US.

'Cycle Tracks' Coming to Huntsville?

While most of the focus at Huntsville City Hall last Wednesday night was on the budget hearings, I sat in on a Bicycle Advisory Safety Committee (BASC) meeting being held across the plaza. There, representatives of the Planning Department were presenting a bicycle infrastructure concept known as a "cycle track."

Cycle tracks are facilities completely separate from the travel lanes and, unlike your usual 4-foot bike lane is buffered from auto traffic by markers, raised curbs, or in some cases on-street parking. Cycle tracks are a fairly new concept for the United States despite being used in bike-friendly cities elsewhere like Montreal and Copenhagen for decades. New York City has built several of these cycle tracks in recent years with some success. In one especially controversial case in Brooklyn, a one-way street lost a travel lane to a cycle track. Speeding has decreased along the corridor while traffic volume and travel times have remained roughly the same (Source: NYC DOT).

Huntsville plans to place two 6-foot one-way protected cycle tracks on a proposed connector road between Governors Drive (at Harvard) and Lowe Avenue. This would link to Big Spring Park and allow for connections throughout downtown. It would also go through the proposed Councill Court redevelopment. Another route that has been discussed is Holmes Avenue, which would link Downtown and Five Points to Research Park and UAH.

What do you think about this proposal? Where would you like to see cycle tracks in the future? Check out some pictures of model cycle tracks in the links above and below.

Further Reading
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) has created an easy-to-read Urban Bikeway Design Guide with a section about cycle tracks: http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/cycle-tracks/

Bikeshare, The Huntsville Way

In honor of the Downtown Ideas Map, here's an idea I had. Remember, the Downtown Ideas Summit is on July 21st at 6PM at the old Regions building on the Courthouse Square.

If you've been to Washington, DC this year, you may have noticed a lot of people riding on red bikes. More than likely, they're using Capital Bikeshare, DC's answer to a phenomenon that began in Paris and has spread to other cities, including Montreal and London. Nashville launched a pilot bikeshare program last year. B-cycle has "franchised" the system they built in Denver to smaller cities, including Madison, WI; Des Moines, IA; and starting this week, Spartanburg, South Carolina.

So, how would such a scheme work here? I would start with about 10 stations with 8-10 bikes each in Downtown and Five Points-- the slower and narrower streets in these areas create an ideal bicycling environment. See the map below.

My concept for a bikeshare system in Huntsville (click to enlarge). Image: Google Earth/Illustration by James Vandiver

The initial system would primarily be used by Old Town/Five Points commuters, downtown workers going to lunch, and weekend visitors going to the museums or a VBC event. Stations would be within 5 minutes (walking distance, hence the 200m radius) of each other, so if one station is full you could easily access an alternate station. Eventually, the system could expand into the Medical District, Lincoln Mill, and other urban neighborhoods as it moves out of the trial phase and as development/demand/sponsorship warrants. More stations could be installed at the city's colleges and universities, and possibly at trailheads of popular greenways such as Indian Creek and Aldridge Creek.

In addition to monthly and yearly memberships, many bikeshare systems are funded through sponsorships from major corporations, such as advertisers and banks. Regions, you've got all of those green bikes-- ball's in your court.

Ideas for University Drive/72 West

Last week, I talked about the possibility of a new "power center" on 72 West in Madison, anchored by Target and Academy Sports. Whether this happens or not, 72 is already a congested corridor, and any new development will exacerbate the problem. It seems like the simplest solution would be to spend $40 million-- a low estimate-- to six-lane 72 all the way to Athens, right? But if you've read the blog for a while, you'll know that I think the solution to traffic congestion isn't that cut-and-dry.

But if you're just joining us, here's my problem with just widening roads: when a road is built or widened, often costing tens of millions of dollars (as in 72's case), developers see the increased capacity and begin building homes. Nothing wrong with that if done intelligently, but they don't stop building, and a couple of years later, the road is congested yet again. (Don't believe me? Look at Chapman Mountain.) It's back to square one, and more taxpayer money is spent on widening the road yet again. Here are some alternate solutions that, when implemented in tandem with widening the highway, might make it worth the big bucks.

1) Better Land Use Planning

One problem with 72 West is the variation in zoning practices along the corridor, from Madison's "strict" zoning to unincorporated Madison County's complete lack of zoning.

A relatively simple but extreme solution would be to impose a building moratorium along the corridor. But from an economic development standpoint, that probably isn't such a good idea, plus it would more than likely move the sprawl elsewhere rather than stop it. A more sensible solution would be to draw up a uniform land-use plan for the corridor that crosses city/county boundaries. Restrict new "greenfield" development (e.g. new single-family homes on existing farmland) while identifying dense, mixed-use and "grayfield" redevelopment opportunities (parking lots, underutilized shopping centers) along the 72 commercial strip.

Whatever is done, every government entity with a stake in the corridor would have to support it. For example, it would still fail if Madison County approved it, but Limestone County didn't. If we had some sort of regional planning authority in place, this would be a whole lot easier to do.

2) Access Management

Why does every business need to have an entrance off this highway? And when that's not enough, there's crossovers every 1000 feet, filled with drivers trying to U-turn and turn left, creating a hazard for those just passing through.

Here's an idea: how about building a one-way service lane on the each side of 72, allowing access to businesses that won't interfere with through traffic, and eliminating all left turns except at traffic lights. Eliminating all crossovers as well should leave just enough space to create an undivided 6-lane highway, or keep the remaining 4 lanes of auto traffic and add either a landscaped median or a dedicated transit lane.

3) Public Transit

As with the rest of Huntsville, high-frequency transit along University is non-existent. A few Shuttle routes go as far out as the SuperTarget shopping center, but are infrequent and inconvenient for most commuters. The ideal transit option along this corridor would need to be something flexible enough to serve both commuters and shoppers. I believe in this case that would be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT allows the frequency of light rail for about a fifth of the cost along with the flexibility of a bus. Passengers board and exit at a station, much like a rail line. But there's a catch: even with a dedicated lane, BRT is still at the mercy of the traffic light, though they can be synchronized to give priority to the bus. Here's how a hypothetical BRT corridor along University would look (click to enlarge):

A transit center/park-n-ride would be built near the new Madison Hospital/Balch Road, where riders from areas farther out could either park or transfer from a local bus route. From there, they could take one of two routes: a Research Park express route that would run primarily during rush hours, or an all day route that would run to downtown, with stops at most major intersections and shopping centers. Buses would run every 10-15 minutes and would be equipped with Wi-Fi and bike racks.

With the new transit corridor, parking won't be as necessary, allowing for redevelopment of many of the large parking lots that line the highway.

There would also need to be serious pedestrian improvements along the corridor, from the addition of sidewalks along the highway (and connecting them to businesses) to crosswalks at every signalized intersection. Greenways can be built near 72 to allow for bike commuting, especially to Research Park.

September 2010 in Review

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• September 5: 1892 East, which calls itself a "New American Restaurant and Tavern," is opening in the old Sazio's spot in Five Points. This was originally rumored to be where Trappeze Pub of Athens, GA would open a Huntsville location.

• September 7: Ron Sparks unveils his road plan in Huntsville, armed with a list of projects he deems "extremely important," like the Northern Bypass, and pushing back other, "less important" projects like 53 and Winchester. To be fair, Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley's plan isn't any better, as he plans to move forward with unnecessary new interstates such as the infamous "Western Alabama Expressway" through his hometown of Tuscaloosa and a new "East Alabama Corridor." (At least he doesn't mention reviving the Southern Bypass, which Sparks does.) Neither candidate has mentioned trying to obtain federal high-speed rail funding, or amend the state constitution to allow for state funding of public transit.

• September 13: Local grocery chain Star Market will open its fourth area store in November in the former Southern Family Markets store at Weatherly and Bailey Cove.

• September 14: Best Buy Mobile, the electronics store's cell phone chain, will open a store in Parkway Place later this year between Express and Victoria's Secret. This is an actual store, not just a vending machine or kiosk.

• September 15: The construction you see at the old Bruno's on North Parkway is for a haunted attraction, which will open next week.

• September 15: Huntsville International Airport "pleads" the region to use low-fare carrier AirTran or "lose it," citing low load factors for its non-stop flights to Baltimore and Orlando. Having flown on AirTran to BWI several times since their arrival here, the flights weren't filled to the brim, but the majority (60-70%) of the seats were taken. Out of curiosity, I compared seating charts for upcoming flights to Orlando from Huntsville, Knoxville, and Lexington (the latter two also launched AirTran service within the last year), and they were similarly booked; some of the Huntsville flights were even sold out for Fall Break next week. So I didn't think we were losing AirTran service anytime soon, until...

• September 27: Southwest is buying AirTran.This could be great news or terrible news for Huntsville International, depending on how you look at it. The merger could give HSV more low-fare flights to "legacy" cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. However, Southwest, despite having a large market share here already, could take it all away with their BS "too close to Nashville and Birmingham" excuse that has kept them from here thus far (they wouldn't serve four Los Angeles airports if this were actually the case). If Southwest/AirTran does pull out of HSV when the sale is completed, the airport will go back to being the most expensive in the country, as there will be few low-fare carriers left, much less one crazy enough to land at an airport where low-fare carriers go to die. In the meantime, we should pitch HSV as an easily-accessible, stress-free, and expandable airport (something we have over BHM, BNA, and future ATL reliever Chattanooga). How about an ad campaign-- "Want low fares without the drive? Fly AirTran now, get Southwest later." We've been handed a great opportunity to take our airport to the next level. Don't screw this up, Huntsville. 

Downtown Atlanta in 90 Minutes? Get on the Train

The above map is my idea for a regional high-speed railway network-- a hub-and-spoke system focused on Atlanta with lines extending out to most major cities within a 300-400 mile radius, and slower "Regional Express" trains on congested routes between smaller cities. All of these lines have been discussed at some point... except one. Can you guess which one?

Last summer, I suggested a possible alternative for the decades-old Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta "superhighway" fantasy-- construct a high-speed rail line along the proposed route. Replacing the proposed Interstate with rail would be cheaper to build, faster than road travel, and more energy-efficient. Not to mention more enticing to 1) Georgia officials weary of another Interstate feeding into an already congested Atlanta road network, and 2) Mississippi officials who have already built an Interstate-grade highway (Future I-22/Corridor X) no more than 50 miles to the south of the proposed superhighway. 


Why Atlanta? The only direct way to Atlanta today from Huntsville is by air. On a normal weekday, Delta and its operating partners have eleven flights between HSV and ATL each way, with total seating capacity between 700 and 750 passengers, enough to fill 2 TGV Sud-Est trains each way. It can be assumed that many times that number take the four-hour drive to Atlanta daily. While a direct Interstate would get you to downtown in about three hours (without traffic), a high-speed rail link running at 125 mph could get you there in half that time.

Non-stop air travel to Atlanta, booked a week in advance, is about $700 round-trip. A high-speed train trip of similar length and time in Germany is about $100 round-trip. It would cost about half that to drive my 28 mpg car to Atlanta and back, but remember, the trip would take twice as long.
 
The Huntsville rail station would work best in one of two locations-- downtown or the airport. Having the station downtown would put passengers in the middle of the city, similar to many European rail stations. A downtown station would also have plenty of surrounding urban development opportunities. An airport station, however, would be located in the center of the region, eliminating the need for more than one station if adequate mass transit connections are provided, and would provide quick air connections to farther-off destinations. 

How much will it cost, and when will it happen?

The cost of constructing a high-speed rail line varies wildly. A line recently built between Madrid and Barcelona, Spain cost $22 million per mile, or about half the cost of an average Interstate. But the proposed initial segment of the California HSR network will cost $42 billion, or $107 million per mile. Building an Atlanta-Huntsville high speed rail line would require building completely new tracks and would cost significantly more than the Memphis extension, which could use the existing Norfolk Southern line. Then there's possible expenses from outrageous politically-motivated proposals like the "hydrogen-powered Maglev" line planned between Detroit and Lansing, Michigan.

The Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta route warrants more study, of course. But if it's done right, it could become a reality in the next 20-25 years-- about the time the "superhighway" is supposed to be built...

 More info: Popular Mechanics article on high-speed rail

Better Know A Sustainability Plan: Part II

And now, a look at the Transportation aspects of the Huntsville Sustainability Plan, which focused around two major recommendations:

Reduce vehicle emissions. The plan outlines several potential actions to curb automobile pollution:

• Enact Complete Streets initiatives. This idea runs off the theory that streets are for all modes of transportation-- car, bike, pedestrian, and transit-- and accommodations should be made for each of them. Some common implementations of Complete Streets include bike and bus lanes, crosswalks, and road "dieting" (where lanes are taken away instead of added; this was done on Providence Main Street a few years ago). The only obstacle I see to this that most major roads (University, Jordan, the Parkway) are maintained by the state, so any Complete Streets improvements to those roads would have to be approved by ALDOT, who has only now created a statewide bicycle/pedestrian plan and has never been too keen about alternative transportation.
  
• Implementing the CommuteSmart program for carpooling. This has been in place for some time in the rest of Alabama's Big 4 cities, but not in Huntsville. Maybe it's because we already have a RideShare program. Using church parking lots for park-and-rides is a great idea, since they're only fully utilized a couple hours a week.  Madison began doing this a while back, if I recall.
• Building High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV/carpool) lanes on major highways. HOV lanes are effective only in metro areas with chronic congestion, such as Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Huntsville is definitely not on par with these cities when it comes to gridlock, so carpool lanes are neither feasible nor needed in the foreseeable future.

Develop a regional transportation system. In the short-term, this would involve getting state legislative approval to create a "Light Rail Authority" and creating a feasibility plan for Light Rail Transit (LRT), along with planning and building transit hubs, linked together initially by greenways and bus routes, and eventually LRT.

Idea: "Light Rail Authority" sounds silly and very restrictive; a "Regional Transportation Authority" sounds better and is more inclusive of all options. But why is Huntsville so determined to construct the most expensive mass transit option short of building a full-blown Metro (subway)? The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) evaluates new transit projects based on density, demand, "cost effectiveness," among other factors that can make or break a transit system. I can assure you that an LRT system in Huntsville, with our current size and lack of transit support (especially at state level), will not get FTA approval and funding, at least not for the next 10-15 years. However, there are plenty of other, less expensive options, such as commuter rail, streetcar ("light" light rail) and Bus Rapid Transit, that have been proven to work or are being built in other cities our size, so why not look at all of them? I've talked about this before.

What's missing: High Speed Rail. This has become a major transportation issue in the past year, and recently, $8 Billion in grants were given to states that wanted to upgrade their current Amtrak routes to allow trains to travel up to 110 mph. While a true European/Japanese-style high-speed network is years away, the Huntsville-Decatur region should perform feasibility studies for rail connections to Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, and Birmingham as a way to alleviate congestion and reduce travel times. Last year, I talked about a Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta high-speed rail line as a substitute for a proposed interstate that would follow the same route.

Better Know A Sustainability Plan: Part I

Huntsville's sustainability plan is now online and available for public viewing, so today I'll begin the first of a two (maybe three) part series, "Better Know A Sustainability Plan." First, we'll look at the "Built Environment" section; I'll discuss the ideas in the report and give some of my own.

We all know that Huntsville is not an "urban" city. In most areas, we are very "suburban," and the urban area's average density is one of the lowest in the nation. Living on a cul-de-sac 45 minutes from the city isn't very sustainable. But we all can't live in tiny condos in super-urban areas either. We must find a "happy medium" that increases density while preserving and enhancing the quality of life that we enjoy in this region.

The sustainability plan puts forward several recommendations for solving this "density dilemma." Here are some of them: 

Preserve and set aside green space. The cities of Huntsville and Madison, in cooperation of the Land Trust, have done a fairly good job preserving greenspace through land preserves, parks, and greenways. The plan discusses creating buffer zones between urban development and greenspace, and setting aside open space within urban development.

Idea: Let's start preserving greenspace by making part or all of the 1500 acres Huntsville plans to buy in Limestone County into parkland and recreational facilities, instead of developing it into another Research Park, which will only enhance sprawl in an area that doesn't need it.  

Better mixed-use zoning using Smart Growth principles. The plan calls for more walkable live/work/play neighborhoods, which reduce car dependency (such as the need for parking) by placing parks, schools, and everyday commercial (grocery stores, banks, etc.) inside the neighborhood. This, in turn, reduces the cost for more infrastructure, especially roads. Along with walkable suburbs, the plan discusses identifying lots in the city center and surrounding neighborhoods that can be used for "infill" development (surface parking lots, abandoned buildings). The plan also talks about implementing/requiring Smart Growth, a somewhat controversial planning code that encourages walkable neighborhoods with denser housing based on the location of the neighborhood (urban, suburban, rural), among other things. I wrote about it in a post in December, and you can read more about it in The Smart Growth Manual, co-written by renowned planner Andres Duany.

Idea: I would like to see the planning departments in the region to introduce Smart Growth first as an "incentivized alternative"; for example, giving priority approval for large commercial and residential developments that implement relevant Smart Growth practices. Eventually, when most developers and citizens realize that Smart Growth isn't some "far-left social engineering" ploy, it can be adopted as the standard.

It should be noted that Seaside, Florida, designed in part by Duany and the poster child of the New Urbanist/Smart Growth movement, was developed in an area that was originally without zoning regulations. Goes to show if developers got smart, they could take advantage of unincorporated Madison County's lack of zoning and use it for something good, instead of being a good place to put Dollar Generals, fireworks stores, and strip clubs.

Green Building Practices. The sustainability plan recommends giving incentives to developments that are LEED-certified or have some kind of environmentally-friendly feature (green roofs, porous paving in parking lots, etc.).

Minimize impact of parking lots. The plan emphasizes "shared parking" between businesses and accommodating transit and bicyclists.

Idea:  Parking is a necessary evil of any commercial development. But why does it always have to be in front of stores, which discourages walking? Why can't parking be behind a shopping center (with the exception of handicapped spaces)? In the central city, we should continue to expand throughout the General Business C-3 District, the zoning used for the central business district, which has no parking requirements. When the need arises for parking garages in an area, design it to "blend in" to the surrounding district along with street level retail and restaurants, like Parking Garage D, which will begin construction later this year.

Wednesday: Transportation, including "Complete Streets," public transit, and why HOV lanes aren't a good idea for Huntsville.

2035 Plan Tabled... By Madison!?

An interesting blurb in yesterday's Times... the 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan was tabled by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, or more specifically, Mayor Paul Finley of Madison. The mayor said that the MPO needed to schedule a work session and "look at all the layers" of the plan. Finley also said that he needed to "sell" the plan to Madison residents and officials.

Could part of Mayor Finley's concerns be that the centerpiece of the plan, the $550 million "Patriot Parkway", is projected to further augment congestion in his already traffic-choked suburb? Or that the 2035 plan is very Huntsville-centric, with little regard to the needs of the region as a whole? We can only speculate. Kudos to Mayor Finley for asking questions and not blindly accepting the plan, like politicians normally would.

"Patriot Parkway": An Expensive Mistake

I know I've said this before, but it still amazes me that in this city, which was just ranked one of the smartest cities in the world, the majority of us think that the only solution to fix our transportation network is to "build more roads," without any regard to cheaper alternatives such as better land-use planning, congestion management, and the "T-word" (transit). Does this mean that I'm against building any more roads? No, but I am against unnecessary roads that will only augment our growing congestion and pollution problems, such as the much praised Southern Bypass, also known as the "Patriot Parkway."

The "Patriot Parkway" is the embodiment of the Founding Fathers' vision: an 8-lane masterpiece of concrete, asphalt, and steel, plowing through neighborhoods and swamps, that will more than likely be run by a foreign toll road company, such as Australia's Macquarie. And the estimated cost for this American dream? $550 million. That doesn't take into account inflation and increased construction costs that will occur in the 10+ years before the road is built, and the fact that the average 8-lane urban highway now costs anywhere between $40 and $150 million per mile (the $550M estimate assumes $42.3M/mile).

Increasing costs aside, here's what $550 million could do to fix our current road network:
1. Widen Winchester (to Tennessee);
2. Widen 53 (to Tennessee);
3. Widen Zierdt Road (to Triana); and
4. Finish the Parkway (from Tennessee River to Tennessee).

If the money were invested in transit, the same amount could build:
1. A commuter rail line from downtown to Decatur's Beltline (28 miles, a $235 million value)*
2. A 7-mile light rail line, or the distance from downtown to Mountain Gap Road (a $280M value)*
3. A regional bus system, including several express bus routes to connect the rail lines to the Arsenal/MSFC ($300K/diesel or CNG bus; $500K for hybrid).

Either through more roads or transit (or, even better, a mixture of both), these projects would effectively kill any need to build a bypass, and would keep civil engineers and planners busy for many years to come.


So Huntsville, do you want to spend your taxpayer money on a brand-spanking new highway that will only increase congestion and pollution in a city that is within a couple of months of reaching non-attainment? We've got to be smarter than this.

*Estimation made by taking the average of five recent commuter rail projects' costs per mile: New Mexico's RailRunner ($4.3M), Salt Lake City's FrontRunner ($8.37M), Nashville's Music City Star ($1.3M), San Diego's Coaster ($2.21M), and Seattle's Sounder ($26.1M). The LRT estimate is an estimate using two current LRT projects' costs per mile: Norfolk's TheTide ($42M) and Salt Lake City's UTA Mid-Jordan Line ($38M).

Updated Transportation Plan Coming

The Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), updated every five years, literally maps out the transportation needs of the Huntsville Urbanized Area (most of Madison and East Limestone Counties) for the next 25 years. A draft (.pdf file) can be found on the city's website. Hundreds of projects are listed, from pedestrian crossings to eight-lane freeways.

The 13-mile Southern Bypass is still in the plan, despite being rejected earlier this year by the Army because of post-9/11 security issues. The estimated cost of the highway is approximately $550 million, or about $42 million per mile. The irony of the bypass is that it is predicted to increase traffic congestion in many cases, as shown by these maps in the LRTP:

With Southern Bypass:
Without Southern Bypass:

These maps use the V/C (traffic Volume/road Capacity) Ratio to predict future congestion points.

Out of the 109 road projects explicitly listed in the LRTP, only a handful would be beneficial to the region as a whole; the other hundred or so could be avoided with cheaper options, mainly stricter land-use planning, but also expanded transit and ITS (explained below). Here's eight of the more beneficial projects:

1. Winchester Road- widen to 4 lanes to the Tennessee state line. This would provide a safe main route for an area that doesn't currently have one. Estimated Cost: $33 million.
   
2. 72 East- upgrade to expressway standards to Brock Road (Madison County High School). This would minimize the entrances to a highway where people already drive at freeway speeds, plus provide a complete east-west route through Huntsville. Estimated Cost: >$85 million.
   
3. Memorial Parkway- an uninterrupted expressway from Hazel Green to the Tennessee River. This would provide a complete north-south route through the city. Estimated Cost: >$400 million.
   
4. Improvements to either Wall-Triana Highway or Zierdt Road. This project would provide a main route for SW Madison County. If either of these roads were extended a little further to include a (tolled?) bridge over the Tennessee River, it could also be used as a cheaper alternative to Southern Bypass. Estimated Cost: ~$20 million for either, excluding bridge.
   
5. Widen/extend I-565 between Wall-Triana and Decatur. Anyone who has driven this during rush hour knows why this needs to be done. Estimated Cost: $34 million to widen to 65.
   
6. 72 West- restrict entrances, widen to 6 lanes to Athens. Estimated Cost: $30 million to Mooresville Road.
   
7. AL 53- widen to 4 lanes to Ardmore. Provides a main route for NW Madison County and points north. Estimated Cost: $100 million
   
8. AL 255- extend expressway to North Parkway, eventually to Winchester and 72, with interchanges at AL53, Pulaski, Mt. Lebanon, and the Parkway. This could eventually provide an alternate route to I-565/72 East in case of construction, weather, or traffic. Estimated Cost: $85 million for 4-lane service roads.
   

But enough about roads. Here's what the plan says about other forms of transportation:

Transit

The LRTP assumes that the Shuttle will remain a Huntsville-only entity, providing no regional bus service. It calls for new bus routes to the Airport, Arsenal/MSFC, and Blossomwood, along with extended service hours and shorter turnarounds (time between buses), plus more paratransit service for the aging population. And that's about it.

So according to this plan, in 2035, Huntsville's metro will be approaching a million people, but there'll only be 16 bus routes that might run on nights and weekends and not outside the city limits. Where is the imagination that thought of the 109 "necessary" road projects, where money was obviously not an obstacle in planning them? Surely we could do the same in transit planning.

There is a glimmer of hope for a more comprehensive transit plan, as the LRTP states that a "Huntsville Public Transportation Study" will be performed "sometime in the future." Problem is, there's no way of telling when this will happen (as this was also stated in the 2005 LRTP) or if it will be a regional effort.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Say you're creeping along on 565 and you're thinking to yourself, "Wouldn't it be great to know why I'm going 25 on the Interstate?" Sure, you could unplug your iPod and turn on the radio, but who wants to believe a guy named "Captain" or "Commander" broadcasting from the "Hardee's Traffic Center" in Birmingham? In most cities, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) allow motorists to get more accurate traffic info from several sources.

What is ITS? It's a complex network of traffic cameras, dynamic message signs (DMS), speed meters, etc., that are connected to a central Traffic Management Center (TMC). From there, the people who monitor the system can notify emergency workers and drivers of accidents, construction, and weather hazards through DMS, websites, radio, and the "511" travel information hotline (available in many states, but not Alabama).

ITS networks have been constructed in Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. So, what about Huntsville? Back in 2005, the city of Huntsville sponsored a comprehensive study of possible ITS components and their usefulness. It called for the installation of up to 60 cameras, 11 DMS signs, and a traffic website-- all before 2008. Furthermore, it discussed launching a 511 system for the region before 2015, plus coordination/tracking systems for public transit and a way to remotely shut down the 565 "urban overpass" in case of emergency or weather. The cost for the entire plan was estimated to be between $40 and $65 million, or the cost of building about a mile of the Southern Bypass.

In 2006, Huntsville launched its new traffic website with a camera installed at the intersection of Governors and Monroe; others were installed at University and Jordan, and most recently at Moores Mill and 72. But it seems that for most of the time, the cameras are down for "maintenance." Plus, having only three cameras city-wide doesn't provide you (or other interested parties, such as emergency workers) with reliable traffic information.

The LRTP calls for the ITS plan to be fully implemented, pending funding of course.

Greenways/Pedestrian Access

Greenways are a bright spot in Huntsville's otherwise dismal and vacant selection of alternative transportation options. Huntsville currently has six greenways partially completed, with three more under construction: the Indian Creek Greenway on the west side near Providence, and two portions of what is to become the Flint River Greenway in Hampton Cove. Madison is about to begin construction on the Bradford Creek Greenway. "Share the Road" signs have been posted throughout the city in the past year as part of an ongoing campaign to educate the public about bike safety.

About 120 miles of bike routes, greenways, and trails are proposed in a 2006 plan. The LRTP supports this plan, along with an expansion of designated bike routes throughout the county and the inclusion of wide shoulders/bike lanes in new road construction. (Why can't we be this ambitious on transit planning?)

The LRTP also puts a great emphasis on pedestrian walkability. About 100 small projects, from building crosswalks to narrowing streets, are listed.

Passenger Rail

The LRTP summarizes the current nationwide High-Speed Rail Network promoted by the Obama administration earlier this year. No passenger rail has been proposed for Huntsville, and though service has been discussed in the past to Nashville and Birmingham, it has all been clearly theoretical. The closest seriously-proposed lines are a New Orleans-Birmingham-Atlanta line, discussed further in the LRTP, and a Maglev route between the Chattanooga and Atlanta airports.

In conclusion, this transportation plan continues to be politically-motivated, and will only create more unsustainable sprawl (what our political leaders call "growth"). That's why I think the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the government entity that approves the plan, should be separated from the city of Huntsville, with its own full-time planning staff dedicated to regional, comprehensive land-use and transportation planning.

Passenger Rail Coming to Huntsville?

There was an interesting article in Sunday's Montgomery Advertiser. It seems there is some interest in bringing intercity passenger rail service back to several Alabama cities. Since Katrina, Amtrak has run only one route, the Crescent, through the state, stopping at stations in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Anniston on the way between New Orleans and New York. Amtrak has shown interest in bringing back service between Mobile and Birmingham, a route that ran as the Gulf Breeze between 1989 and 1995. It would be part of a plan to increase Amtrak service in the Southeast region, which the rail company believes is "underserved."

According to the Advertiser, a state passenger rail plan is being developed using stimulus funds by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). In most states, the state DOT performs this study, but ALDOT legally can't do it, as seen with a proposed regional feasibility study of a high-speed rail line between Atlanta and New Orleans. Thank your state Constitution of 1901 for that bit of ignorance.

So, what would this mean for Huntsville? According to Huntsville's long-term transportation plan, there have been preliminary studies on introducing a Huntsville-Birmingham passenger rail service. But they were done back when Amtrak wasn't doing too great financially, and wasn't looking to expand service. Maybe now they would be more eager to start such a route. A north-south passenger rail service through the state could also be extended to Nashville, another city that currently lacks Amtrak service.

And here's another idea-- you know that "Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta highway" pipe dream that's never going to get built? How about looking into an electrified high-speed freight/passenger rail line between the three cities? It would be cheaper, more fuel-efficient, and faster than a highway. Think about it: right now, it takes about 4 hours to (legally) get from Huntsville to Atlanta via highway. A direct highway would get you there in about 2 1/2, if you don't get stuck in traffic. A high-speed rail line, even with a low average speed of 85 mph, could make the trip in less than 2 hours-- and no traffic.

Finally, a little bit of trivia: the last time there was regular passenger rail service to Huntsville was in 1968. However, an Amtrak service called the Floridian stopped in Decatur until 1979.

More info:
Southern High Speed Rail Commission
Federal Railroad Administration: Passenger Rail

Light Rail Transit: A Feasible Option?

See? I told you it was time to talk transit. In this morning's Times, a developer discussed his idea for a light rail transit (LRT) system in Huntsville. His idea is to have a line from the airport to Research Park, eventually being extended as an elevated line over 565 to UAH and Downtown; another line from Research Park through the Arsenal to a Martin Road park-and-ride; and yet another line from Downtown to Martin Road.Now, hold up there. While I hate being skeptical on such an interesting proposal, LRT shouldn't be the first thing we should be looking into. It would be like building a house without a foundation. LRT is expensive compared to buses and commuter rail (but less expensive than building a highway), so a tax increase of some sort will be involved. Alabamians don't like taxes anyway; why would we give more to government so they can spend it on something that hasn't been proven to work here?

I'm also afraid that this proposal won't work in its current form, because it has the classic problem of Huntsville's transit system-- It doesn't go where people need to go. Say you drive over Chapman Mountain, one of the most congested stretches of road in Huntsville, every day to get to work in Research Park. Would it help your commute any if you still had to drive over the mountain to get to the Downtown Station park-and-ride (assuming there would be one in this plan) to complete the 5-10 minutes left in your trip?

First, we need to prove that well-designed, efficient public transit can work in Huntsville using less expensive options, such as bus (local, express, and rapid) and commuter rail, possibly a test line using existing track and diesel multiple units (DMUs, seen on the Sprinter line in San Diego County, CA) between Decatur and Downtown Huntsville. And only then, after we have a successful regional transit system in place, should we talk about LRT. (I like the idea that's been thrown around of a north-south line through Huntsville using mostly-existing rail rights-of-way.)

But like I've said, before anything is implemented, there needs to be a plan. And any transit plan needs to include the whole region. This "Huntsville-only" and "Madison County-only" mentality isn't going to work anymore. Mayor Battle's got the right idea (from the Times):

"Battle pointed out that Redstone Arsenal's employees are coming here from 13 counties, and that local and area rail or other public transport would be welcome. 'We need to go to a regional transportation mode,' he said..."

Now, of course it's not possible to have a rail system extending to every "bedroom community" of Huntsville. That's where a regional bus system comes in. Local buses would connect surrounding neighborhoods to transit centers, while express buses would provide non-stop service from park-and-rides in outlying areas like Meridianville, Arab, Athens, etc. to transit centers in major employment areas like Downtown, Research Park, etc.

For further reference, Huntsville's going to need to look at what other cities have done. Here are some we should look at:

• Trimet (Portland, Oregon)- considered one of the best, most comprehensive transit systems in the country. An expansive light rail/commuter rail system complemented with a large bus system, and strict metro-wide planning controls that make transit more inviting. For more info on some of the measures Portland took to make itself transit-friendly, check out this recent interview of Trimet general manager Fred Hansen on Canadian public television.
  
• Sprinter (Oceanside, California)- a commuter rail line in a city only a bit larger than Huntsville. This is the transit system we should look into if we ever start a commuter rail service to Decatur.
  
• So, you think that public transit only works in so-called dense, "liberal" cities? DART (Dallas) and UTA TRAX (Salt Lake City)-- These newer systems are proof that mass transit can work in sprawled, conservative cities. They each have aggressive expansion plans, and their ridership numbers are comparable, and sometimes larger than, cities with established mass transit.
  
• Metro (Washington, DC)- No, I'm not saying we need to build a subway system, but this system has good examples of two things Huntsville needs more of-- multi-level (city, county, state) cooperation, and their website looks cool, is easily accessible, and frequently updated.

I have no doubt that light rail (or any kind of mass transit) will be successful in Huntsville-- but only after its planned to meet the needs of the region as a whole, not just the Arsenal or a select few in West Huntsville.

Huntsville International: A Tale of Two Airports

This is the third in a series about transportation in the Huntsville area.

A little disclaimer here: I don't fly. Not that I have anything against it, I just like seeing the country from the ground, rather than 30,000 feet above it. But on the rare occasion that I do, I fly out of Nashville, which I'm sure many of you do as well. More on that later.
Huntsville International (HSV) is truly a tale of two airports- a cargo airport and a passenger airport. The cargo side of the airport is the pinnacle of our area's infrastructure, a product of visionary leadership. It's the largest airport in terms of cargo volume in the state of Alabama. It has the second-longest runway (nearly 2 miles long) in the Southeast, making it long enough to carry the world's largest airplanes. It is because of this that we have a true "international" airport, with cargo flights to Europe, Mexico, and Asia.

But the passenger side of the airport is plagued by several problems, despite having 1.25 million passsengers last year, a clean/modern/efficient terminal, and an aggressive expansion plan which includes new runways and terminals to the west of the airport in Limestone County (This is in addition to the $65 million expansion project that is well underway).

• Outside of the "legacy" hubs-- Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Detroit-- and government hub Washington-- the airport can't seem to keep its destinations. Delta started non-stop service to New York-LaGuardia last spring, and ended it in September due to high gas prices. In the past few years, service has also been dropped to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Newark, and Las Vegas.
  
• HSV has problems with keeping/getting a low-fare carrier; therefore, it is more expensive to fly out of HSV than other airports in the region. However, it is not the airport's fault; they're just not lucky-- Independence Air went bankrupt in 2006, and Allegiant pulled out of the market because of bad service in 2008. Southwest, the original low-fare carrier, has around 25% of the market share, but refuses to serve Huntsville directly because of the proximity to Birmingham and Nashville, two cities Southwest already serves. (And yet, it serves four airports within 50 miles of each other in the Los Angeles area.)
  
• Access to larger, cheaper airports is easy. Birmingham and Nashville are two hours away, and Atlanta, one of the largest airports in the world, is four hours. And, as you see with Southwest's large market share here, people use it to their advantage.
  

So, what can be done? Well, there's a relatively simple solution....

GET AIRTRAN! Do whatever it takes to get AirTran, or any low-fare carrier for that matter. But AirTran is a match made in heaven for HSV. And here's why-- look at the top final destinations (excluding top-ranked by far Atlanta) for HSV travelers in 2008:

1. Washington, DC (National)
2. Orlando
3. Los Angeles (LAX)
4. Dallas-Fort Worth
5. Baltimore (BWI)
6. Houston (Bush Intercontinental)
7. New York-La Guardia
8. Las Vegas
9. Denver
10. Boston (Logan)
    

Out of these ten destinations, HSV does not currently have non-stop service to Orlando, LAX, BWI, LaGuardia, Las Vegas, and Boston. And AirTran's hubs/focus cities (according to Wikipedia) are: Atlanta, Orlando, BWI, Boston, and Milwaukee. Could it be any more obvious? Don't blame it on the economy, or that "we're too small"-- Knoxville and Asheville, both smaller airports, are getting AirTran next month. Also, the old Southwest excuse for not coming to HSV doesn't apply here, as AirTran does not serve Nashville or Birmingham. Plus, our "close, but not too close" proximity to Atlanta, AirTran's largest hub, could put us in a good position to become an overflow/secondary hub.

So, let's get AirTran to begin non-stop flights from HSV to Atlanta, Orlando, BWI, and Boston. Then we'll have 7 of those top 10 destinations. As for the other destinations on that list, get Delta to restart its New York flights now that gas prices are back down, get American or United to fly to LAX (that is, admittedly, a long shot), and forget about Las Vegas (HSV's a business airport). Another good destination to think about with plenty of international connections is Philadelphia; that's something US Airways could do. That would give HSV non-stop flights to every major East Coast city except Miami.

If AirTran is successful here (it should be), maybe HSV will undergo a transformation like what happened with Akron-Canton Airport in Ohio, an airport that had less than 500,000 passengers go through in 1995. After AirTran came to the airport, its growth exploded; in 2008, 1.47 million passengers went through the airport. It is now advertised as an affordable alternative to busier Cleveland International, 50 miles away. While it's unlikely such a growth rate will happen here, having a stable low-fare carrier will lower fares and keep people from driving to the other airports in the region.

All things considered, the airport's issues are much less dire than the needs of the rest of Huntsville's transportation system, and the solutions are much simpler.

It's time to talk transit.

This is the second post in a series about transportation in the Huntsville area.

I've heard nothing but good things about "Roads That Won't Be Built," so expect more road posts in the future. And hopefully we haven't seen the last of those old maps. But now, I'm going to discuss another part of transportation which I believe has not been discussed enough in this area.

Every once in a while, there's a newspaper article about how this region's road system is nearing capacity. Some roads are already well over capacity. So, what's the solution? "More roads! Wider roads!" say our government leaders. Which has somewhat worked... until now.

Don't get me wrong; I agree that roads such as 53, Winchester, and 72 need to be widened. Those highways are vital for commerce in the region. But every city comes to a point where more roads aren't going to solve all their transportation problems. For Huntsville, this point is coming quickly. Our population is growing, but there is less road money to go around. ALDOT seems ignorant to our need for better infrastructure, and the federal highway fund is on life support.

For some cities, like Atlanta, leaders didn't realize it until it was too late; now they're stuck with 12-14 lane freeways that are well over capacity-- one is now planned to be widened to 23 lanes. Another problem with Atlanta is that their region's governments were fragmented. Now, some smaller but growing cities like Nashville and Charlotte have learned from Atlanta's problems, brought themselves together, and invested heavily in alternate forms of transportation-- building bike paths, creating walkable urban neighborhoods, and improving public transit. (To Atlanta's credit, they have done these things as well in the past few years, though this is seen by some as "too little, too late.")

Huntsville has been a leader in creating bike paths and greenways, and there are plans for at least 130 miles of them in the future. We're working on walkable urban neighborhoods. But those only go so far; if you live in Athens, you can't walk or bike to work in Research Park. You could, but you run the risk of being run over by some soccer mom in a Yukon. But what about increased public transit?

Well, let's put it this way: the recently released Tennessee Valley Regional Growth Coordination Plan explicitly stated 89 "priority" road projects in the Primary Study Area (PSA) of Madison, Morgan, and Limestone counties totaling $3.5 billion. While the plan was supposed to include all forms of transportation, this is all it said about the future of transit in the area:

"Increased attention should be paid to improving public transportation in the PSA with particular emphasis on providing effective home-to-work linkages for major employment centers such as Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park and the Jetplex Industrial Park. This will require more funding for public transportation equipment and services; the cost is unknown at this time."

It went on to talk about the current transit services available in the area, which include the Shuttle/Handi-Ride in Huntsville, TRAM paratransit in Madison County, and MCATS demand-response service in Morgan County. Later on in the report, community leaders from 12 counties in North Alabama and Southern Tennessee were asked to pick their top 15 priorities for the future of the region from a list of 45, one of them being a better transit system. And guess what-- not one of them (we're talking about at least 100 people here) thought transit was a top priority.

And considering the current state of transit in this region, I don't blame them. Only 1,500 riders use the Shuttle daily, or about 0.009% of the population of the city. I challenge you to find a public bus system in a similar-sized city that has less ridership than Huntsville's; I haven't found one yet. This is of no fault to the people who run the Shuttle; I'm sure they're doing the best they can with the little resources they have; by the way, it's an amazing feat that they've kept bus fares at $1. And I think they're spending the stimulus money they received wisely, regardless of views on the stimulus package as a whole.

So, why doesn't it work here?

• There's little funding. The Huntsville Shuttle Bus, the only fixed-route bus system in the area, is funded solely from city and federal funds; none is truly dedicated and could go away at any time. There is no state funding for public transit-- you can thank our state constitution for that. And don't expect that to change anytime soon either; ALDOT maintains the view that "there is no place in Alabama" for transit. This lack of funding and its sources are the main causes for the other problems.
  
• It wasn't planned right. There is no real plan for fixed-route commuter transit in the region. Even within Huntsville, it's not commuter friendly-- note that there is only one route in Research Park West; it's not very visible and only goes to UAH, not downtown.
• Its extent/hours are limited. The Shuttle is run by the city of Huntsville, meaning that there can't be routes to, say, Madison or Decatur. Plus, there is little to no bus service on weekends or after 6pm, stranding many of those who need public transportation the most.
  

We could go on ignoring the need for transit, but there's a problem if we continue to do that.

Imagine Huntsville thirty years from now, in 2039. The metro population has just hit one million. It's a sprawling metropolis; cities like Fayetteville and Arab look like Madison today. The average commuting time has tripled; as a result, Huntsville is no longer one of the best places to live. Quality of life has taken a drastic hit as residents spend over two hours a day stuck on a road system that has barely changed in 30 years, leaving them little time to do anything else. In fact, the only list we're on is "America's Worst Traffic." Huntsville's become a miniature Atlanta-- but even that city now has better traffic.

Only then do we think about a transit system, but public/political pressure makes planners hastily design it without enough thought/public input. It takes years to get through government red tape and funding issues, and when it's finally introduced after millions of taxpayer dollars are spent, it's a "bus to nowhere"; few ride it because it still doesn't go where they need to go...

Definitely a worst-case scenario. The only thing I wasn't exaggerating about was the population projection. It's not a good idea to have a million-plus metro and no public transit. It's also not a good idea not to plan for transit after we really need it. Huntsville's growing, but our traffic problems aren't of epic proportions yet; so now's the perfect time to do something about it!

Here's what we can do today, without too much money being spent:

1. Create a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), an appointed/elected transit board with representatives from cities and counties in Madison, Limestone, and Morgan Counties (eventually expanding to Marshall, Lincoln, and Jackson). Give it a catchy name, something like the "Valley Regional Transit Authority" (VRTA). The RTA would oversee operations like fixed-route bus service, paratransit (Handi-Ride), RideShare/Park-and-rides, etc. within the region. Need an example? Take a look at Chattanooga's RTA, CARTA. A website like theirs might help too.
   
2. Make a plan. The key to success for an efficient, well-run transit system in the Huntsville-Decatur region is comprehensive short- and long-range transit plans. Like the Long-Range Transportation Plan is to roads in the area, these would be a "road map," so to speak, for transit projects over the next 5 and 30 years, created by the RTA with lots of public input from throughout the region. Find out where people go frequently; for example, if a lot of people commute from the Winchester Road corridor to downtown, plan accordingly. The plans would include the feasibility of increased bus service and commuter rail, among other options.
   
3. Start over. Using the plan, begin a "reboot" of the transit system. Drop all of the old routes, use the money to add new, more efficient ones, and as demand permits, begin looking into rush-hour express bus service between Decatur, Athens, and elsewhere to major employment areas like Research Park.

I tried to not be too specific, as this is only to serve as a foundation. I'm sure if you've read this far, you have your own ideas for where a Huntsville-area transit system needs to go.

Huntsville's Bypass Network, and Other Roads That Won't Be Built

This is the first in a couple of posts about transportation in the Huntsville area.

I went back and forth on whether or not to write a post on this; I didn't want to talk about stuff everyone already knows about. Well, like it or not, here it is...

As you probably know by now, the $500 million Southern Bypass portion through Redstone Arsenal has been blocked by the US Army due to future security issues. So, what now? First, a little background...

The Huntsville bypass "network", seen in this edited Chamber of Commerce map, will be an odd series of roads wrapping around the city, carrying such unique names as Northern Bypass, Southern Bypass, and Eastern Bypass (the western bypass is better known as Research Park Blvd.). The total length, if it still included the now-defunct Southern Bypass portion through Redstone Arsenal, would be about 55 miles when completed. Some of it, about 12 miles, is already at least 4 lanes with at-grade intersections.

A timeline:

• 1965: The road we now know as Research Park Boulevard/AL 255 (or if you've lived here for a while, Rideout Road) began construction, over the next 20 years becomes freeway-standard from I-565 (then AL 20) to University Drive/US 72. Total length: ~3 miles.
  
• 1995: The second phase of 255, from University to AL 53, opens. Total length: ~6 miles.
• 2005: The third phase opens from AL53 to Pulaski Pike. This portion is called Martin Luther King Blvd. Total length: ~9 miles.
• 2012-ish: The road is now 4-laned to Memorial Parkway, and freeway-standard to AL 53.
• Sometime before 2030: The Northern Bypass will be completed to US 72 East, near Gurley, connecting to the Eastern Bypass currently around Hampton Cove. Hopefully some portion of the Southern Bypass will be built, at least the part from Parkway to New Hope/US 431. Total length: ~45 miles.

Now, of course, take the future stuff with a grain of salt. These roads have been on maps since the early 80s, as seen on these maps:

This first photo is from a 1982 (pre-565) map of Huntsville. Note that the route goes through several Northwest Huntsville neighborhoods. This obviously met a lot of opposition; and I wouldn't blame the residents one bit on this one.

The proposed route at this time continued east, and would have plowed through the Moores Mill/Winchester intersection, several neighborhoods on Shields Road, and hit 72 around Ryland Pike.

The next map (from 1991-ish, post-565) is obviously more aligned with the current plans to parallel Bob Wade Lane to the Parkway. By this time, the eastern portion was changed to parallel Homer Nance Road. Growth in the area forced the MPO to amend the 2030 Transportation Plan and put it closer to Maysville and Gurley.

Back to the Southern Bypass: If you can't build a Southern Bypass through Redstone Arsenal, the only feasible option is to go farther south, into Morgan County. If you live in South Huntsville, you may already use AL 36 as an alternate route to get onto 65 South towards Birmingham. Why not make it a 4-lane divided highway from I-65 to US 231? Interchanges could be built at AL 67, US 231, and a new 4-lane road that will connect to a 5-lane Zierdt Road (or Wall-Triana Hwy) in Triana, using a new bridge over the Tennessee River. This could solve a couple of current and future infrastructure issues-- East Morgan County needs a major east-west highway, and an alternate truck route to the Port of Huntsville may be needed as traffic continues to grow on I-565. It will be much less expensive than the original Southern Bypass, as none of this would be a full-blown freeway, and the right-of-way needed is mostly rural farmland. The only obstacles with this option would be getting federal approval to go through a portion of the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, and it would be put at the bottom of ALDOT's barrel, putting the project back at square one and decades behind.

And while we're talking about things that will never get built, let's talk about the Memphis-to-Atlanta Highway. This thing's been on the drawing boards for forever. I don't think it's necessary, at least not in its current form:

1. The Mississippi portion is unneccessary, period; it is too rural and too close to I-22, which is already built in that area and serves the same purpose.
2. There is also no need for an all-new interstate between Decatur and Florence. Alternate 72 from Muscle Shoals to Decatur can be upgraded to be fairly limited-access, with interchanges only at the largest intersections, at a much cheaper price.
3. Is it really necessary to build the highway so far north of Decatur (see ALDOT stimulus map below), and have it parallel 565 through rural Limestone County? Why not build it as close to the river as the NWR allows, and connect it with an expanded 31/20 interchange?

The only part of the currently-planned highway that might be necessary is the portion from South Parkway onward to Georgia and I-75. This would almost cut in half the time it takes to get from Huntsville to Atlanta. But there are two things to consider: Is there enough of a demand for travel between the two cities? And will the high cost of building the road be offset by this demand and the subsequent economic development?

One of the points made in the Tennessee Valley Regional Growth Coordination Plan is that many people coming to the area for BRAC are coming from regions where passenger rail is more frequent, and the lack of it in this region might be seen as a "disadvantage." Atlanta is being looked at as a hub for high-speed rail in the Southeast, with several lines planned to places like Chattanooga and Birmingham. Could an Atlanta-to-Huntsville high-speed rail line be looked at as a cheaper (and faster) alternative to building a freeway?

Next in this short series: Alternate transportation, including what the region can do with its miniscule public transit system.