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Everyone in NYC or Chicago can agree the subway and L there is a good thing, because they're dense.
But what about in sprawling, suburban areas and lower density metros? For example, light rail in Austin, Orange County California, Phoenix, DFW, Atlanta, Nashville?
Would you say that in these cities, the conservatives strongly oppose public rail transit while progressives support it?
I'd say that support for public rail transit strongly falls on a left right divide. It's almost always the Republicans who oppose said rail transit and almost always the Democrats who support the project. It's almost always the Republicans and some conservative independents and Libertarians who are the NIMBYs.
As for Phoenix, Mesa is one of the most conservative suburbs in America yet has a light rail line running through its downtown. The suburb probably most opposed to light rail is Scottsdale, which is only moderately conservative.
As for Phoenix, Mesa is one of the most conservative suburbs in America yet has a light rail line running through its downtown. The suburb probably most opposed to light rail is Scottsdale, which is only moderately conservative.
Couldn't find voting patterns at city level, but given Scottsdale is whiter and wealthier than Mesa, highly doubtful that Scottsdale is less conservative than Mesa.
I don't disagree that "liberal" Georgetown has NIMBYs against transit (Metro/streetcar); however, the primary reason Metro wasn't built in Georgetown was for engineering/cost reasons. The benefit-cost just wasn't worth it.
Same could be said about many places in the Bay Area. It's not that the NIMBYISm in Marin County is stopping BART expansion, it's the fact that Marin County is so low in population density compared to the rest of.the Bay Area that it simply makes no sense to build a BART line to Marin County.
And try building heavy rail to the craggy coast of Sausalito and Tiburon...Very difficult, to say the least.
I mean, our Republican governor has pushed forward both a Commuter Rail expansion (South Coast Rail) and a light rail expansion (Green Line Extension). He's committed over $6 Billion to those projects and has been very open in his support of them. That's at the high level. Here's a local Republican rep (Steve Howitt) celebrating the groundbreaking of a rail project. Here's another supporting South Coast Rail. There are plenty of similar examples from across the region.
But locally, I see tons of bipartisan support for these projects in the communities that are benefited by them. You see it at meetings fairly regularly. There's very little opposition to these projects from the communities and neighborhoods that will benefit from them because the local benefits and issues outweigh national party politics. On the flip side, I've seen liberal retirees come out in opposition of rail lines because a station is close to their home, it doesn't benefit them, and it will "bring undesirables and be loud."
But nationally and even at a state level, I agree there's a divide. Conservatives generally pan rail projects as being wasteful spending if it's somewhere that doesn't benefit them directly.
You're talking about rail projects in Greater Boston, which is a legacy city centered around a dense, old city proper. Like I said, in metros centered around legacy cities, you have bipartisan support. That's very different fr rail projects in a sprawly Sunbelt city like San Diego, where conservatives are definitely more opposed to light rail than the liberals are.
The liberal/conservative divide on light rail is not based in reality, though it has a lot to do with long range urban planning. If you put a light rail stop in a relatively undeveloped or depressed area, the developers will move in and complete the project. Provide a commercial zone for shops and stores, provide high density residential zones or a mix of first floor commercial, 2nd and 3rd floor residential, link in a short haul bus service, and you have the beginnings of an urban neighborhood that will grow into a walkable urban village. The characteristics of the best neighborhoods are not a mystery. Set up the infrastructure and market forces will build it out.
This is a very typical result of light rail installations. Areas near a light rail stop are more desirable, and bring higher prices. It may take 20 years to develop, but past the original transit seed, no more public funds are required. There is certainly opposition to long range urban planning, but as cities and highways become more congested, most areas are realizing that allowing unplanned development is a mistake.
The liberal/conservative divide on light rail is not based in reality, though it has a lot to do with long range urban planning. If you put a light rail stop in a relatively undeveloped or depressed area, the developers will move in and complete the project. Provide a commercial zone for shops and stores, provide high density residential zones or a mix of first floor commercial, 2nd and 3rd floor residential, link in a short haul bus service, and you have the beginnings of an urban neighborhood that will grow into a walkable urban village. The characteristics of the best neighborhoods are not a mystery. Set up the infrastructure and market forces will build it out.
This is a very typical result of light rail installations. Areas near a light rail stop are more desirable, and bring higher prices. It may take 20 years to develop, but past the original transit seed, no more public funds are required. There is certainly opposition to long range urban planning, but as cities and highways become more congested, most areas are realizing that allowing unplanned development is a mistake.
That is very true. Although some agencies have the attitude that mass transit is a charity for those who can't afford to, or are afraid, to drive; that attitude only gets you buses, usually junky (junkie?) ones at that. Those who see that rail transit attracts investment are usually vindicated when development follows. It can be light rail or commuter rail, either one attracts a higher class of rider. Marin County CA was mentioned. Obviously a BART extension, with its higher cost per km, wouldn't work. So they built a commuter rail line, partnering with Sonoma County.
Couldn't find voting patterns at city level, but given Scottsdale is whiter and wealthier than Mesa, highly doubtful that Scottsdale is less conservative than Mesa.
Mesa is nationally known as one of the most conservative suburbs in the nation. However, this is mostly driven by the LDS population, which historically tends to be a pro-transit faction of the GOP.
As for Scottsdale, the southern part of the city tends to be more liberal, while the northern part of the city tends to be more conservative.
Everyone in NYC or Chicago can agree the subway and L there is a good thing, because they're dense.
But what about in sprawling, suburban areas and lower density metros? For example, light rail in Austin, Orange County California, Phoenix, DFW, Atlanta, Nashville?
Would you say that in these cities, the conservatives strongly oppose public rail transit while progressives support it?
I'd say that support for public rail transit strongly falls on a left right divide. It's almost always the Republicans who oppose said rail transit and almost always the Democrats who support the project. It's almost always the Republicans and some conservative independents and Libertarians who are the NIMBYs.
You build rail in Austin, Orange County California, Phoenix, DFW, Atlanta, Nashville because their residents, visitors, and companies that do business in those cities demand a way to move people around vast areas, reasonably quickly, in ways that don't rely on any singular kind of vehicle or conduit of access dependency that makes them susceptible to slowdowns, blockage, or the effects of limited income.
You build rail in Austin, Orange County California, Phoenix, DFW, Atlanta, Nashville because their residents, visitors, and companies that do business in those cities demand a way to move people around vast areas, reasonably quickly, in ways that don't rely on any singular kind of vehicle or conduit of access dependency that makes them susceptible to slowdowns, blockage, or the effects of limited income.
Strike Nashville from that list.
The "Let's Move Nashville" regional transit improvement plan lost at the polls last year.
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