ION Stage I: what would you do differently?

[ijmorlan]

Which is it, did we waste money or not spend enough?

I think we spent too much for what we got. We could have spent less and got close to the same, or more and got a system that would have been truly independent, not relying on the very roads we all claim to despise here, that goes just as slow as cars at times and has to stop at red lights to let them pass.

Thanks for the detailed reply and the great pictures, I think I have a better idea of what you’re suggesting.

Part of my problem is that I’m significantly less enthusiastic about the system as it is operated than I am about it as a concept. A significant amount of the slowness has to do with how they’re operating it, essentially due to safety paranoia (although I’m not totally clear if the paranoia is from the system management or filtered through safety regulations, so I don’t know who would have to be convinced to change it).

I think everybody would be much happier with the system if it was operated faster, and happier still if a few minor tweaks had been made during construction to avoid obvious inefficiencies and deficiencies.

One thing I will say about proposals to tunnel or elevate small sections is that they are way more realistic than the idea of building a subway. Who knows, maybe in the future this can be done as an upgrade in crucial sections. LRT is great for flexibility in this regard.