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Texas A&M University Light Rail For Bryan/College Station


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The Campus in 2020: Improve Campus Accessibility

Access to campus by pedestrian, bicycle and automobile is a challenge currently. Poorly distributed parking areas make parking on campus a daily challenge. A bus system loops through the communityImprove Accessibility and back to campus, but is not a preferred mode of travel for students despite the inconvenience of finding a parking space. Student proposals included increasing the number of parking garages and locating them closer to the East and West Campus cores and along the light rail loop.

Read the rest here:

http://www.tamu.edu/vision2020/groundwork/170.php

WoW! Light Rail in BCS!

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Toy train. How lame. Too bad they can't get a real subway.

Ok :blink:

Its Bryan/College Station, a "small" metropolitan area. Its not the 4th largest city in America/top ten metro. If we were, I would expect a heavy rail or subway line.

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Typical Bryan/College Station.

What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

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I guess because one would expect to see something like a more serious public bus system beyond the TAMU shuttles before you would propose something like that. If there really is a need for capacity you could use those bendy buses or simply run more regular ones.

Oh well, I had a crazy dream once where Bryan had a light rail, and a downtown with smallish high rises like they have in Lubbock.

Edited by zaphod
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What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

I wouldn't call it condescension, but reading the article, it appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'. Well of course, then, it makes sense to build....... expensive light rail for a seasonal population. :huh: Add more buses on more routes. Campus accessibility issue solved. Do something nifty and use the expanded routes to test prototype bio fuel buses. Put some of those ag minds to work!

Yes, light rail it is an appropriate solution in some cases. But I can't help it, every time I read another rail boosterism post, I think of that old Simpsons 'monorial' epsiode. The funny thing is, I'm ragging on Bryan /College Station, but someone's probably got a light rail vision for the greater Victoria/Goliad/Edna area.

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eh, you know what's funny though is in Madison, WI and Boulder CO they have both made serious proposals for trains at points in the past but it never made sense. Trying to think of other precedents as well.

Had College Station built denser like those cities with a student neighborhood like west campus in Austin, and if perhaps Bryan had a bigger more business-like downtown, and if everything from the hospitals to the mall had clustered more in a central area, then who knows. I agree this area punches below it's weight in terms of the urban environment, we have no tall buildings, but then again houses here don't cost $482,000 like they do in other college towns.

To be realistic though it would even in that case make more sense to go with some kind of rail-like BRT that they have in Eugene and are building in Fort Collins, where sleek electric/hybrid buses run on a guideway of sorts inside the landscaped median and stop at covered stations.

Of course then also my dad always joked that in the 1970's they could've built a airport-style people mover.Maybe we could go raid Las Colinas and steal their crazy little monorail thing in the middle of the night and bring it here. All we need is a giant helicopter.

Edited by zaphod
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You guys are saying we don't have the density, but in a way we do and with light rail it will densify even more. At least we are thinking ahead unlike Houston did and now they are building their last minute half rate system for a metro population of nearly 6 million.

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Aggieland doesn't need lightrail or any additional means of mass transit beyond the bus system they already have.

Both the on-campus and off-campus bus lines worked very well. Parking is not any bigger an issue that at other universities, the amount of student parking lots, garages, and pay parking was always adequate.

The biggest reason why this would be a flop in BCS is that there is no concentration of off-campus housing. Anywhere the university isn't, there is residential student and employee housing potential. Having one commuter line along Wellborn wouldn't scratch the surface of reaching off-campus students, profs, or employees. And why drive to one of the nodes, park, to ride the rail in when you could take the existing extensive bus system.

The only time parking demand is greater than what's available on campus is the half dozen home football games each fall, and again, there is already a well-used and free bus network to bring in fans from different staging points around the city.

Another reason why it's not needed. This is a university. While there is a plan for controlled growth (facilities and enrollment), the potential to plan for servicing that growth ( parking ) can be implemented too. While the city may keep growing, seems the demand for access to the university is relatively known and finite. ( Enrollment will ever only get so high ).

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You guys are saying we don't have the density, but in a way we do and with light rail it will densify even more. At least we are thinking ahead unlike Houston did and now they are building their last minute half rate system for a metro population of nearly 6 million.

Nope. No density. And even if it did, buses would still be best way to meet transit needs, given the seasonal nature of the population.

Overbuilding an unnecesary system is not 'thinking ahead.' It's 'wasting money.' Don't let this rail fetish cloud your thinking, citykid.

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What are you expecting? As citykid mentioned, BCS is maybe a 1/4 million during the fall/spring. At least they are working on a vision plan for 10-15 years out. Not sure where the condescension is coming from.

Actually, I was merely typing in the same lame responses that certain posters on here type in threads about Houston. No thought put into it at all. Didn't even read the article...just like those posters do. Funny that they did not catch my sarcasm, but I suppose now they know how annoying it is to read thoughtless and stupid posts about their hometown. Then again, they probably won't.

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I can imagine a heritage streetcar trolley that would go from downtown Bryan to TAMU...but a "toy train" light rail?

For College Station/Bryan, I would prescribe a more extensive bus system and a commuter rail running to Houston (on the existing rail)...light rail not included.

But that's my opinion.

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I can imagine a heritage streetcar trolley that would go from downtown Bryan to TAMU...but a "toy train" light rail?

For College Station/Bryan, I would prescribe a more extensive bus system and a commuter rail running to Houston (on the existing rail)...light rail not included.

But that's my opinion.

That is actually a much more viable solution for a city (actually two) with a population density of 1,600 people per square mile than an expensive light rail system.

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it appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'.

Maybe it isn't their preferred mode (I don't know, I haven't talked to that many of them), but with only 10,000 spaces on campus for over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, they don't have much of a choice unless they live close enough to walk or bike.

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Some things to keep in mind, most of that 20/20 Vision document is a number of years old. Plans in the above link show a future West Campus parking garage, but it has been built and open at least 6 years.

Also, mass transit is a great option when there is demand, and demand easily occurs when the mass transit is the fastest/easiest most of transporation. Thing is, even in the heaviest congestion(aside from football game traffic), it only takes a maximum of 30 minutes to navigate anywhere in town.

I have seen plans that call for an outer and inner loop bus route at A&M, using underpasses under Welborn Rd. The underpass option is less ambitious than light rail, yet would still be very costly. They probably should have put Joe Routt Blvd. in a tunnel when they built the pedestrian underpass.

In a few years George Bush will go under Welborn, and I really wonder if the plans for either underpass in the interior of the campus will actually occur.

Of course, so many of these problems on campus and along the tracks could have been avoided if College Station voters had simply voted for LoTrack in the early 90's. All of this expensive contruction today is a direct result of that shortsighted foolishness.

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We have Brazos Transit, but who would ride that?

http://www.btd.org/BryanCollegeStation.htm

And so if no one's willing to ride buses, they WILL ride a far less extensive light rail? Seriously, what Crunch said is right, because "t appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'." You're acting like one of said snotty college students. If you don't my asking, are you one?

The only reason I don't ride the city bus is because it doesn't go anywhere near where I live and its kind of pricey (but so will light rail)

I heard LoTrack was building a ditch for the railroad to go through. Any more information on that? :huh:

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because "t appears this whole 'vision' thing is because TAMU students are too good to ride a bus. It is not their 'preferred mode of travel'."

Yah.. big load of crap.

Crunch didnt know what she was talking about and a damn highschooler from Bryan certinaly doesnt know what he's talking about.

How many aggies do you know sitting in their off campus housing skipping class because their only available mode of transportation that day was *gasp* a bus ??

It's a college town in a state where everyone owns their own vehicle.

I guarantee 90% of the students own cars. Parking is not nearly the hassle it's been made out to be.

College Station also is small enough that cycling to campus is a fairly easy thing to do.

(i personally biked from Bryan an entire summer that i lived out there)

It's not that the students are snobs, it's that there are several modes of transportation one can choose to get to campus and the easiest way (car) to get to campus is just that - easy

And while the campus is big, it's very walkable, so the on-campus buses are really only needed if you're going from main campus to west campus and you're running late for class. Even then, once you take out the golfcourse, the big perimeter parking lots off GeorgeBush, and the 75% of west campus that isn't academic.. the campus is maybe 3/4 of a mile squared. Easily walkable. Unless you're going out to the George Bush Library, there isn't anywhere on campus you cant walk to in 20 minutes.

The bus system is adequate for the number of people that need to use it.

Why is there a rail component in the vision plan.. i dont know, maybe because it's a vision plan, the nature of which is to dream big. Rail replacing bus will never be needed for CS. It's merely a luxury item on a wish list that will never be realized, and for good reason.

As for Brazos Transit... I admit, i've never heard of it. If it existed 10 yrs ago when i was a student, it certainly wasn't the size network it is today, and it certainly didn't have that much of a presence in CS. It appears to be a good sized network now and in conjunction with the TAMU buses, it probably is used.

Who would use it ? Those that need it... which doesn't include the vast majority of the student body, and employees that have their own car and have zero problem with the amount of parking provided.

Edited by Highway6
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I heard LoTrack was building a ditch for the railroad to go through. Any more information on that? :huh:
Oh, that's the way the opponents in College Station shut the project down. Bryan, Texas A&M, and most importantly TxDOT had agreed to fund the vast majority of the bill to not only lower the tracks, but lowering Welborn Rd. all the way from Villa Maria in Bryan past 2818(Harvey Mitchell) in College Station. Overpasses would have been built at Villa Maria, Old College/F&B, University, New Main(including a vast pedestrian walkway), Joe Routt, George Bush, either Holleman or Southwest Parkway, maybe both, and 2818.

Instead we are now enduring terribly expensive separate projects at Villa Maria(completed), 2818(underway) and later George Bush. This still leaves railroad crossings and road intersections at four or five places that could have had a grade separation under the LoTrack plan.

I'd say LoTrack wasn't marketed correctly in College Station, but Bryan and Texas A&M both understood it was much more than "a ditch for a train".

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Oh, that's the way the opponents in College Station shut the project down. Bryan, Texas A&M, and most importantly TxDOT had agreed to fund the vast majority of the bill to not only lower the tracks, but lowering Welborn Rd. all the way from Villa Maria in Bryan past 2818(Harvey Mitchell) in College Station. Overpasses would have been built at Villa Maria, Old College/F&B, University, New Main(including a vast pedestrian walkway), Joe Routt, George Bush, either Holleman or Southwest Parkway, maybe both, and 2818.

Instead we are now enduring terribly expensive separate projects at Villa Maria(completed), 2818(underway) and later George Bush. This still leaves railroad crossings and road intersections at four or five places that could have had a grade separation under the LoTrack plan.

I'd say LoTrack wasn't marketed correctly in College Station, but Bryan and Texas A&M both understood it was much more than "a ditch for a train".

Sounds expensive...but wouldn't the overpass projects be just as expensive? The one thing I could think of is the major build-up of businesses. After all, when LoTrack was proposed, Harvey Mitchell (which was called "FM 2818" exclusively) and Wellborn was just two blinking lights. You know, the four way ones? Those are rapidly becoming extinct. The only one I can think of now is Harvey Mitchell Pkwy. and the Southbound SH-6 Frontage Road (in Bryan). Other defunct ones: Holleman and Glade, Finfeather and F&B.

But the LoTrack wouldn't affect the southern parts (which the crossings, at that time, included North Graham and Cain, I think)

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Well, there is no way they could do LoTrack now, and while it was expensive, TxDOT was footing a huge percentage of the bill. College Station's portion was 3 or 5 million, can't remember which. Even adjusting for inflation, it was a helluva deal.

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Well back to the original post, the proposal was really just a people mover between campus and parking facilities.

When you think about it the whole idea is ridiculous because you are spending a fortune to only feed the problem, that is too many people driving.

For a fraction of the cost of a tram+garage structures, expand the bus system so that people don't need to park on campus in the first place.

I think a couple of public(not TAMU) bus routes that use bigger buses that carry bikes and go around bi-directional loop routes on the major streets would work great here. A few of the stops the big roads could use little pull-off areas for the buses to stop and there would be covered bus shelters and adequate signage.

I've seen this in Boulder near the CU campus. Though they have the advantage of being part of Denver's transit system and don't have to worry about funding....

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Exactly and they don't necessarily have to be directly on campus anyways.

That could be a solution for the old Albertson's. After all it's right across the street. How cool would that be. You'd punch through the E-W streets that currently end there and sort of integrate with everything else. That and perhaps all along the area take the parking lane from University and replace it with a wider sidewalk with trees.

Since this new area would also servce the function of the old married student housing across college main that barracks stuff could be demolished and that land could be assembled with the other tract as one gigantic plot of empty, buildable land right in the middle of town.

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  • The title was changed to Texas A&M University Light Rail For Bryan/College Station

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