Atlanta: She Tried Commuting to Work by Streetcar. It Took as Long as Walking.

[thelakelander]

By ERIC JAFFE



One of the big knocks on modern streetcars is that they exist primarily for tourists and not for everyday transit riders or commuters. Rebecca Burns of Atlanta magazine (and our Future of Transportation series) put that question to the test last week on the city's newly opened 2.7-mile downtown trolley loop. She tried riding the streetcar to work for a week from her home in Cabbagetown to the magazine's office near Peachtree Center.

The piece is delightful and worth a full read, but for those only interested in the final score here it is: it would have been quicker to walk. Burns writes that she can make the trip on foot in about 35 minutes. On the trolley she tallied 333 minutes across 8 commutes, good for just under 42 minutes a pop. Even tossing out an outlier trip that took more than an hour, her average commute exceeded 38 minutes.

Full article: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/01/she-tried-commuting-to-work-by-streetcar-it-took-as-long-as-walking/384734/

[spuwho]

But how long did it take to walk to work before the line was built?

[fsujax]

I wonder if only runs in one loop or it is it double tracked and run in opposite loops of each other? does it have signal priority that allows it to go through intersections with all traffic stopped?

[thelakelander]

It only runs in one loop. I doubt it has signal priority. It shares the same lanes as automobile traffic.

[AaroniusLives]

Yes, you need exclusive ROW. End stop.

[acme54321]

But how long did it take to walk to work before the line was built?

What are you getting at?  Why would the walk be any different than it was before the line?

[thelakelander]

Yes, you need exclusive ROW. End stop.

Yes. This is pretty much it. If you're going to half ass it and not put these things in their own dedicated ROW or lanes, save yourself the time and money and buy a bus.

[AaroniusLives]

If you're going to half ass it and not put these things in their own dedicated ROW or lanes, save yourself the time and money and buy a bus.

Or spend the equivalent on street reconstruction and give your buses beautiful stations and exclusive ROW, splitting the difference between 'development tool' and 'transit effectiveness.'

[thelakelander]

^It appears they also spent money on street reconstruction as a part of this streetcar project, so it was probably a lot higher in costs than it really needed to be.

[spuwho]

But how long did it take to walk to work before the line was built?

What are you getting at?  Why would the walk be any different than it was before the line?

With a light rail ROW in place I was assuming that the crosswalks and the timiing of the lights were updated to accomodate the passing of the train. I wanted to know if by doing that it improved her walking time or made it worse. A kind of reference point before the changes went in.

[finehoe]

With a light rail ROW in place I was assuming that the crosswalks and the timiing of the lights were updated to accomodate the passing of the train. I wanted to know if by doing that it improved her walking time or made it worse. A kind of reference point before the changes went in.

That assumes her route on foot is more or less the same route as the train, which may not be the case.

It would've been more informative if the map showed the beginning and end points of her walk in addition to the streetcar route.