Mass Transit around Greater Birmingham

[codyg1985]

Actually, from what I'm hearing Rolltider, that is exactly what the population of Greater Birmingham is going projected to be in 2020, 1.5 million. A matter of fact from what I'm hearing that number maybe reached even before 2020 at the rate the region is starting to grow.

I also believe that the estimates for the northwestern parts of the metro are real conservative estimates at best. Land is cheaper up there and is become more accessible thanks to I-22 and the Northern Beltline.

Then again, there has to be a reason for more people to move into Birmingham before growth can occur in other areas of the metro. If Birmingham somehow adds a lot of new jobs, whether it be in manufacturing, business, medicine, or government, then I could see the growth numbers to be conservative.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

Does that projection for the 7 county SMSA or the CMSA which includes Cullman County? My guestimate was for only the 7 county metro.

I hope you guys are correct and I certainly agree that the growth rate seems to be accelerating. If that continues I think the 7 county metro will reach 1.5 million by 2020.

I also strongly believe that Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham has been significantly undercounted, maybe as much as 5 to 10%, in the last two census.

Yea, I'm including Cullman. I usually do, haha. But yea, I think that the metro area with meet or exceed 1.5 million within the next 10-15 years. At the moment it just seems like it's ONLY possible. But, things can change rather quickly.

[kayman]

Article from The Birmingham News

Another step backwards for the region's mass transit system. They are balking at the increase in service fees that have been requested from those cities.

[rolltider]

Article from The Birmingham News

Another step backwards for the region's mass transit system. They are balking at the increase in service fees that have been requested from those cities.

There are questions that need to be answered and as usual the News will just let them slide by.

What grant did BJCTA loose and why?

What is the debt payment for? Is the debt due to improvements or mismanagement?

Why are the books in disarray?

Have the fees for the riders been increased to compensate for the increase in operations cost?

I don't know much about the BJCTA but there is something bad wrong with the transit system in this city. It is obvious that it needs to change. A city the size of Birmingham needs an affective transit system and with fuel prices going into the stratosphere it is more important now than ever.

We need some sort of consolidated or Metro Government. This fragmented mess we have just does not work.

[kayman]

The mindboggling enigma of as to why Birmingham area governments make such simple things so hard is utterly dumbfounding and just reinstates in my mind we live amongst the some of the dumbest people in the world in this region. The mass transit system BJCTA was sabotaged by Phil Gary (IMO should be prosecuted for money laundering) back in the early 1990's. Now on that consolidated government, ain't gonna happen at least in our lifetime. We have the idiotsavonts in this region no other to thank for that with their "No, It's mine and mine only" mentality.

[kayman]

Here is something interesting article about the problems of the current funding of mass transit in the area:

An insane way to fund transit

[kayman]

Article from The Birmingham News

Here goes another one think about leaving MAX. I have a feeling the bus system will shut down in the near future.

[Blazer85]

I have heard this about several wanting to get out of the MAX system, but I've also heard that MAX is looking at expanding to some other of the older suburbs closer to downtown on the eastern and western sides.

[kayman]

Another result of our lack of regional transit planning:

Parking rates in downtown lot are going up again from $70 to $75 per month starting September 1. We need to get the wheels rolling on something to fix our situation. I plan on getting an apartment in Park Place soon, and I ment reconsider because is ridiculous.

[kayman]

There is now a plan by all the Democratic Jefferson County delegates to lobby mass transit funding for the county before the whole legislature in 2007.

Jeffco state legislators seeks public transit funding plan

[kayman]

More problems for the BJCTA, the collection of the funding from participating cities is being considered difficult at best.

Article from The Birmingham News

[kayman]

Vestavia Hills has opted to stay. However, the mayor has questions about the funding structure.

Article

[kayman]

Shelby: Money for Birmingham mass transit facility released

This is good news considering how sluggish the Greater Birmingham area has been with improving and promoting its mass transit infastructure. Hopefully, we finally will get a local funding match for our regional mass transit system.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

Shelby: Money for Birmingham mass transit facility released

This is good news considering how sluggish the Greater Birmingham area has been with improving and promoting its mass transit infastructure. Hopefully, we finally will a local funding match for our regional mass transit system.

Finally!! This is a great step towards getting the mass transit that's needed in the downtown area. It's good that Alabama's such a powerful state in the congress. The second most powerful in the House appropriations committee.

[kayman]

The creation of an actual committee of Birmingham area legislators that are seriously looking at way to fund the expansion of the BJCTA into an actual regional transit system. That means Birmingham is finally making the serious steps towards doing that.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

The creation of an actual committee of Birmingham area legislators that are seriously looking at way to fund the expansion of the BJCTA into an actual regional transit system. That means Birmingham is finally making the serious steps towards doing that.

Haha, it seems that the leaders have finally looked up the words "regional" and "cooperation" in the dictionary.

[Owsley9]

I'm so glad I finally found a forum that is FOR improving the mass transit in Birmingham. All the naysayers feel that the people don't want it. I disagree. I feel it's like Denver was. They had a terrible system that nobody rode, until they took a chance and through a bunch of money into it. Now it is one of the top transit sytems in the country.

Noboby rides right now because it's not reliable. It's a catch 22. We need to invest in a reliable system that reaches every area, so as to attract riders.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE lets keep this discussion up!!!

[kayman]

We appreciate your contribution as well. I am a major proponent for the creation of a regional mass transit system in Greater Birmingham. The region is way too large not to have an adequate alternative other than an automobile.

[davidzLA]

I'm a big fan of rail based mass transit also (took the New York City subway to work for two years, loved it) but the fundamental issue is - do the lines start where people live and take them to where they work? In a low-density area that's always a tough battle.

For example a 280 line into downtown makes sense only if large numbers of people (major operating expenses large numbers of people) live out on 280 and commute to downtown. If they have to take a car to get to mass transit and then somehow get from mass transit to work, they will drive instead, unless it's really, really impossible. So you need a dense population corridor dumping into major employment centers. Given the population, sprawl, distance and dispersed employment those are very difficult numbers for Birmingham.

Even in New York City with its wealth of transit options I worked with people who drove in and fed meters all day. They weren't masochists, it was better than their other options.

If there was high demand and usage of express-bus service with limited stop (park and ride) that would be a signal to move forward with a more ambitious system. That's a lot, lot cheaper to try. Remember - I like rail transit! But when the numbers aren't there, man they aren't there. It would be foolish to spend money on it if limited-stop bus, express bus, or Bus Rapid Transit service wasn't tried first and was overwhelmingly popular. There's just no justification other than "it's cool" unless cheaper, lower-capacity modes are tried and prove insufficient.

[kayman]

Well, what the initial regional transit plans are to implement an addition of an express bus service on all major cooridors and one BRT line along US280. The only place in the region currently with plans to implement LRT or any form of rail would be the downtown, midtown, and Southside areas witha 2 local lines of LRT service. There are currently no plans, although I've heard them mention commuter rail for the entire Central Alabama region, for any vast regional light rail system like Dallas, Houston, or Charlotte.

[Owsley9]

What do we think the reasons are for the South not being able to attract riders? I'd be perfectly happy with just a working bus system, but even that is a long shot. I guess too many people are just in love with their Tahoes...

At least they finally installed bike racks on the front of the buses. With the bus stops few and far between, it has been a definite help.

[davidzLA]

What do we think the reasons are for the South not being able to attract riders?

In my opinion, because they can afford more comfortable options, same as everywhere else, not just a southern phenomenon. The less affluent are "attracted" to mass transit due to lack of options rather than any sort of transit solidarity.

I'm very lucky in my current setup (I walk across the street to work.) Even in a denser, more congested city like L.A., though, before I moved I chose to drive rather than a) drive to the bus rapid transit station b) ride the bus transit across the Valley, c) catch a bus from a subway stop and then d) walk from the bus to work and then (2) do it again that evening, reducing the ability to run errands en route. It's one thing to be pro-rapid transit, another to give up the comforts of a private automobile and walk up an hour early to take 3-4 modes to work, then give up more time in the evening. If congestion worsens, of course, there will be a tipping point where it begins to take less time with mass transit.

Given the diffusion of employment centers, low-capacity modes (closer to a airport shared-ride shuttle model than 'mass transit') might be something to explore. I'd LOVE to see rail/busway service in Birmingham, but honestly, what would it do to help someone who works

[SweetHomeColorado]

As a former Birmingham resident, now Denverite, I see what a good mass transit system can do. I do not have any insight into what it was like before here in Denver, but I do see what a good regional transportation system can do.

Denver's current and future light rail lines run along the major highways heading in and out of downtown and have stops at the major employment centers, some shopping areas, and at the stadiums. There is now a significant movement towards transit oriented development with housing, office, and retail seeking to build up around the stations. In most cases, people do drive to a station to pick up a train and ride into work/play, and that does not seem to be a deterent to most. Nothing sells the light rail like seeing the train cruise by you as you are stuck in traffic.

The bus system also seems to be fairly well used with buses running consistently and frequently and covering most of the city pretty well. There are also express buses to Boulder, the airport, and other destinations outside of the city.

From what I have observed - light rail cars with a good number of passengers at all hours of the day, long lines waiting for buses outside my downtown office tower, many people waiting at bus stops near my condo - the system seems to work well for many people.

In Birmingham, I rarely saw many people on the buses and it seemed that only the poorest of the poor used them. The routes and schedules seemed to simply be inconvenient to most people, and if they could afford a car that was a much better option.

Light rail could work in Birmingham along I-65 and 280, and I would love to see it there. At some point, more lanes is simply not a viable answer. The main appeal would simply be a less stressful commute and perhaps a faster one. One factor that is prevalent here, but perhaps not there is the cost of parking. Birmingham does not have as dense a downtown, and therefore parking is more expensive. In Birmingham, I paid $35/month to park a block or two away from my building - here that would run me close to $100 or more. For many people the question of can I ride mass transit for less than it costs to park is a significant decision maker.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

As a former Birmingham resident, now Denverite, I see what a good mass transit system can do. I do not have any insight into what it was like before here in Denver, but I do see what a good regional transportation system can do.

Denver's current and future light rail lines run along the major highways heading in and out of downtown and have stops at the major employment centers, some shopping areas, and at the stadiums. There is now a significant movement towards transit oriented development with housing, office, and retail seeking to build up around the stations. In most cases, people do drive to a station to pick up a train and ride into work/play, and that does not seem to be a deterent to most. Nothing sells the light rail like seeing the train cruise by you as you are stuck in traffic.

The bus system also seems to be fairly well used with buses running consistently and frequently and covering most of the city pretty well. There are also express buses to Boulder, the airport, and other destinations outside of the city.

From what I have observed - light rail cars with a good number of passengers at all hours of the day, long lines waiting for buses outside my downtown office tower, many people waiting at bus stops near my condo - the system seems to work well for many people.

In Birmingham, I rarely saw many people on the buses and it seemed that only the poorest of the poor used them. The routes and schedules seemed to simply be inconvenient to most people, and if they could afford a car that was a much better option.

Light rail could work in Birmingham along I-65 and 280, and I would love to see it there. At some point, more lanes is simply not a viable answer. The main appeal would simply be a less stressful commute and perhaps a faster one. One factor that is prevalent here, but perhaps not there is the cost of parking. Birmingham does not have as dense a downtown, and therefore parking is more expensive. In Birmingham, I paid $35/month to park a block or two away from my building - here that would run me close to $100 or more. For many people the question of can I ride mass transit for less than it costs to park is a significant decision maker.

[Dystopos]

Rep. Davis to host transit forum Thursday

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

JOSEPH D. BRYANT

News staff writer

Congressman Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, will host a countywide forum on mass transit Thursday at City Hall, the latest in a series of events he has sponsored on the subject.

"The purpose of the meeting is to have an open conversation about issues associated with transit, what it should look like, who it should serve and what impact it will have on the community," said Davis spokesman Corey Ealons. "This is part of our annual Jefferson County town hall meeting."

The meeting, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the council chambers, will include a panel of experts and community leaders sharing ideas about the future of transit in the region.

The public is also invited to ask questions about the challenges of developing an efficient transit system.

Before federal money can be accessed, Davis said, a comprehensive transit plan must be developed. Ealons said Thursday's meeting provides an opportunity for the public to contribute to such a plan.

Davis in August formed a coalition with Democratic members of the state legislative delegation who agreed to have a public-transit funding plan ready by the next legislative session in March.

Davis has called his transit initiative a new direction in his congressional tenure. His first two terms focused on poverty and the lack of opportunities in the Black Belt. His transit initiative is similar to the monthly forums hosted by state Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, that brought the county's elected officials together to discuss the issues.

A new focus on transit by the federal government is essential for reform, said Guin Robinson, chairman of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority.

"It's going to take officers from the federal, state, county and local levels to make something happen, so I'm very pleased to see the congressman take this initiative," he said. "There are going to be differences of opinion, and that's healthy, but I'm encouraged everyone's staying at the table."