The N&O today is celebrating because there was a step forward in the process to soak Triangle taxpayers for a wildly inefficient, crony boondoggle: the proposed Durham-Orange light rail.
Fortunately the process took a strong surge forward last week with a green light from the Federal Transit Administration to move the 17.7-mile light-rail project into the engineering phase. This step will be the last design step. With the blueprint complete, the federal government will decide whether to provide 50 percent of the project’s $2.47 billion cost.
$2.47 billion cost? Just last spring, the estimates for the project were $1.6 billion. That’s more than a 50% increase in cost estimates – before the project has even broken ground!
Moreover, light rail projects are notorious for running well over estimated costs – for instance Charlotte’s light rail boondoggle exceeded projected costs by about 2-½ times. When it’s all said and done, the Durham Orange line could very well exceed $5 billion in costs.
Moreover, light rail is a horribly inefficient way to fund transportation needs. Seventeen miles of rail line at $1.6 billion $2.47 billion comes to more than $145 million per mile, and that is on the slight chance the project actually comes in according to projected costs. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders association, 4-lane urban highways can be built for roughly $8-$10 million per mile. The Durham-Orange County line is about fourteen times more expensive per mile than a four-lane highway. And light-rail moves a tiny fraction of the number of commuters as highways do.
The Durham-Orange County light-rail line is projected to carry on average 622 passengers per hour (light rail ridership often falls short of estimates, too). Conversely, highways can accommodate 2,200 cars per lane per hour. Thus, a four-lane highway could accommodate 8,800 cars per hour. For the same amount of money, DOT could build nearly 250 miles worth four-lane highways. Which option do you think would mitigate congestion more?
In this case, light rail would be fourteen times more expensive than a 4-lane highway, but carry only about 7 percent as many commuters.
And worst of all, taxpayers will be forced to pay for this terribly inefficient boondoggle. And the N&O says this is worth celebrating?
Brian Balfour never factors in the cost to North Carolina for the endless Wars for Oil, the Environmental devastation of Oil, and number of people who die and are injured in all those cars.
If you add the costs I mentioned above, Light Rail saves Money and Lives.
In other words, you can’t answer a single point Brian Balfour made, huh, Scott?
Actually Pinto, I made Brian’s entire article (argument) a fallacy that does not factor the real costs of Big Oil / Cars to that of Light Rail.
Brian understands that so he has refrained from saying anything else here.
Perhaps you should read my comment and answer the specifics of what I wrote, instead of attempting to be an attack dog for your own distorted views or Brian Balfour.
Scott,
Here we go, real quick.
The Orange/Durham line will not end any wars.
The Orange/Durham line will not mitigate any environmental “devastation” caused by oil (“devastation” that is highly debatable anyway). The impact on global oil use will too small to even be measurable.
The Durham/Orange line will not alleviate traffic congestion. In fact, traffic will be worse off than if that money instead were devoted to 250 miles worth of four lane highway (four instance). More traffic congestion means more traffic accidents, and more carbon emissions from cars idling more.
Light rail will not save lives, and is a colossal waste of money.
But most importantly, it is unjust for crony politicians to force people to pay taxes to finance such boondoggles that enrich their crony buddies.
Brian,
Please cite scientific fact and case study for each comment you made above.
After you fumble that, I will bury you with facts that show the true costs I mentioned in my original comment that you either disregard, pretend does not exist, are too uneducated to investigate, or are being paid to overlook.
Science and Education are bad words for you aren’t they?
Facts, Science, and Education… unnecessary evils in the ideological, narrow and shallow, arguments of NCCivitas
Facts, science, and education… Neither George nor Scott have any of those things rattling around in their empty skulls.
Of course, Civitas has offered up proof after proof after proof that light rail is a complete waste of money and never brings the promised benefits, but like all leftists, George and Scott simply ignore all those case studies and try to shift the burden of proof onto us to avoid having to make the hopeless argument that this time is totally different, we swear unlike the last thousand or so times light rail has proved to be a boondoggle and swindle.
While advocates continue to focus on the word ‘Light’, we really should focus on the word ‘RAIL‘. Yes, Light RAIL Transit is not a freight train (with infrequent daily crossings). However, the 100-ton Light RAIL Transit will snake thru communities on steel wheels and steel tracks, unable to swerve or stop quickly like other vehicles on the road – while crossing each and every crossing gate ~150 times on a typical work day !!!!
Per travel mile, light rail has the most fatalities after motorcycles. @ http://bit.ly/2waQsaC
Light RAIL Trains ride on steel wheels on steel rails. Even if the brakes are the best and can stop the wheel completely (without derailing), the physics of steel sliding on steel do not change the physics of a 100 ton train’s momentum (roughly the weight of a military tank). Light RAIL Trains traveling at 35 MPH with full brake will travel ~ 428 feet in less than 10 seconds. More than the length of a football field.
Please try to keep up with the facts, Scott.
DOLRT is financed through a regressive tax and benefits three institutions that are not contributing a dime. At the end of the day IF the federal funds come through they will barely cover the interest on the debt. What else could be done to improve public transit with +2.4 Billion dollars?
DOLRT is powered by coal and nuclear and only saves energy when it is full which according to GoT is less than half the time it runs. Both cost per mile and cost per ride dwarf any other kind of public transit.
DOLRT’s +40 at grade crossing guarantee a high rate of accidents and traffic snarls and are at last as fatal if not more so that cars.
Light rail was already a “traffic jam on wheels” back in 2005:
http://reason.com/archives/2005/03/01/my-very-own-monorail
Leftard “visions”: they’ve got a great future behind them!
This paper by Malcolm Getz, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University arguing against light rail in Nashville. Very insightful paper and many applicable lessons to our area.
http://bit.ly/2upos1Q
Thank you Alex for the article. It messes so well with articles I have seen by Cato Institute, The John Locke Foundation, UNCC and several others. Now if we can only compete for the attention of politicians with the special interests that profit from building light rail and the developments along the tracks.