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Somnio

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Everything posted by Somnio

  1. If you're going to include the one time capital costs, plus operating and maintainance, to calculate the so called subsidy it seems every ride from the day it opened until today should be counted into the equation. With every single passing year the "subsidy" should be decreasing as the number of trips taken continues to grow every single day, year after year. Do the math with 6 or 7 million trips taken on the Red Line and look at the "subsidy" then. Also, it's s a commuter train, not light rail. It's single tracked most of the way. During weekday morning and afternoon peak hours the trains were full of suburbanites commuting downtown. The line can grow as more improvements to the line occur, and more development occurs around the stations. But again, the big money being spent on Project Connect is on light rail in the heart of the city where there's already density of population and employment. The areas already have high transit usage, and that can and will continue to grow. Having trains gets these transit users out of buses which are contributing to, and getting stuck in traffic. This is not about today, though it would be fantastic and well utilized even now. This is for 10, 20, 30, 100 years from now. Imagine the Austin area twice the size it is today, pushing 5 million people trying to get around only by car. Lamar isn't getting widened. Neither is Burnet or Congress. The Express Lanes on Mopac are it. Mopac north of the river is done, no more lanes. I-35 is about to be widened for the first and last time. 2 more lanes in each direction. Do you think it won't still be a parking lot much of the time? People are going to need a way to get around besides the gridlocked roadways. This is the plan that gets us there.
  2. Seems like a deceptive way calculate a "subsidy". Capital Metro used the money the voters of this city authorized to make an investment in passenger rail. Dividing that upfront cost associated with upgrading tracks, building stations, buying trains, etc. as if it's an ongoing cost by the number of passengers in a single year is misleading. Capital Metro didn't go into debt to build the Red Line. There's no more cost except the operating expenses and maintenance. The number of passengers continued to increase since that article was written in 2014 which would further lower the "subsidy". Also, transportation projects are not intended to be profitable whether you're talking highways, buses, or trains. They are public works for the betterment of society. Imagine calculating a "subsidy" for public schools, parkland, or libraries with such a formula. But with that said, I do know the history of how that election was forced upon Capital Metro with threat of it's funding being pulled. You're not going to have huge ridership on an old single track freight line taking a roundabout path missing many of the employment and population centers of the city. This whole argument is really a straw man because Project Connect does everything right whereas Capital Metro was forced to put a half-baked plan to a vote at risk of the Texas Legislature pulling it's funding. We have guys like Gerald Daugherty and Mike Krusee to thank for that, two whom I'm sure certain posters in this thread think highly of...
  3. Naw, I'm good. But I don't believe you. Sounds a lot like the claims of 24% tax increase by the same group of scumbag liars that come out of the woodwork every time we have a transit election.
  4. Also of note is the cost comparison to just a few under construction and upcoming highway projects in Austin, not even trying to fathom the discrepancy over the last 70 years... I-35 - $7.5 billion 183 South - $750 million 183 North - $600 million 290 West - $700 million And there are others I don't feel like looking up the cost right now like the 71 East projects, Loop 360, 183A expansion, 130 expansion, etc. But the horror of investing in other forms of transportation is just too much for some I guess.
  5. I'm going to speculate the reason is that they knew that the federal government would've kicked in some money for the Red Line. The Red Line Capital Metro did not need federal dollars to build. I will further speculate that there was concern that if the federal government funded the Red Line, when Capital Metro came back a few years later for more federal funds for an expansion they could not fund themselves, it could harm the chances of the feds approving more dollars for more rail in Austin again. The plan was always to expand further. The Red Line's cost was miniscule for a transit line of 30+ miles and 9 or so stations. Get the first line built on the cheap, and then build off of it.
  6. Seeking federal transit funds for a $140 million dollar project would have been ridiculous. That's about the cost of adding some flyovers at a single highway interchange. I'm not sure why they initially said they would seek federal money, but why go through the process if they can fund it without? That's the reason Capital Metro was created by Austin voters, and funded with the 1% sales tax. To build mass transit including passenger trains.
  7. The cities subsidize the sprawl is more like it. All of the driver's who live in Central Austin pay gas taxes that are used to fund and maintain highways they don't drive on. The highways are clogged not because of the residents of Hyde Park, but those coming in from Williamson and Hays counties. Not only that, but the property taxes paid on Central Austin properties are massive in comparison to the outlying areas. Just the money collected in the roughly 1 square mile downtown area, which is on a nearly two hundred year old street grid makes any claim that the suburbs subsidize the city one of the dumbest things I've heard in a long time.
  8. Somnio

    Austin FC

    Anyone know anything about the MLS starting up their own reserve league? A few MLS clubs have already announced they're no longer going to field second teams in the USL. Earlier in the thread there was speculation regarding Austin FC's potential USL affiliate, but that now seems unlikely.
  9. A few days of below average temps in late October, and I've now heard three different people complaining about weather, how they hate the cold, where's the sun, etc. WTF?!? Austin gets like 300 days of sunshine a year! It's hot for 8 months of the year! Put on a damn jacket, and enjoy not being roasted by the sun for a couple of days.
  10. Somnio

    Austin FC

    nvm
  11. Interesting point. I think refusal to change your opinion on something is exactly what is happening with many people. Seven months ago I believed this pandemic was something to fear. However, I have altered my initial position. It has nothing to do with politics, which bizarrely is exactly how many seem to form their outlook on the severity of this virus. Dispute the data I posted, please. Instead of insults and sarcasm convince me I am incorrect. I am willing to be persuaded if convincing data is presented. But the facts that are relevant to me are 99 plus percent of confirmed cases are mild. The actual number of cases is actually an order of magnitude higher putting severe cases and death rate at a miniscule percentage. While death is always a tragedy, it is a fact of life. There are over 50 million deaths on the face of this planet every year. We all are aware that many of the tiny percentage who have perished due to Covid-19 were in high risk groups to have perished this year with or without Covid-19. Maybe it is time to reassess the situation, and realize while erring on the side of caution was wise early on this pandemic we should amend our positions due to the facts I stated above. Y'all have a good one!
  12. And only ~10% of actual Covid-19 cases are confirmed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/25/coronavirus-cases-10-times-larger/ So if 400 million plus people around the globe have or have had Covid-19, and ~1.2 million people have died from it, what would that put the mortality rate at? 0.3% is the answer if my math is correct. In two more weeks it's going to be bodies in trees though, right?!?
  13. 99% of confirmed cases are classified as "Mild". https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
  14. Somnio

    Austin FC

    If I would have been told the seats would be various shades of green beforehand I'd have been incredulous. But it looks really good. All the grass is installed now as well.
  15. Can those with "You Can't Sit With US" privileges sell access to those without? I envision a system like season ticket holders selling tickets to games they won't be attending. Someone could say sell their rights to posting in said forum on a specific date. 50% of earnings go to Surly to offset the cost of setting up and managing such a system. YCSWU members can earn money due to their prestige, Surly has another revenue stream, and guys like me get a chance to experience elite staus, if only on special occasions. All parties involved win!
  16. Was just coming here to post this. Can we have 6th Street added to the forum listings at the top and bottom of page? I will also give this fluid view a try.
  17. Just think of those clean ass Icy Whites at home, though! I propose the Horns come out of the tunnel to Outkast's, "So Fresh, So Clean".
  18. I do not believe that the tens of millions of square feet of office space in the center of our city will sit empty in the long-term. I'm not buying it. I just deleted an essay I wrote on why Project Connect is still a good idea even in the unlikely event work from home became the norm for a sizeable percentage long-term. I believe it to be true, but I know it's not going to change anyone's mind. It's also things I've written in this very thread before, so I don't want to repeat myself. I voted yes, and hope it passes because it will be transformative in a positive way for the city over the coming decades. However, I am not holding my breath. People are deciding who are selfish and short-sighted. I don't mean to be insulting, as those traits seem to be default by human nature. Not a popular opinion, but this is why we elect representatives to make informed decisions for the betterment of the society as a whole. Are we voting on building a highway? Do we have an election to decide if we extend water and sewer lines?
  19. Thousands and thousands of years of human civilization history have endured catastrophe. Wars, genocides, fires, earthquakes, floods, pandemics, great depressions, and a multitude of other nightmares. And now because of Covid-19 in 2020 we stop planning for the future? We illogically make the assumption that we no longer need to invest in transportation infrastructure? That is lunacy.
  20. Somnio

    Austin FC

    Also Netspend was added as a jersey sleeve sponsor. https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2087532595509/austin-fc-adds-netspend-as-jersey-sleeve-partner
  21. Somnio

    Austin FC

    More Verde!
  22. Somnio

    Austin FC

    Verde!
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