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(02-05-2022 07:37 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  The Mobile-NOLA Amtrak thing is a joke. It will be a net loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, and nobody will use it. Meanwhile, it will take priority over freight traffic in and out of the port, which is growing exponentially and set to be a huge boost to the state's economy. More government stupidity.

And BHM-ATL high speed rail? Are you kidding??? We might as well just set fire to bundles of cash. Exhibit 1: the high speed rail fiasco in California.

These transit ideas are always just mindless rot. A trolly down 20th street? That street is something like 19 blocks from Linn Park to 5 Points. We need a rail line for 19 blocks?

Yes? Don't know if you're aware of this but there's a bus that takes you from campus to Protective every gameday, having a rail down 20th would alleviate that.

(02-07-2022 09:38 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  

(02-05-2022 07:37 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  The Mobile-NOLA Amtrak thing is a joke. It will be a net loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, and nobody will use it. Meanwhile, it will take priority over freight traffic in and out of the port, which is growing exponentially and set to be a huge boost to the state's economy. More government stupidity.

And BHM-ATL high speed rail? Are you kidding??? We might as well just set fire to bundles of cash. Exhibit 1: the high speed rail fiasco in California.

These transit ideas are always just mindless rot. A trolly down 20th street? That street is something like 19 blocks from Linn Park to 5 Points. We need a rail line for 19 blocks?

Yes? Don't know if you're aware of this but there's a bus that takes you from campus to Protective every gameday, having a rail down 20th would alleviate that.

Yeah but that would be Communism so we can't have that. Weird that all the nice things turn out to be Communism. That money is better spent on cruise missiles anyway

(02-07-2022 09:38 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  

(02-05-2022 07:37 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  The Mobile-NOLA Amtrak thing is a joke. It will be a net loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, and nobody will use it. Meanwhile, it will take priority over freight traffic in and out of the port, which is growing exponentially and set to be a huge boost to the state's economy. More government stupidity.

And BHM-ATL high speed rail? Are you kidding??? We might as well just set fire to bundles of cash. Exhibit 1: the high speed rail fiasco in California.

These transit ideas are always just mindless rot. A trolly down 20th street? That street is something like 19 blocks from Linn Park to 5 Points. We need a rail line for 19 blocks?

Yes? Don't know if you're aware of this but there's a bus that takes you from campus to Protective every gameday, having a rail down 20th would alleviate that.

Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

(02-07-2022 09:50 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 09:38 AM)Auburn_Blazer Wrote:  

(02-05-2022 07:37 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  The Mobile-NOLA Amtrak thing is a joke. It will be a net loss of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, and nobody will use it. Meanwhile, it will take priority over freight traffic in and out of the port, which is growing exponentially and set to be a huge boost to the state's economy. More government stupidity.

And BHM-ATL high speed rail? Are you kidding??? We might as well just set fire to bundles of cash. Exhibit 1: the high speed rail fiasco in California.

These transit ideas are always just mindless rot. A trolly down 20th street? That street is something like 19 blocks from Linn Park to 5 Points. We need a rail line for 19 blocks?

Yes? Don't know if you're aware of this but there's a bus that takes you from campus to Protective every gameday, having a rail down 20th would alleviate that.

Yeah but that would be Communism so we can't have that. Weird that all the nice things turn out to be Communism. That money is better spent on cruise missiles anyway

You're the one talking about how awesome China and their choo-choos are. And I don't know if you are aware of this fact, but that is a communist country. So if anyone here is claiming that "all the nice things are communist," it's you.

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

I don't know if you live in Birmingham or if not when the last time you were there, but there's a lot more going on at the stadium than UAB football games every year, there's more downtown than Protective Stadium, and there's more people in the urban core than just a "smattering" of UAB students. A rail system up and down 20th street would be amazing. There's thousands of hotel rooms and multiple entertainment districts along with tens of thousands of office workers and a surprising number of non-student residents

And yeah, 19 blocks (with part of it being up a pretty steep hill) is not unreasonable for a trolley system to connect. We're not talking about recreating the NYC Subway here

(02-07-2022 10:40 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  You're the one talking about how awesome China and their choo-choos are. And I don't know if you are aware of this fact, but that is a communist country. So if anyone here is claiming that "all the nice things are communist," it's you.

China's about as communist as the Ferengi Alliance. What makes them, Japan, and Europe all different from us is that (at least for some things--my pointing out China running rings around us in certain areas is an indictment of us, not some worship of China. that an authoritarian dictatorship like that can do better than us is an embarrassment) they are all willing to do things in the common interest. Somehow over the past 20 years we've come to actively shun things that are a collective good. Literally cutting off our noses to spite our face

It seems to me that the traffic congestion on 280 and I 65 south along with parking lots being re-purposed for buildings and the apartment/condo construction activity support the creation of a light rail system of some sort.

I have had good experiences on using light rail in other cities. I don’t believe that any of them were privately owned.

There is a trolley of sorts that runs 20th street. Goes from BJCC to downtown Homewood. The Magic City Connector. Special branding that’s different from MAX busses. 30 cents and makes stops every 20 minutes.

(02-07-2022 11:09 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

I don't know if you live in Birmingham or if not when the last time you were there, but there's a lot more going on at the stadium than UAB football games every year, there's more downtown than Protective Stadium, and there's more people in the urban core than just a "smattering" of UAB students. A rail system up and down 20th street would be amazing. There's thousands of hotel rooms and multiple entertainment districts along with tens of thousands of office workers and a surprising number of non-student residents

And yeah, 19 blocks (with part of it being up a pretty steep hill) is not unreasonable for a trolley system to connect. We're not talking about recreating the NYC Subway here

That’s the thing. With everything that is going on at the BJCC, concerts, football games, soccer games, Top Golf, conventions, connecting hotel rooms, restaurants and other entertainment districts would be a good thing and used more than just those 6 UAB game days.

(02-07-2022 11:20 AM)MAN4UAB Wrote:  It seems to me that the traffic congestion on 280 and I 65 south along with parking lots being re-purposed for buildings and the apartment/condo construction activity support the creation of a light rail system of some sort.

I have had good experiences on using light rail in other cities. I don’t believe that any of them were privately owned.

It’s easier and a different subject talking a trolley system in downtown to a commuter train, I’d like to see both. But yes, running a train from downtown to the Galleria, a train running down 280 would help alleviate pressure on those routes, if people would use them.

Let’s put that new transportation hub to good use and get taxpayers going through that building.

(02-07-2022 12:19 PM)Usajags Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 11:20 AM)MAN4UAB Wrote:  It seems to me that the traffic congestion on 280 and I 65 south along with parking lots being re-purposed for buildings and the apartment/condo construction activity support the creation of a light rail system of some sort.

I have had good experiences on using light rail in other cities. I don’t believe that any of them were privately owned.

It’s easier and a different subject talking a trolley system in downtown to a commuter train, I’d like to see both. But yes, running a train from downtown to the Galleria, a train running down 280 would help alleviate pressure on those routes, if people would use them.

Let’s put that new transportation hub to good use and get taxpayers going through that building.

There was talk a few years ago about a possible commuter rail service running up the Hwy 31 corridor. Commuter rail is different than light rail or a "heavy rail" system. Light rail is a trolley on steroids. Heavy rail is a subway system, or MARTA in Atlanta. Commuter rail is a train on the railroad tracks that already exist, and boy are there tracks running up the 31 corridor

It would've run from Calera to downtown, with stops in Pelham and Hoover along the way

I don't know what ever happened with that project, they were going to study it and I moved out of the state and it hasn't popped up on anything I keep in touch with. I suspect COVID, improved broadband in southern Shelby County, and the expansion of I-65 south of town probably slowed down some of the momentum

But, I grew up in Calera and owned a house there after I got out of college until the commute downtown got to be too much. These communities up an down the line would be really wise to invest in something like that, it would encourage people to live out in the suburbs but have connectivity to downtown for jobs and big events all while reducing traffic and emissions. It would be transformative

(02-07-2022 11:09 AM)mixduptransistor Wrote:  China's about as communist as the Ferengi Alliance. What makes them, Japan, and Europe all different from us is that (at least for some things--my pointing out China running rings around us in certain areas is an indictment of us, not some worship of China. that an authoritarian dictatorship like that can do better than us is an embarrassment) they are all willing to do things in the common interest. Somehow over the past 20 years we've come to actively shun things that are a collective good. Literally cutting off our noses to spite our face

I have no idea what a Ferengi Alliance is, but that statement is really, really tone deaf and uninformed. To say "an authoritarian dictatorship like that can do better than us is an embarrassment." Do better than us in what? Genocide? Yeah, they're pretty good. But on a serious note, yes, an authoritarian country can be pretty efficient at remaking an economy if they are situated like China. Namely an unlimited labor supply. Let me ask you this- China is opening a brand new coal-fired power plant every month or so. That's how they're powering the manufacturing boom. You think that's a good thing? They doing better than us on climate change?

And I'd like you to give me an example of us literally cutting off our noses to spite our face. I literally don't think you know what literally means.

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

This has got to be the stupidest thing I have read on this board since last week. Do you know how many people have moved downtown now? Are you aware of the entertainment spots in downtown now? Do you know how many people that live and work downtown will use this service? I'm still pissed they stop the trolley service back in the late 90s. This service will be very beneficial to Downtown Birmingham.

You sound like of one the city council members from the 90s and early 2000s.

(02-07-2022 07:35 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

This has got to be the stupidest thing I have read on this board since last week. Do you know how many people have moved downtown now? Are you aware of the entertainment spots in downtown now? Do you know how many people that live and work downtown will use this service? I'm still pissed they stop the trolley service back in the late 90s. This service will be very beneficial to Downtown Birmingham.

You sound like of one the city council members from the 90s and early 2000s.

Tell you what- I'm man enough to admit I might be wrong on this. I lived on Southside during undergrad. That was late 90s~early 2000s, so maybe that's why I sound like them... Lived OTM during grad school but was downtown 6 days a week. After that I was in the social scene downtown all the time. But to be honest, in the last 10 years I'm not downtown nearly as much. I was hanging out at the front end of a lot of the growth These days, as an old(er) man living a little further out, working on down the road in the Gump, I don't get downtown nearly as much, maybe a dozen times a year. So I will admit I'm probably not speaking from a position of expertise, and am willing to admit as much. Maybe 20th street trolley is a good idea, and if it's feasible, then call me in. That being said, I stand by the balance of what I said.

(02-07-2022 11:35 AM)Engblazr Wrote:  There is a trolley of sorts that runs 20th street. Goes from BJCC to downtown Homewood. The Magic City Connector. Special branding that’s different from MAX busses. 30 cents and makes stops every 20 minutes.

I don t know if they still have them ( 10-15 yrs ago I often grabbed a seat to go down to the BJCC) , but there were some buses that looked like trolley cars that ran 20t St from 5 Points down to the Sheraton/BJCC area frequently and it was free. If that system is no longer in use, it could easily be put back online and would be a great addition for the increased number of folks living and working downtown.

(02-07-2022 10:21 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 07:35 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

This has got to be the stupidest thing I have read on this board since last week. Do you know how many people have moved downtown now? Are you aware of the entertainment spots in downtown now? Do you know how many people that live and work downtown will use this service? I'm still pissed they stop the trolley service back in the late 90s. This service will be very beneficial to Downtown Birmingham.

You sound like of one the city council members from the 90s and early 2000s.

Tell you what- I'm man enough to admit I might be wrong on this. I lived on Southside during undergrad. That was late 90s~early 2000s, so maybe that's why I sound like them... Lived OTM during grad school but was downtown 6 days a week. After that I was in the social scene downtown all the time. But to be honest, in the last 10 years I'm not downtown nearly as much. I was hanging out at the front end of a lot of the growth These days, as an old(er) man living a little further out, working on down the road in the Gump, I don't get downtown nearly as much, maybe a dozen times a year. So I will admit I'm probably not speaking from a position of expertise, and am willing to admit as much. Maybe 20th street trolley is a good idea, and if it's feasible, then call me in. That being said, I stand by the balance of what I said.

I was a little harsh and I respect you as a poster, but it's this type of thinking that has held this city back for such a long time. The downtown area is evolving and this rail system is part of the growing process.

Even visitors coming to downtown complain about having to take a Uber to go 2 mins away from their hotel. And walking isn't a option. This service if operated correctly will be very beneficial to the city.

Having lived in a city with a fantastic free downtown light rail that made it easy to go anywhere in the city center for both business and entertainment, I would love to see Birmingham go in that direction. I do have my doubts people would use it to the levels required to support it, but hopefully the residents moving downtown are more aligned to do so.

(02-07-2022 10:21 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 07:35 PM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(02-07-2022 10:29 AM)BatesUAB Wrote:  Spend bundles of cash to build a rail system to (maybe) carry a smattering of students to a ball game 6 times a year. That's good stewardship of taxpayer money.

This has got to be the stupidest thing I have read on this board since last week. Do you know how many people have moved downtown now? Are you aware of the entertainment spots in downtown now? Do you know how many people that live and work downtown will use this service? I'm still pissed they stop the trolley service back in the late 90s. This service will be very beneficial to Downtown Birmingham.

You sound like of one the city council members from the 90s and early 2000s.

Tell you what- I'm man enough to admit I might be wrong on this. I lived on Southside during undergrad. That was late 90s~early 2000s, so maybe that's why I sound like them... Lived OTM during grad school but was downtown 6 days a week. After that I was in the social scene downtown all the time. But to be honest, in the last 10 years I'm not downtown nearly as much. I was hanging out at the front end of a lot of the growth These days, as an old(er) man living a little further out, working on down the road in the Gump, I don't get downtown nearly as much, maybe a dozen times a year. So I will admit I'm probably not speaking from a position of expertise, and am willing to admit as much. Maybe 20th street trolley is a good idea, and if it's feasible, then call me in. That being said, I stand by the balance of what I said.

What we're discussing would've been a good idea back then, too

Wanted to bring this up again, but also add something to it. I spent Thursday and Friday in BHM downtown, convention at the BJCC, Reba concert Thursday night and stayed at the Hilton at UAB, there wasn’t hotel space closer to the BJCC that had vacancies. Here is the question I have now, does BHM have the hotel space to go along with Protective, Regions, BJCC needs? In a couple months there will be 500 hotel rooms taken by USFL personal, for 2 months. After that is the World Games for 2 weeks.

Also, driving downtown was terrible, between the construction, Arrington Blvd Bridge being closed, stopped at every single light at every single intersection.

Downtown Birmingham is really turning into a wonderful place to be, events, sports(pro and college), nightlife, businesses, new residential buildings.

What would you like to see added to downtown BHM?

Traffic engineering and downtown traffic light timing are absolutely atrocious in this town.

(02-27-2022 02:07 AM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Traffic engineering and downtown traffic light timing are absolutely atrocious in this town.

You can say that again. And the timing thing isn't just downtown. Hwy 280 and Homewood are pretty bad too! How can you sit at a traffic light for 3 mins with no oncoming traffic from your left or right......at night???