Toll roads and express bus services would work better to relieve traffic congestion than the San Diego Trolley and other urban rail systems, says a report from a Los Angeles policy group.
The trolley did "almost nothing" to relieve a buildup of congestion in the 1990s, said Randal O'Toole, author of a report released yesterday by the Reason Foundation, a leading voice in the libertarian movement.
"The best way to expand capacity and relieve congestion is through some sort of toll lanes," O'Toole said in an interview. "One mile of freeway lane will carry a lot more people than one mile of a light-rail line . . . and cost far less.".........
.......Titled "Great Rail Disasters: The Impact of Rail Transit on Urban Livability," the Reason Foundation report profiles San Diego and 28 other U.S. cities that have or are planning light-or heavy-rail transit systems. Besides faulting the cost-effectiveness of the systems, the report says the environmental benefits of rail transit have been overblown.
"Rail transit has had negative net impacts on every urban area in which it is located," said the report, whose cover carries an illustration of a train wreck......
.........But in a backhanded complimented, it added, that "some say (San Diego) has the nation's least disastrous light-rail line."
The report said freeways would be more cost-effective than expanding light rail.......
...........The report said while many voters expect rail transit to reduce congestion, drivers in San Diego and most other cities with rail systems are spending more time in traffic.
Gallegos didn't dispute that traffic has gotten worse in San Diego over the last decade.............
.............But it noted construction and operating costs for other lines in the trolley system have risen, especially once federal money began to be used, and the lines have attracted fewer riders........
.........The complete text of the foundation's report is online at http://www.rppi.org/index.shtml
From:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040217-9999-1m17rail.html
