Streetcar Maintenance Facility

[Pete]

[Spartan]

I dig the garage. Does anyone else think this facility could end up getting moved to Robinson depending on where the stupid CC goes?

[OKCisOK4me]

I wish they'd just bulldoze that house down on the corner. You're gonna have this really nice facility sitting next to a POS house that the owner will not spend any money on...

[baralheia]

I think this is a winner! I'm not huge on the parking garage - but then again, the garage pictured is merely a preliminary design, showing what could be if that house on the corner is done away with. I do like that the garage partially covers the maintenance yard, though.

[Urban Pioneer]

MAPS 3 Transit Subcommittee specifically asked for and caused that concept to be included.

[HOT ROD]

too bad the garage is not in Maps3 though.

Also, I personally think there wasn't much planning done on this facility for the future - seems very small to me.

[Just the facts]

Seriously, is this a joke? If so, it's not funny.

[bradh]

Seriously, is this a joke? If so, it's not funny.

You think the streetcars would just stay on a circular loop 24/7/365 with nowhere to go?

[Just the facts]

You think the streetcars would just stay on a circular loop 24/7/365 with nowhere to go?

Hadley. I shouldn't have to explain everything wrong with this - so I am not going to.

[bchris02]

I went through a few pages of the other thread and couldn't find it, but is there an official streetcar route yet? Reason I mention this is because the image I've seen does not include Core 2 Shore in the initial route but has it in a later expansion. I think it would be lunacy for the first phase of the streetcar to provide service in Core to Shore while neglecting areas that already have momentum.

[hfry]

Bchris: and there is an actually Streetcar Route forum
The only thing is the core to shore area is the line that will connect to the maintenance facility.

[bchris02]

Hfry, thanks. That is actually the graphic I was familiar with but was confused because it shows nothing in Core to Shore in the first phase.

[jn1780]

I personally think a nice commercial building on the site the house currently sits on would hide the facility from the park better then a parking garage.

[Urbanized]

Hadley. I shouldn't have to explain everything wrong with this - so I am not going to.

Please...indulge us.

[Urban Pioneer]

too bad the garage is not in Maps3 though.

Also, I personally think there wasn't much planning done on this facility for the future - seems very small to me.

We do not have money in our budget for a parking garage. Plus, there would not be any benefit to the streetcar without a charter change to EMBARK. Parking and transit monies cannot be intermingled.

Size wize, it is more than adequate for our needs.

[David]

Hadley. I shouldn't have to explain everything wrong with this - so I am not going to.

No, I think you should explain since what is wrong with it isn't apparent to anyone else so far.

[bradh]

Hadley. I shouldn't have to explain everything wrong with this - so I am not going to.

Oh please enlighten us almighty one. Seriously get over yourself.

[boitoirich]

Not bad, but what would be even better is if the yard and maintenance facility were sited at the southeast corner of 7th/Walker, leaving the Hudson frontage for a use better-suited for a park front.

[pickles]

Hadley. I shouldn't have to explain everything wrong with this - so I am not going to.

Please explain to us in great detail how this deviates from new urbanist orthodoxy.

[BoulderSooner]

I dig the garage. Does anyone else think this facility could end up getting moved to Robinson depending on where the stupid CC goes?

No

[hoya]

Not bad, but what would be even better is if the yard and maintenance facility were sited at the southeast corner of 7th/Walker, leaving the Hudson frontage for a use better-suited for a park front.

I agree.

Please explain to us in great detail how this deviates from new urbanist orthodoxy.

I'll just say that it takes up pretty much the whole block, and that isn't needed. You also don't need an "outdoor patio" when you're directly across the street from what should be the premier park in the city. They've got a "future parking garage" at the corner of 7th and Hudson. Why do those cars need such a great view of the park?

[baralheia]

The streetcar maintenance facility will most definitely need the entire block - *especially* as the system grows. Personally, I would have pushed the entire facility so that the edge of the service court was right against Walker, giving more room for storage track - but I understand that there is a berm supporting the ramp that Walker uses to cross I-40 that would be in the way, and the engineering to remove the berm and build a vertical retaining wall might cost too much for this project.

I'm less enthused about the parking garage, but in my eyes it's not a total deal breaker, as long as it's appropriately designed.

[boitoirich]

The need to accommodate system growth seems to be take care of by the part of the Site Plan that says "Future Storage Tracks."

[boitoirich]

Move the tracks to a north/south orientation and place them along Walker; divide the block into halves (west and east). place the west half fronting 7th; allow the park-front half to develop in a way complementary to adjacent park.

[baralheia]

Having two additional storage tracks would only address short-term growth of the system. If the streetcar is to grow into a city-wide method of transportation, the amount of space allocated will be insufficient. You also have to keep in mind, this facility will not be "park-front"... It will be directly west of Union Station. The park would be caddy-corner across the intersection to the NE.

We WILL need this facility to be this big if we don't want to limit the size and future growth of the streetcar system.