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Well, Philadelphia didn't build a new elevated line, but it did rebuild an existing one in the 1990s.
And the rebuilt line is an improvement on what it replaced.
In general, I would say that, NIMBY or no NIMBY, elevated rapid transit lines directly over streets are a dead letter, even if modern designs reduce or eliminate the shadows they cast on sidewalks.
IF, as was the case for several of Chicago's elevated lines, the viaducts could run over back alleys or in wide medians, the story would be different.
Or would it? Right now, there's a renewed push to build Philly's answer to New York's Second Avenue Subway — a line that would run up Roosevelt Boulevard, Northeast Philadelphia's central artery. This line was part of a city rapid transit plan first proposed in 1913. The rest of that plan will likely never get built, but this route has remained high on (variously) city planners', transit advocates' and now many Northeast residents' wish lists.
Roosevelt Boulevard is a 12-lane thoroughfare — two three-lane roadways (with a fourth parking lane on the two outer drives) in each direction and a wide median along most of the street.
No segment of the proposed line as currently envisioned would run above ground, though it's likely that a proposed northernmost segment that would run into a Bucks County office and shopping complex would be elevated.
Well, Philadelphia didn't build a new elevated line, but it did rebuild an existing one in the 1990s.
And the rebuilt line is an improvement on what it replaced.
In general, I would say that, NIMBY or no NIMBY, elevated rapid transit lines directly over streets are a dead letter, even if modern designs reduce or eliminate the shadows they cast on sidewalks.
IF, as was the case for several of Chicago's elevated lines, the viaducts could run over back alleys or in wide medians, the story would be different.
Or would it? Right now, there's a renewed push to build Philly's answer to New York's Second Avenue Subway — a line that would run up Roosevelt Boulevard, Northeast Philadelphia's central artery. This line was part of a city rapid transit plan first proposed in 1913. The rest of that plan will likely never get built, but this route has remained high on (variously) city planners', transit advocates' and now many Northeast residents' wish lists.
Roosevelt Boulevard is a 12-lane thoroughfare — two three-lane roadways (with a fourth parking lane on the two outer drives) in each direction and a wide median along most of the street.
No segment of the proposed line as currently envisioned would run above ground, though it's likely that a proposed northernmost segment that would run into a Bucks County office and shopping complex would be elevated.
Yea I know about Roosevelt my cousins live near the Blvd.
Boy is the Premise failed. Chicago the Chicago EL system is bigger than it ever was pre WWII. With a totally New line that opened in 1993. The problem with New El lines isn't NIMBY it is finding a right of way in which to run the thing. Currently the Red line is being extended a bit further south.
I am fond of suspended monorails, for many reasons, not the least is the ability to "bank" in turns, and thus being safer in curves. And the single wheel eliminates squeal that dual wheels cause when on a curve.
However, it appears that elevated trains on dual rails will remain the dominant mode, where elevated rights of way are necessary.
The most efficient form of land transport is still steel wheel on steel rail, so we should see a steady renaissance of rail transportation. And especially in high population urban environments, rail can scale with increased population more than any other mode.
It would be most satisfying to see networks of surface rail return to the streets of NYC, DC, and so forth.
Metal elevated lines of the past are dead on arrival. As mentioned before, they cast unsafe shadows on the streets below and they become rickety after many years, thence need for much more upkeep than at-grade or tunnels. Now concrete viaducts that are built away from the street are the it thing right now and I see many more being constructed in the coming years.
I would say: it depends... As far as those late 19th/early 20th Century heavy steel viaducts of Chicago, NYC, Philly and (used to be) Boston: no. Concrete technology had not advanced to the point to having the tensile strength compactness to carry rail lines on more-discreet single-pilar viaducts as they do today. There have been several examples of modern elevated rail lines either directly over streets or, more often, traveling next to major streets... Miami comes to mind (MetroRail and Metromover); but, of course, els are necessary there because the local sandy subsoil makes tunneling next to impossible there.
Up north in old Montreal, they recently opened the first leg of REM, the new automated/driverless LRT system, which has proven to be extremely popular. Much, if not most, of REM is elevated, which is of interest as it is set in one of North America's most beautiful and historic big cities.
Several portions of new LRT systems in places like LA, Dallas, Charlotte and Seattle, have substantial elevated portions. In contrast to the old, street-darkening, noisy-ugly visage of the NYC (and some Chicago) steel els of yesteryear, the sleek, newer elevateds (trains and structure) often give cities a modern, dare I say futuristic, look and feel. Chicago, of course, gets a bye. For one thing, most of their old steel Ls are next to or over alleyways behind the building line, but even the loop L directly over downtown streets have become visual icon so closely tied to the very soul of Chicago, they will likely never be replaced... Can you name any TV show or Movie featuring Chicago exterior shots that did NOT feature the L at some point? I can't.
The Metro Wash. Transit Authority opened the Silver Line to Tysons Corner (all of it above ground) a few years ago, and the extension to Dulles Airport just a year or two ago.
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