Big weekend for transit opens: Tuscon streetcar, DC Silver Ln, Denver Union Station

Cirrus · #1 Posted **Jul 25, 2014, 3:01 PM**

Opening Friday 7/25: Tucson streetcar.

Openign Saturday 7/26: DC Silver Line, Denver Union Station

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeyondDC

It’s a huge weekend for US transit openings
http://beyonddc.com/log/?p=7397

Mid summer is prime time for big transit openings, and this weekend is a doozy. Three big projects around the US are opening today or tomorrow.

By now, probably everyone in the DC region knows the Silver Line opens tomorrow, Saturday the 26th.

The same day, Denver’s gloriously updated Union Station opens its final component, the renovated historic main hall. Other portions of Denver’s Union Station opened in May.

But Tucson beats both DC and Denver by one day. Their Sun Link streetcar opens today, at 9:00 am Mountain Time (11:00 am Eastern Time). Sun Link uses the same streetcar vehicles as DC’s H Street line, built by the same company, as part of the same production run.

All these projects have been a long, difficult road. It’s great to see them starting to pay off.

RyanD · #2 Posted **Jul 28, 2014, 5:31 PM**

We are open!

Denver Union Station: Final Update – Grand Opening
via DenverInfill

Perklol · #3 Posted **Jul 28, 2014, 6:44 PM**

A few days later only a handful of people that attended said ceremony will use it...

Seriously, were these tourists lured in by something? It looks just like the crowds wandering around aimlessly in Disney Land.

wong21fr · #4 Posted **Jul 28, 2014, 8:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eveningsong

A few days later only a handful of people that attended said ceremony will use it...

Seriously, were these tourists lured in by something? It looks just like the crowds wandering around aimlessly in Disney Land.

Probably more than a handful, but the station won't be fully utilized until the commuter rail arrives in 2016. In the meantime, it's a place for people to gather for food and drink, along with a few hundred people a day who catch the twice daily Amtrak train there.

I'd say that the people were lured in by it being the Grand Opening Day celebration at Union Station. Those kind of events tend to attract people.

ardecila · #5 Posted **Jul 29, 2014, 12:10 AM**

Isn't Union Station also a major terminal for light rail and regional buses? I don't think it will just be a trickle of Amtrak passengers.

That Terminal Bar looks awesome btw. Really fits the space and reminds me of Grand Central.

Leo the Dog · #6 Posted **Jul 29, 2014, 4:23 AM**

Congrats to these cities!

bobg · #7 Posted **Jul 29, 2014, 4:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Isn't Union Station also a major terminal for light rail and regional buses? I don't think it will just be a trickle of Amtrak passengers.

That Terminal Bar looks awesome btw. Really fits the space and reminds me of Grand Central.

The DUS area is a LRT and bus hub, but the historic building isn't directly attached to the LRT station and bus concourse. The bus concourse gives you the option of entering and exiting in 5 different places and only one of those places is right outside the historic station building. LRT is on the other end of the DUS complex and it may not be convenient to go through the old DUS building coming from DT. RTD Interactive DUS Map

Over the course of this project there has been occasional debate in the Denver sub-forums about which routes pedestrians will ultimately take to get through the area. Once the ped bridge is open we can start to see what actually happens.

InTheBurbs · #8 Posted **Jul 29, 2014, 5:55 AM**

Tucson is reporting that 60,000 people rode the streetcar in the first three days of operation. That's about 10% of the city's population. The rides were free over the weekend, but that's still an impressive number given that it's the middle of summer and temps were around 100F.

Traffic dropped off today, the first day of paid operation, but should pick up in a few weeks when the University of Arizona is back in session.

www.kvoa.com/news/streetcar-passengers-begin-paying-fares/

zilfondel · #9 Posted **Jul 29, 2014, 6:29 AM**

I'd be curious to see more photos of the Tucson system. I lived in that city about 12 years ago, and rode the historic trolley that a group of enthusiasts helped patch together that helped launch this new line.

Cirrus · #10 Posted **Jul 30, 2014, 12:28 PM**

HERE are some Tucson streetcar photos.

Eightball · #11 Posted **Jul 30, 2014, 2:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

Congrats to these cities!

AaronPGH · #12 Posted **Jul 30, 2014, 4:57 PM**

Union Station is quite a beauty! Can't wait to check it out myself soon. Congrats everyone!

InTheBurbs · #13 Posted **Aug 2, 2014, 1:48 AM**

Shot of the new streetcar in downtown Tucson from US DOT Article.

llamaorama · #14 Posted **Aug 2, 2014, 3:34 AM**

Nice.

I watched a YouTube video of someone filming it's operator doing a test run before it opened. So it runs in mixed traffic and stops at traffic signals. Thus it looks to be an experience similar to being on an articulated bus.

Perhaps good for relieving congestion and it offers the other benefits of electric powered transportation, but yeah.