Un-intended consequences?

“Un-intended consequences”

These words are usually spoken when an action, taken for very good reasons, is responsible for a debilitating harm done to a minor portion of those affected by the action. It is always nice to see it when those actions actually help that minor portion.

I don’t think that I have been shy in my outspoken criticism of the downtown circulator “trolley” and it does look like some of the suggestions that I made have been incorporated into the current routes, especially the Green Route. I am glad to see that many more of the local businesses have embraced the service and that Lextran has responded in such a positive manner. This service has had a much bigger impact than the initial downtown concept ever imagined

As I understand the original concept, the circulator was to enable those on the farthest edges of downtown to get to the center of activity and back to their offices with enough time to actually eat or shop during lunchtime. Evening activity was for downtown residents to traverse empty city blocks from housing to the nightlife and back safely. Though these are still of concern, they seem to be more minor today.

Today, we not only can get from one end of downtown to the other but also just a bit farther out and hit a little bit more shopping, dining and nightlife. I have seen and heard of many uses for the circulator since the routes expanded but I have not read any hard figures of ridership. Hopefully these will be forthcoming.

I have heard from my friends at West Sixth St Brewing, that quite a number of their patrons are arriving by ”trolley” since it eases the parking situation and the risk of driving while intoxicated. This will work to their advantage if those folks are coming from the Aylesford – Bell Court area and not just downtown.

But this is a two-way benefit. There are also folks from the Coolavin apartments just next door to West Sixth’s taproom who are making their way to the Kroger store on Euclid and coming home with the groceries for the week. In an area that has been identified as a “food desert” this access to fresh food without carfare is a win.

Coolavin is not the only example of this. The circulator travels past other assisted living facilities downtown so I doubt that this activity would not go on there also. Mrs. Sweeper and I watched as two ladies made their way from the Christian Church facility on Short St to the designated stop just to ride around town on a warm summer evening. The simple pleasures of life know no age limits.

So far, this phenomenon exists on the Green Route which cycles between the affluent neighborhoods near Chevy Chase and the resurgent commercial parts of Jefferson St. The Blue Route, running between the two University campuses, sees some mixing of the student bodies but mostly just due to their choices of dining and drinking locations. The other neighborhood residents do not tend to use the service much.

I believe that none of this was intended by those who arranged to fund the operation just a few years ago. Who could have thought that things would change this much? And does this mean that the local businessmen, who banded together to promote their downtown businesses, and now see as many or more folks leaving the downtown confines for other businesses, could give their support? I suppose so, but I hope not. If so, then the additional beneficiaries will need to stand up and continue this proven success.

I also believe that if it works in the downtown, then it can be successful in the subdivisions too, if done right.

If you have any thought on this, I would appreciate hearing them.

Changes To The Colt?

I haven't followed this as closely as I should but I understand that there may be changes coming to the Colt Trolley in the near future.

I have heard that the merchants along Jefferson St are urging the Lextran to extend the Colt to their area. Places like Stella's Deli and The Grey Goose are wanting to get in on the lunch time and the night bar scene with the rest of downtown. I would think that the folks in the Woodland Triangle are just as willing to get trolley service. An extension up Woodland, around Maxwell to Kentucky and down by the park would come close to approximating the early streetcar service from 100 years ago.

The north/south route, I hear, is being extended to Fourth St. to eliminate an awkward movement and a better stopping location near the Atomic Cafe. With the other announced additions to North Limestone, will it be long before it reaches Al's Bar and Sidecar?

Lastly, you should also look for the drivers to have their own uniform. Special ties and caps a la the old time streetcar conductors. If they are going to all this trouble, then go ahead and put in real streetcars.

Trolley Concepts

After reading a commentary in the weekly newsletter Destination: Freedom, I now have a fresher concept of proposing and laying out a viable trolley system for Lexington. What if we allow the users to determine the route "tweaks" that will make the system really work for the people.

We have long looked at places like New York and Boston or Chicago and asked, "Why can't we have something like theirs?". The simple answer is, we don't have the population to merit something as big as those. But we can begin to build a basis for a system to grow to that scale. The larger systems in America and those in Europe have been established for well over 100 years. We, in Lexington and many other cities, had systems that could have grown into what we sometimes envy in the rest of the world. Even those in our larger cities went through a stagnant period where they stopped growing or shrank to barely subsistence levels and are just now seeing a renewed expansion phase.

Lexington has talked about a new trolley circulator route or two( I can't really call it a "system") for nearly two years. They have assembled the equipment and done the public surveys to determine the routes and yet I now hear that they will wait until spring to begin service. They want everything to be "perfect" at the outset. That will assure the acceptance by the publicand make it a complete project.

Many of the light rail project that have been undertaken in the past decade have had their detractors and some have struggled for precisely the reasons put forth by those detractors (Randal O'Toole and others). Often, it seems, the chosen routes are from some perceived central location yet not easily reached by a majority of the people without some other motorized transportation method. Way too many of them rely on park-and-ride lots for their stations to succeed. A steetcar or trolley system(tracked or not) need not follow this same methodology to determine routes or destinations.

Campus planners on a small scale and urban planners on a larger scale have for years placed sidewalks and streets respectively and through observation and traffic studies rerouted those sidewalks or redesigned those streets which gained the most usage by using the "desire lines" of the users of the systems. Such a method could and should be used in the circulator trolley routes being pursued today.

First establish a general route direction and then let the riders assist in tweaking the routes under certain guidelines (no deviations more than x number of feet per y number of blocks traveled). This allows the rider to determine for himself whether the trolley ride is effort effective or not. Secondly, the frequency need to be such that one will see the trolley (or streetcar stop or tracks) and allow the impulse buying instinct to kick in. This may encourage travel to a more distant destination with the same effort. Thirdly, the routes should allow for adjustments and changes in climates of the seasons and business. The whole idea of a service is to be flexible and cater to the needs of those being served. The user's needs should come before the desires of the provider, otherwise the user will find an alternate solution.

As I have stated before, I am not greatly enamored with the idea of a rubber tired version of the trolley but I can see that using this to help in determining an optimum fixed route, "heritage style" streetcar is a benefit toward future planning efforts. This is then something that we can build upon in an effort to achieve that which we now envy in the Europeans and others around the world.

Downtown Circulator, 10+ Months And Counting

One of my sources has revealed to me that the Lextran "Colt" service is just about ready to be set free on the streets of Lexington. If you remember, this is the faux "trolley" system that was formerly known as the downtown circulator.

There were to be two routes. One along Limestone and Upper streets and running between Transy and UK . The other along Main and Vine, although I still believe that a Main and Short loop is far more preferable. With South Limestone in the middle of extensive roadwork expected to be completed in July, I guess that this route will come some time from now.

A recent meeting of the committee directing the Colt service discussed the finalization of the Main/? route. Woodford Webb, a major player in this venture, was not in attendance but he did send someone in his place. I am told that representatives of UK and Transylvania also missed the meeting. Other key supporters, Phil Holoubek who holds key parcels on Short St. and Harold Tate the director of Lexington DDA pushed for the route along Main and Short, purely for reasons that I pointed out back in January.

I am told that Mr Holoubek informed this committee that "an older gentleman around town" had made this suggestion in a blog. Is he talking about me? Does Phil follow my blog? If so, how many other ideas have gone farther than this mere blip in cyberspace? (And I refuse to think of myself as an older gentleman, even at my age.)

I am sure that Mr. Tate and Mr Holoubek have the best interest of this city(and their own investments ) at heart, but I hear that this decision went the way of all "high level" decisions. This decision was made by using the golden rule-he that has the gold, makes the rules. Thats right, you've got it, the Webb Companies will be paying for a "trolley that runs around their development and serves everybody else on the periphery. It makes no difference that the route passes practically NOTHING else along Vine St that could be considered a destination, or that the previous "trolleys" had to be run along the Old Vine St. in order to justify their being on the east end of Main St. If this Main/Vine route makes sense, then the UK to Transy route using Upper and Mill(until S. Limestone is finished) would also make sense.

I am not in favor of this tourist attraction and you can go back and see that I have not been silent about my concerns, but if we are going to follow through with this, then it should be done as best as can be done. I, for one, cannot see leaving my office , catching the "trolley" to a restaurant in Victorian Square and arriving in less time than I could have walked there. I also don't want to see this set of baby steps get tripped up by any construction, either near-term streetscape or long-term major building work(Remember, they would like to get started tomorrow).

Let Us Not Follow Austin

Has anyone seen any evidence of the Colt downtown circulator? I was to understand that the service would start this summer and anybody who has followed me for long will know that I am not a fan of the "faux" trolley idea. I, for one, have seen only one of these units on the street, and that was probably just a test run.

As some of you may know, the 2 units that Lextran currently has on site are used, cast off units from Austin, Tx., generously supplied by Lextran's former manager who now works in Austin. They are basically identical to the four that the Knight-Ridder people discontinued some years ago. Lextran has ordered some hybrid units to compliment these for the full service and is waiting for them to arrive before the full rollout.

Austin, that mecca of weird, that sentinel of progressiveness that so many here want to emulate, even though they are about 3 times larger in population and industry, is on the verge of killing off their once popular "Dillo" service or their downtown circulator. They are finding that the wooden seats are uncomfortable and the routes are constantly changing and, best of all, the upkeep is expensive. Is that why they sent a couple to Lexington? Their once free service now charges a fare and averages about 2 riders a circuit, so would ours do any better?

I have written before about the problems that I see in this circulator system but here is a consultants view on downtown circulators in general. Have I seen these situations before?

Maybe we should just skip the "follow Austin" suggestion for now and move right to the "plan to beat Austin" idea, lets build a real streetcar now, to go where the people want it to go and have it in place for when we are 3 times larger than we are now.

The Entertainment Loop Grows

Just about a year ago Lexington was told that its cultural heart was being torn out. The very essence of downtown nightlife was being snuffed out.

This, of course, was due to the fact that three fairly popular establishments were being forced to close and the block of decrepit building that they occupied demolished. Gone forever would be the nightspots where they whiled away the hours between 10 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.(the most active 4.5 hours of any city's downtown life. Vanished, the several thousand square feet from among the approximately 3 acres of the city center.

Downtown would never be the same.

In that year there have been a steady stream of announcements concerning the expenditure of private and public funds (mostly private funds) on renovation of the bars, restaurants and nightclubs from Victorian Square to the Esplanade and points east. The three previously mentioned establishments have all re-opened or announced a re-opening in bigger and better spaces. Public focus has shifted to a realization that there really is a night life in downtown Lexington. And it meshes well with its daytime alter ego.

Business after business has rented/bought space and renovated, expanded, opened and succeeded, so far, in the face of a down economy. They say that the new heart of the "entertainment district" is N. Mill St. and there is a movement to close it to vehicular traffic. I suggested such back in January 2008 on SkyscraperCity. I have also suggested to think outside the box and look at the north side of W. Short St., maybe even close it in the evenings during the summer, at least from Broadway to Upper. I have suggested here, running the downtown circulator, the Colt trolley, along Main and Short to help these businesses. These things are happening.

The latest of these amazing announcements came today. I say the latest because I don't think this will be the last. Dudley's, the 28 year veteran of restaurants is moving from the south side on downtown to the very epicenter of this burgeoning hub of night life, right beside the Pulse nightlife which opened not long ago. With the Metropol, Dudley's and the Pulse all on the north side of the street (and room for more) there are growing reasons to close Short St.

Some people may soon be looking at the block of Short between Upper and Lime as a way to connect this entertainment district with the Limestone corridor. In the neat year this will become "ground zero" for the WEG and all the doing of Spotlight Lexington. At that time I hope I can say that you heard it here first.

Distinction Setting

The latest Business Lexington is out and has a wonderful piece about the "art style" bus stops. They write:

Our first public art bus shelter radiates with a sort of mesmerizing green glow, but if you have not seen it, it might be because the new shelter is inconspicuously situated along Versailles Road just outside of town.

As you can see, it is a beautiful resting place, out of the elements to wait for the bus. This is a program that I can get behind. The article had a rendering of the, apparently next, art bus stop to be built somewhere along Newtown Pike and the plans filed for the Distillery District show a bus shelter at each of their current project phases. I can't imagine Barry McNeese not desiring to have them in the "art type" for this very creative district.

I have mentioned before the idea of "branding" and bus stops for the Colt circulator. Possibly a design contest among the horse owners and breeders, but why stop there, others of our signature industries/business could sponsor a shelter. Lexington is fortunate to have some unique business entities located here. Those that come to mind are:

Smuckers (The only location to produce Jif peanut butter)
Big Ass Fan Co (A major producer of industrial fans)
Wabasto Sunroof Systems

There are probably more but this is all I could come up with on short notice.

I have heard that a prominent developer is considering designing art stops for their extensive retail and shopping/office park endeavors and having met them before, I believe that it will be done with real class.

And talk about being "shovel ready" projects, some of these will take a little design work but will employ artists and craftsmen for at least a few years.

I wish to thank everyone involved in this distinction setter for Lexington, just let me know how I can help.

"Somebody reads me"

I was not prepared for this. I know that some of you have been reading what I write for some time, but with no one giving any comments(except for one dear friend) I have happily typed along in my own little world.

The first I heard of someone using one of my posts was when my ideas were presented to the Downtown Circulator steering committee. I understand that they were received quite favorably. I have also seen my blog as a link on other sites that I enjoy and have commented so. Then today the dam let go.

One of my posts about the current Stimulus Package now winding its way through the Senate was exerpted and posted on Barefoot and Progressive, then on ACE’s blog and shortly after that, referenced in a comment to an article on Kentucky.com. My hit counter went wild(for me) and has nearly tripled my daily average.

I am flattered to be read by some of these older blogs but I thought that I was a bit more laid back than these “in your face” sites. I have read some of their entries and found that I did not agree with most of their premises. B&P is to political for me and ACE has strayed very far from their original Arts, Culture and Entertainment format and into some free form whine and rant sessions.

The referenced entry was my take on the Mayor’s “shovel ready” projects list and what I perceived as possible duplications of expenses. There was no detailed explanation attached to any of the projects nor was there a justification given. A web site has been set up to keep track of the projects on the national list, which allows a brief explanation to entered Wiki style. I hope that the Lexington administration would add these for the benefit of those who follow such things. I would like to be added to the Mayor’s evaluation committee but I doubt, from my understanding of the current administration, that it would ever happen.

In relation to the total stimulus package, I feel that anything that is not related to infrastructure repair or expansion of transportation of people, goods and services in the most efficient methods possible (i.e. Mass Transit, Light rail and High Speed rail), Transit Oriented Development and expansion of localized manufacturing is of second tier importance. I believe that, in opposition to Mitch McConnell, we should put our people back to work first, buy American first, and let the world follow us out of this recession.

In other words “Think Globally, but Act Locally”.

Entertainment Loop Follow-up

I have had a few more thought on the subject of the downtown circulator.

If the route described in my last post(or something like it) is adopted, then the businesses that benefit from its service should have some say in how it is branded. My first thought was for the stores and restaurants along the route could distribute cards for discounted rides, much like the parking tags from the garages that we are used to. Then I remembered that there is no fare to begin with. But there must be a way to gauge the effectiveness of the trolley on the downtown businesses.

While in Whole Foods the other day I saw their "wooden nickel" campaign where they let customers donate to their favorite charity by donating a wooden nickel. Something similar could be done for the trolleys. A set of tokens could be prepared for any business which wants to participate, each entity having its identifying number, then allowing their patrons to essentially vote for the trolley by dropping their token into the farebox. The tokens are then counted and the businesses with the highest number of patrons for the month get some promotion by Lextran or some other type of benefit out of the trolley. It would also allow for ridership breakdowns and friendly challenges

The Mayor has said that he would like to see the trolley given some sort of "branding" to make it stand out in the minds of the riders, especially the tourists. It needs to be some sort of fresh idea and, I would hope, much more different than the typical "vintage" things that they had previously. I am, by nature, a history buff and enjoy perusing old photos, but if we can't do better than the last weak attempt at trying to stylize a regular streetcar, I think that we ought to stop right now.

As I have stated before I wish for a modern, steel-railed streetcar and believe that one can be placed downtown. There are now systems being developed that allow for the trams to be powered without overhead wires, using inductive coils to power the motors. These systems are currently being tested in France and Germany and appear to hold great promise.

I will leave you with these last questions.

Are the European engineers better trained than ours?
Do the Europeans and the Australians know something that we don't?
Are their cities better than ours or their history better than ours?
If they can do it , why can't we?