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nothing or go with more HOVs," says
<br />Shirley DeLibero, president and CEO
<br />for the Metropolitan Transit Authority
<br />of Harris County, Texas (Metro). "The
<br />studies clearly showed that we needed to
<br />have a multi-modal system, if we [didn't]
<br />have an alternate mode of transporta-
<br />tion, we [would] never survive because
<br />[we] can't keep laying concrete all over
<br />the city. [We would] definitely lose [oUr]
<br />quality of life."
<br /> Even before the rail cars started
<br />operating, voters approved a $7.5 bil-
<br />lion regional transit plan in November
<br />that will allow Metro to issue $640
<br />million in bonds to expand the light
<br />rail system by 22 miles. The plan also
<br />calls for the agency to add 44 new bus
<br />routes, build nine new park-and-ride
<br />lots and construct 250 more miles of
<br />high-occupancy vehicle lanes on high-
<br />ways. "We have stressed that light rail
<br />is not a panacea," DeLibero says. "We'll
<br />also have toll roads, highways and HOV
<br />lanes, and I think the combination of all
<br />those entities is what's going to help this
<br />region grow."
<br />
<br />A magnet for development
<br /> Besides diversifying the transportation
<br />options in Houston, the light rail line is
<br />helping persuade developers to construct
<br />new buildings downtown. "The down-
<br />town urban area was really horrible,"
<br />DeLibero says. "Now, with the light rail
<br />down there, [you can] see the develop-
<br />ment that's occurring -- the clubs and
<br />the restaurants that have moved into the
<br />area. The rail is creating density."
<br /> Houston's experience is not unusual.
<br />The ability of light rail to attract
<br />development is one of the reasons so
<br />many communities are building lines.
<br />"Communities are starting to realize
<br />that they get a true economic return
<br />when they invest in things like light
<br />rail," Millar says. "Light rail investment
<br />tends to cause land value to rise near
<br />the stations."
<br /> The effects that light rail lines can
<br />have in spurring economic development
<br />can be seen in several cities. Dallas, for
<br />example, has attracted nearly $1.3 billion
<br />worth of mixed-use developments near
<br />its light rail stations since it opened its
<br />first 20 miles in 1996. "We have this rail
<br />system that's the equivalent capacity of
<br />a six-lane freeway, and it's very environ-
<br />mentally sensitive and quiet, yet it moves
<br />a lot of people right where they want
<br />to go," Allen says. "From a developer's
<br />
<br />standpoint, that's really marketable.
<br />That's changing the face of Dallas, at
<br />least in the station areas."
<br /> Seeing the economic impact light
<br />rail can have on communities, Dallas
<br />has expanded light rail into areas that
<br />are not densely populated and has
<br />worked with neighboring jurisdictions
<br />to encourage development around those
<br />stations. "We've gone to places that are
<br />essentially open fields, and, since then,
<br />hotels and performing arts buildings and
<br />office buildings have developed," Allen
<br />says. "We like to locate stations in areas
<br />that can foster that kind of development,
<br />which is good for our member cities
<br />because they are interested in the new
<br />development and the tax base."
<br /> The economic development benefits
<br />of light rail appealed to Tacoma, Wash.,
<br />officials and residents who decided to
<br />support a regional sales tax in 1996 to
<br />fund construction of light rail through
<br />their downtown. A few years earlier, that
<br />suggestion would have been the epitome
<br />of wasteful spending in a downtown that
<br />was desolate and run down. However,
<br />the city began revitalizing its downtown
<br />in the mid-1990s and attracted restau-
<br />rants, retail stores, entertainment attrac-
<br />tions, museums and a satellite campus for
<br />the University of Washington.
<br /> To complement and support the
<br />revamped downtown, residents wanted
<br />light rail to connect the center of the
<br />city with a transit hub on the edge of
<br />town that features Amtrak, Greyhound,
<br />express bus, commuter rail and regional
<br />bus service. The $80.4 million, 1.6-mile
<br />line with live stations opened Aug. 22,
<br />and is free to passengers. "Before light
<br />rail came along, there was already a
<br />renaissance of restaurants and retail
<br />businesses cropping up in the down-
<br />town core, and light rail is reinforcing
<br />that," says Geoff Patrick, spokesperson
<br />for Seattle-based Sound Transit, which
<br />built and operates the Tacoma Link light
<br />rail line.
<br /> As cities evaluate their transporta-
<br />tion problems and search for solutions,
<br />more and more are finding that light rail
<br />can play a number of roles in the com-
<br />munity. "[Light rail is] something that's
<br />being considered as a matter of routine
<br />in many cities," Millar says. "People are
<br />coming to realize that you need good
<br />highways, you need good bridges, but you
<br />also need very good transit systems, and
<br />one of the ways to improve your transit
<br />system is to invest in light rail." ~
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<br /> December 2003 63
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