WHAT'S NEW IN NORTH AMERICAN LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT PROJECTS?

This paper summarizes North American light rail transit (LRT) progress during recent years. Existing system rehabilitation and new project planning, design, construction, and start-up activities are discussed. To depict the significant effects of recent changes in the North American LRT situation, the text and data update the author's paper Evaluations of Operating Light Rail Transit and Streetcar Systems in the United States, published in TRB Special Report 182 (1978). Since then, U.S. LRT/streetcar cities (Boston, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, New Orleans, Fort Worth, and San Francisco) have replaced old cars or rebuilt fixed facilities or both. Similar changes have occurred in Toronto and Mexico City. Seven cities have opened new LRT systems since 1977: Edmonton (1978), Calgary and San Diego (1981), Buffalo (1985), Portland (1986), and Sacramento and San Jose (1987). All these projects have been positive and productive additions to the transit networks in their respective areas. LRT is under construction in Los Angeles and in an advanced state of planning or design in more than a dozen other places. These projects encompass urban areas where LRT may be a natural step up from an all-bus transit system, as well as cities that discarded proposals for other guideway technologies. With old system reconstruction and a flurry of new starts, LRT has become the guideway mode of choice for an increasing number of cities. LRT provides adequate levels of service, speed, and comfort for realistically projected passenger flows; it is affordable to build and run; it enhances urban development without Manhattanization; and it is a sensitive, environmentally compatible neighbor to the communities it serves.