Alllllll Aboard

So it's finally March, which means 3 things: spring is right around the corner, its time to fill out our NCAA brackets, and once again Austin will be announcing the official grand opening of its new light rail service from Leander to downtown.

What???? the first two things happen every year, wouldn't a grand opening only happen once? Well, yes in an ideal world, yes. But this month will be the third and (fingers crossed) final grand opening. The project was slated to be finished in March 2008, and then March 09, and now after going over budget by around 50% and changing contractors (legal suits pending), March 2010 is when its really going to happen, no really, really sure about this, I think.

Let me be upfront with my opinion. I love the idea of a light rail system. I think, if done correctly, rail could really help traffic and make seeing all parts of the city affordable and fun. But..... these things aren't going to be accomplished.... yet. There is a new rail line that is up before the city voters that would link downtown to the airport via south Austin. This is the rail that should have been built first.

Ok, I have to stop a minute and say, anytime you discuss this type of topic there are 2 different things to talk about. The things that could/should have been (not all that helpful to hope to change the past, but valuable for future lessons) and the things that could/should be (much more benifical as long as someone looks at past mistakes as to not repeat them). So, both of these have to be included or else I am wasting my.... breath??? wasting ink??? wasting digital space???? I guess just wasting my time.

So back to the Downtown to Airport line. This is the one Austinites should support. It accomplishes what a light rail system should, to rapidly and cheaply move steady streams of people across the city. From the airport to the state capital, or from South Congress to UT.... you know the major hubs of people in this city. But, cap metro is going to have some issues getting us on board. Why??? because in life you only get one chance at a first impression. A decade ago when light rail was put before us, we went for it. With stories in the Statesman about high speed trains in Asia and talk around town about Austin making its leap to metropolis status, we all bought into this idea. Now, a decade and a dollar later(100 mil but hey whose counting?) we stand at the great unvailing and...... and........ and......... well (insert let down music, or the sound of Texas fans after Colt was injured, or Mario falling down a hole). Really, after all the build up its like getting the first 5 of 6 numbers right in the state powerball. Yes! you won $500 bucks but if that stupid ping pong had been one digit more you would be cashing a check with 4 more zero's on the end.

So lets be honest with ourselves, we already put this thing in at 3.3 mil a mile. We already bought the trains and built the stations. Yes, I know, the stations could be in better places. You're right we don't have a train going to UT. That's true we don't have a line going to the Gtown-RR-Pville burbs where 200k+ peeps live and Dell is located. But, we do have a Leander to Downtown line that while not perfect, it is built. So we really have only 2 choices, we can complain and gripe and blame cap metro for an imperfect system. Or, we can ride this sucker like a mechanical bull at the old coupland dance hall.

Nick channeling his urban cowboy.

We've already paid for the light rail. So, lets get a return on our investment and find a way to make this thing successful. So when you have the chance to ride the train..... cowboy up and jump on it.

Thanks for the read.