Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
e.p.c.o.t.
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WDW To MCO Rail
- Thread starter jt04
- Start date
e.p.c.o.t.
wesTcoastY
Member
A major suburb is more like it
Until Orlando finishes the beltway I am left to assume they really are not serious about the traffic problem. Orlando is reaping the results of it's own lack of planning.
So my fix,
finish the beltway
run a train line from mco to Disney
run a train line from mco to Conv Ctr/SW/Uni.
Then widen I-4 and add the proposed rail from Deland south
miles1
Active Member
Just for some perspective, here's what we faced here today. A suicidal gunman decided to stop in the middle of I-84 in Hartford, closing the entire SIX lane highway, in both directions, for FIVE HOURS. This dumped all traffic from the NYC to Mass. corridor onto the local streets in Hartford. Connecticut only has 4 or 5 major arteries (I-84, I-91, I-95, and Merritt/Wilbur Cross Parkway), so shutting one down like this eliminates 25% of capacity in a state with higher population density than Florida.
On top of this, some main roads in Stamford Conn. were closed for a while today due to a HOMICIDAL ORANGUTAN. (No, I am not making this up. You would have to live here to understand).
Days like this, that aren't all that unusual here, are why I don't see Orlando's traffic problems as all that serious. :lol:
On top of this, some main roads in Stamford Conn. were closed for a while today due to a HOMICIDAL ORANGUTAN. (No, I am not making this up. You would have to live here to understand).
Days like this, that aren't all that unusual here, are why I don't see Orlando's traffic problems as all that serious. :lol:
BuzzComplexCM
New Member
I know that one! I face them everyday when I go to the UCF campus.But I would much rather pay the tolls than sit on I-4 for hours, especially as it will start to get warmer soon.
I have a problem with that statement. Since I work at WDW one of the easiest ways for me to go includes 192. This is the same for when I am coming home. Traffic being taken off 192 OR 535 will benefit the locals as well, it's not fair to say it will ONLY benefit the tourists. Believe it or not, some of us locals still enjoy occasionally going to the restaurants on 192. I also play softball for Disney and one of our fields is located off of 535. It's pretty sad when you need to leave 2 hours early to get to a company softball game that is all for fun. Don't you agree?
Pioneer Hall
Well-Known Member
Was just stating it for the people not in this area that you definitely get killed in tolls in the New York area. The GSP and NJ Turnpike just went up as well.
Giraffe Lounge
Member
That's nice. Except Boston isn't on the list and San Francisco is directly behind LA? Has the editor even BEEN to these places? I question their criteria.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I used to live in Boston and dealt with their traffic daily. Any city whose major freeways are built on the original pathways that migrant cows wore into the topography deserves to be on this list. And Boston is the big winner there!
I also have to question their criteria.
MousDad
New Member
That list - 2. Detroit, 7. DC, 9. LA. Can't understand those.
I've commuted in Detroit, and they have traffic patterns down pat. There is very little uncontrollable congestion in Detroit, unless there are major construction projects in play. Main reason - they've built enough roads there. There's no way Detroit should be anywhere near the top 10.
LA at 9? Have people recently stopped driving and turning in their cars in LA or something?
And I can personally vouch for the fact that DC at 7 is a crock. C'mon. It's so bad and hopeless in DC, that there's no point in even trying to think or talk about a solution, it will only depress you.
I've commuted in Detroit, and they have traffic patterns down pat. There is very little uncontrollable congestion in Detroit, unless there are major construction projects in play. Main reason - they've built enough roads there. There's no way Detroit should be anywhere near the top 10.
LA at 9? Have people recently stopped driving and turning in their cars in LA or something?
And I can personally vouch for the fact that DC at 7 is a crock. C'mon. It's so bad and hopeless in DC, that there's no point in even trying to think or talk about a solution, it will only depress you.
Traffic
Like others have mentioned, I'd like to see there criteria for being "Worst for Commuters." As somebody who has driven the morning commute in many different cities (including Orlando), there's no way I'd put Orlando above most of the other cities listed. While there is a good amount of traffic, it is in no way the 4th worst in the country.
It's interesting to point out the Forbes.com also provides this list of "Cities with the Worst Traffic." (from http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/10/congested-commute-cities-forbeslife-cx_mw_0410realestate.html)
Top 10 Cities With The Worst Traffic:
1. Washington D.C.
2. Atlanta, GA
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Houston, TX
6. New York, NY
7. Riverside – San Bernardino, CA
8. Chicago, IL
9. Dallas, TX
10. Boston, MA.
Just shows how you can slice data any way you want to prove any point.
Like others have mentioned, I'd like to see there criteria for being "Worst for Commuters." As somebody who has driven the morning commute in many different cities (including Orlando), there's no way I'd put Orlando above most of the other cities listed. While there is a good amount of traffic, it is in no way the 4th worst in the country.
It's interesting to point out the Forbes.com also provides this list of "Cities with the Worst Traffic." (from http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/10/congested-commute-cities-forbeslife-cx_mw_0410realestate.html)
Top 10 Cities With The Worst Traffic:
1. Washington D.C.
2. Atlanta, GA
3. Los Angeles, CA
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Houston, TX
6. New York, NY
7. Riverside – San Bernardino, CA
8. Chicago, IL
9. Dallas, TX
10. Boston, MA.
Just shows how you can slice data any way you want to prove any point.
harryk
Well-Known Member
You won't see any type of upgrade of transportation to WDW from MCO while the local unions in Orlando region have a say. This is what stopped talk about extending the monorail or maglev system into Orlando. They said too many would ultimately not be employed due to Disney Transport.
This was years and years ago.....
MousDad
New Member
Ah, makes sense now. I have a feeling that the strength of public transportation was the distinguishing factor between those 2 lists.
Which is the main reason Al Gore is up a creek!
Everything does have a silver lining.:ROFLOL:
Yay bus drivers!:sohappy:
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
You see jt04. I was right.
My point from yesterday was correct. Many of the local transportation industry would lose jobs....
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
I also, can personally vouch for DC area traffic.
To borrow a phrase from a local realty agent: "I live here, and I work here"
Even with a working mass transit rail system; it isn't enough to keep the roads somewhat passable during the week days. Also, there are several roads that are routinely clogged on weekends as well.... for no reason other than volume.
The rating of Orlando above DC, LA, and SanFran just makes no sense whatsoever.
I don't dispute monorails and other mass transit displaces jobs in the short term. But that is short sighted IMO.
What mass transit can do is make an economy more efficient. So then, in the long term, more jobs are created. This is my problem with many, not all, unions. They are not flexible enough to allow the economy to evolve in a more dynamic way. Ultimately, they hurt job growth more than help it.
And you need look no further than Detroit as an example as to what happens when union guarantees drive an industry into the ground.
Hopefully they will be more flexible and allow the industry to recover in the states. Sound like they are.
You have to factor in all the people using mass transit, not just driving in cars. DC has an awesome subway system. LA has great highways and a mass transit system that gets better by the day. Orlando has I-4.:lol:
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
And I agree with you completely on those points..... my main point is those transit jobs would experience cutbacks if mass transportation rail was installed between the airport and the tourist areas.
The problem with putting something like this together is making sure that it is self-sustaining into the future, and does not depend on ad-hoc government handouts to keep the transportation system running.... (just look at the Metro-Rail in DC. It is so bloated in union costs and mis-management that they are demanding a piece of bailout pie or else service cuts will be on the very near horizon.)
And I guess because of the soft terra firma of FL, digging underground rail is out of the question and everything would need to be kept above ground or in the sky.
Sorry for the thread drift to politics and economy.
hokielutz
Well-Known Member
Oh yeah....
DC has the rail system.... but it also has these major thorns in our side:
Dulles Greenway
I-66
I-270
I-395
The hated beltway
Springfield mixing bowl
And not to be forgotten... the Bridges to DC.
Yeah I think they would have to put the operating costs entirely on Disney and Uni/SW and MCO to get a subsidized track built. That is why I think the stimulus could go much further with private/public sector cooperation. Otherwise you will always have ever increasing costs. The only thing "government only" programs stimulate is inflation. Bought a stamp lately?:lol: