gp80mac wrote:I spent a lot of time stuck behind non-existant CAT buses discharging and picking up non-riders when I used to drive through Middletown on my way to work in Harrisburg. I've also seen plenty of Keystones with barely enough people to fill a single amfleet, less 5 of them. Oh let me guess.. you're one of these "rail transit is ALWAYS better than bus" people. That kind of fractured thinking will get us nowhere fast.
Keystone ridership has been growing year over year since 2003. each year, there are more people on the train. the service is growing into its own. are most keystones running with five people? no, that's ridiculous. it's also unrealistic to say that peopel wil take an infrequent CAT bus rather than a short walk to the station. it's not the same no matter how you dress it up. what's worse, is that you advocate that for train riders, but god forbid the non-existent airport riders have to use the bus.
gp80mac wrote:
So you went to the Brownstone and rode the M&H. Congratulations. I'm sure every commuter is going to do that every day.
nobody said they would. I conceded the traffic is largely the other way, but whatever you can make up to support your position I suppose.
gp80mac wrote:
And the people in Middeltown never had a say in the station, besides being told that the current one won't cut it. The station was orignally planned (or many assumed it was planned) to go in with the newest HIA terminal, until the HIA authority expected Amtrak to foot the bill for it. And depending on how they designed it (I never saw drawings, did you?) it probably won't be any more of a hassle to relocate the NS Roy Branch than at AP Green. But AP has the added hassle of the M&H interchange and all that mess.
right, but the people of middletown don't support that and it was never a good idea, leftover from the backwards thinking of highways first, towns last. it's not the optimal solution. as noted, the AP Green site is both accessible to the main road and the downtown as well as parking. the airport site is inacessible to parking and the town, serving only the non-existent airport riders.
gp80mac wrote:
I have lots of interest in railroads, my good sir. But I don't think the solution to all of our planning issues is to throw billions of tax dollars at something and hopes that it magically makes everyone want to live in a ghetto.
billions? that's a flat out lie. nobody's talking about billions. the entire upgrade proposal which included SEPTA improvements and major station redevelopments came in under half a billion, less than restoring service to Scranton, and would have added half a million riders (or more). calling middletown a ghetto is another lie. the town is a little down and out, but it's a safe middling town, not a ghetto.
gp80mac wrote: Again, I ask.. why is Middletown still in their current economic state despite the fact that they have decent Keystone service? (Yes, I am pretty familiar with the Amtrak improvements.)
what state is that? it's an okay town. probably their biggest problem, IMO, is ther shared school district. it doesn't help that people like you have been out to screw towns over for the past 70 years either, by removing their economic assets and only investing in their outskirts.
gp80mac wrote:
I liked your article. A train station *OR* a convenience store. Truth be told, Middletown is lacking a decent convenience store, with just a simple 7-11 down the street. A nice full sized Turkey Hill or Sheetz would be great at that location. Hard to believe they want a grocery store there... it'd proabably end up shutting down the Karns in town. Big empty storefront in the heart of downtown. That will do wonders. Then again, they could tear it down (at least the parking lot) and build the M&H interchange there.
don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining. trying to sell a gas station as just aas good as a hotel.restaurant/supermarket complex is pointless. truth be told, the article solidifies the point that train service can indeed drive economic development. if people on the west side of harrisburg don't want train service, why should middletowners be penalized so they can easily drive to a station? easy, they shouldn't.
AP Greene: close to economy parking at airport, on main street, a couple blocks from the town center. will drive some redevelopment, it's the only compromise station between the existing site and the airport interests.
airport: near terminal but not next to. close to nothing else.