This is a great video! I like the routing and the fact that you pointed out how underdeveloped downtown Pueblo really is. I grew up there and there always felt like there was so much more that the city could be doing. I agree that good transit is needed, however I think (given todays transit “climate” in this country) that the more feasible/economic option would be a BRT system. I know that it’s capacity is lacking and operating costs far outweigh tram option in the long term, I believe that a quality BRT system would provide similar results. Also I believe that Main Street from City Center to 4th Street could work as a pedestrian mall. I don’t have faith that current leadership nor the people of Pueblo have a desire for something like this. Just my opinion though. Looking forward to more videos from you!
Could you do one for Little Rock? it seems so close and easy to extend the streetcar or practically turn it to light trail with it going to the Amtrak and Airport along mixed traffic road and abandoned freight track
As crazy as a modern streetcar in Pueblo would have sounded even 5 years ago, I really think with some bold vision (and capital investment to match) this could actually be something. Pueblo is ripe; Incredible architecture downtown, inexpensive housing, still in easy driving distance of Colorado’s outdoor playground, green chile. Now all we need is a bunch of remote workers to discover all this greatness. I do think a small city like Pueblo building a street car along Main and/or Union would be quite novel. Good infill would definitely be generated in the vacant lots, and perhaps the Dutch Clark Stadium area could be rebuilt and the adjacent area redeveloped into an entertainment district, and possibly attract a minor league ball team while anchoring one end of the streetcar. Five years ago, this idea would’ve been crazy, as Pueblo simply had no industry. Now I think it’s really in a position to be a town remodeled around the remote worker.
This looks like a nice idea! I'm not familiar at all with Pueblo, but something I'm struck by with many people's transit "crayon maps" is how they look at big projects, rather than focusing on projects like this one that would be more palletable to a transit-hostile funding environment.
I don’t think these lines go far enough. Line 1 should be extended past Dutch Clark Stadium, down Cleveland St., continue west down Goodnight Ave., stop at the City Park and Pueblo Zoo before going south down Pueblo Blvd to West Northern Ave. While the other end of Line 1 should extend past Mineral Palace Park and west down 17th St. before going north one block up Hood Ave at the La Vista Correctional Facility and continue west down 18th st. until it terminates at Hyde Park. Line 2 should continue going north up Dillon Drive before turning west on Eagleridge Blvd and terminating at Eagleridge Circle while the other end of Line 2 should continue down 4th Avenue before turning southeast and go down Abriendio Avenue to Washington Street before going south down Evans Avenue where it would eventually turn west down Northern Avenue and then south down Lake Ave until stop at Pueblo Avenue.
I personally think streetcars/trams are a waste of time. If a transit service is going to run in mixed traffic then it should be a bus since it can navigate around parked cars and be rerouted if necessary. Any rail transit service needs to at least have its own dedicated right of way, like light rail.
I somewhat agree on buses being more flexible when running in mixed traffic, but the Pueblo Streetcar would run entirely on its own dedicated tracks, aside from level crossings at intersections.
Pueblo is too small of a city at 112,000 population to support rail transit. It is definitely not in the same league as Oklahoma City which has a population of 681,000 and serving a metro area of 1.4 million. Pueblo metro is only 168k and overall is too economically insignificant to be able to justify a rail project. You should look at Arlington Texas which is the largest city in the country and possibly the entire world without public transit.
It's an uphill battle, but I think that with the right planning and support, it is possible to build a modest tramway in Pueblo or a city its size. There are several tramways in smaller cities around the world, such as Lund, Sassari, Ouargla etc. The Oklahoma City Streetcar only covers downtown and has just 4k riders per day, something I think a well built Pueblo Streecar could manage.
Population determining the success of streetcars is a pretty arbitrary argument. Metro Atlanta has over 6 million people yet their streetcar sees a paltry 700 daily riders. Metro Portland has about 1.5 times the population of OKC yet their streetcar sees over 4x the ridership. Modern streetcars essentially operate in a vacuum relative to their metro areas. Their success is based on the quality of their service, the robustness of the places they connect, the usefulness of their service, connections with other transit, among other things. Well executed streetcars like Portland’s and Kansas City’s see much higher ridership than Detroit and Atlanta’s streetcars due to these factors despite Atlanta and Detroit having much higher populations. I do believe that a well thought out redevelopment plan for downtown Pueblo designed to integrate with a streetcar could actually work. Now, do I think it will happen? No, but I do think it’s possible.
![Why American City Planning Sucks - Horrible Station Design [EP01]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/elCXaOwP0dA/mqdefault.jpg)
This is a great video! I like the routing and the fact that you pointed out how underdeveloped downtown Pueblo really is. I grew up there and there always felt like there was so much more that the city could be doing. I agree that good transit is needed, however I think (given todays transit “climate” in this country) that the more feasible/economic option would be a BRT system. I know that it’s capacity is lacking and operating costs far outweigh tram option in the long term, I believe that a quality BRT system would provide similar results. Also I believe that Main Street from City Center to 4th Street could work as a pedestrian mall. I don’t have faith that current leadership nor the people of Pueblo have a desire for something like this. Just my opinion though. Looking forward to more videos from you!
Could you do one for Little Rock? it seems so close and easy to extend the streetcar or practically turn it to light trail with it going to the Amtrak and Airport along mixed traffic road and abandoned freight track
As crazy as a modern streetcar in Pueblo would have sounded even 5 years ago, I really think with some bold vision (and capital investment to match) this could actually be something. Pueblo is ripe; Incredible architecture downtown, inexpensive housing, still in easy driving distance of Colorado’s outdoor playground, green chile. Now all we need is a bunch of remote workers to discover all this greatness.
I do think a small city like Pueblo building a street car along Main and/or Union would be quite novel. Good infill would definitely be generated in the vacant lots, and perhaps the Dutch Clark Stadium area could be rebuilt and the adjacent area redeveloped into an entertainment district, and possibly attract a minor league ball team while anchoring one end of the streetcar.
Five years ago, this idea would’ve been crazy, as Pueblo simply had no industry. Now I think it’s really in a position to be a town remodeled around the remote worker.
This looks like a nice idea! I'm not familiar at all with Pueblo, but something I'm struck by with many people's transit "crayon maps" is how they look at big projects, rather than focusing on projects like this one that would be more palletable to a transit-hostile funding environment.
Keep up the good fight! I’m working on the Tennessee Pass up river from this. Would like to discuss ideas with you if your interested.
do one for greeley!
I don’t think these lines go far enough. Line 1 should be extended past Dutch Clark Stadium, down Cleveland St., continue west down Goodnight Ave., stop at the City Park and Pueblo Zoo before going south down Pueblo Blvd to West Northern Ave. While the other end of Line 1 should extend past Mineral Palace Park and west down 17th St. before going north one block up Hood Ave at the La Vista Correctional Facility and continue west down 18th st. until it terminates at Hyde Park. Line 2 should continue going north up Dillon Drive before turning west on Eagleridge Blvd and terminating at Eagleridge Circle while the other end of Line 2 should continue down 4th Avenue before turning southeast and go down Abriendio Avenue to Washington Street before going south down Evans Avenue where it would eventually turn west down Northern Avenue and then south down Lake Ave until stop at Pueblo Avenue.
Definitely could work as future expansions of the network, especially a southern extension serving Bessemer & State Fair.
Swag
I personally think streetcars/trams are a waste of time. If a transit service is going to run in mixed traffic then it should be a bus since it can navigate around parked cars and be rerouted if necessary. Any rail transit service needs to at least have its own dedicated right of way, like light rail.
I somewhat agree on buses being more flexible when running in mixed traffic, but the Pueblo Streetcar would run entirely on its own dedicated tracks, aside from level crossings at intersections.
Pueblo is too small of a city at 112,000 population to support rail transit. It is definitely not in the same league as Oklahoma City which has a population of 681,000 and serving a metro area of 1.4 million. Pueblo metro is only 168k and overall is too economically insignificant to be able to justify a rail project.
You should look at Arlington Texas which is the largest city in the country and possibly the entire world without public transit.
It's an uphill battle, but I think that with the right planning and support, it is possible to build a modest tramway in Pueblo or a city its size. There are several tramways in smaller cities around the world, such as Lund, Sassari, Ouargla etc. The Oklahoma City Streetcar only covers downtown and has just 4k riders per day, something I think a well built Pueblo Streecar could manage.
Population determining the success of streetcars is a pretty arbitrary argument. Metro Atlanta has over 6 million people yet their streetcar sees a paltry 700 daily riders. Metro Portland has about 1.5 times the population of OKC yet their streetcar sees over 4x the ridership.
Modern streetcars essentially operate in a vacuum relative to their metro areas. Their success is based on the quality of their service, the robustness of the places they connect, the usefulness of their service, connections with other transit, among other things. Well executed streetcars like Portland’s and Kansas City’s see much higher ridership than Detroit and Atlanta’s streetcars due to these factors despite Atlanta and Detroit having much higher populations.
I do believe that a well thought out redevelopment plan for downtown Pueblo designed to integrate with a streetcar could actually work. Now, do I think it will happen? No, but I do think it’s possible.
Pueblo could definitely support BRT though!