Question about light rail

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · January-10-10, 02:13 AM

I think the light rail plan looks great, but I wonder: Will the system's infrastructure interfere with having parades & events going up & down Woodward? Don't get me wrong, a great transit system outweighs moving a few events per year, but still, it would be a shame to give up one good thing to get another. Looking at the renderings of the proposed line & stations, I don't see how a parade could travel down Woodward. Does anyone think we could keep Woodward for events while having the transit system?

MichMatters · January-10-10, 02:32 AM

This really could have been asked in the existing thread.

**apbest** · January-10-10, 03:44 AM

I dont think that the parade would be shut down or abandoned based on a light rail system. Even if it was impossible to accommodate, they could find an alternate route. The parade is too popular to get rid of completely.

**Hermod** · January-10-10, 07:11 AM

They used to have parades when there were streetcar tracks in the city. The Thanksgiving parade [[with Santa stopping at Hudson's) to open the Chrismas season coped with the streetcar tracks and safety islands.

That being said, the most successful urban light and heavy rail systems have the tracks out of the streets in subways, elevated tracks, or best [[and cheapest) on surface rights of way that do not run in the streets. If you separate rail [[or any public transit) from auto traffic, it is far faster, more efficient, and more pleasant to use.