DSM to get downtown tram?

DaddyMac · 03-12-2008, 11:24 AM

Insurer to pay for downtown tram study | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

Is this a good idea?

There's also a spot on WHOTV.com, where it leads in with "downtown workers can leave their cars at home". Yet another in the never ending list of why WHOTV is worthless. Unless I'm missing something, this is only a downtown tram between the Western park by Meredith at Fleur/Grand/Locust and the East Village. Only two miles.

How does a tram possibly help people with "leaving their cars at home"? What good does this really do? Do alot of people cross downtown regularly?

I'm not trying to be harsh - I don't think it's a bad idea, necessarily. Although between the skywalks, buses and such, I think downtown is decently connected as is (always can be better).

Where DSM needs serious help is public transit around town or getting to downtown.

Good job out of Nationwide to step up and fund the project.

dosry5 · 03-12-2008, 11:28 AM

I agree, from one end to the other of Downtown doesn't seem like a high usage model. I'm sure it'd be cost prohibitive, but it'd be great to see the tram run from places like the airport and fairgrounds all the way through downtown...

4429 mcc · 03-12-2008, 11:29 AM

It would be nice, similar to Denver's tram, but if you've been to Denver it also allows the vagrants to wonder from oneside of downtown to another. Good idea but dont think people of Des Moines would not really use it.

ISUFan22 · 03-12-2008, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by DaddyMac

Where DSM needs serious help is public transit around town or getting to downtown.

And better parking.

DaddyMac · 03-12-2008, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by ISUFan22

And better parking.

Yeah - that's more of what I meant. Getting downtown isn't so bad anymore. But once you get there......

jumbopackage · 03-12-2008, 11:42 AM

I don't think downtown is hard to get around at all, though finding parking is sometimes problematic. It might be nice for businesses along the route though, especially around lunchtime.

It'll be interesting to see what the study says. I think it's a pretty cool idea if it's sustainable.

cybsball20 · 03-12-2008, 11:47 AM

If they could have a nice train running from the Jordan Creek area to Ankeny cutting through downtown that would certianly be nice.

dmclone · 03-12-2008, 11:49 AM

What we really need is an easier way to get to downtown from the north side of Des Moines. I live in Johnston and you have 2 choices. Either you do down 2nd avenue (slow and nasty) or backtrack and go on 235. They need to extend MLK all the way out to 35/80.

As far as the tram for just downtown, I think it's a waste of money. We already have a shuttle downtown that no one uses. It would be nice to get on the tram and go between bars but all the bars I like are on the west side of the river anyway. The only bars I know about on the east side of the river are ones like "Blazing Saddles", which doesn't take kindly to my type.

jumbopackage · 03-12-2008, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by cybsball20

If they could have a nice train running from the Jordan Creek area to Ankeny cutting through downtown that would certianly be nice.

That would be pretty nice, actually.

I'd love to see the rage from the East siders though if such a plan was proposed.
What would REALLY be nice is a light rail system cutting the city in 4 from Ankeny to the airport or so, and from Altoona to the Jordan creek area. Busses could stop running between downtown and the outling areas, and focus on getting people in one of the created "quads" to a train station.

jumbopackage · 03-12-2008, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by dmclone

What we really need is an easier way to get to downtown from the north side of Des Moines. I live in Johnston and you have 2 choices. Either you do down 2nd avenue (slow and nasty) or backtrack and go on 235. They need to extend MLK all the way out to 35/80.

As far as the tram for just downtown, I think it's a waste of money. We already have a shuttle downtown that no one uses. It would be nice to get on the tram and go between bars but all the bars I like are on the west side of the river anyway. The only bars I know about on the east side of the river are ones like "Blazing Saddles", which doesn't take kindly to my type.

There's House of Bricks over there, as well as that piano bar. I agree, though, that most of the "good" stuff downtown is west of the river currently. It'd be nice to hop on a tram from Buzzard Billy's to, say, Raccoon River Brewing Co though.

edit: I agree that there needs to be a GOOD N/S bisector. I know there have been plans in the works, but there are some hippies that keep holding it up because of some reason or another. MLK/Fleur is nice once you get south of the interstate, but it really should keep going north, preferably in the same limited access fashion that it currently exists in from downtown south to where it meets up with Fleur in the Gray's Lake area.

cybsball20 · 03-12-2008, 11:58 AM

If I could drive to a bus at say, 56th and 235 from beaverdale and take a train to the Oralabor Rd Ankeny Exit and walk to work it would probably save me about $30/wk.

Mrs.ISUFan22 · 03-12-2008, 12:01 PM

I agree that it would be nice to get something that ran from West Des Moines/Urbandale/Johnston to downtown. It sure would help when you don't want to spend an hour driving downtown in the snow.

Cy Hard · 03-12-2008, 12:03 PM

Maybe WF could support a tram from Jordan Creek to downtown as they has offices at both places. Plenty of parking at JC and it could support plenty of suburbanites traveling to downtown.

DaddyMac · 03-12-2008, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

That would be pretty nice, actually.

I'd love to see the rage from the East siders though if such a plan was proposed.
What would REALLY be nice is a light rail system cutting the city in 4 from Ankeny to the airport or so, and from Altoona to the Jordan creek area. Busses could stop running between downtown and the outling areas, and focus on getting people in one of the created "quads" to a train station.

I've always thought that would be a good idea as well. Need something farther NW (Grimes, Urbandale, Johnston) , IMO. And all would need to be "park and ride" type of setups. If it worked out, you could eventually "loop" the city so you could get from Urbandale to Ankeny without having to go all the way downtown to connect.

Nothing really works well for my housing/work situation. But it would for my wife. And I'd certainly use it for going downtown to shows, games, etc - if it were servicable and didn't stop running at 7:00 like the buses.

dmclone · 03-12-2008, 12:52 PM

I don't think we'll ever see a rail system in my lifetime. Even though it seems bad at times, the traffic situation in Des Moines isn't that bad.

On a side note, probably 50% of downtown works could work from home if there employers allowed them to do so. I know that more and more of my co-workers are working from home with gas prices being so high. If these companies can outsource work to India there is no reason they can't allow people to work from home.