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Central Arkansas Regional Rail ProjectThe official long-range transportation plan for the four-county region (Pulaski, Faulkner, Lonoke, and Saline) does not presume that the area will build significant rail projects that can carry commuters in the major corridors. However, there is much interest in the possibility of rail transportation. Increasing highway congestion and the limits of new highway construction are just two of the factors feeding this interest. Other goals expressed by public officials and area residents include keeping our air clean and shaping urban growth in a way that is efficient and attractive to residents and employers.
CATA addressed this interest by publishing the Central Arkansas Regional Rail Project. It examines what types of rail might be developed in the major corridors. Light rail, streetcars, monorail, Personal Rapid Transit, and other technologies are defined in the report. We looked at what it might cost to build different rail technologies and what environmental impacts each might have. We also looked at what our region should do to make rail transportation more feasible. It would involve some very fundamental changes in the way we allow land to develop for urban uses. Successful rail service needs density around stations, it needs a "walkable" environment, and it needs a flexible bus service to provide mobility beyond the stations, around the town centers served by rail, and the urban core.
The study, completed in 1999, has been summarized in an eleven-minute video. This video can be loaned to civic groups and others by sending us an email. Board members and staff can also show the video in a presentation to your group. Copies of the entire report can be ordered by email also (there is a $7.50 charge for the report). Some key highlights of the report are shown in the following sections: Transit-oriented development Rail technology examples Population growth trends Corridor screening matrix Corridor map Cost Estimates and Overall Recommendations |
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