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[–] 7 points 2 months ago (5 children)

One direction of high speed rail track would require at just under two freeway lanes worth of width (two directions need ~4 lanes).

And that’s before dealing with the additional freeway/rail safety separation, barriers, shoulders, drainage, etc.

While there are sections of highway that could support this amount of removal, if definitely not as easy as "swap road for track, done."

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

    I don't see much of an issue since we already have 8 lane interstates connecting the vast majority of the cities in this country. The HSR could even connect with the light rail using existing bypasses. We have already emminent domained more space than we need, both inside and outside of the cities.

    Easy? No. Easier than continuing to support a broken system of highways that hasn't been revisited in policy since at least the 1970's? Yes.

    The double track I was referring to is the light rail that one would use in urban areas. HSR has no need to expand all the way into most city centers.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (3 children)

    In the ideal situation where there are 8 lanes sustained throughout the entire proposed path, that still means removing at least 50% of the current inter city infrastructure. While adding more lanes is always a temporary fix, removing that substantial an amount is simply not feasible and the reason it hasn't happened yet.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago

    And yet it is possible and feasible in every other country, including ones like The Netherlands that followed us down our idiotic path, until the early 2000's, and ripped out the roads and gave the cities back to all forms of transportation.

    It isn't possible because no one is willing to do it, other than some of the coastal cities on the west Coast, where it is slow, but works damn well.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    Adding more lanes increases the amount of traffic. It's not a fix for anything.

    More lanes, more space, more people taking the route. It might seem counter-intuitive, but if you want to reduce traffic, you remove roads. Building viable alternatives to cars is the best way, fights pollution and congestion. People will use the trains, trams and buses, if good service exists.

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