Transit 101

I would think that a fairly obvious aspect of transportation planning is that as convenience increases, so does use. Unfortunately, this lesson is one that apparently needs to be added to the syllabus. As I said last week, the University of Maryland has been fighting the Purple Line for a while. Other universities are making similar arguments against rail plans in their areas.

The Overhead Wire reported late last week that Norfolk State University in Virginia has been successful in getting the NSU station on Norfolk's light rail system, which is currently under construction, moved away from campus. According to the Hampton Roads Pilot Online, university officials were worried that a stop so close to campus would be a security issue.

Moving the station will add $1.45 million to the cost of the project and will locate the station on the opposite side of Brambleton Avenue. Light rail patrons traveling to the Norfolk State Campus will now have to cross a 5-lane arterial. Of course, this is likely to reduce both the number of criminals and students using the train. The crucial question is which group will be more determined to get across the highway.

While the administration of UMD has decided to partake in a civil discussion regarding the Purple Line, history shows that they haven't always been so accomodating. Not only did they try and get the Purple Line stop moved away from the center of campus, they were instrumental in the 1970s in getting the Green Line station located far from campus, on the far side of College Park. One WMATA proposal put the Green Line stop under Route 1 at its intersection with College Avenue. This stop would have been adjacent to campus, but the University feared that it would increase crime. As a result, students, faculty, staff, and visitors have to endure a long walk or bus ride to campus.

UM's arguments against the Purple Line tended to be more along the lines of objections due to safety rather than crime. Of course, if the University is so concered that light rail vehicles will be a danger to pedestrians, I challenge them to remove all cars from Campus Drive regardless of the fate of the Purple Line, after all, cars are far more dangerous to pedestrians. Rethink College Park further challenged the UM's arguments by asking, among other things, why all the campus buses didn't serve the the University's proposed station location on Stadium Drive. Hopefully, the university's fears won't result in another inconvenient station location.

Another university that fought light rail is the University of Minnesota. They objected to the Central Corridor which would connect Minneapolis and Saint Paul on similar grounds as the University of Maryland. Fearing, vibration, traffic disruption, and pedestrian safety, they insisted on a subway route through campus. When that proved too expensive, they insisted on a lenghty detour around the northern side of campus. That route would have drawn too few riders, however. Finally, not wanting to be the last obstacle to the line, they wisely backed down.

These Universities, although they would benefit greatly from the increased mobility, have fought projects which would reduce their need to provide parking, increase their environmental friendliness, and make their institutions a more integrated part of the urban fabric. At long last, some are beginning to wise up. Still, these objections are likely to continue to crop up as transit officials continue to try to expand transit into new areas. Hopefully, in these debates, mobility will be the victor.

Good to the Last Drop?

Yesterday was carfree day here in DC. I hope some of you out there were able to commute in a carfree manner. Of course, if you weren't able to take the train or bus, everyday is a good day to start so it's not too late to reduce your dependence on oil.

Ironically, enough, across the Southeastern United States, people are being forced into reduced-car diets. Damage to our oil infrastructure by hurricanes Gustav and Ike has created oil shortages across the Southland. CNN showed gas lines in Alabama, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported many stations across the state of Georgia without gas. My parents, who live about 40 miles north of Atlanta, reported that they were paying over $5.00 for gas, and that it was hard to come by. Some gas stations have even limited the amount of gas one can buy.

Gas Buddy reported prices as of

midnight, September 23, 2008

CNN seems to think that the problems are a result of panic coupled with short supplies. The main pipeline serving the Atlanta Area, Colonial, is not operating at full capacity due to the hurricanes that recently did damage in the Gulf. Additionally, gas supplies in the Atlanta area are less flexible due to restrictions on the components. The Environmental Protection Agency requires cleaner burning fuels be sold in Atlanta due to the chronic air pollution problems plaguing the city.

And while the current situation might be due to a run on gasoline in the region, the overall situation is one caused by unsustainable policies. Atlanta is one of the most sprawling regions in the country, and alternatives to driving have long been neglected. Additionally, gas taxes in Georgia are the lowest in the nation, a fact which encourages driving (while robbing the government of funds that could be used for transportation improvements).

I have pointed out before that higher gas prices will benefit Americans in the long run. Until our policies can shift to accomodate a new era in which the role of the automobile is de-emphasized, we will continue to be reliant on a non-renewable, polluting resource which comes mostly from unfriendly parts of the world.

Even publications like Time have pointed out that high gas prices aren't all bad. But a radical shift will not help the country at all. If gas prices rise (artificially or otherwise) gradually over a long period, the market will adjust and the government will have time to take up the slack with alternatives. Additionally, people will be given the opportunity to change their behavior, however, when the price change is abrupt, the economy and individuals can be seriously harmed.
This is why it is even more important that we take steps right now to shift away from oil. I talked about the candidates' positions on energy a few weeks ago, and I'm not terribly impressed with either. In the long run, however, drilling won't change much. It won't even put a dent in the trend, so I'm not worried that it will slow the transition away from oil much. What it does do, however, is focus our political attention away from the issue. It gives people false hope that they won't have to change, and that is a bald-faced lie. We deserve better from our politicians, even if we don't expect it.

I debunked the idea of the summer gas tax holiday a while back, and even though that proposal has dropped of the radar, I don't think the energy debate is any more informed than it used to be. At least not according to the rhetoric being spouted by most of the candidates out there.

But if you're still wedded to the idea of drilling (go buy a typewriter, they're the wave of the future), you should at least check out these numbers.

My home state, Georgia, will survive the firestorm of gas shortages. This time. The question is not if Georgians can make it through this price shock, it's whether they can make the changes necessary to survive the end of the oil era. Will Mr. Perdue commit to making substantive policy changes (such as transit funding and a gas tax geared toward demand reduction) or will he take his traditional tack and pray for divine intervention?

A Debate that (Finally) Makes Sense

The Purple Line is a proposed transitway which will traverse Washington's northern suburbs. Running from Bethesda in the west to New Carrollton in the east, the line will link some of the larger job centers in the Maryland suburbs and could be the stepping off point for a fully circumferential rail line around the city.

The rail line will not be the same type of service as the existing metro, instead it will be either light rail or bus rapid transit. These modes do not have to be fully grade separated from other types of traffic, and in this case, very little of the Purple Line is likely to be elevated or in subway.


The lack of grade separation has been a contentious issue for some time at various points along the proposed route, however some of the loudest discussion came from College Park, where the proposed routing would traverse the University of Maryland on Campus Drive.

The University administration called for alternative alignments, costly subway construction, and further study; while students pushed for a central location and a speedy construction process. To many, it seemed that the debate was getting us nowhere, with the University proposing new alignments seemingly every week and forcing the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to rehash old arguments over and over. The student government organizations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels passed resolutions calling for the Campus Drive alternative, but President Mote would not meet with representatives from those bodies to even discuss the substance of UM's objections.

Finally, however, the debate has settled down into a calm, rational discussion of the issues. The administration, reports the Diamondback, will drop its objections to the MTA-preferred alternative if MTA can allay the fears that trains will be a danger to pedestrians and disrupt research. Accordingly, MTA is studying the potential effects, from vibrations to electromagnetic radiation. They've also released revised plans for pedestrian movement and design which will truly improve the appearance of central campus.

The Purple Line is a golden opportunity for UM and the Washington region. By improving transit access, the University can reduce the footprint of its parking facilities and increase students' access to jobs throughout the region. The region will increase its mobility and will build a vital link missing from the transit infrastructure for so long. If UM's support is indeed forthcoming, this vision of Washington's future will be one step closer to reality.

The Purple Line will probably most
resemble Charlotte's new Lynx LRT

Matt is an occasional contributor to Rethink College Park. A different version of this post will appear there this week.

Digging Down (for Transit) Means Building Up

This post is the sixth in a series of posts I am writing about lessons planners could learn from Canada. My recent trip showed me North American cities that have done a better job of managing their urban fabric than is typical south of the 49th Parallel.

The Washington region has done a decent job of building up where it has dug down for subway construction. And so has Toronto. Because of the height restrictions in DC, it's not always as obvious that we've included density with transit; however the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and transit nodes in Alexandria, Bethesda, and Silver Spring are easier to see.

Transit Oriented Development in Alexandria

Mid-rises in Silver Spring,
Metro/MARC in foreground

Rosslyn's transit node from across the river

Toronto is especially adept at matching density with transit nodes. They also offer a good vantage point for the geography-savvy to note this good planning. From the top of the CN Tower, one can see for many miles, and its obvious where subway stations are, even from 1464.9 feet above the city.

Can you find the subway stations?
Hint: Look for taller buildings
Looking northwest from the CN Tower

Looking north from the CN Tower,
TOD stretches toward the horizon

Success in transit goes hand in hand with success with urban development. I was in another city which has learned that lesson recently. Charlotte, North Carolina opened its brand new light rail system in November of last year, and has almost reached its 2025 ridership targets in less than 10 months. I think that a large portion of the credit for the high ridership can be given to the planners in Charlotte who, long before the rail line was a sure thing had already implemented transit-supportive, smart growth policies.

The Lynx LRT at Carson

These policies are essential to the success of transit. At the moment, Fairfax County is struggling with those issues in preparation for the Silver Line to Dulles. As I've noted here before, the largest impediment to creating walkable, livable urban centers at Tysons is the auto-oriented nature of the development and transportation systems.

Mr. Miller, Tear Down this Freeway

This post is the fifth in a series of posts I am writing about lessons planners could learn from Canada. My recent trip showed me North American cities that have done a better job of managing their urban fabric than is typical south of the 49th Parallel. Due to my other obligations, this post has been a long time coming. I apologize.

I spent 4 days in Toronto, and I was impressed with the waterfront renaissance. All along lake Ontario, parks and condos seemed to be springing up. The developments seem likely to continue to bring life to the shore of the lake.

The Gardiner crosses York St.

Unfortunately, separating the waterfront area from Downtown is a postwar era urban freeway. The Gardiner is an elevated roadway owned by the City of Toronto which runs parallel to the lakefront. It was built in the 1950s and 1960s, and like expressways across North America built for the age of the automobile it was built mainly with regard to moving cars into the city even at the expense of the urban fabric.

A ramp encircles a park at York St.

And like many cities plagued by waterfront expressways, Toronto is considering tearing it down. On the very day I walked down to the lake and under the Gardiner, the Globe and Mail ran a story on the Mayor Miller's announcement of plans to study the freeway's removal.

A look down upon the area from the CN Tower

If the freeway comes down, it will be a good step to knitting the city back together. It will give Torontonians better access to their lake. The Gardiner could easily join the list of waterfront freeways that have come down over the past couple of years: the Embarcadero, the Central Artery, and Harbor Drive have all come down and San Francisco, Boston, and Portland are all better places for it.

The Whitehurst from the Key Bridge

Closer to home, however, we still have our own example of a waterfront freeway. The Whitehurst runs for several blocks from M Street just west of 35th in Georgetown to K & 27th Streets.

The Whitehurst, as seen from
Wisconsin at the Canal

The elevated structure obscures views of the Potomac from historic Georgetown, but many residents support it, nonetheless. It serves a role in removing through traffic from congested M Street.

Looking west from Water & Wisconsin

The freeway actually runs above Water Street for most of its entire length, with businesses fronting the underbelly of this relic of DC's freeway past. Like most of the freeways in the urban core, it is a remnant of an ambitious (Robert) Moses-like plan to disembowel DC with interstates, a-la-Los Angeles.

The Whitehurst towers over
Georgetown's waterfront park

Hopefully, Washington can soon join Toronto in seeking to remove barriers to its waterfront.

Back to the Ol' Grindstone

Sorry for the light posting lately. Two weeks ago I started a new internship and just last week, I went back to school for the 19th consecutive (and final) year. I've quite a courseload this semester and as a result, posting will probably be less frequent. However, I hope to keep an interesting dialog going here at Track Twenty-Nine. Thanks for sticking with me.

Metro Service Advisory: 9/12-9/14

This weekend, Metro will be performing maintenance and inspection of the Fenwick Bridge. As a result, no rail service will be provided on the Yellow Line bridge across the Potomac River. Yellow Line trains will operate from Huntington to Arlington Cemetery from 10PM Saturday until opening Monday. Passengers traveling downtown or needing to transfer to other Metro lines must transfer to the Blue Line anywhere between King Street and Arlington Cemetery.

Metro advises passengers traveling along the Yellow Line to add 20 minutes to their travel times.

View Metro's press release here.

Sense of Place

Over the past week, I've met several people from "Silver Spring." I have to say that it seems people from Montgomery County have reduced the name 'Silver Spring' to the point of uselessness. From my experience anyone who lives east of Connecticut Avenue claims to be from Silver Spring and everyone who lives west of Connecticut says Bethesda (except in Rockville).

What would the Metro map look like if we used
how people defined the area to name stations?

While neither Silver Spring nor Bethesda are incorporated places and therefore don't have definite boundaries, one can use common sense to define the places. I work in Silver Spring (note: not "Silver Spring") and I can really call it Silver Spring. But if you live in Kensington, a place which is incorporated and has definite boundaries, you shouldn't call it "Silver Spring." I've even heard of people calling Langley Park and Burtonsville "Silver Spring."

I certainly understand why people want to call most of Montgomery County "Silver Spring." It's a phenomenon repeated across the Country. For instance, if you are marketing housing to anyone from Atlanta, you should bill it as being in "Vinings" (even if it's in Denver).

But when it comes to having a sense of community, it seems that people won't claim the places they actually live. In the District, it seems, people have a much stronger connection to neighborhoods so what is driving the lack of community in the suburbs?

What are your thoughts?

Green Corridors

This post is the fourth in a series of posts I am writing about lessons planners could learn from Canada. My recent trip showed me North American cities that have done a better job of managing their urban fabric than is typical south of the 49th Parallel.

After Montreal, a short stop-over in Ottawa was in order. Spending just under 12 hours in Canada's capital city was not much time to explore, but it was enough time to see the main sights. Parliament was particularly impressive. It's siting is also an example of good planning, on a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River.

But I want to focus this planning discussion on a different aspect of Ottawa.

My recent post on Montreal focused on large greenspaces, which are essential to creating a vibrant urban environment. Just as important are green corridors linking small and large greenspaces and knitting the city together.

Ottawa's Rideau Canal fits this role nicely. Completed in 1832, it was built to defend Canada from a potential attack by the United States. The waterway is 125 miles in length, connecting Ottawa to Kingston, on Lake Ontario. Only about 12 miles of the route was man-made, the remainder of the journey is made using rivers and lakes.

The locks at Ottawa with the
Gatineau Bridge in the background

One can still traverse the canal today. It is run by Parks Canada, which charges a small fee to operate the locks along the journey.

Through Ottawa, the canal is the centerpiece of a greenway which connects neighborhoods to the city center. Flanked by multi-use trails, it is a wonderful linear greenspace. In the winter, the canal becomes one of the world's longest ice skating rinks, and people from Ottawa will commute to work by ice skate.

The waters of the Rideau Canal
are flanked by ped/bikeways

Connecting parks is important to ensure that everyone has access. They can also become alternative transportation corridors, as is clearly the case with the parks along the Rideau. And while Ottawa is certainly doing a good job in this corridor, Washington is also doing well.

Here in the Metropolitan Washington Region, we have several good green corridors. Most notable are the C&O Canal and Rock Creek Park.

The towpath parallels the
calm waters of the canal

The C&O Canal is similar to the Rideau. From Georgetown, the canal runs up the Potomac in a mostly forested setting. Because it is down in the Potomac Valley, there aren't too many communities directly on its path, and access is more limited than it is to the Rideau.

The setting, however, is beautiful and offers a wonderful way to escape from the city when one needs a breath of fresh air. The canal offers an glimpse of a slower time and a more bucolic America.

The Capital Crescent Trail crosses
over the C&O on an old railroad trestle

Today, like the Rideau, the C&O Canal provides an alternative transportation corridor. Bikers and joggers use this sylvan corridor to get exercise or to get to jobs in the District.

A lock along the C&O

Another good example of a green corridor is verdant Rock Creek Park. I introduced Rock Creek Park late last year on Track Twenty-Nine. Linking the National Mall to Rockville in suburban Maryland, this large park also provides a place for recreation and transportation in DC and her suburbs.

Massachusetts Avenue crosses over
Rock Creek Park and the Parkway

These examples, in Canada and Washington, offer a glimpse of how planners can best link our urban greenspaces. Corridors like these leverage our greenspaces and we should do more to encourage their construction.

Touching the Past

The rails embedded in the streets of Georgetown have long been dormant, yet they are one of the last tangible reminders of a transportation network long gone from Washington. For six and a half decades, from 1895 until 1960, trolleys plied tracks alongside the Potomac on their way to the loop at Cabin John, Maryland. Today, this line leaves much more evidence of its existence than other lines, but still only a few traces remain.

The history of the Cabin John Trolley goes back to 1892, when the Washington and Great Falls Electric Company was chartered. In August of 1895, streetcars were running from the Aqueduct Bridge in Georgetown to a loop just east of the MacArthur Boulevard bridge over Cabin John Creek.

Sunlight filters through the boards
of the decaying Foundry Branch
Bridge near Georgetown

From Georgetown to Cabin John the line operated in a private, semi-exclusive right-of-way. Within the City of Washington, the line traversed city streets from Union Station to Georgetown University. In later years, the route was number 20.

Route 20 had the honor of serving Washington's trolley park. Like Pittsburgh's Kennywood and New York's Coney Island, these early amusement parks were built to garner transit ridership. In this region, Washingtonians took the trolley out to Maryland to spend the weekend at Glen Echo Park.

A Philly PCC in front of the
Glen Echo Park entrance

Today, the notes of carousel music still drift through the trees, but the clang of trolley bells can no longer be heard. The glory days of the trolley park went the same way of the golden era of the trolley. Glen Echo Park only survived 8 years after the demise of the Cabin John trolley. Recently, a PCC streetcar was brought back to the restored park. This vehicle was a part of a fleet of streetcars running on Philadelphia's streets, and it's good to see this relic at the park. It's in bad shape, though.

Streetcars have been absent from Glen Echo for 48 years, but traces remain.

Yesterday, I when into the Potomac Valley to trace this artifact before it is forever washed away. The photographs here are the record of my adventure. The former right-of-way is easily accessible by bicycle. From Georgetown it's a short bike ride up the Capital Crescent Trail to the tunnel under the C&O Canal at Foundry Branch. Once on the north side of the canal, a few steps up Foxhall Road leads to a vista of a rusting trestle. I continued up the C&O to Cabin John and returned along MacArthur Boulevard, which shadows the old streetcar line.

A volleyball net stretches across
the ROW in Sherier Place, NW DC

In a few places, the ROW is visible as an extra wide median in neighborhood streets. I wonder if the residents of Brookmont realize that streetcars used to ply the center of Broad Street or if those living along Sherier Place in Northwest can remember streetcars gliding by?

Streetcars no longer glide through
Brookmont in Montgomery County
but their legacy remains in this green space

In Georgetown, on O & P Streets between Wisconsin and 35th, rails are still embedded in the cobblestones. Here, one can see the unique third rail conduit exclusive to DC. Congress forbade the use of overhead wires, so streetcars had to use an underground power source. The resulting trench was hard to maintain, but Washington made do.

Rails in P Street NW in Georgetown

After Georgetown, Route 20 streetcars stopped at a plow pit and changed to overhead catenary for the remainder of the trip to Cabin John.

Except for a segment through the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant, the right-of-way is moslty still intact. I'm not sure about the ownership, but the grading for the streetcar is clearly visible all the way to Cabin John Creek. The line is quite overgrown in places, and a few decaying bridges remain as the last vestiges of this piece of history.

The streetcar bridge over Foundry
Branch near Georgetown University

The cut for the streetcar loop at Cabin John is also quite noticeable. The outbound half of the loop is quite clear of underbrush, and seems to be in use as a walking path. The inbound part of the loop is very overgrown and is not really accessible. The loop falls entirely within the Cabin John Regional Park of Maryland's M-NCPPC.

Here, the grading of the loop is still
clearly visible after 48 years of dormancy.

I think it has a lot of potential as a heritage streetcar line, but it would also be expensive--perhaps prohibitively so.

Historic pictures:
http://capitaltransit.home.comcast.net/~capitaltransit/rh/20/index.html
http://www.davesrailpix.com/dct/dc.htm

Metro Service Advisory: 8/29-9/1

This Labor Day weekend, Metro will be undertaking major track rehabilitation on the Blue and Yellow Lines in Virginia. There will be NO RAIL SERVICE between National Airport and Braddock Road from 9PM Friday until opening Tuesday.


Yellow Line trains will operate between Greenbelt and National Airport and between Huntington and Braddock Road.

Blue Line trains will operate between Largo and National Airport and between Franconia-Springfield and Braddock Road.

Shuttle buses will operate every 5 minutes between Braddock Road and National Airport.

Metro advises adding 30 minutes to your travel times through the area.

See their press release here.

UPDATE: 8/25: 3:12P
I just noticed that on my map, Stadium-Armory's dot does not appear. This is just a typo. Stadium-Armory WILL BE OPEN as usual this weekend.

Assets: Charm, Culture, History

This post is the third in a series of posts I am writing about lessons planners could learn from Canada. My recent trip showed me North American cities that have done a better job of managing their urban fabric than is typical south of the 49th Parallel.

Thursday I asked you to guess where the above photo was taken. I was surprised not by the accuracy of the responses, but rather by the lack of "Europe" as an answer.

Quebec City is perhaps the most European place this side of Europe. Arriving at Gare du Palais, one is treated to quite a wakeup call. You're supposed to have to arrive at an Airport to get to Europe from North America, not a train station.


I've always found Canada's bilingual nature attractive. From cereal boxes to street signs, the Canadians do it in two languages. Except in Quebec. Here in la belle province, French culture is almost overwhelming. Montreal is cosmopolitan enough to be bilingual and while many of the Quebecois in Quebec City speak English, many don't (or won't admit it).

But that's not what makes this place feel European.

The urban form is breathtakingly European. Quebec still has its city walls, still has its winding narrow streets, still has its connection to its past.


This connection is something that I think many American cities lack. In today's world of global media and trade, it is extremely difficult to keep everything from clothes to speech unique. But the urban form is something which should be harder to change than one's jeans. Unfortunately, in the name of progress, we have torn down culturally significant buildings and wiped neighborhoods like those in Vieux-Quebec off the map.


Perhaps we can restore some of these areas. But I think it is significant to note that it is not impossible to sustain a European urban from in North America. Canada's gasoline prices are only slightly higher than ours, so the pressure to suburbanize is probably strong there too. And sprawl does exist in the Great Lone Land. Perhaps policy is where the difference lies.

Regardless, I think many lessons from the urban form in Quebec can be taken. Nowhere else in North America will you find such a place as this.

The license plates in Quebec proclaim "Je me souviens." I remember.

It seems we would also do well to remember our past too.

I am a huge supporter of new urbanism, although admittedly it has its flaws. I am an even bigger supporter of old urbanism. Quebec is a great example of this.

One Cross Tie Closer

I just wanted to draw your attention to an article in today's Post. According to the paper, the FTA has authorized the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to begin construction on the Dulles Metrorail Project (Phase I).

Some work is already being done in the Tysons Corner area. This work is utility relocation and was not technically part of the Metro project, although it is necessary before Metro construction can commence. The work authorized by FTA is not a formal go-ahead. They could still say no to the $900 million in federal funding, but allowing construction to start is very promising of final approval.

Phase one of the Dulles Metrorail Project will create a new Metro line, the Silver Line running along with Orange Line trains from Stadium-Armory to East Falls Church. It will also construct new track from East Falls Church to Whiele Avenue along the Dulles Toll Road. In Tysons Corner, the line will detour through the business district.

For other posts on the Silver Line, click here.

Great Cities Have Great Parks

This post is the second in a series of posts I am writing about lessons planners could learn from Canada. My recent trip showed me North American cities that have done a better job of managing their urban fabric than is typical south of the 49th Parallel. Sorry it has been so long in coming.

From Halifax, my trip took me to Montreal, a charming city on the Saint Lawrence River (proncounced san la ranh). It's almost hard to believe that Montreal is a North American city, but as European as it is, it is also clearly of the new world.

What struck me as Montreal's greatest asset were its large parks. While pocket parks are certainly essential to all urban places, they aren't the kind of parks to which I am referring. I am rather referring to the types of large urban spaces that Frederick Law Olmstead was so famous for.

In the center of the Island of Montreal stands Mount Royal from which Montreal gets its name. This entire mountain is a beautiful Olmstead-designed park. The park appears wild, which is often a feeling Olmstead often tried to create. It offers a great place to get away from the city without actually leaving. Once under the tree canopy, one can really almost forget that one is surrounded by one of Canada's largest metropolises.

On the shoulder of the mountain, a meadow appears complimented by a beautiful lake. This lake (Lac aux Castors/Beaver Lake) was reminiscent for me of Lake Clara Meer at another Olmstead Park, Atlanta's Piedmont Park. Higher up, one reaches an overlook and plaza. Here, the views of downtown Montreal are breathtaking, rivaled perhaps only by the view of Pittsburgh from Mount Washington.

In addition to Mount Royal Park, Montreal is complimented with parks running along the Saint Lawrence. In an attempt to view the rapids on the river upstream from Montreal, my traveling companion (who is a whitewater enthusiast) set off along the Metro to Angrignon. From there we walked through some quiet neighborhoods to the riverside park, known as Parc Honorable George-Oreilly. The Lachine Rapids are quite amazing, but I was more impressed with the park. I was reminded strongly of my time in Europe by this greenway stretching as far as the eye could see in either direction. I suppose it is similar to the parks along Chicago's lakefront as well. At any rate, it is a well done park. I would love to have a park like this along the Potomac inside of the Beltway.

And of course, no visit to Montreal would be complete without a visit to Parc Jean-Drapeau, site of the 1967 Montreal Exposition. This park is on two islands in the middle of the Saint Lawrence. A short Metro ride from the city center, the park has its own stop. Of course in this case, the Jean-Drapeau Metro Stop was built to serve visitors to the Montreal Expo, but even if it weren't for that, I think access to parks is a worthwhile use for transit. I wonder if the FTA would look so favorably on a stop like Jean-Drapeau?

But even though Montreal has many good examples of parkland, it also has one example of poor urban design. The home of Olympic Stadium, Parc Olympique is the precise opposite of what Jane Jacobs would consider good urban form. The park is bleak and desolate, dominated by concrete. There were a few tourists about, but by and far the park was far to quiet to feel secure. Perhaps it was different during the Olympics, but the park should have also been designed for the post-Olympics.

This park is part of Montreal's Olympic legacy as much as Munich's is, but in my opinion, Olympiapark in Munich is a far better remnant than what we see in Quebec. Of course, it's not too late for the park in Montreal. A number of changes would dramatically improve the atmosphere. More greenery would be an excellent start, and so would moving some of the walkways back down to street level where the "eyes on the street" concept would add a better feeling of security. Additionally, bringing more uses to the area would result in the park being more peopled.

All in all, it seems that Montreal would be a good place to take a lead from when it comes to park building.

Thoughts?