tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979080978017564010.post7228344362441851046..comments2024-03-27T02:14:39.904-07:00Comments on Inland Empire Transit Talking Points: Debating a future train depot in central HighgroveA Better Inland Empirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15626446356006938988noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979080978017564010.post-1159851726555061802014-05-13T09:59:49.635-07:002014-05-13T09:59:49.635-07:00Valid predictions and yes, such transit-oriented d...Valid predictions and yes, such transit-oriented development along Iowa Avenue through central Highgrove will certainly increase its population and economic activity. Regarding your point of smart growth economic development occurring in Downtown and Arlington Village versus Highgrove and Grand Terrace, both regions have their own unique features which can entice capital investments. Riverside, as you mentioned, is clearly more populated and developed and houses numerous government services; it can better support higher-density development and taller structures. The latter region has more affordable land and some good agricultural history. It will likely support smaller transit-oriented structures, found in many central cities in the San Gabriel Valley. Integrating this history or other location-unique feature into future development may be very necessary in order to mark this area as a Southern California destination. Think of Riverside and San Bernardino as being the key urban centers for the Inland Empire, where Highgrove and Grand Terrace mimic development now found in places like downtown San Dimas, central Upland or Old Town Temecula.A Better Inland Empirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15626446356006938988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979080978017564010.post-52596502271635261222014-05-13T09:51:42.745-07:002014-05-13T09:51:42.745-07:00Those are good ideas should the whole corridor exp...Those are good ideas should the whole corridor experience such smart economic growth and Route 14's demands increase to the point where such rapid transit will be needed. As we've mentioned, PVL has a stop at Hunter Park which will serve the Highgrove area just to the south of town. RCTC made the correct choice as that is the smart short-range thing to do combined with improving the transfer connections at the downtown station with RTA Route 14 which runs through Highgrove.A Better Inland Empirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15626446356006938988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979080978017564010.post-51018583814545213912014-05-09T22:51:00.342-07:002014-05-09T22:51:00.342-07:00We're talking about a town of 4,000 people. Th...We're talking about a town of 4,000 people. The kind of density and zoning reforms necessary to create a real mixed-use, transit-oriented development around Mr. Barnett's station would be pretty massive, and would probably double the size of the town. If such a project could be constructed, it'd be a great thing, but I sincerely doubt that kind of rapid growth and densification is on even the medium-term horizon for Highgrove. I think you'll see that sort of development happen in existing centers, like downtown Riverside and Arlington Village, before you see it in Highgrove or Grand Terrace.Allie Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08388778275254352958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979080978017564010.post-10689097398082768762014-05-09T22:43:45.425-07:002014-05-09T22:43:45.425-07:00Let's be optimistic. Mr. Barnett's dream s...Let's be optimistic. Mr. Barnett's dream should be readily achieved within the decade at the latest, especially if a private group stepped forward to build the actual station. As for operations, that's where things really get exciting and offers the IE a chance to really set itself apart as not just a bedroom offshoot of LA/OC, but an entire region of promise. The PV Extension of Metrolink likely will not be able to stop at a Highgrove stop. However, the possibility of a CV and the IEOC lines collecting there is great. But a third possibility for connection also exists and might even be the key to getting the whole thing up and running quicker: using Redlands Rail. While it likely isn't economically feasible to run full train sets, DMUs could provide a workable option. An ideal routing would start in Redlands, making stops along the entire Redlands Rail route, continue through the SB Transit Center and Santa Fe Depot, then go south through the BNSF yard to Highgrove (with a stop at a future possible south Colton station), finishing off by taking the PV Line and those stations. Cars could leave at similar times from either end for that run. That routing would serve a critical unfilled gap in the IE transit scene: good connection between the eastern San Bernardino Valley and the Temecula Valley. (Conceivably, folks from the western end of the SB Valley could catch a Metrolink east then transfer to a RR-PV DMU at the San Bernardino station.) Along with connection from a LA-Coachella Line running through Loma Linda/S. Redlands, the "need" to widen San Tim and Reche Canyon/reopen Pigeon Pass can be staved off for awhile longer and at a fraction of the cost of constructing them.marvenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16353100816207270847noreply@blogger.com