This appendix to Ken Dobinson's Car
Cult Country is historically significant because it gives an
insight into the muddled transport thinking of the period.
By 1979, when Dobinson visited North
America, the failure of the purely freeway-based urban model that
followed the campaign to remove the tramway systems from US cities
had become painfully apparent. But the problem was that, having so
recently and enthusiastically colluded in the removal the large,
efficient, high-capacity streetcar systems, town planners and state,
city, and federal politicians were politically reluctant to admit
error and restore them. Whatever was done in the way of mass public
transit would thereafter have to be an appropriately futurist
“Jetsons solution”.
This was the genesis of the Miami
aerial “people mover” projects described in Dobinson's appendix.
Miami, in fact built two such systems: the “aerial rail rapid
transit” mentioned by Dobinson, and the downtown “people mover”
which is the focus of the appendix. Of course, as he records, most
emphasis was on the provision of buses.
The aerial rail rapid transit, now
known as Metrorail
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrorail_(Miami-Dade_County)
which opened in 1984, features low-capacity metro-style rolling
stock, is 39.3 km long and in 2014 had a daily ridership of only
78,000. The downtown loop, now known as Metromover
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metromover)
which opened in 1986 is 7.1km long, with very low-capacity vehicles
and has a daily ridership of only 35,000.
Ironically, the aerial people movers
were (and are), compared to traditional light rail, very expensive,
ugly, intrusive, inconvenient to access, and of low capacity. While
the aim of running them above street level was to save road space for
cars, the need to put the system on heavy piers meant that footpaths
had to be disrupted or a lane taken out of a road.
Sydney eventually got its own Jetsons
solution: the much-hated and now-removed monorail
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Monorail)
which opened in 1988.
According
to Wikipedia: “The decision to build the monorail over other forms
of rail (e.g. light rail) was in the eyes of many a political
decision. Light rail would have been $20 million cheaper to build,
service more passengers per hour and cost 40% less for a ticket, but
the monorail system prevailed.”
Ken
Dobinson's advocacy for “people movers” in his 1979 report
probably played a part in the 1985 decision to build the Sydney
Monrail.
-------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX IV
MIAMI DOWNTOWN PEOPLE MOVER
Metropolitan Dade county and the city of Miami, Florida, are
in the process of developing a public transportation system in which three
major system elements are being combined with the intention of transforming
travel habits of future generations. The first element involves the doubling of
the bus system for the region from its present 500 to more than 950 buses operating
in a coordinated regionwide network. The second element is an aerial rail rapid
transit system, the first stage of which is 20.5 miles, serving the most
densely traveled commuter corridors in the urban area of more than 1,600,000
people. The third element is a Downtown People Mover system providing
circulation from the rapid transit line to major centers of economic activity
in the downtown area.
The bus improvements and the rapid transit improvements have
already received federal commitments to bring them to completion. At this time,
the preliminary engineering on the Downtown People Mover project is moving forward
in anticipation of a federal commitment in the near future.
To date, people movers installed in such controlled environments
as airports and recreation parks around the country have proven themselves as
workable systems To investigate the benefits of people mover systems in urban
downtown areas, the urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) in mid-1976
held a competition for funding demonstration systems, and eleven finalist cities,
including Miami, were selected. Four of the eleven - Cleveland, Houston, Los
Angeles and St. Paul - were given approval in December, 1976, for federal
funding of their proposed DPM systems; however, the Miami/Dade County DPM
Proposal was handled differently. In this case, UMTA authorized funding Miami’s
Downtown People Mover by allowing Metropolitan Dade County to reprogram funds
from its existing federal transit commitments.
UMTA’s commitment to the Miami/Dade County DPM system was
reaffirmed by letter in December, 1977, by Administrator Richard S. Page. In
May, 1978, more than one year after the other four cities, Dade County received
final approval from UMTA to carry out a $1,350,000 preliminary engineering
program. This phase of the project - which began in the Fall 1978 and will
continue for 15 months - includes preliminary investigations and defining the
full system, capital cost analysis and staging plan, system criteria and
requirements, preliminary design, right-of-way acquisition and renewal requirements,
performance specifications, safety and security program, cost estimate and
implementation schedule, environmental impact statement, citizen
participation/public information program support and procurement bid package.
Gannett Fleming/SKBB, a Joint Venture of engineering and architectural
consulting firms is General Engineering Consultant (GEC) to the County.
On May 5, 1979, the GEC recommended a Stage I system to the
County. As shown on the map on the following page, the Stage I DPM system is
1.96 miles long and consists of interior and exterior loops over which the
people mover vehicles will run in opposite directions. Throughout most of the
guideway the two loops are combined on a single structure, but between stations
G and M they split apart, following separate routes. There are seven double
guideway stations and two single guideway stations on the system. Maintenance
facilities will be located on undeveloped land beneath I-95 expressway off ramps.
By virtue of the alignment of Dade County’s Rapid Transit
System through downtown, the People Mover System will have a main station
integrated with the main rapid transit station. Thus, the DPM will be a
distributor with a substantial portion of its ridership transferred from the
rail rapid transportation system. The close coordination of the People Mover
System and the rapid transit line insures that the combined ridership on the
two systems will be more than would occur on both if they operated separately.
Major downtown activity areas served by the Stage I DPM
system include the Government Center, the Flagler Street Retail Core, the DuPont
Plaza and Convention Center Development areas, and the Educational Complex
under development along N. E. 3rd and 4th Streets.
The Government Center is a complex of public facilities
currently under development by all levels of government. Included in this
district are office buildings for the State of Florida, Metropolitan Dade County
and the City of Miami. Ground breaking will take place shortly for a new public
Library and Art Museum. The federal government has recently opened a new downtown
post office in the area. The DPM Station G is located underneath the main downtown
rapid transit station. DPM Stations H, O and P, one block north and one block
south of Flagler Street, are designed to serve the retail activities in this
area. A station with direct access to Miami's largest department store,
Burdines, is located at Miami Avenue and S. E. 1st Street.
The DuPont Plaza and Convention Center Development Areas are
served by Stations M and N. Office buildings containing more than one million
square feet of rentable space are now on the drawing boards. At least two major
new hotels are also under development.
The education complex served by station P, E and F will
include major expansion of Miami Dade Community College to a block north and
south of its existing facility. A downtown campus for Florida International University
is envisioned in the long range plan for this area.
UMTA’s purpose in the Downtown People Mover program is to
use existing people mover technologies with minimum modifications for
installation in a downtown area; and to determine whether or not DPM systems
can substitute for more costly rail systems. People movers are currently
installed in at least 17 locations, primarily recreation parks and airports, and
several are under construction. The appendix to this paper describes the
principal features of existing people mover technology.
Although the specific system for Miami has not yet been
selected, the DPM being planned for Miami will have vehicles about 30 feet long
with a normal capacity of approximately 50 passengers, including standees. The
vehicles will be automatically controlled, propelled by on-board electric motors
deriving propulsion power from power rails with the guideway. Mounted on columns,
the guideway will be elevated above the street in the public right-of-way.
By 1985, 30,000 daily riders are forecasted to use the
system. The capital costs for Stage I are expected to be approximately $75 m.illlion.
Annual operating costs are $1.8 million. Capital financing is expected to
include participation from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, the
Florida Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Dade County, the City of Miami
and the downtown Miami private sector.
APPENDIX
What are the Physical Components
of a People Mover System?
A people mover system has four major components: the vehicles
the guideway on which they travel, stations, and the control system employed to
manage and operate the system Brief descriptions of these four elements follow.
Vehicles
People mover vehicles have been designed using a variety of technical
and design approaches. There are various types of accommodations, entry and exit
provisions for passengers, and overall design. The size of the vehicle is the
prime determinant of its passenger carrying
capacity, which may vary from less than 20 to over 100 passengers.
The majority of people mover vehicles are made of aluminum
or fiberglass and are lighter than conventional rapid transit cars. This size
and weight difference allows for narrower and lighter duty guideways, smaller stations,
and lower energy consumption.
Guideway
Reports on existing people mover installations indicate that
guideway construction, generally consisting of steel or reinforced concrete sections,
is the largest single cost element (as high as 50% to 70% of total capital
cost). Vehicular operation requires the use of exclusive guideways to eliminate
interference from conflicting traffic. Most installations have elevated guideways,
and in this way provide for the required isolation for vehicular flow. These
elevated guideways can be designed with a high degree of aesthetic appeal with
very little disruption to the existing street pattern. lt may also be possible
to locate certain elevated sections and stations at the second or third floor
levels of downtown buildings, thus facilitating access to the people mover system
and blending with the existing building structure. Street level and underground
guideways are also possible. Street level guideways may be less costly to construct than elevated structures, but provision
for separation from street traffic would then be necessary. Underground guideways
are also possible. However, the cost of tunneling then becomes a significant
factor.
Two additional elements of a people mover system are often associated
with the guideway – power collection and switching. Power collection is
generally accomplished by power rails on the guideway and power collectors on
the vehicle. Switching can be accomplished either by a vehicle mounted mechanism
or by moveable beams or sections on the guideway.
Stations
Stations are located along the guideway for passenger access
and egress. The location and distance between stations are prime determinants of
passenger accessibility to the system. Stations play an important role in system
operation since they serve as queue points in peak periods and may serve as a vehicle
storage points in off-peak hours. Stations also are
the main interface between vehicles and passengers: therefore, their design
must provide for efficient boarding and alighting procedures.
Control System
Since no driver is needed for the vehicles, a control system
which "manages" the people mover system is required. In general, the
lever of sophistication of the control system increases as the operational capabilities
of the system grows, ie., switching capability, provision for off-line
stations, and short headways between vehicles.
Controls for existing systems often differ in the functions
they perform. Some of these functions,
not all of which are necessarily performed by each oi the existing control systems,
are:
·
regulation of vehicular position, speed, and total
vehicular flow;
·
dispatching logic to serve trip requests;
·
response to emergency conditions;
·
system status checks performed by control personnel;
·
performance of corrective action commands from
control personnel.
