I had emailed some of the people in charge of the T2 Working Group in Louisville, asking various questions that I was unable to find answers for - I had recently heard some interview on State of Affiars about the “T-2″ project. Here is the response I received:

Thanks for your question. We’ve had quite a response from the radio show.
It’s great to know that people are listening.

Apologies that the website wasn’t able to get you the information that you
needed. We’re always trying to update and keep information current and
accessible there, so please check back in a few months.

Why Light Rail?
There’s not a quick and easy answer to the question.
We’ve worked hand in hand with our Work Group comprised of citizens from the
community, agency representatives, elected officials and business members
(about 150 active members with over 500 on the mailing list.) They’ve been
key to every decision made, including the selection of the consultant being
utilized to conduct the many studies we have embarked upon. In the first
phase of work, the Major Investment Study, the Work Group looked at several
alternatives, including busways, light rail, bus rapid transit, monorail,
and commuter rail. From this study, it was narrowed down to bus rapid
transit or light rail. In the end, light rail was chosen as the locally
preferred alternative because it was seen to have a greater positive impact
on development around station areas; it could carry more people more
efficiently and can coexist with pedestrians, bikes, other buses, cars, and
trucks. Busways can as well, and busways or bus rapid transit systems do
have station area development around them, but their success and
implementation is somewhat limited. Most transit systems with busways aren’t
stand alone, they’re tied into a rail system.

In addition to the station area development benefit, there were some
qualifications that the Work Group had. They wanted the system to be able to
fit seamlessly in with existing urban streets and neighborhoods with the
least visual impact. Also, there was some concern with using tested
technologies. A monorail or mag lev system did not meet these
qualifications. An underground system wasn’t explored mainly because of
cost. It’s many times more expensive to build a system underground.

There are portions of our proposed alignment that are elevated. Towards the
southern end, the alignment parallels and crosses the CSX tracks, it’s
elevated there. It’s also elevated around and through the airport and KFEC.
The last elevated portion is around Hill Street. The CSX track is elevated
and our line would run parallel to it. The elevated structures add some
cost, but this is where much of the speedier travel times can occur.

As a final note, we do have five other corridors in the long range plan and
we are continually collecting information on new technologies, as well as
keeping current with existing systems. Light Rail might not be the best
solution for these other corridors.

Our next Work Group Meeting is on Wednesday, December 4th at 1:15 pm (for
newcomers) with the rest of the meeting from 2pm to 4pm. It will be held at
the Cathedral of the Assumption at 443 S. 5th St in the Undercroft. If you
can make it, we’d be happy to have you.

Sincerely,

Carrie Butler Karen Scott
T2 Communications Coordinator T2 Project Director
1000 West Broadway 1000 West Broadway

Louisville KY 40203 Louisville KY 40203
phone: 502-213-3490 phone: 502-213-3484
cbutler@ridetarc.org
kscott@ridetarc.org
www.t-2.org