“Sustaining the Metropolis: LRT & Streetcars for Super Cities” is the theme of the 12th National Light Rail Conference Session being convened by APTA and the Transportation Research Board Nov. 11-13 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

 

This year’s event will focus on how mid-size metropolitan regions can benefit by investing in light rail and streetcars and ways that these moves can improve connections between Americans and employment opportunities.

 

Conference activities will begin Sunday evening, Nov. 11, with the Opening Reception and—in the same room—the Light Rail & Streetcar Products and Services Showcase. 

 

The Opening General Session convenes Monday morning, Nov. 12, with speakers presenting numerous perspectives on the light rail and streetcar industry across the U.S. Concurrent sessions during the morning will examine topics such as the effect of a public transit agency’s devision to invest in rail transit on the agency’s performance and the travel behavior of its patrons; the use of proof-of-payment fare collection; light rail and streetcars in urban and university centers; and the ongoing evolution of light rail vehicle and streetcar techonology.

 

The General Luncheon, “Strategies and Tactics to Achieve Rapid Network Implementation,” will report on how Salt Lake City’s Utah Transit Authority (UTA) met the challenges of creating a modern-day rail system. UTA provides service on TRAX light rail and FrontRunner commuter rail.

 

Monday afternoon sessions will consider the flexibility of light rail transit in adapting to changes in the region it serves; the community decision-making process; the relationship between transit-oriented development and investment in light rail and streetcars; and traffic engineering innovations. The “Evening Forum,” which begins at 7 p.m., will feature an interactive panel discussion of federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century legislation, which includes fundamental changes to the program development path for light rail transit and streetcar projects.

 

More educational sessions convene Tuesday morning, Nov. 13, on such issues as the relationship between urban streetcars and regional light rail; right-of-way treatments to enhance system operations and aesthetics; and lessons learned from France’s state-of-the-art light rail operations.

 

UTA will host numerous technical tours on Tuesday afternoon. Tour participants will have a choice among visiting the Jordan River Service Center; the entire route of the TRAX Airport line, which opens in April 2013; the TRAX University Line, including a presentation at the Rice Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus; early construction of the Sugar House streetcar line; and a tour and discussion of TOD sites.

UTA currently operates TRAX light rail on three lines.