PHOTO-MONTAGES

1. SkyWebExpress PRT guideway

The top picture above is an actual photo looking west from near the Big I. The peach-colored poles measure 26 x 31 inches in cross section at ground level, rounded.

The lower picture is doctored in Photoshop, to show what a guideway from SkyWebExpress would look like. Their guideway is about 36 inches square in cross section and uses support poles every 90 feet (nominal). So, it is only slightly bigger than the sign poles that have been built all along I-40. The reason the guideway is so small is because it carries only lightweight vehicles; that's one of the main points of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) technology.

The highway sings and some lamp posts have been erased in the montage. In reality, some of the sky clutter could actually be erased, because the installation of a new guideway would be an opportunity to clean up, perhaps mounting lighting on the guideway. Since an elevated structure is a potential eyesore, we would need to be sure that whatever is elevated is a package deal that includes beautification, lighting, sidewalk improvements and so on, so that the final result is an improvement.

2. ... Other options?

A photomontage of other technologies hasn't been done here. The Rapid Transit Project web site has some samples of rail and bus systems using a center lane.

If you want to do some work on this topic, please send email!