Light rail pros and cons easy to see, but feasibility and timing shrouded by uncertainties

Light rail: visionary or too soon?

Northwest Arkansas' railway system was mostly dismantled years ago and available routes are being put to other uses.
An example is the east-west tunnel under the north-south Arkansas and Missouri railway in south Fayetteville.

The east-west track was removed years ago and the tunnel filled in. The developers of Aspen Ridge graded away the embankment for it as they prepared ground for a town-house project in 2005.

A walking trail is slated roughly to follow the route and the tunnel is expected to be opened for that project. That trail is to join the "Frisco" Trail west of the new library. The Frisco Trail was built on a portion of the same rail route and took trains north to Dickson Street just east of what is now known as Tanglewood Branch.

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ONE MAY click the link to ENLARGE and easily use one's cursor to move the map and follow the rail lines north to Rogers, noting the breaks in the right of way at various places. Then go see what has been done to the old rail routes since this satellite image was recorded. The mindless development has done a lot of damage since the land looked as it did here.

All manner of construction has affected that route and the problem continues as the city builds more trail toward North Street. And the mayor and trail coordinator talked, on a televised promotion of the trail work, about the city's having bought some Frisco land along the A&M rail corridor for the Scull Creek Trail and said they may sell what isn't needed for the trail to a private developer.
Not progressive thinking!
Don't reduce the right of way any further. If interest in light rail and the need continues to grow, the first problem will be routing it, also known as acquisition of right of way.
In my lifetime, the situation has changed from railways being the major mode of travel to their being almost eliminated in many parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the largest and oldest cities in the states with the largest population levels continued to develop and lengthen rail lines underground, on the surface and even raised above street level in some spots.
The enormous population explosion was predicted but cheap fuel and every family's desire to own multiple automobiles and the increasing use of semi-trailer rigs by the shipping industry reduced the viability of the railroads to the point that many simply were closed.
Turning the railroad land into trails was a practical and sensible thing to do, but the best part of that effort was keeping the right of way in public ownership. The wisest of trail enthusiasts knew that rail lines would be required again as the population ballooned and our current traffic situation developed.
Unfortunately, many costly things have been built on former railroad land, making putting rails back in place very expensive.
Rail lines and stream corridors coincide worldwide because of the necessity of the railways to use gentle slopes. Nothing should be built in a rail corridor or a stream corridor. Failure to recognize this obvious principle has already done a great deal of environmental damage. And the economic effects will long be felt.