connect two existing light rail lines across Lake Washington. Canadian cities Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto are building light rail projects. “Canada is acting a little bit more like the rest of the world,” Freemark said. “Their major cities are building a lot of rail lines and are doing so on a pretty rapid pace, and that is not true in the U.S.” These are some of the major projects expected to open in the U.S. in 2026: • Atlanta will launch a 3.1-mile BRT line from downtown Atlanta to the Atlanta BeltLine. • Baton Rouge, Louisiana, plans to complete a 9.3mile arterial rapid transit line to connect the north and south sides of the city to its downtown. • Kansas City will extend its streetcar line 0.7 miles to Berkeley Riverfront Park, while Orange County, California, expects to open its 4-mile streetcar line connecting the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove. • Seattle’s 7.5-mile light rail extension will 12 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 13, ISSUE 01
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