IronTiger Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I'm wondering about how mass transit systems could work in other cities beyond Houston.Dallas wins hands-down on bus and light rail, while Houston wins on bus but not rail.And what about the others?College Station/Bryan: There is a bus line, but it is not connected between cities, rarely runs, and is pretty inconvenient. Trolley could work between Texas A&M and downtown, but because neither are big on commuting to and fro, it won't work.Waco: Waco's too small for light rail, but a trolley could work in Waco. The abandoned St. Louis Southwestern rail/ROW in downtown Waco would make an excellent trolley. The downtown is close to the university, and the grid would allow for some "testing the water" before it might be expanded to say, Hewitt and Woodway.http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...127716&z=13San Antonio: Light rail would work, it is a big city.Austin: Better keep this one to the buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 There is now a plan to run a TAMU buses to downtown Bryan, I saw it on KRHD abc40 news the other day.I think Bryan/College Station and Waco could handle light rail. Light Rail is meant for smaller cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 I don't think we really share the same concepts on what light rail is and isn't. I mean, when I think of "light rail", I think of DART. I think of the Houston METRO. I think of Philly's SEPTA. Light rail can "transfer" to subway (like NYC's subway or D.C. Metro) or el-rail (Chicago). When I think of trolley, I think of a one-car system, running between the roads with no grade crossings (Galveston or San Francisco), and when I think of commuter rail, I think of...Amtrak.Light rail COULD work for College Station or Waco but it would horrendously uneconomical and would never, ever break even...let alone make a profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I don't think we really share the same concepts on what light rail is and isn't. I mean, when I think of "light rail", I think of DART. I think of the Houston METRO. I think of Philly's SEPTA. Light rail can "transfer" to subway (like NYC's subway or D.C. Metro) or el-rail (Chicago). When I think of trolley, I think of a one-car system, running between the roads with no grade crossings (Galveston or San Francisco), and when I think of commuter rail, I think of...Amtrak.Light rail COULD work for College Station or Waco but it would horrendously uneconomical and would never, ever break even...let alone make a profit.SEPTA is a regional rail system. Light rail is just a small portion of what it does. It does heavy commuter rail, elevated rail, and subways as well.San Francisco's trolley system has many grade crossings and shares the road with traffic.Amtrak doesn't do much commuter rail. Amtrak is more regional and national links, though a few of its shorter segments are also used by commuters. Commuter rail is SEPTA (Philadelphia), NJ Transit (New York), LIRR (New York), Metro North (New York), CalTrain (Obvious), METRA (Chicago, Indiana, Michigan), GO (Toronto), etc...I don't know Bryan or College Station well enough to say whether any form of rail is "right" for either city, or both. But if you have two concentrated locations that lots of people want to get between and don't necessarily need their cars when they get there, rail can work in many forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I don't think we really share the same concepts on what light rail is and isn't. I mean, when I think of "light rail", I think of DART. I think of the Houston METRO. I think of Philly's SEPTA. Light rail can "transfer" to subway (like NYC's subway or D.C. Metro) or el-rail (Chicago). When I think of trolley, I think of a one-car system, running between the roads with no grade crossings (Galveston or San Francisco), and when I think of commuter rail, I think of...Amtrak.Light rail COULD work for College Station or Waco but it would horrendously uneconomical and would never, ever break even...let alone make a profit.I know B/CS and Waco couldn't support a mass transit system like DART, but Houston's METRO rail is basically a street car that looks like a train. We could easily support that. We had one before that went from downtown Bryan to campus. That was over 70-80 years ago. We can defiantly do it now. About 5 years ago the city of Bryan was considering light rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Do you think there's enough demand to have a mass transit company operated commuter bus service running Houston-Galveston, Houston-Beaumont, or Houston-Port Arthur? It may be a bit of a stretch, but then again, I never used to think that Waller County needed public transportation service, but they had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Do you think there's enough demand to have a mass transit company operated commuter bus service running Houston-Galveston, Houston-Beaumont, or Houston-Port Arthur? It may be a bit of a stretch, but then again, I never used to think that Waller County needed public transportation service, but they had it.For some reason when I think of Beaumont, I think of a "dead town," a town that is possibly losing population, I have never been there and I don't know why I think that, but that's what I think of when I think of Beaumont (it could be the opposite of what I think). With that said, I don't think it has enough going for itself to get commuter rail to Houston. But when I think of Bryan College Station, I think of a booming little metro area, that's the 44th fastest growing in the U.S. as of the 2007-2008 Census. And with that said I think commuter rail from B/CS to Houston would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 I know B/CS and Waco couldn't support a mass transit system like DART, but Houston's METRO rail is basically a street car that looks like a train. We could easily support that. We had one before that went from downtown Bryan to campus. That was over 70-80 years ago. We can defiantly do it now. About 5 years ago the city of Bryan was considering light rail.You're right, I was a bit disappointed that the METRO cars were only two cars (and not, say, five or six). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidegate Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 With that many cars you'd end up blocking intersections. For a non grade-separated system as we have, two cars is a reasonable compromise. Maybe they could have three though at peak times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNLV Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Houston/Beaumont is ranked a high 31st in nation in round trips between MSA with 1.7 million people making the trip.I think it was 4th in Texas. I need to find the data to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 You're right, I was a bit disappointed that the METRO cars were only two cars (and not, say, five or six).The two car trains easily handle passenger capacity, everybody gets a seat. One car trains can be tight during peak hours, standing room only and precious little of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 For some reason when I think of Beaumont, I think of a "dead town," a town that is possibly losing population, I have never been there and I don't know why I think that, but that's what I think of when I think of Beaumont (it could be the opposite of what I think). With that said, I don't think it has enough going for itself to get commuter rail to Houston. But when I think of Bryan College Station, I think of a booming little metro area, that's the 44th fastest growing in the U.S. as of the 2007-2008 Census. And with that said I think commuter rail from B/CS to Houston would work.From 1990 to 2000 its population fell slightly. I have a feeling its still falling, or growing at a very marginal rate but maybe I'm way wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centexguy Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Austin's Metro Transportation Authority is about to start a light rail service. It will run from Leander (NW suburb of Austin) to downtown. They've had some setbacks and cost overruns but service should start soon. I actually live just a few miles from the Leander stop but I work from home so I have no use for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I'm wondering about how mass transit systems could work in other cities beyond Houston.Dallas wins hands-down on bus and light rail, while Houston wins on bus but not rail.And what about the others?Waco: Waco's too small for light rail, but a trolley could work in Waco. The abandoned St. Louis Southwestern rail/ROW in downtown Waco would make an excellent trolley. The downtown is close to the university, and the grid would allow for some "testing the water" before it might be expanded to say, Hewitt and Woodway.http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...127716&z=13your s***ing me right? ive been thinking that abandoned line along Mary Ave. would make an awesome streetcar line since i first came to Baylor. even before i lived downtown. it runs right by the Waco Transit Center (or w/e its called) on 8th street, and at least half of the rail line is still in the ground. between the transit station and the bridge across the Brazos. i didnt envision the line being nearly as long though (to Hewitt and Woodway, though that would be interesting).. i was envisioning it from the 8th street transit center north, across the Brazos, and then going up a ramp, turning right to run on the bridge on MLK, continuing along the side of MLK straight to the front entrance of the new football stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 your s***ing me right? ive been thinking that abandoned line along Mary Ave. would make an awesome streetcar line since i first came to Baylor. even before i lived downtown. it runs right by the Waco Transit Center (or w/e its called) on 8th street, and at least half of the rail line is still in the ground. between the transit station and the bridge across the Brazos. i didnt envision the line being nearly as long though (to Hewitt and Woodway, though that would be interesting).. i was envisioning it from the 8th street transit center north, across the Brazos, and then going up a ramp, turning right to run on the bridge on MLK, continuing along the side of MLK straight to the front entrance of the new football stadium. What's cool and what is practical are two different things. Maybe things have changed in Waco in recent years, but the only time I recall there being significant traffic is during events like homecoming at Baylor and even then it's managable. Maybe I've been living in the big city for too long and have a higher threshold for driving pain. I would think some sort of circulator would be feasible, though, going from campus to downtown, which has a lot more restaurants and bars now than it did back in the eighties. Hitting the hotels and the stadium too on game days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 What's cool and what is practical are two different things. Maybe things have changed in Waco in recent years, but the only time I recall there being significant traffic is during events like homecoming at Baylor and even then it's managable. Maybe I've been living in the big city for too long and have a higher threshold for driving pain. I would think some sort of circulator would be feasible, though, going from campus to downtown, which has a lot more restaurants and bars now than it did back in the eighties. Hitting the hotels and the stadium too on game days. i have no idea when the last time you were in Waco was, but sometime in the 2000s i believe, they redeveloped the warehouses between University Parks and 3rd streets into a large mixed use development with shops, restaurants, bars, and residential (Holiday-Hammond), which all back up right to the old rail line. also Behrens Lofts are right on the rail line, the Dr Pepper Museum, and the new Franklin Place apartments, along with the numerous other residential conversions and developments that have gone up recently or are going currently up around downtown. there are at least a few thousand people living downtown now..not to mention the Brazos Commons project if that ever gets off the ground. the rail line runs right by that, and the new planned hotel for the convention center on the corner of Franklin and U.P. backs right up to the rail line.im not saying its needed 24/7.. but maybe on friday evenings, and saturday and sundays or something.. at least to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 i have no idea when the last time you were in Waco was, but sometime in the 2000s i believe, they redeveloped the warehouses between University Parks and 3rd streets into a large mixed use development with shops, restaurants, bars, and residential (Holiday-Hammond), which all back up right to the old rail line. also Behrens Lofts are right on the rail line, the Dr Pepper Museum, and the new Franklin Place apartments, along with the numerous other residential conversions and developments that have gone up recently or are going currently up around downtown. there are at least a few thousand people living downtown now..not to mention the Brazos Commons project if that ever gets off the ground. the rail line runs right by that, and the new planned hotel for the convention center on the corner of Franklin and U.P. backs right up to the rail line.im not saying its needed 24/7.. but maybe on friday evenings, and saturday and sundays or something.. at least to start. We were there in October for homecoming and ate at a Thai place in that mixed development area. Good food but really slow service. For party night service, I would think that at circulator, perhaps free and sponsored by local businesses, would be more appropriate. It could run down Mary or Franklin and then over to Baylor and back. Rice does something similar here on Friday and Saturday nights running between the campus and the bars and restaurants in Rice Village. In that case, it's run using Rice's own campus shuttles, though I can't imagine Baylor running buses to downtown bars. Of course, I never thought they'd ever allow dancing on campus either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 your s***ing me right? ive been thinking that abandoned line along Mary Ave. would make an awesome streetcar line since i first came to Baylor. even before i lived downtown. it runs right by the Waco Transit Center (or w/e its called) on 8th street, and at least half of the rail line is still in the ground. between the transit station and the bridge across the Brazos. i didnt envision the line being nearly as long though (to Hewitt and Woodway, though that would be interesting).. i was envisioning it from the 8th street transit center north, across the Brazos, and then going up a ramp, turning right to run on the bridge on MLK, continuing along the side of MLK straight to the front entrance of the new football stadium. Thanks a lot for bumping this. This thread is five years old, and I would rather to see it stay buried, along with those other threads and posts of mine that run from esoteric to horrible during this era. You wanna know why my "reputation" is deeply red? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Haha sorry man.. I was searching for a Waco development thread abs stumbled across this. If posts like this are why your in the red I'm surprised I'm not in the red.. I come up with and post a good bit of far fetched/ unlikely ideas, especially when it comes to transit. Ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Haha sorry man.. I was searching for a Waco development thread abs stumbled across this. If posts like this are why your in the red I'm surprised I'm not in the red.. I come up with and post a good bit of far fetched/ unlikely ideas, especially when it comes to transit. Ha You live and you learn. Only a lawyer should be digging up ancient posts to throw back in your face. Otherwise, opinions and approaches change over time as you learn new things. I know mine have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arche_757 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 moo. 5 years is a long time. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. *Wow* my "M E H" auto corrected to "moo" ! Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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