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Springwoods Village To Set Aside Land For Possible Light Rail Extension


BigFootsSocks

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So METRO has been talking about their new bus program and I found this little nugget 

 

Despite growth in northwest Harris County, Luhrsen said there are no plans for future park and rides in the Spring area. He said METRO has had preliminary conversations with Springwoods Village developers about setting aside land for a park and ride.

 

“They’ve been back and forth on whether they want to do that,” Luhrsen said. “They’re much more excited about dedicating and setting aside land and room for a light rail expansion. It’s going to be some time before light rail makes it all the way out to Springwoods Village.”

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Light rail? Wtf are they thinking unless they plan to build their own system and connect into commuter rail in the future.. Even if they ever got light rail all the way to Bush, this is still another 10 miles or so north.. That's like a 20 mile LRT extension to the red line..
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Traffic in that area is already a beast.  That area is getting enough population density and enough concentrated employment centers that planning an alternate method of getting around it makes sense, even as a stand alone proposition.

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yeah, looking into things, a stand alone/regional SWV light rail system wouldn't be a bad idea if they can afford it (I've always thought the Energy Corridor could use a standalone LRT line, and the Woodlands could use a streetcar system).. it just sounds like they are hoping for light rail to come all the way out there.. wishful thinking IMO.

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Well the "easiest" (in terms of ROW) would be adding a 3rd rail line down the Hardy. It would need at least one section bumped out to 4 lines so one train could be running in either direction/pass each other. 3 or more (depending on how many trains you're trying to run at once) bump outs could be nice but there is only so much room between the toll road in certain areas.

A trickier/LRT extension could continue up Fulton, merge into Airline until that dead ends by 45, run along side 45 past Greenspoint, and veer off and jump onto Kuykendahl all the way north to Goslin, which will take the LRT along the west side of SWV and TW instead of the east side Hardy line, putting stops much closer to the residential populations. The downside, the ride into the city would take forever. There are a few utility corridors up that way that could make for interesting minimal interruption routes..

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As others have mentioned, the trains can go up to 66mph comfortably, so it's possible it could still be a big improvement over rush hour traffic. Even if it took about the same amount of time, you could argue it's usefulness

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Yeah but the majority of the LRT capacity is standing room only. Do you really want to stand the whole light rail commute from out at the Grand Parkway? Some people stand all day.. There are reasons many of us agreed the LRT/commuter hybrid style lines shouldn't extend beyond the beltway (for the most part).

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In my opinion y'all are missing the smart money here trying to connect the existing Red Line with a Springwoods Village line.

 

These folks in large part wouldn't commute from Downtown Houston--the point would be to connect The Woodlands Town Center with Springwoods Village's CityPlace. Millions of square feet of existing office and retail on the north end, the same thing to be built on the south end. Mutual success would come from the symbiotic relationship. The vast number of highrise condos they could build is only limited by future demand for the lifestyle. A seven or so mile long line with ROW that is dedicated by the development companies would reduce the cost of creating a new line tremendously. If one day such a line connects with the existing Red Line, so be it--but in the near term I doubt such would be the aim.

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Well the "easiest" (in terms of ROW) would be adding a 3rd rail line down the Hardy. It would need at least one section bumped out to 4 lines so one train could be running in either direction/pass each other. 3 or more (depending on how many trains you're trying to run at once) bump outs could be nice but there is only so much room between the toll road in certain areas.

A trickier/LRT extension could continue up Fulton, merge into Airline until that dead ends by 45, run along side 45 past Greenspoint, and veer off and jump onto Kuykendahl all the way north to Goslin, which will take the LRT along the west side of SWV and TW instead of the east side Hardy line, putting stops much closer to the residential populations. The downside, the ride into the city would take forever. There are a few utility corridors up that way that could make for interesting minimal interruption routes..

I think the railroads in the Hardy Toll Road could be maxed out to 4 tracks total.

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I think the railroads in the Hardy Toll Road could be maxed out to 4 tracks total.

Edit to add either two on the left or one on the right and one on the left. If the latter, it might be more conducive for stations.

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If they actually wanted to pursue this, although my dream light rail system ends at the airport, I imagine that the "airport" stop will be a shuttle either way (though one of their "people mover" rail systems going out there would be cool)

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Is the Woodlands planning a light rail line Sparrow?

 

Not likely any time soon.

 

The recent HGAC The Woodlands Township Transit Plan study is big on bus service to build up "a culture of transit" first. However, they do pinpoint a streetcar between Town Center and ExxonMobil for reconsideration as the transit market in the area develops. They're keeping the horse in front of the cart. It's rational and prudent. They also say that for LRT "given the distance from the METRO light rail system, it is unlikely that the cost/benefit would justify a connection to METRO's system." At the same time, this study was done by HGAC, not the developers behind The Woodlands and Springwood Village who would look not solely at existing land use and likely ridership, but the potential for land development and their potential ROI.

 

http://www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5750

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hardy and Red Line Northline would be considered a continuation The route would be Fulton north to Airline north to City View /Greenspoint Mall then to Hardy along Green Rd. The route would curve north to Spring P&R along Hardy to I-45 into Springwood Village This route would be the Red Line continuation .

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Hardy and Red Line Northline would be considered a continuation The route would be Fulton north to Airline north to City View /Greenspoint Mall then to Hardy along Green Rd. The route would curve north to Spring P&R along Hardy to I-45 into Springwood Village This route would be the Red Line continuation .

 

I like the idea in concept, but it would be a huge missed opportunity if it didn't pass through the airport.

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I like the idea in concept, but it would be a huge missed opportunity if it didn't pass through the airport.

Agreed 100%. If the Woodlands builds a rail service to the airport before Houston does, they will anchor themselves as a serious competitor for all other submarkets.
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I like the idea in concept, but it would be a huge missed opportunity if it didn't pass through the airport.

 

Dunno.  With the relatively local use nature of light rail, it seems like IAH would be better served by being a stop on a higher speed, heavier commuter rail running up to The Woodlands, or even Conroe or Huntsville eventually.  Or an Oakland AirBART type spur, perhaps continuing on across to Humble and Kingwood.

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  • The title was changed to Springwoods Village To Set Aside Land For Possible Light Rail Extension

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