102IAHexpress Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 17 minutes ago, UtterlyUrban said: I would like to understand: are all cities with light rail networks thinking wrong headed? Possibly. Depends on the underlying justification for light rail construction. If the underlying argument is we need light rail because of the expected increase in ridership. Then we know that's been proven false in city after city. Light rail barely adds any more public transit riders that weren't already there before using public bus transit but at an increased cost of hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars. If the underlying argument is we need light rail because of the expected increase in development. Then we know that's also false in city after city. Look at Dallas Dart stations, look at Metro's Red, Purple and Green stations. If the argument instead is, we know that light rail is not worth the expense however we still want it anyways because we feel it will increase our quality of life, in the sense that public parks or public swimming pools do, then I'm okay with that. Kind of like the allure of hosting the Olympics, yeah it will be super expensive, and probably end up saddling a city with debt for generations but we still want it anyways. As long as we're honest about it, then I don't think it's wrong headed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Are Zurich, London, Vienna, and NYC spending money on light rail only for quality of life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
102IAHexpress Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, UtterlyUrban said: Are Zurich, London, Vienna, and NYC spending money on light rail only for quality of life? No. Not only quality of life. Practically speaking those cities need more rail just to sustain basic quality of life. Also, the heavy rail costs can be justified better in European cities. From a CityLab article from just a few days ago: Nearly all American urban rail projects cost much more than their European counterparts do. The cheaper ones cost twice as much, and the more expensive ones about seven times as much. https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/why-its-so-expensive-to-build-urban-rail-in-the-us/551408/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 How is the basic quality of life different in those cities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 At least its not blank concrete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdog08 Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 On 2/4/2018 at 1:17 PM, 102IAHexpress said: ad hominem attacks are the hallmark of someone with a weak case. For some reason you will not post any data to support your wild claim that the red line created tons of new developments. I have asked in i think at least three posts in this thread, and you refuse to post your data (I think we know why). For those who actually care about data and reason the LA Times published an article yesterday about how billions in public transportation in LA has failed to increase ridership, but offers one possible solution (hint it's not more light rail). LA's Ridership numbers from the article: The following posts, will be something like the following: but but but, LA is not like Houston, it's not a fair comparison, you have no idea what you're talking about. Anyone with half a brain knows that a good bus system is vital to the success of light rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Please take your rail bickering to the appropriate forum. Crikey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Northernmost section looks topped out to 13 stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 At first I thought this was a pre-renovation picture of Le Meridian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Clearly topped out, as the roof is now on the elevator shaft. Today is the first time I have seen them doing any serious work during the daytime; until now work didn't start until 5pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Looks like they are experimenting with different colors for painting the garage. Lots of beiges and browns: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 what a masterpiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Better than a surface lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 And this is *not* how you do one lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 18 hours ago, hindesky said: Better than a surface lot Being gassed in your sleep is probably better than being flogged, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Asked the guys working this if they will close the street when the crane runs out of room, they said yes. Also sounded like they were having a problem with the crane, it needed some mechanical work and they weren't going to be able to unload the beams on a truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Caught them flying up the precast pieces. First 2 pics are the side pieces These 2 pics are the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Looks like they finally decided on a color, now that they have painted the north side -- it will match the garage next to it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 It'd be cool if they could have imitated the Le Meridian's style, and had aqua color accents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 No, you see, this is an artistic statement. By putting this featureless concrete parking garage in direct opposition to one of the most attractive historic buildings in the city, they're showing the futility of nostalgia while also commenting on the regimented consistency of contemporary existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (Please forgive me if this has been discussed elsewhere) How feasible is it to soften the impact of these parking garages by integrating vertical landscaping into the design? IAPW hardy, easily maintained greenery would disguise the structure, and have a cooling effect, both real and perceived. We can rule out the more invasive ivies. Tomatoes would be attractive, but they're seasonal and might drop rotting fruit on unsuspecting passersby. Anything that produces pollen or has a scent would be greeted with howls of protest by allergy sufferers, which means everyone in Houston. I like moss, but some people think it's creepy. Does anyone have info on how this can be realistically achieved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Dbigtex56, I agree with that idea 100%. I suggested something along those lines for the garage the was recently finished just north of the historic district that is a fairly ugly concrete box. There are many examples of living walls on the internet but not sure if it something that most garage operators would probably want to keep up with as far as watering and maintaining them. They can be really beautiful and completely change the harshness of a steel and concrete facade. Heres a link to images of walls. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=living+plnt+walls&FORM=HDRSC2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 They have 2 lanes of Walker closed for the crane and will soon be closing the entire street after they finish this section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Street is completely closed for the crane. They weren't working today but the laminated mats are blocking the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 There's nothing wrong with making money, but when it's the only thing and the community isn't taken into consideration, it's a real shame. This is a sad project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 The garage is now complete. I believe the monthly contract rate is $187+tax. From a promotional email: Garage is open to the public starting October 2018 Garage is used for both visitor and monthly parking All garage functions are managed from the 803 Fannin garage office located on the ground level of the garage Office hours from 8am to 5pm M-F Onsite Security 24/7 Traffic flow through the garage is all one way 1,050 Spaces All unreserved spaces Handicapped spaces located on levels 1 and 1 ½ first come first serve 13 floors, approximately 399,600 sf Three elevators located on the Northwest corner of garage at Fannin and Rusk Clearance Height 7' Two entrances at Fannin Two exits at Walker Pedestrian door access Two at Fannin One at Walker Traffic egress assistance 4PM-6PM M-F Parking access Parking card EZ tag reader High speed roll down grille Location West half of the block (block 94) Bounded by Rusk, Fannin, and Walker streets Adjacent to 1110 Rusk Garage Adjacent to renovated Le Meridien Hotel (Formerly known as Melrose) Aloft Hotel on the opposite side of Fannin street Directly beside the Central Station Capitol EB (Red Line) rail on Rusk Directly across from Texaco building (The Star Apartment) on Rusk Across from Club Quarters Hotel on Fannin and Rusk Photo from a few minutes ago: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Such a beautiful restoration and then this gets plopped down next to it. Downtown really needs to address the garage situation. They're a necessary evil but it is well past time to put some design regulations in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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