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DNAguy

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Everything posted by DNAguy

  1. DNAguy
    You're telling me that ppl will pay more $ for a train ticket if it means they built noise canceling walls vs. a ticket that cost less that's on an ugly elevated rail line? The customer is the person riding the train (mostly business ppl), not the individuals that live in the neighborhood by the tracks. Yes, I know there might be some spill over, but lets not pretend that a pretty train really matters here.
  2. DNAguy
    People can 'want' until the cows come home. This is private money, though. 'Want' has nothing to do with this. The only thing that matters here is '$'.
  3. DNAguy
    If highways can do it, then by golly I'm sure we can figure out how to do it w/ tracks. I'm not saying it would be as cheap as reducing their capacity, but it can be done. Some thoughts off the top of my head: 1 idea: Construct a temporary 3rd track if necessary / room in ROW. Maybe needed, maybe not. More likely: Dig partial trench on one side. Dig dig under street / ROW while supporting it. Support under freight lines. Install tracks on trenched portion. Open trenched tracks for freight. Start trenching other side for what will be HSR. I know it sounds simple, but its amazing what can be done w/ a staged plan. Now there may be UP/BNSF outages every once in a while but they don't use those tracks 24/7.
  4. DNAguy
    Both of these statements are incorrect. With a trench and cap or partial cap, you can get your desired 4 tracks in the trench while having either light rail or roads as an overhang / cap on top. The trenching would be down in stages and can be done w/ minimum effect to train operations. The idea that the elevated section would be anything other than what the METRO is going to build for the LR in the 2nd ward is laughable. It will be done the cheapest way possible and look like the HOV section that goes from I10 to downtown. An elevated track here will be an eyesore for the community, further divide SN22, and suppress home values along the tracks even further. Even if we were to trench, would the company bear the brunt of a trench and cap? No. It's too cost prohibitive. Literally might cost as much to trench this section as the whole other 200+ miles. TXDot, UP/BNSF, TCR, METRO, and the city will have to go in on this together..... which almost assuredly means that this will never happen. So b/c we want to do the elevated section on the cheap..... NIMBY's will rightfully fight the project...... So then the TCR will back away from this alignment.... and we get a station at Northwest mall.
  5. DNAguy
    Because most of us here are 'city folk' and have no land in the country, I'd be curious if you'd give us some of your concerns as a rural land owner. Would having a high speed train through your property be a major inconvenience? What kind of concessions would you accept if it indeed had to go through your property?
  6. DNAguy
    IDK about this... how nice can this really be? I mean it sits across the street from a Wal Mart....
  7. DNAguy
    No way that the home owners and businesses along that line would allow an elevated train that runs at 200 mph. Simply too much noise and it would be way too ugly.
  8. DNAguy
    If the train is brought into DT, the HSR and UP tracks would have to be trenched. I don't think you can fit 2 HSR and a freight rail line in the current ROW. In addition, there are security fences and monitoring that would also have to be added for the HSR. In addition, the streets that pass under the current tracks would need to be reconstructed (Yale and ....there's another one but I can't remember). That's a big project that can't be completed in the time frame they want. The only way you get it into DT costs a butt load of $$$$ (prob a billion at least). Something a private company isn't going to pay for when it only means an extra 7 miles. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for them to bring it DT. The trench would be a God send for the neighborhood if it gets capped. I remember a schematic from the SN22 organization that gives a good idea of what it could be.
  9. DNAguy
    And I believe another station gets built out on the Grand Parkway @ 290 eventually (like 20-30 yrs) to advantage of the direct connection (along the tollway) of a built out Woodlands, Tomball, Cypress area, the sprawl that will happen btwn Katy and Cypress, and finally Katy.
  10. DNAguy
    My 2 cents: The Utility line is the best option. The only good Dallas location is downtown. For Houston, downtown option isn't and will be VERY expensive. The Northwest mall location is actually the best.... hear me out... The Northwest mall location has these benefits: 1.) Relative easy access by car / freeway - off 610 + at 290 terminus + close to I10 which all just got upgrades 2.) Way less expensive than routing DT 3.) Large track re-developable land (northwest mall) 4.) In the true center of Houston - remember who will use this... more than likely business ppl a) ~10 min cab ride to DT. b.) <10 minutes to Galleria c.) ~10 minutes to Greenway d.) < 20 minutes to Energy Corridor e.) ~20 minutes to Westchase f.) < 30 minutes from either airport Galleria, greenway, and DT hotels will more than likely offer shuttles to the rail station. Ok and here's the kicker: The station will force METRO to complete LR from the station to downtown AND the Galleria. In addition the station will also likely spur the addition of a commuter service along 290 (I believe this was mentioned in a previous post). See Northwest mall location ideal.
  11. DNAguy
    IMHO, I think the utility option has the greatest chance for success. In addition, the 290 portion can be piggy backed when the Houston to Austin & San Antonio line eventually gets built.... in 30 years or so .....if ever, of course.
  12. DNAguy
    Map of the alignment finalest is up: http://dallashoustonhsr.com/maps-and-pictures/
  13. DNAguy
    All these Westcreek developments are getting me confused. If someone is so inclined, can we get a map of the area (like above) with each development labeled by former parcel? If so inclined that is. Thanks in advance...
  14. DNAguy
    I think ppl are talking past each other here. I don't think that someone who lives in katy and drives downtown for work is going to replace that commute with a high speed train. I mean its too expensive. Bryan-CS isn't a huge draw as far as a community (sorry) that ppl would be willing to pay 40-100 bucks a day to live there & commute to Houston. Yes there might be some ppl who do this, but its probably not worth even counting. What I do think this would do is make a 'business commuter' and draw College Station closer into Houston's economic orbit. The train lets a MD Anderson researcher ALSO do research at A&M. Medical center to CS in less than an hour without a car is now possible. An executive MBA during evenings is now a possibility for those willing to pay the premium for a main campus one vs a houston 'branch'.
  15. DNAguy
    Woodland-Conroe / South Dallas office district
  16. DNAguy
    http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2014/10/grand-parkway-exxon-inspire-new-submarket.html New Caney, Porter, Atascocita, and Humble are now under the control of the Kingwoodianites. Now as someone with family in the northeast of Houston, I for one would like to welcome our suburban overlords and remind them as an active poster on HAIF that I can round up others to frequent the endless new front parking stripmalls, buy homes on cold-a-sacs, and to sit in the mind-numbing sprawl-induced traffic that will result.
  17. DNAguy
  18. DNAguy
    Forgetting something as well?
  19. DNAguy
    MMM.... pointy (Skip to 3:33)
  20. DNAguy

    METRORail Green Line

    DNAguy replied to a topic in Transit

    That overpass is a joke. I want to like METRO. The bus redesign? Great! Then they do something like this. Boondoggle. No one in the community wants this. Why force this on them? To connect the dots? Farse.
  21. DNAguy
    Maybe.... but how will anyone get there when 45 is choked w/ traffic all day and all night?
  22. DNAguy
    I'm struggling with the idea of the HSR station being at Northwest mall. It sux that its not downtown b/c I think a signature DT station would be cool.....it would spur growth.... it caters to the ppl who will prob take it most: Business travelers It sux that its not actually in the Galleria b/c that's kinda like DT..... It's good b/c it might actually get some weight behind building LR from downtown AND the Galleria to the Northwest mall area....5-10 minute LR train ride to both Galleria AND DT. That's sounds appealing. Hmmm.
  23. DNAguy
    That's why I just call it: Tah-Deck-koo stadium.
  24. DNAguy
    Kyle field... Kyle field should have been wiped off the map and rebuilt. Look at this: In the haste to 'beat' the longhorns and build bigger, I guess the aggies forgot that a stadium was supposed to look nice on the inside AND outside. Are they going to fix that tunnel / gap thingy? If Kyle field was a car, it would look like this:
  25. DNAguy
    Not just Dallas and/or LA: http://gizmodo.com/five-cities-turning-ugly-overpasses-into-vibrant-parks-1259568561
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