BaderJF

Are there any renderings for phase 2 (hotel/apartment tower)?

Now they are working on the 14th floor. Photos from today:

I drove by a few times and there is a garage being belt, is there going to be a building or a high rise there? It's right across the street from Walgreens

No it's not hard for monorail to turn sharply, here are some pictures of Sydney's monorail system, and you can clearly see how sharp the turn is in a very tight area. Also the vehicle/pedestrian traffic wouldn't be consistent with light rail. They are elevated and the columns can be 2ft wide and wouldn't take space from the center of Westheimer which is about 3-5 ft wide. It would be easily funded if we didn't have those stupid people who oppose rail and want us to stay in the 19th century. Also it can be privately funded for future returns like tollways. Many huge events were lost because of the lack of public mass transit like FIFA and the Olympics

It's monorail not elevated rail there is big difference, as you can see in the pictures they are low profile, the columns and beams can have many designs to look nice and appealing for which ever area it's passing through. As for increasing development on westheimer, there are many undeveloped properties, that can be developed into new shopping centers, restaurants and even some mid rises and high rises in westchase. And how they make profit is to increase ticket price a bit maybe to $2.00 instead of $1.25, more space for advertising, and the low cost of operating them and there reliability. some monorails are operated by private companies

Hello everyone, this is my first post/topic on HAIF and hopefully you guys like it. I have been living in Houston for the past 8 years and one of the main things Houston has a problem with is lack of public transportation (rail) and traffic. For as long as I have lived here I always hoped they would build a "west/East" line in west Houston, which is where most people live. And I think it would help so much in easing heavy traffic on Wesheimer, Richmond, and San Felipe. In my opinion, I think the best and most effective transit line for west Houston would be a monorail, although it may costs much more than light rail, it's much easier to build, doesn't disturb vehicle or pedestrian traffic, and it will attract many people to ride it since it's elevated and will have nice views of Houston's skylines (Downtown, Medical Center, Greenway, Uptown, Westchase, and the energy corridor). I think the best first monorail in Houston should start from the south east line under construction located on Scott st. and Elgin st. intersection, going towards west Houston until it reaches "West Oaks Mall" Around 19.7 miles long. All the stations are elevated. The "Galleria station" and "West Oaks Mall Station" would have both a street and a bridge connection to the malls. The "Westchase I Station" is marked major because of the existing and future office/hotel development. Pros: - Help many students at UH, TSU, UST, and HCC. - Ease traffic on many streets/freeways. - Increase development on Westheimer. - Help the city in attracting more events and tourists. - Easy and super fast construction using columns and beams. Dig a hole, drop in column, connect with beams, all pre-made in factory. - Doesn't affect vehicle or pedestrian traffic like light rail does. - Environment friendly - Makes more profit than light rail. - No worries about accidents with cars or stopping for signals. - Very reliable Cons: -Very expensive, may cost from $10 million to $90 million per mile, the longer the cheaper. Here is the picture I made showing the line and stations: (Click to enlarge) Some Pictures I found online: How its going to look in Houston: What do you guys think of the "West Houston" Line???