ADCS
-
Posts
562 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by ADCS
-
-
10 hours ago, SamHouston said:
If they decommissioned the Winter Street line, it seems like they would need to double track from the train station, under UHD, across White Oak and by the jail. Seems like a lot of work, no?
The train station/UHD portion will be decommissioned as well. The new bridge will connect the Center St line to Hardy Yards.
-
Yes, pretty much everything from 527 up to the I-10 interchange will be rebuilt.
-
18 hours ago, Luminare said:
I agree. However I kinda want METRO to focus on local transit. I really think we need to lure a different company or create a quasi private government partnership for Heavy Rail. Would be a good idea to wait till TCR activates the HSR. If its successful then rail will go bananas.
Oh, I'm not talking commuter - I'm talking a grade-separated rapid transit system. Since this is a long-term plan, and TCR is more likely, why not have it on the books?
-
46 minutes ago, Luminare said:
From Swamplot today:
Lets change that BRT to Lightrail! We have the government components in place. Time to upgrade that plan!
That's exactly what I was thinking when I saw they were opening the plan up to discussion again.
And why settle there? Let's get heavy rail down Washington or Westheimer!
-
5 hours ago, Angostura said:
This would be big news.
Eh, the comment above was a bit overstated. The line parallel to Washington will stay pretty much intact, while the line on Winter St will be removed altogether as part of the I-45 reroute. There will be a new double-tracked bridge over White Oak Bayou.
-
4 hours ago, august948 said:
Key words: "he views"
-
16 hours ago, august948 said:
Hasn't the community been involved over the past 20 or so years that we've been debating this? I'll bet she's not going to do anything. Probably is just surprised she won. Emmett mentioned during the campaign that some of the things she's talking about aren't even in the purview of the commissioners court.
"Not even in the purview" - I didn't want to spend political capital on pushing it through.
-
2 hours ago, wilcal said:
Waugh is on the bike plan to have protected bike lanes all of the way from Gray to I-10. I wonder if they can start the integration when they do this bridge!
Hope so. Waugh's a good road diet candidate - that third lane is hardly needed.
-
On 9/29/2018 at 10:09 PM, EllenOlenska said:
I'm wondering why they don't extend it farther north to where the highway will be, and not where it is currently. Or am I somehow misreading the map?
Red is existing, not new. The measures were taken specifically to impact Midtown and EaDo.
-
1 hour ago, Luminare said:
Did you just coin a possible name for this?!
Take this to COH immediately!
Even better idea - see if Disney will help with the development. This is the sort of space they have a lot of experience with.
-
So still no signature design elements for the DT Connector bridge over Buffalo Bayou?
Kind of a shame, really. It would be cool to see an extradosed bridge here.
Edit: and now I'm at Page 17 :-)
-
8 minutes ago, trymahjong said:
I reached out to HPD and spoke with one of the asst Chief. ALL HPD storefronts are under review for closing. Acevedo is looking for a way to put more bodies on street and closing storefronts might be one of them.
essentially the storefront is a means of communicating with residents and compiling the paper “Citizens complaint forms” I was told very few paper complaint forms come from storefront— most are electronically sent to HPD. Acevedo thinks those. Officers are mearly waiting....I related my concern that the regular driving to and from The storefront through the neighborhoods by patrol vehicles was a significant crime deterrent ( IMO )and THAT was what I feared losing.
i was told that the “ weighstation” part might be adapted but bodies on street was critical.
Interestingly the developer apparently did reach out to HPD about space dedicated to a storefront, as well as the library space. But HPD plans to hold public input sessions before anything is finalized.
If anything, it would make sense to actually have police walking beats in that area. Put more of 'em on bikes, too.
-
9 hours ago, Angostura said:
Notwithstanding some neighborhood opposition, the setback variances were approved last week.
Why would anyone oppose the setback variances?
-
2 hours ago, cspwal said:
I agree we need layers of transit; local buses are useful for the last mile or 2, light rail is good for up to 8 miles, and then the commuter buses are ok for the long 20 mile drives to the suburbs, but we need something in between that is fast - going from downtown to the Galleria shouldn't take 45 minutes on public transit in a well-functioning system.
I was looking at the map and trying to imagine where a hybrid commuter rail/heavy transit connection could be, and I keep coming back to Westheimer from Midtown to the Galleria. The street needs to be redone anyway, so it could be possible to do a cut and cover subway along it. The only problem is what to do on either end after following Westheimer - that would take some thinking of where do you want to try to encourage denser development, as well as how you decrease public transit travel times
Agreed - Westheimer and Washington are the two immediate corridors that come to mind if we were to commit to heavy rapid transit. You could link them using Travis Street, making a big U connecting the HSR station/NW Transit Center, Washington Corridor, Burnett TC, Downtown, Midtown, Montrose, Greenway, and Uptown, ending at the Hillcroft Transit Center.
I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say ridership would be feasible.
-
19 hours ago, 102IAHexpress said:
Light rail is less expensive than commuter rail. Also, heavy commuter rail could not work in Houston like it "works" in Chicago (metra ridership numbers are plummeting in Chicago) because Houston has multiple business districts. In Chicago all of Metra's lines terminate in Chicago's core. In Houston only a small fraction of the population works in any one of the major business districts.
But I agree I don't know why Houston is so focused on light rail. With a lack of zoning, spread out geography and a booming economy making automobiles accessible to the masses the focus should instead be on buses, not light rail. Cheap, clean, safe busses for citizens to use until they can afford a car.
See, that attitude is the problem - buses are like cars, but worse, so we should give them to the poor as a pittance. Not, we should develop a comprehensive public transit plan so everyone, not just the poor, can get around more efficiently and effectively.
Buses in the absence of other modes of transit are horrible, making traffic worse (because of the constant stopping and starting, reducing overall traffic flow during peak periods), and offering less functionality than private autos (horribly wasteful) because of the lack of point-to-point connections. Buses as part of an overall system, on the other hand, are wonderful, because they can shuttle people in that last mile to and from the fixed-guideway modes that bypass the traffic problem altogether.
The big issue with light rail as implemented so far in Houston is that you only get a bit of one advantage, and none of the other altogether.
-
Thing about the High Line is that it is functional as the best and fastest way to get from Hudson Yards to Greenwich Village, on foot. Given the lack of direct subway connections, it's arguably the best way altogether.
It's not beloved simply because it's pretty - it's both pretty and useful.
Converting the Pierce would just get you from one side of Midtown to another. It wouldn't serve any real purpose that isn't already largely served by other modes, better.
-
22 hours ago, Visitor said:
One potential rendering of the HSR station. The most interesting component is the "proposed light rail" that heads south on 610. Knowing Metro, they will put in a rail to to NW transit station....everybody hop on the bus!
As an aside, why is Houston so focused on Light rail for any type of passenger rail? I'd like us to be more like Chicago with actual commuter rail. (And this is not in the context that it has to go all the way to Katy or other suburb intially. More a comment on the technology/rail and car style) The light rail downtown is a glorified bus.
Mostly cost. Light rail is seen as cheaper, and it is already hard enough to get transit funding.
As far as commuter, the existing rail lines around Houston are heavily trafficked. Instead of piggybacking on existing infrastructure, expansion would be needed on existing corridors (owner railroads would not like that), or construction on new/repurposed corridors (like the freeways). The latter option has generally been politically unpopular, seeing as it may take capacity away from the freeways, and irrespective of whether it would actually help traffic as a whole.
-
1 hour ago, Sparrow said:
Will the multiple smaller caps in Midtown have an effect on driver visibility? I'd hypothesize that going from darkness to blinding sun several times in quick succession may cause some degree of visual challenge that may result in an elevated accident risk, especially when the sun is at a certain angle.
Why not just have a single cap for Midtown instead of three caps and four independent bridges? A single transition zone would provide more safety for drivers and a single cap would provide even more recreational space.
My guess is that it has to do with ventilation requirements
-
It's more than a project - it's a renovation on a Haussmannian scale.
Triton: Removing previous discussion from this thread.
-
I hope there's enough foresight that the new RR connection has ROW for triple- or quadruple-tracking to support future commuter service.
-
16 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:
Several years ago...... maybe..... 4-ish...... i seem to recall (perhaps incorrectly) that the timeline to have this train open and operating on its route was ......... 2021?
Is my memory correct?
It has been pushed back a couple of times. I'd guess 2025 at this point.
-
8 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:
I think I said it in this post before, but it needs to be said again.
Gare du Nord is 4 miles away from main attractions in Paris, and 7 miles away from the CBD.
Eh, closer to 2 miles from Ile de la Cite, and 5 from La Defense, but your general point is sound. Train stations have almost always been built at the outskirts of whatever the city was at the time of construction.
-
On 7/4/2018 at 7:24 AM, UtterlyUrban said:
This is an excellent point. I was unaware of this and, you may be correct.
I just read the Texas Central website again. They specifically say that they will:
“not seek grants from the US Government or the State of Texas, nor any operational subsidy once operation begins. The project will be financed with a blend of debt and equity.”
if one thinks of those words closely, it absolutely leaves open the idea that they WILL take government money — just from another government other than the two listed.
I also find the word “grant” interesting. A “grant” is not a “loan”. So, I assume that they would take, should one become available, a “low interest loan” from Texas or the Feds? The word “seek” is also interesting. If they truly do not intend to take government money, why not just say “we will not accept any money from the State of Texas or the US government for construction or operations......”
anyway, I hope that it does get financed, built, and becomes operational, quickly.
As I've understood it, the whole project will be heavily subsidized by JR and the Japanese government as a proof of concept for Shinkansen technology in the US. If they can show that it will work between Houston and Dallas, then they can start selling to the more expensive, but potentially more lucrative routes in the Northeast Corridor and Midwest.
-
10 hours ago, BigFootsSocks said:
Unfortunately it feels like they’re not losing, even when they should be. TAHSR’s claims are wildly overstated and grossly untrue but all you have to do is spread fear and propaganda and you can convince anyone
TAHSR is loud, but they haven't been effective. Houston and DFW interests are too strongly behind the project, and you don't have airlines seeking to torpedo the thing like before.
One thing to remember - all the top executives are high-level Republicans and donors, many of them Bush allies.
The Ideal Vegetative Aesthetic for Houston
in Houston and the Environment
Posted
Tens of millions of years have conspired to make the Texas Coastal Prairie ugly as sin and nigh-uninhabitable to pre-modern humans. It's also a paradise to countless other species. We've only got cities here because of physical geography, not ecology.
Try as you might, what's aesthetically pleasing will only exist in pockets here. But that's OK - there are plenty of pretty places within a few hours drive. Quit picking on the ugly - it never did anything to you.