WAZ Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Did anyone else see new Metro Board Member Christof Spieler's article in Cite Magazine?I liked what he said: “Rather than rush ahead with a system based on preconceived, often faulty assumptions [about transit] and driven by political urgency, we need to engage in a discussion about what we want to accomplish and how best to do that.” I couldn't agree more! I just hope the discussion includes average Houstonians. They should ask people “where do you travel to and from? How do you get there? If you drive, what’s keeping you from taking transit?” I’ll bet the answers would be surprising, and very informative about how to improve transit in our city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Have I missed something? Have their not been discussions about transportation modes for years now? Is anyone "rushing ahead" with a system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Have I missed something? Have their not been discussions about transportation modes for years now? Is anyone "rushing ahead" with a system?I'd say so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Don't have a subscription and can't find it online. If you have a link, it would be appreciated, or, if not, maybe more details of the argument? Does he get into commuter bus vs. rail? What are the key issues he cites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Don't have a subscription and can't find it online. If you have a link, it would be appreciated, or, if not, maybe more details of the argument? Does he get into commuter bus vs. rail? What are the key issues he cites?Christof always has very good points. Here's a post from his blog that gives an idea of the issues he sees.http://www.ctchouston.org/intermodality/2009/12/30/lets-talk-about-service/'“We need commuter rail” is an incomplete statement. So is “we need commuter rail to Galveston.” “We need rail transit from Houston to Galveston that runs every 20 minutes all day every day, makes the trip in about an hour, and connects conveniently to UTMB, NASA, Downtown Houston, UH, the Texas Medical Center, and Uptown Houston” is the kind of statement you can design a line around.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted April 9, 2010 Author Share Posted April 9, 2010 Don't have a subscription and can't find it online. If you have a link, it would be appreciated, or, if not, maybe more details of the argument? Does he get into commuter bus vs. rail? What are the key issues he cites?The article posted by JamesL is pretty close to what Christof wrote in Cite. Unfortunately they are really bad about putting articles form Cite online.The title of the article says a lot about what is in it: "Are We Setting Up Commuter Rail to Fail? Level of Service Matters Most, Not the Technology" I'm paraphrasing, but the goal of transit is to get people from point 'a' to point 'b'. What really matters is how effective the transit is in reaching this goal. It matters less whether that's on a bus or a commuter train.Simply put, it's better to have a really effective bus system, than a commuter or light rail system that doesn't go where people need it to go.Again, I am paraphrasing. But everything I've read sounds really great to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I came across a link to the article: http://offcite.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Cite_81_Spieler_Commuter_Rail.pdfFound it in this blog post at the Chronicle: http://blogs.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2010/04/metros_spieler_on_commuter_rai.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I came across a link to the article: http://offcite.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Cite_81_Spieler_Commuter_Rail.pdfFound it in this blog post at the Chronicle: http://blogs.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2010/04/metros_spieler_on_commuter_rai.htmlAs impressive as much of the data that he's brought to bear is, his presentation of comparative costs focused on cost per rider...not cost per ridden mile. And that acts to skew the data in light rail's favor, even though the average trip is going to be much shorter than commuter rail. For instance, perhaps it is OK if the cost per rider on commuter rail is ten times higher than the cost for light rail if the average commuter rail trip is ten times longer. ...or perhaps neither is sufficiently cost effective, and we really should concentrate on unsexy alternatives like freeways, major thoroughfares, buses, and HOV/HOT/P&R.I also take issue with him complaining that the Katy Freeway destroyed a transit corridor for two reasons: 1) he'd already acknowledged that HOV/HOT is fixed-guideway transit, and 2) TXDoT tried to accommodate METRO if they wanted commuter rail in the corridor but METRO failed to meet the project deadlines or otherwise to communicate their intent to develop that corridor.In general though, I do appreciate his point. It's not about technology; it's about effectiveness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 While it won't be easy or cheap to convert, TXDOT did reinforce the bridges underneath the center lanes for future rail service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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