urban909 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 on a more serious proposal for this thread...wasnt super neighborhood 22 proposing to trench the Hempstead rail line going through west Houston? if so, how feasible would it be to widen the trench for one more set of tracks for commuter/heavy rail going from theBurnett Station to a new transit station north of the uptown light rail line (one would imagine they would extend the uptown plan north to connect into the new commuter/heavy rail line). i found this rendering that shows the (Hempstead?) rail line im speaking of, and how it could link into the uptown rail line. interesting that theyve already considered this (i guess when they were planning the hempstead commuter line, which i assume never materialized since i havent heard of it in a while? i think the rail owners said the line was too busy for them to share it with commuter rail or something, so this idea of adding another line through the trench in west houston would solve all of that). This is SN22's transportation presentation from 2010. The trenching concept starts on page 14.http://sn22.org/download/SN22_Transportation%20Pres_072810.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Wow, thanks for that. It seems like every time I think I have a good idea someone else has thought of it first. Ha, glad they are considering passenger rail in the trench. I think it would be a great link to the west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 Cool stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 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. Sydney30.jpeg Sydney34.jpeg 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 Btw, the Sydney monorail has closed. http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19104718/sydney-monorail-takedown-hits-halfway-mark/ as has the one at the Minnesota Zoo. http://www.urbanmsp.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1402 Monorail seems the transportation of the future, and always will be. It just never makes sense in the present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban909 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Speaking of futuristic: http://www.timesofisrael.com/futuristic-transport-pods-coming-to-tel-aviv/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Speaking of futuristic:http://www.timesofisrael.com/futuristic-transport-pods-coming-to-tel-aviv/In my uninformed opinion, I believe in a urban setting (such as the background), tracks should be under ground. Above ground works in wide boulevard (maybe), and open spaces. In these dense areas they only add clutter and close the space, casting shadows and creates a tunnel effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 In my uninformed opinion, I believe in a urban setting (such as the background), tracks should be under ground. Above ground works in wide boulevard (maybe), and open spaces. In these dense areas they only add clutter and close the space, casting shadows and creates a tunnel effect. I agree. No visual impact, and no stops for the train in between stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Mumbai is opening a monorail very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 To me that hardly changes the argument against monorail. In Mumbai all but the first line have already been put on hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 To me that hardly changes the argument against monorail. In Mumbai all but the first line have already been put on hold.I know just thought I'd mention it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ig2ba Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Mumbai is opening a monorail very soon. They also have human waste and waste from cows all over the city. Seriously, it's not relevant to the WEST HOUSTON MONORAIL. Try to stay on topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 They will never be a monorail down Westheimer as long as Culberson is in office. Plus it is very expensive. We need Mr. Kinder Morgan to donate money to METRO and build heavy rail like Atlanta (MARTA). If not our economy will choke. We need heavy rail, commuter rail, and light rail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 There are 6.3 million here. Hello? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 They also have human waste and waste from cows all over the city. Seriously, it's not relevant to the WEST HOUSTON MONORAIL. Try to stay on topic. Chill out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Ok, monorail in west Houston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Never will happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbcu Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 damn Bob Lanier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illusionescape Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Is there a map out there of the proposed monorail system of the 80's that Lanier got rid of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I think there might be something to that effect, at least descriptions of it on the Chron. The situation was VERY sticky, the voters didn't vote for the monorail plan as proposed by METRO, which had 5 Whitmire appointees who were ruling 5-4 on everything, and Lanier and another candidate ran polls to show most were against the plan, and when elections came around, Whitmire got about 20% of the vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellonwheels Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I am a unique person. Not only was I born near Houston, I grew up there and except for stretches where I lived near Chicago and New York, I lived, went to school and worked in Houston. I am now retired and live in Alabama to be near my children. Good luck with your efforts to get monorail in Houston. But keep in mind that you have a long way to go and history does not help you. Back in 1956, when I was nine and my brother was four, they tried to get those pesky Houston residents to give up their cars and commute by monorail. To give Houstonians a taste of what it may be like, they built and operated a short monorail line in the area where the Astrodome and Reliant Field are now located. You could ride it and it was free. My brother and I were so excited -- we were going to have Disneyland right at home. But as we were driving home, my parents were talking about whether they would support the upcoming bond election to finance building a real working monorail to provide public mass transit throughout the city. My mother thought it was a good idea. However, my Dad said, "But Ida, they will raise our property taxes to pay back the bonds and they will also charge us to use it. We already pay a gasoline tax to build and maintain this big system of freeways they are planning to build. They say that the freeway system will allow me to drive to work in 15 minutes and I won't have to pay for anything but the gas for the car." Gasoline at that time averaged about 29 cents a gallon. We lived about 15 miles from downtown Houston -- in Sharpstown; being one of the first to buy a home there. You know the rest of the story. By the time the Southwest Freeway was completed, it took the average commuter about 1.5 to 2 hours to drive to downtown Houston from the suburbs.. It has only gotten worse. Anyway, after my brother and i grew up and moved away, my parents moved closer to town because my Dad said that he was tired of fighting traffic for up to four hours a day to get to and from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DNAguy Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I am a unique person. Not only was I born near Houston, I grew up there and except for stretches where I lived near Chicago and New York, I lived, went to school and worked in Houston. I am now retired and live in Alabama to be near my children. Good luck with your efforts to get monorail in Houston. But keep in mind that you have a long way to go and history does not help you. Back in 1956, when I was nine and my brother was four, they tried to get those pesky Houston residents to give up their cars and commute by monorail. To give Houstonians a taste of what it may be like, they built and operated a short monorail line in the area where the Astrodome and Reliant Field are now located. You could ride it and it was free. My brother and I were so excited -- we were going to have Disneyland right at home. But as we were driving home, my parents were talking about whether they would support the upcoming bond election to finance building a real working monorail to provide public mass transit throughout the city. My mother thought it was a good idea. However, my Dad said, "But Ida, they will raise our property taxes to pay back the bonds and they will also charge us to use it. We already pay a gasoline tax to build and maintain this big system of freeways they are planning to build. They say that the freeway system will allow me to drive to work in 15 minutes and I won't have to pay for anything but the gas for the car." Gasoline at that time averaged about 29 cents a gallon. We lived about 15 miles from downtown Houston -- in Sharpstown; being one of the first to buy a home there. You know the rest of the story. By the time the Southwest Freeway was completed, it took the average commuter about 1.5 to 2 hours to drive to downtown Houston from the suburbs.. It has only gotten worse. Anyway, after my brother and i grew up and moved away, my parents moved closer to town because my Dad said that he was tired of fighting traffic for up to four hours a day to get to and from work. I have to say, I thought this post was going to go in a completely different direction. Maybe I've become very HAIF jaded. IDK.However, I really enjoyed your perspective / story. More posting please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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