Texas Central Project

[ADCS]

Just take them over the bridges. If the rail line is 40 ft over the road bed, that gives 20 ft over the cross bridges.

[Luminare]

http://swamplot.com/possible-station-locations-for-houston-to-dallas-high-speed-rail-jersey-village-mangum-manor-downtown/2015-02-17/

 

So everyone I think swamplot is a little bit behind on their information! Think we should help speed them up on things?

 

For one thing we now know that they will not be using the Red route at all once they get closer to near the 30 Station. That knocks out 249 and Sam Houston Tollway option and Hardy Yards. We also know that if they are making serious efforts to look at ways to get to Downtown then they are going to put this in Downtown. The city wants it in Downtown as well.

 

Hell This map is even old as well! I think we have had this map in the thread for while now.... Thoughts anyone?

[Naviguessor]

I'm still waiting for Swamplot to break the news of the expansion of the mfaH campus.

[mollusk]

Just take them over the bridges. If the rail line is 40 ft over the road bed, that gives 20 ft over the cross bridges.

 

The 40' number was bandied about by the same GOOF people whose hair was on fire about something on the other side of the loop supposedly "going through" their neighborhood - which would have applied only to the less preferred line that was also going to go through western Montgomery County.

[ADCS]

The 40' number was bandied about by the same GOOF people whose hair was on fire about something on the other side of the loop supposedly "going through" their neighborhood - which would have applied only to the less preferred line that was also going to go through western Montgomery County.

 

That's simply a suggestion. You could have the tracks suspended 16-17 ft above grade and be just fine with both the freeway and the cross streets that are at grade.

[lithiumaneurysm]

Metro board member Christof Spieler gave a presentation at a meeting of Rice ASCE today. He said that the post office site is TCR's "preferred Downtown station site" and that Mayor Parker is pushing for an I-10 alignment to avoid neighborhood disruption.

 

He also talked about a lot of other stuff: the DLI, new Downtown bike lane, bus network reimagining, improvements to the convention district and so on. He's basically played a major role in every exciting development that gets talked about on this forum.

[IronTiger]

I'm pretty sure Chris does have an old HAIF handle.

[Triton]

Not sure how they would do an alignment down I-10 and especially get it to the post office site. My best guess is that they would place the rail on the north side of the interstate between the main lanes and the feeder road. And perhaps swing it around 45 from the east to the west for the site? That will be an interesting engineering feat...and trying to keep it all in a budget.

[Luminare]

Not sure how they would do an alignment down I-10 and especially get it to the post office site. My best guess is that they would place the rail on the north side of the interstate between the main lanes and the feeder road. And perhaps swing it around 45 from the east to the west for the site? That will be an interesting engineering feat...and trying to keep it all in a budget.

 

Just look at some of my earlier postings from yesterday. It is very possible to do. I think there will be a compromise where it takes I-10 to a point but then moves over to the Washington Corridor after bypassing those NIMBY neighborhoods

[Triton]

No, I definitely saw them. At first that's what I was actually thinking too but then they would have to deal with multiple private entities to buy up that land instead of simply dealing with TXDOT and the city.

[Luminare]

No, I definitely saw them. At first that's what I was actually thinking too but then they would have to deal with multiple private entities to buy up that land instead of simply dealing with TXDOT and the city.

 

Why do you think they are going down the 290 route? It's easier to work with private companies than it is to work with residents. With residents you are of course dealing with people who are living in that location while with private companies they shift and move around much easier. Maybe for some of these companies it's a chance to get enough money to move to a different location or create a new facility which a lot of times is more important than keeping what's existing. If there is a chance of getting more money than that's a huge win. Not to mention many of the companies and properties that it's hitting aren't necessarily concerned with anything aesthetic. Many of the businesses that line Hempstead hwy, along I-10, and the further portion of the Washington Corridor are mostly warehouses or distribution centers.

[mollusk]

The two places to jump south from the Katy would be either between Heights and Sawyer/Taylor, or in the 45 corridor.  East of Sawyer/Taylor is what remains of the Sixth Ward and a gazillion new townhouses; west of Heights gets into NIMBY-ville.

[Triton]

Why do you think they are going down the 290 route? It's easier to work with private companies than it is to work with residents. With residents you are of course dealing with people who are living in that location while with private companies they shift and move around much easier. Maybe for some of these companies it's a chance to get enough money to move to a different location or create a new facility which a lot of times is more important than keeping what's existing. If there is a chance of getting more money than that's a huge win. Not to mention many of the companies and properties that it's hitting aren't necessarily concerned with anything aesthetic. Many of the businesses that line Hempstead hwy, along I-10, and the further portion of the Washington Corridor are mostly warehouses or distribution centers.

I am not talking about 290. I'm talking about the I-10 corridor. I don't see it likely them going through warehouse areas to get to the station. The Walmart bypass looks like a no go to me, especially since there are still a good number of residents who would hate that idea as well. It looks like they either go down the entire train line or they go down along I-10.

[ADCS]

There are a couple of things that make an I-10 route into the Post Office site doable:

 

1. The train will likely be elevated on pylons. That means land takings will be minimized - it'll mostly be easements and air rights that are at play here. Companies will gladly allow those easements, since that means long-term payments for the right of use.

 

2. The train will likely be going no more than 30 mph at this point. This means tight radii are very possible on the trackage.

[mollusk]

The Walmart bypass looks like a no go to me

 

(***sigh...***) a boy can dream, can't he?

 

oh well... that wasn't a serious idea anyway.  I was just fondly reminiscing about all the torches and pitchforks that came out when that Sprawlmart was a-building.

[Triton]

(***sigh...***) a boy can dream, can't he?

 

oh well... that wasn't a serious idea anyway.  I was just fondly reminiscing about all the torches and pitchforks that came out when that Sprawlmart was a-building.

No, trust me... I thought it was an absolutely great idea. Cutting over White Oak past Walmart seemed like a great idea to me and so did the warehouse area between Kroger and Target. But I think Texas Central will want to deal with as few entities and property owners as possible. I don't know, could be wrong. May be more cost effective to deal with them than build all along I-10. Can't wait to see what they plan... I keep googling over Google Earth trying to figure out how they would do the I-10 corridor... I'm pretty convinced they wouldn't build this in the center and would likely build columns between the main lanes and the feeder on the north side since there is plenty of space and there are rarely any areas that are fully concrete. Plus, they would have a great view of Stude Park and the White Oak bend coming into downtown on the northside of I-10. The only big trouble I see is trying to come into the Post Office site from I-10. They may have to do a swing around the I-10 and I-45 connecting section.... Not too sure though. Plus, we had seen advanced schematics of the new I-45 design... how would that affect the train line?

[mollusk]

I didn't mean past the Walmart - I meant through the Walmart.  (mwahahahahaha...)  That said, in reality I don't see the Walton kids giving up that particular franchise so soon.

 

 

[Luminare]

I didn't mean past the Walmart - I meant through the Walmart.  (mwahahahahaha...)  That said, in reality I don't see the Walton kids giving up that particular franchise so soon.

 

 

[IronTiger]

You know, if they hadn't built up Sawyer Heights and the Heights Bike Trail so much, I think that the MKT line could've been an option. Maybe.

[BigFootsSocks]

I mean..,they could always build another bike path.

[BigFootsSocks]

I think it's safe to say this project is in really good hands

[DNAguy]

http://www.texastribune.org/2015/02/25/lawmaker-files-bill-could-stop-proposed-bullet-tra/

Remember two things people:

HB1889

Will Metcalf

Here's the facebook post:

Today, I filed House Bill 1889. This bill will require county approval for the use of eminent domain for electric railways. Numerous county officials have come out in opposition to the Texas Central Railway and their use of eminent domain. This bill would help give more local control and would let individual counties decide what is best for them. Although this may not be the ultimate solution, I believe it is a good first step. I am currently working on filing more legislation regarding this issue.

If you would like to learn more about HB 1889 please visit www.legis.state.tx.us

[ADCS]

Couldn't TCR just buy up the property before they vote on this bill?

[IronTiger]

I thought that it wouldn't need eminent domain? Wasn't that one of the big advantages?

[Slick Vik]

I thought that it wouldn't need eminent domain? Wasn't that one of the big advantages?

They can use it if necessary

[BigFootsSocks]

Let's just put this whole eminent domain issue to rest. These guys have around $10 billion to spend, do you guys really think they're going to try to shaft landowners along the proposed route? It would be easier to give them more money than their land is valued at than it is to low-ball and then sit through courts.

[longcat]

Having eminent domain as a recourse though helps with negotiating leverage.  Probably speeds the negotiations up a bit and is the difference between having to pay 100-200% of the fair market value and having to pay 400+% of the FMV.

[Luminare]

Having eminent domain as a recourse though helps with negotiating leverage.  Probably speeds the negotiations up a bit and is the difference between having to pay 100-200% of the fair market value and having to pay 400+% of the FMV.

 

It actually doesn't. Eminent Domain is a take it or leave it kind of deal. Further more even though they could go through Eminent Domain and then low ball the number the owner of said land will then take them to court to fight the price. So not only would TCR then have to pay legal fees to fight in court, but then fork over the money for the price of the land which the judge will most likely side with the owner.

 

If TCR needs any land from the land owner then it will be through the free market which would not only be a benefit for the landowner, but will save both sides thousands of dollars in legal fees. TCR will most likely work in land swaps to help those who might get cut off from their land.

 

For these reasons they won't have to use Eminent Domain.

 

Finally most of the places where they will be "buying land" they will really just be buy the easements or the essentially the right to use said owners land to travel across.

 

TCR from what I'm seeing will avoid eminent domain if possible since it will not only slow down the process, but it puts them and land owners at odds, and not only would the landowner be worse off then in the free market, but would have to spend extra in legal fees to duke it out in court. I'm telling right now the Eminent Domain thing should be a mute point in this discussion as it will not happen in a high percentage of cases.

[longcat]

Said another way - having the ability to resort to eminent domain would give TCR more leverage in the free market negotiation against a truly intransigent landowner.  Nobody wants to go through eminent domain, but having it as a backup option/threat helps

[Luminare]

Said another way - having the ability to resort to eminent domain would give TCR more leverage in the free market negotiation against a truly intransigent landowner.  Nobody wants to go through eminent domain, but having it as a backup option/threat helps

 

The logic here is really daft though. Lets walk through this. You are saying that TCR would use an already well known government privilege as a "threat". So you would threaten them with a technique that would actually be a loss to the company and waste both of their time? If you ever offered someone a potential deal would you really honestly "threaten" someone with an option that's actually worse economically for both parties? They aren't some criminal underground or the Mafia. 'hey bud if you don't take this deal we are going to rough you up a little bit, see. Make it hard for you to sell in the free market, see'. It's a bit silly. Why would you ever threat a potential customer and landowner who you might have to face again in the future to work out new deals? If this were common practice...just really think about this....would anyone ever invest in any company or work with any company period. Real Estate wouldn't even exist if this were the case.

 

EDIT: Essentially I don't agree with the crutch of your argument which makes the assumption that ED is TCR's "ace up their sleeve" or "wildcard". Like ED is some surprise to the landowner that they never saw coming, but that would never work. If you were ever going to "threaten" someone and back them into a corner it's with a unforeseen element that is not visible by the person that isn't in position to make a deal, but EVERYONE knows about ED.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Luminare