Katy Freeway HOV

[editor]

Katy Freeway Managed Lanes to Open for HOV Traffic

New Commuting Option Ready for Drivers Starting October 29th

HOUSTON

[CoolBuddy06]

Another cash cow coming for Harris County.

[TheNiche]

Another cash cow coming for Harris County.

HCTRA is an entity that is part of Harris County, however they are restricted in terms of how they can utilize surplus funds. According to the most recent HCTRA Financial Report, from 2007 (page 14-15):

Transfers Out

The largest component of transfers out was a $30.6 million annual allocation in the amount of $7.1 million per precinct and $2.2 million to management services, to fund non-toll County roads that connect or enhance the traffic flow to toll road facilities. The remaining $512,333 was for payments to the Harris County Radio Operations fund and Harris County Risk Management fund for services provided.

Seems to me like they're paying for items that they utilize in the ongoing management of their assets. Even then, the net amount of contributions and transfers out only amounted to 17.7% of net income in 2007. Citing it as a cash cow for Harris County is not technically incorrect, but it is highly disingenuous.

[CoolBuddy06]

HCTRA is an entity that is part of Harris County, however they are restricted in terms of how they can utilize surplus funds. According to the most recent HCTRA Financial Report, from 2007 (page 14-15):

Seems to me like they're paying for items that they utilize in the ongoing management of their assets. Even then, the net amount of contributions and transfers out only amounted to 17.7% of net income in 2007. Citing it as a cash cow for Harris County is not technically incorrect, but it is highly disingenuous.

Good info. Maybe I should have refer to HCTRA but I made that comment based on the fact that Harris County commissioners will be able to implement congestion pricing de novo this time around. Remember when they tried that for Westpark Tollway?

[TheNiche]

Good info. Maybe I should have refer to HCTRA but I made that comment based on the fact that Harris County commissioners will be able to implement congestion pricing de novo this time around. Remember when they tried that for Westpark Tollway?

As I said, HCTRA is a part of Harris County, so County Commissioners do have final authority over it. That does not mean that funds can be utilized willy nilly throughout the County.

As for congestion pricing, that has less to do with revenue generation than it does with arriving at the socially optimal level of congestion.

[bcnet]

Good info. Maybe I should have refer to HCTRA but I made that comment based on the fact that Harris County commissioners will be able to implement congestion pricing de novo this time around. Remember when they tried that for Westpark Tollway?

When they tried it on the Westpark the main backlash was that the Katy freeway was under major construction so a decent "free" alternative was not there in the county commissioner's eyes.

[CyKat]

How are the going to charge cars with one person, but at the same time allow cars with more than one occupant to ride at a lower rate, or no rate? How will they monitor it?

CyKat

Edited October 29, 2008 by CyKat

[CoolBuddy06]

When they tried it on the Westpark the main backlash was that the Katy freeway was under major construction so a decent "free" alternative was not there in the county commissioner's eyes.

Was it not the people that pointed that out? Left to the commissioners people would have been paying higher toll at rush hour on Westpark Tollway.

It doesn't really bother me much, someone's got to pay if we want good infrastructure anyway. I just would have liked it more if we can have fixed prices.

[musicman]

How are the going to charge cars with one person, but at the same time allow cars with more than one occupant to ride at a lower rate, or no rate? How will they monitor it?

CyKat

it's in the long katy freeway thread. they are issuing tags where you have to be registered as a carpool vs single occupant.

[CyKat]

it's in the long katy freeway thread. they are issuing tags where you have to be registered as a carpool vs single occupant.

Thanks,

CyKat

[Jeebus]

it's in the long katy freeway thread. they are issuing tags where you have to be registered as a carpool vs single occupant.

So if you have a carpool tag you can potentially abuse the system? I hate the honor system in this town because nobody honors it - except me.

[CoolBuddy06]

So if you have a carpool tag you can potentially abuse the system? I hate the honor system in this town because nobody honors it - except me.

There are enforcement booths to be manned with eagle-eyed officers sitting in their top of the line cruisers ready to chase abusers down.

[musicman]

So if you have a carpool tag you can potentially abuse the system? I hate the honor system in this town because nobody honors it - except me.

and the owner can go online or call and change between the carpool vs single driver should you not be one nor the other.

Edited October 30, 2008 by musicman

[Vertigo58]

Drove inbound at Beltway 8 and 1-10 towards downtown and it was a dream come true! The traffic (or lack of it) was like what?! Twilight Zone. Was amazed at how fast flowing it was moving. So swiftly that police were able to sit in cars on the sides ready to shoot down anyone going over the limit.

So word to the wise, enjoy the swift drive in but dont get too pedal to the metal unless you have $$$ to give away.

This is one of the best things to happen to Houston in eons!

[kjb434]

Also, the new freeway layout has plenty of exterior and interior shoulders. Harris County Constables will be be patrolling the toll portion of the freeway during particular rush our periods and will ticket abusers. It won't be much different that people who run toll booths. There is also a camera system to verify this.

Also, extra toll funds only go to expenditures that benefit maintenance of toll roads, access to toll roads, and enforcement of toll roads. The only potential abuse really falls into the access to toll roads category. How far from toll road can a road improvement project be? It's not stipulated anywhere. I know of projects pretty far from toll roads that some excess HCTRA money was used for. I still don't consider it abuse because at lease it wasn't general taxpayer money and it is still going to transportation improvements.

AS LONG AS NO TOLL MONEY GOES TO BUILDING LIGHT RAIL AND COMMUTER RAIL I'M HAPPY.

[N Judah]

Heck yeah there were tons of cops on the HOV this morning...we spent $3b for those HOV lanes, better protect them

Edited October 29, 2008 by N Judah

[lockmat]

I wasn't real sure where to put this b/c I didn't find a Commuter Rail thread for I-10. And since this idea comes at the cost of the I-10 HOT lanes, I figured this was a good a place as any.

Some Exerpts:

There is a photograph I've been looking at that shows a Metro light rail train just leaving a beautiful station up above the middle of the Katy Freeway. It's a stunning visualization of an idea we've been talking about at Houston Tomorrow for a long time, and it's also stunning where the picture is coming from.

The Energy Corridor Management District, led by chairman David Hightower and executive director Clark Martinson, have put forward the beginnings of a creative transit plan for the fast-growing district.

The centerpiece is the completely sensible idea of using the middle of the new I-10 managed lanes to deliver light rail transit service...

The picture shows an automated, air-conditioned skywalk from the transit station that goes over the frontage lanes and takes the riders to the buildings and places of the District.

To deal with the ever-present problem of the last mile, the District has put forward a plan for a circulator system of buses within its streets that connects 40 places to each other and to the light rail station and the park-and-ride station.

The park-and-ride service is not necessarily redundant to the light rail service; it would deliver the same fast, nonstop service to downtown that the thousands of people who use it now will want to continue having - arguably the best commuter transit service in the United States. These buses only run a few times in the morning and a few in the afternoon. The light rail service, on the other hand, runs 20 hours a day and delivers people to Uptown/Galleria, Greenway Plaza, and the Medical Center, not to mention the universities, the museums, the zoo, and Hermann Park, or the hundreds of restaurants and entertainment places along the line.

http://blogs.chron.com/thelist/2009/06/dav...is_the_fut.html

This is just a pipe dream, right? How foolish would the city look tearing up the middle of I-10 just after completing it?

[TheNiche]

This is just a pipe dream, right? How foolish would the city look tearing up the middle of I-10 just after completing it?

Yeah, this idea is a pipe dream. METRO had its shot for commuter rail along I-10, and they weren't able to proceed when every other agency involved in the project had already met the deadlines. They botched it. Tearing up the freeway again would be ridiculously unpopular, and there are most definitely agencies overseeing the Katy Freeway that would exercise veto power.

Also, frankly this is a very costly proposal. They're talking about 10 miles of continuous elevated rail AND large elevated platforms with air conditioned skywalks, to be placed in the middle of a new freeway.

This, when METRO already owns a continuous right of way along the Westpark corridor, which is already going to be partially-used for commuter or light rail at some point in the future, extending from the terminus at the Hillcroft Transit Center. They could build such a project with grade separations only at intersections (which are few in number because this did used to be a freight rail line in the suburbs, after all). Such a route would be more effectively linked in to the core of the light rail system (instead of to its furthest extremity), and would require several fewer miles of new track to get just as far west, and would serve a much denser, less-affluent, more transit-prone suburban population, and would already service Westchase without any additional future trackage.

Clearly, this isn't the ideal outcome for the Energy Corridor. After all, this adds a five-mile shuttle operating on surface streets between Westpark and Interstate 10. Perhaps in the future this route could be extended north along Eldridge's median to more effectively service the Energy Corridor and then follow the future Park Row alignment into Park 10. I don't suspect that that would happen any time soon, but if it were all included as one project, I'd suspect that the total cost of this much lengthier project would be considerably less than a 100% elevated route down I-10 and would achieve significantly higher ridership.

[kdog08]

Clearly, this isn't the ideal outcome for the Energy Corridor. After all, this adds a five-mile shuttle operating on surface streets between Westpark and Interstate 10. Perhaps in the future this route could be extended north along Eldridge's median to more effectively service the Energy Corridor and then follow the future Park Row alignment into Park 10. I don't suspect that that would happen any time soon, but if it were all included as one project, I'd suspect that the total cost of this much lengthier project would be considerably less than a 100% elevated route down I-10 and would achieve significantly higher ridership.

If they built the rail down Westpark then they could hook it up to a signature bus service that runs from the future Westpark rail to as far north as they can Eldridge. However, the Energy Corridor is too damn spread currently which poses lots of issues. Westchase may be more clumped together than the Energy Corridor. In the EC, you have a cluster of office buildings @ I10 between Eldridge and HWY 6, a string of office buildings along Enclave parkway that somewhat runs parallel to Eldridge, and the office buildings along north and south of I10. Yikes. However, the EC has done a great job of connecting itself to the various bikie routes.