editor

I've flown both Air Tran and Southwest. Southwest was better inside the plane, but AirTran was better boarding. I don't like the cattle call. Very dehumanizing. That said, I haven't flown either in a couple of years. Southwest because its fares are often more expensive than American for the routes I tend to fly, and AirTran because it's cut its route network back a lot lately and doesn't go anywhere I want to go anymore. An interesting piece of trivia -- AirTran is headquartered in Indianapolis. But it doesn't fly there. The nearest airport it serves is four hours away in Chicago.

METRO Begins Roadwork On East End Light Rail Line Today Demolition of pavement will smooth way for installation of light rail tracks METRO construction crews are blasting through old asphalt and concrete on Harrisburg, just east of Oakhurst, on Houston’s East End today. While utility work along the corridor has been ongoing since June of 2008, this is a milestone in the preparation of 3.3 miles of surface to carry light rail from Downtown to the Magnolia Transit Center – with a goal of connecting communities. David Couch, Managing Director of METRO Solutions, who is supervising construction of three light rail extensions that will connect to the existing 7.5- mile downtown Red Line, said, “This is great news. Our engineers, crews, and staff have been working hard with the community and the city to make this happen. It is, literally, where the rail will meet the road and a milestone in the overall construction process.” The work involves excavation and soil preparation for new pavement. This roadway will replace existing travel lanes and accommodate a guideway for the new light rail line. The work will continue, in segmented phases, as part of a continuing build out process. The East End Line is expected to be completed in late Fall of 2013. The transit line is funded locally and rail cars will connect riders with destinations such as Magnolia Transit Center, Eastwood Park and Ripley House. Ridership is expected to be about 8,500 by the year 2015. To find out more about METRO Rail and how your business or community can benefit from the light rail expansion program log on to http://www.GOMETRORail.org

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/03/report-chicago-architects-smith-and-gill-selected-to-design-kilometerhigh-tower-in-saudi-arabia-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29 During the last couple of real estate bubbles, every third world tycoon with a big ego came forth with a proposal for a "world's tallest building." As we know, only one got built -- the Burj Dubai. This new proposal looks like it has some legs. Respectable architects have been hired to design the thing. And it's not just riding a real estate wave. Unfortunately, it's in one of the most tourist-hostile countries in the world, so few outsiders will see it. Fortunately, because of Houston's place in the energy industry, a lot of Houstonians will get to see it.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-24-10-update-the-alabama-theater-caught-in-demolition-swirl-confirms/

This thread is meandering off topic. If you'd like to start a new thread about light rail in Houston, or add to one of the existing Houston light rail threads, please do. But let's keep this one on track. So to speak.

There are enough web sites on the internet for amateur detective whackjobs to discuss their half-educated theories about 9/11. This is not one of them. Thread closed.

There are likely other problems with that map, too. It is at least five years outdated. And it doesn't show Seattle at all, which has two light rail lines: LINK and SLUT, plus the Sounder commuter rail network. LINK train: SLUT train: "SLUT" is South Lake Union Trolley. It connects to the current LINK trains in the tunnel beneath downtown, and construction is about to begin on two new SLUT lines and a new LINK line. (Just when you guys got used to tuning out my Chicago references, now you're going to have to learn to tune out my Seattle rants )

Citykid is correct about this. Remember that Chicago and Houston are about the same age (within a couple of months). Chicago was founded by people with an east-coast urban mentality. Houston was founded by people with a more frontier, outdoorsy, independent view of life. Both cities reflect their heritages. And that's different than much of downtown Houston how? Strawman argument at best.

You are looking at one station in a vast network. The majority of Brussels metro is above ground, runs on streets next to traffic, and looks very similar to Houston's light rail. There is a small portion which runs underground in the downtown section and ties into the subway system. This is also the case for Amsterdam's metro. And Vienna's. And the SLUT in Seattle.

The reserved parking spaces for green cars is just marketing hype. Since it's private property, there's no way to enforce it. The head of whatever company leases the most space in that building will be allowed to park wherever he pleases. Just like Steve Jobs is notorious for parking his Mercedes diagonally across one of the handicapped spaces at One Infinite Loop. Who's going to stop him? One building I saw recently did an interesting thing to promote green vehicles. It has a dedicated aisle just for all-electric vehicles, and each space has a plug-in to recharge the batteries. The landlord picks up the electric bill. It supposedly doesn't cost that much more than keeping the flood lights on all night.

In another thread it was briefly mentioned that there is talk of incorporating a city of Cypress. Or a city of Cy-Fair. What are the pro's and con's of something like this? And what should it be called? Cypress? Cy-Fair? Something else entirely?

I'm talking about the portions that are streetcars that go both above and below ground. The lines I used most ended at Brussels Midi, and up on the hill by the big city park and the palace. I have pictures, but I'm not at home so here's some from the interweb: I'm not sure it's correct to say that Brussels metro is mostly heavy rail. According to wikimopedia, Brussels has one of the ten largest tram systems in the world. While they certainly do run underground in the heart of the city, most of what I've ridden is above ground, and mingles with traffic like Houston's light rail. I don't think it would be easily converted to heavy rail without getting rid of all the cars.

tl;dr

Brussels is a world-class city, and what Metro is building is nearly identical to the Brussels Metro. Ditto for Amsterdam, another world-class city. And Seattle, though I'm not entirely convinced that Seattle qualifies as "world class." Istanbul's metro is virtually identical to what Metro is doing, except that it has a couple of underground funicular railways for the big hills, and also has a modern subway network. Perhaps one day when the people are ready for it, Metro will add a subway component like Istanbul did. That's what happened in Vienna (another world class city). It started out with surface vehicles like Metro's and expanded into subways when the demand was high enough. I think it's folly to assume that the Houston Metro system you see today is going to be identical to the Houston Metro system 50 years from now. Well, at least that much I'll agree with you on. When I made my list of cities I was considering moving to this year, the finalists were Houston, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle. Boston was eliminated because of weather. San Francisco was eliminated because of taxes. Houston was eliminated because its public transit system isn't mature enough. A few years from now I'll put together another list when I decide to move again. I'm sure Houston will be a finalist again.

Isn't putting trains where people are a good thing? It's an LRT vehicle, not a commuter rail train. I doubt you've been to any third world countries.

The iPhone appeared on AT&T's network long before AT&T's latest upgrade. It was consumer complaints, bad publicity, and the FCC that pushed AT&T into its upgrade. The big reason AT&T got the iPhone instead of Verizon was because it uses a global standard, so Apple only had to make one version of the phone to cover every market. These days, Verizon has a few phones with a Frankenstein GSM chip in them, but that still leaves the Verizon phone unusable in Japan, Korea, and many other parts of Asia, while the iPhone continues to work perfectly in those countries (I speak from first-hand use). Now that it has more experience in the mobile sector, Apple was ready to make a Verizon-version of the iPad but Verizon refused to be reasonable on data rates. With the AT&T version of the iPad you get 250 megs of data for $14.99/month, or unlimited data for $29.99/month and no contract. Verizon wouldn't do an unlimited plan, and wanted to charge $40/month (likely on contract) for the 250 megs. I don't blame Apple for laughing and walking away. Verizon's shot itself in the foot twice on this.

It's a good point. In a lot of cities the "Main" street is "main" in name alone. It's an antiquated notion to think of it as a thoroughfare. Modern mobility design allows for the "local" and "though" streets at intervals. This is what Houston has now. Main is a "local." Louisiana and Smith are "through." Same thing in Chicago's CBD where Wabash is "local" and LaSalle is "through." And in Seattle where 1st and 4th are "local" and 2nd/3rd are "though." Just because it's a street doesn't mean it is intended to be used as a raceway. It's a means of getting from point A to point B. Sometimes point B isn't that far away.

Too bad it will never look like this. I've never understood why companies pay architecture firms millions of dollars for new buildings based on renderings that 99.999999% don't show what the building will really look like. Of the thousands of "renderings" I've seen over the years, maybe in one or two cases the finished building looked like the sketch. The worst are the ones that have all kinds of crayon swirls and half-finished lines across them. I don't believe that this building, when it's finished, will have balcony railings and a shade at the top that glow in the dark. More plausible:

Did anyone else see that study that came out last month about AT&T reliability and speed being off the charts? I guess a couple of years of people complaining was enough to get it to upgrade its network substantially. I was surprised to see it besting Verizon in most markets. There was one place where AT&T reliability was around 95%, while Verizon was in the 60's. Unfortunately, I don't think Houston was part of that study. I'm surprised T-Mobile doesn't get better reviews in Houston. In most markets where T-Mobile ate an incumbent carrier (Primeco/Aerial in Houston, Voicestream in Minneapolis, etc...) the service is considered superior.

I think you're talking about two different groups of people there. There is a group who believes that Houston isn't as metropolitan as it should be. There is also a very strong, vocal, and intensely local group who love Houston the way it is, warts and all. I don't think the two groups overlap all that much, though sometimes I'm of two minds. When I lived in Houston, sometimes I would wish for a modern subway that would whisk me from downtown to the Galleria. And then I'd see (and photograph) someone riding a horse along 288, and think, "This is a perfect moment. Don't change anything, Houston."

Houston police officers have a message for airport travelers: have a good trip, but don’t forget to lock your vehicles and hide your valuables. “Criminals are looking for easy targets such as unlocked vehicles and valuable items they can see before they break in,” said HPD Lieutenant Jerry Kiker. Several times during March, police officers from the HPD Airport Division distributed theft reduction report cards on motorists’ windshields, giving them pass or fail grades as to whether they left vehicle doors unlocked, windows opened or cracked, and if valuables were in plain view. “I’ve been at the airport a long time,” said Lieutenant Kiker. “I believe it’s one of the safest places to be, but almost anywhere in the city where there are a lot of vehicles left unattended, there is a possibility of a burglary occurring. We’re trying to do what we can to prevent that,” he said. Burglaries of Motor Vehicles (BMVs) are among the most easily preventable of crimes. Citizens are encouraged to lock their vehicles and hide their belongings to remove any temptation to would-be thieves. “We want everyone to secure their property, so they don’t become victims of crime,” said Lieutenant Kiker. The effort is part of the Houston Police Department’s ongoing March on Crime Campaign. Working together, Houston police and the public can help “Keep Houston Safe.” For more safety information, visit our website at www.houstonpolice.org and click on the “Keep Houston Safe” logo.

I know a town in New York where people have trouble obeying a particular red light. So when it turns red there's also a white strobe behind the red lens to grab your attention.

METRO ADDS NEW HYBRID BUSES TO ITS FLEET Park & Ride patrons will soon experience that “new car” ambiance as METRO rolls out 20 new MCI commuter hybrid buses. The 45-foot buses arrived in February and are currently undergoing routine quality-control testing before being deployed into revenue service. The new hybrids are part of METRO’s ambitious bus replacement program – calling for 100 new buses to be added to the fleet each year- and its initiative to go green. The vehicles run on clean diesel and use an electric motor to optimize performance – technology that cuts down METRO’s fuel consumption and reduces the emissions of pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, an ozone precursor. The 55-seat capacity coach vehicles will be used for Park & Ride service and offer patrons cushioned seating, as well a smooth, quiet ride. To date, METRO has more than 262 hybrid vehicles – local and commuter – in its fleet.

People listen. And you're not the only one to advocate this position. But not enough people think it's worth the money. Simple as that. For example, the city I'm about to move to is getting its first light rail line. Two days ago the city council voted unanimously to put the light rail line underground in the downtown area because the members thought it would slow down buses. The cost: $2.007 billion for the entire project. This is a town of 100,000 people that doesn't mind investing in infrastructure. At the time the rail line was built in Houston, it was a struggle to get what is there now. Considering the epic political battle, I'm surprised the line got built at all. Back on topic: Sorry I'm a couple of days late with this. It came in on Tuesday: ------------------- METRO TO RELEASE VIDEO OF LIGHT-RAIL TRAIN/BUS ACCIDENT Preliminary results of METRO’s investigation of Monday’s light-rail accident involving a METRO bus reveal the bus operator ran the red light. The image on the left is a still shot captured from the bus’ front view security camera, clearly showing the red traffic light. METRO investigators say the light was red for about 10 seconds before the bus operator, Debra Harrison, entered the intersection. Two vehicles off to the right of the bus were stopped at the light long before Harrison passed the intersection. Harrison has been with METRO for 10 years and is now suspended without pay, pending completion of the investigation. Harrison has been involved in five accidents since April 2007, four of which were deemed non-preventable (found not at fault) and one preventable. The latter was a minor accident. Harrison was counseled for a speeding violation in November 2008 and reprimanded for turning right on red in November 2009 – not allowed in the downtown business district. Issues have been raised with regards to the timing of the traffic signal lights at the intersection of the accident at Main and St. Joseph Parkway. Though no changes have been made to the timing of the traffic signals since March 2009, METRO will review all records to ensure there were no systemic glitches. The traffic signals were reviewed following the rail and bus accident on Feb. 8, 2010, and were determined to be working properly. In its continuing investigation, METRO will determine what other safety measures it can implement at the intersection, as well as any augmentation to its training standards, to improve safety. METRO already has flashing red in-pavement lights at the intersection, and others along the corridor, to indicate the traffic signal has turned red.