Pleak

Those won't be around for too long. Delta is planning to take them off of Southwest's hands.

They are throwing a temper-tantrum. I've had my kids tell me they hate me and want to run away from home. For some reason - they are still there. United will cut routes if they are losing money on them. (and sometimes even then they won't for network reasons). Houston is one of their money-makers. They will stay. And if they don't - in the last couple of years, IAH has added flights from Emirates, Qatar, Singapore and cargo flights from Cathay, Korean and Luftahnsa. Turkish Airlines is also making noises about coming to IAH. Any of these would be a better flight than United.

Only in very specific sitiuations. In other situations - they would be grossly ineffecient. Take the Park n Ride lots. At West Belfort route 265, there is approximately a two-hour surge in the morning. The buses - I think they seat 48, but I'm not positive, are scheduled to leave every 3-5 minutes, but in reality they leave as soon as they are full. Then another instantly pulls up, the people in line file in and it leaves. The continues uniterrupted for close to the full two hour surge time. And it works beautifully. They then take the HOV lane downtown. In the PM, they can take the same lane back and reverse the cycle - although the surge is actually more comressed about 4:45 - 6 pm. If this were rail - you would need double lines out there first off (empty buses just take the freeway, plus the rail lines would only be used for this route (Metro stops at the County line) as opposed to the HOV lane which can be used by any vehicle with multiple riders and is soon to be a money-generating HOT lane. The price for a double rail line out the Southwest Freeway to West Belfort would be astronomical for what you would get out of it. Plus on the late evening runs, with very light traffic, this route combines with the 262 route and uses only one bus. That would not be possible with a train without yet another substantial outlay in rail. This is just one anecdote of which there are many more where buses are much more efficient -both in cost and in flexibility. I would love to ride heavy rail thundering down the middle of the Southwest Freeway past all the parked commuters. I just don't want to pay for it and I don't think the improvement over the buses already there anywhere remotely justifies it.

Right. Almost everywhere a competitor flies over the Atlantic - United also flies - Amsterdam, London, Paris. United also does Frankfurt and Lagos which their competitors don't. United's biggest gap over the Atlantic is to the Middle East. The lock on Mexico and Central America is exactly where Southwest would be flying. So that is why United is fighting so hard. This probably won't change a bit the price of a ticket to London. But it will change the price of one to Cancun.

Totally unrelated question, but not really. I have always wondered as I am not in the transportation engineering field. What makes light rail so expensive to build compared to streets. The right of way costs are the same as they are using existing roads for the most part. And it seems like the road/rail line base prep costs would be But isn't rail something like $100 million per mile to build? I know there is additonal electrical work needed, and the actual rails - but is it really that much more expensive than paving?

There is/was talk of a reservoir near Wallis. This is a little south & west of the construction we are talking about. Just under 10,000 acres. More for drinking water than flood prevention - although I'm sure their is a flood component also. It's on the other side of the Brazos - it was originally a site approved for a nuclear plant back in the 1970's before Three Mile Island. The reservoir was to be the cooling pond. Now Houston is thirsty.

From Nancy Sarnoff's Sunday Chronicle blub about Hines new tower in Chicago: http://www.chron.com/business/sarnoff/article/Sarnoff-Waterfront-community-to-see-new-wave-of-3570382.php "Houston-based Hines has been itching to start a new project in its hometown. At the minimum, the real estate developer has blueprints for luxury apartments in the Galleria area and a new skyscraper in the central business district."

But this is not money that is coming from Houston's budget to fix Richmond Avenue. It is a different pool of money entirely as Redscare said. It's a toll road - so it's going to be from a dedicated source of funds that would not have been available to fix all the busted surface streets in Houston proper - nor would this money have been available to add rail lines.

Right - sorry a post I wrote in a hurry on a forum did not meet Strunk & White's guidelines, but we are essentially in agreement. I missed one detail. I thought during the breakup of the larger conglomerate, that the tool and electric division's US headquarters had returned to Ohio. But the main part of the post was factually correct. The company being taken over is not counted among Houston's Fortune 500 - due to it being incorporated in Ireland. Now the fact that they dropped their tool division down into a JV with another company does not negate the fact that they still own a large part of it even if they don't have direct management. And I had typed another sentence on the end of my post explaining that Cameron Int'l as the one listed on Houston's Fortune 500 list. I'm at a loss as to where that sentence actually ended up. That's what I was trying to get at in bringing them into the conversation - that the remnant of the old Cooper Industries that is being bought is not the same remnant that is listed in Houston's tally - so nothing will change for next year's total. At least based upon this deal.

Nope. Cooper is based in I think - Ireland already - so it's not on the US Fortune 500. Just like Trans-Ocean, etc. . This is Cooper Tools. And's it's US headquarters are in Ohio. They make Crescent wrenches and auto parts and stuff like that. Used to be part of Cooper-Cameron. But they split a while back. Cameron is still here and is the oilfield-service related company.

Kinda disengenous. Don't think freeways were around in the 1890's when the Heigths were built. And the developers in the big subdivision tracts pretty much build their own infrastructure except for the major arterial roads. That's why MUD taxes are so absurd. And why it's 20-30 years before the cities actually annex these burbs - to let all the debt get paid down first. You even said it - it's cheaper to build the Parkway now, than in 50 years when they have to go in a acquire right of way. (probably will anyway for expansion - different problem entirely) How much did it cost to put 610 in when they had to go back and take out neighborhoods, etc.? The development is going to happen. There is nothing to stop it short of plague or zombies. Might as well plan for it now while they still can.

At one time the Heights were one of those wretched, far-flung suburbs.

But people say one thing when asked a survey and do another when their money is on the line....

So will they try to close all their ancillary roads and keep Houston drivers confined to the main throroughfares like Bellaire does? I'm personally looking forward to the day when I can move to Schulenberg and take either Metro to DT Houston or VIA to the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

Obviously you have never been out in that area - it's immaculate and untouched. Like it was before Columbus came and ruined everything. Like it was even before the Native Americans who did no evil that came across the Alaskan land bridge to spread their joy upon the glorious land. Nothing but buffalo and whooping cranes as far as the eye can see. In fact I may have even seen a wooly mammoth or two while driving around out there! Except - umm - there are no roads since it is a pristine wilderness- so i was offroading in a totally non-destructive environmentally-friendly way. Yeah, that's it.

Here is a link to Waller County's new map of the proposed Prairie Parkway. Can' find Ft. Bend County's version yet - but would like to see the aligment as I live about a mile from where Spur 10 is being extended south of Highway 59. They are acquiring/clearing the land for the Spur 10 extension already - but as far as i know the immediate use is a Rosenberg bypass for Higway 36 - especially when there is a hurricane-a-coming. I had the hardest time going anywhere due to the Runaway Scrape from Brazoria County for Ike. http://ww2.co.waller.tx.us/RoadandBridge/WallerCounty_MajorThoroughfares_2012.pdf

I was wondering about this also. I had the hardest time finding this thread to link the story about the bees to it because the project name did not make any sense.

Sounds like some NIMBEES....... http://www.khou.com/news/local/Killer-bees-invade-giant-crane-in-Galleria-area--151746605.html

Nah, that's just a totally disingenous arguement on their part. "We have no problem with Southwest flying international. Just do it from IAH" they say in most ingratiating tone, knowing full well that Southwest has one of their larger operations in their entire system at Hobby. Which you don't just pickup and move. I'm pretty sure that IAH doesn't have the room for the full Southwest Hobby operation to move over even if Southwest wanted to spend the millions to do so. And Southwest can't just open a new operation at IAH - they need the feed from the large operation they already have at Hobby to support their south of the border push. United knows this when they made their wonderful offer to share IAH (as if it's their airport anyway). But it's one more part of their PR campaign to try to make themselves look like the poor picked on hometown carrier beaten instead of the carrier that's actually trying to preserve their fortress hub and prevent any meaningful competition on their most lucrative routes.

$$$$$$ If you build it, they will come.

A lot of the "competition" for international flights isn't. IAH is a big Star Alliance hub because of United. Most of the Star flights over Atlantic (Luftanhsa, Air Canada, United, etc) are in a protected joint venture arrangement (Just like AA and BA have on NY-London flights). They basically share airplanes and revenues. And then you have code-shares with other Star Alliance partners out of IAH - where there are agreements in place with United. So the level of competition is a lot less than it appears.

Well at least the aliens will know where to aim their photon torpedos when the invasion begins.

I agree - it's not overwhelming. But I am glad it is happening and I like it for what it is. I think this is exactly what Houston needs a lot more of right now. Dense infilling. It's a good height - it's not 3 or 4 stories. Now all we need is a couple hundred more blocks to be developed like this inside the loop taking out all the cheesy two-story townhomes, run-down apartemnts, strip centers, and non-historic obsolete houses over the next 10 years or so and Houston will have the critical mass for what people on HAIF (me included) really want to see - fancy new gleaming skyscrapers. I hope to see a lot more like it.

Well, technically we are already down to 24 since El Paso (#488) is gone (swallowed by Kinder Morgan # 311). But the flip side is #4 ConocoPhillips has split in two already. And both will be headquartered here. I just don't have any knowledge of the size of the two parts - but a strong suspicion that both will be large enough to be in the top 500 so we are back to 25.

Last week when I went buy it, the sign showed a sort of blue/silver end product. Bit more more modern looking than the faded brown. My question is I know a lot of the concerns with federal buildiings, etc is security - what are they doing/can they do with the Smith Street side? It is right up against the sidewalk there with no setback - seems insecure for a government building - they are usually hiding behind a big plaza protected from vehicles, etc.