Slick Vik

If you exit memorial near fonde you can make a right and get on 45 south.

Thanks for clearing that up. That's a very ambitious plan. So one day, all the freeways that surround downtown today will be removed or be underground.

Not I-10

I wonder if it has anything to do with the added weight of the new trams that Metro ordered from CAF.

There was an article about this recently. Metro is spending millions adjusting their equipment for the heavier cars.

There's certainly a lot more people walking around campus in general. I wonder if some students are opting to park on streets in midtown, or another safish area near the rail lines and take rail? Student fares are 50% normal fares, I don't know what it costs for a semester of parking on campus, but it can't be less than student metro fare.

Yea from my observations ridership has picked up

I do sort of agree with you, but my argument against (playing devils advocate here) is that the Washington corridor is quickly becoming a very popular bar/club night scene area. More development will only follow, which we can see in the new midrise mf projects going up on the far Western end. This area is becoming more and more urban, and it's hard, IMO, to argue that this area is quieting in anyway in the future. Property values are going to go up regardless of the rail or not; the inner loop is hot in activity right now.

Another important thing to note is that the trains will most definitely not be speeding by in this area; it's close to the homes and would require a slow speed, and it's so close to the downtown terminus there wouldn't be enough room to hit full speed.

Maybe 5 years ago. The popular clubs from that era are long shuttered. Washington is more of a restaurant place now. Midtown is where the nightlife is.

Also for all the criticism we've given rural landowners the local nimbys aren't much better. Everyone is looking out for their own self interest instead of the greater good. Hsr is much less disruptive than the current freight rails, has anyone here been to Japan besides me? Elevated rail isn't preferable but if it's the only method of getting downtown then make it happen. I wouldn't really call any part of Houston "desirable" other than in some people's heads it's a way to get away from low income minorities, so whatever.

Read about this place on mattress underground honestly can't believe I never noticed the pink building the thousands of times I've gone past here. Nice owner he makes everything himself and his prices are about half of the competition

Stopped by Texas mattress makers on navigation and Lockwood also but wasn't impressed very pushy and pricey for the materials. Still better than any major manufacturer due to the quality of the materials but the first guy is much nicer and has a better warranty (ten years)

In downtown hearing a mix of confusion and positive reaction. Also the trains are packed.

I think rail to woodlands, cypress, Katy, sugar land, kingwood, pearland, and Galveston would be a great idea, with air trains to hobby and IAH. In conjunction with light rails to help you get around within Houston it would h a tremendous system.

That's another thread entirely. The report aired twice. The day after Thanksgiving i think. The 5:30pm broadcast and the 10:00pm broadcast. Tough to say how much impact it had just being aired twice but I could see how a viewer may think Turner was involved in some insurance scam after watching it. I get that. But the channel 13 story never said that. never. The story was more about what did Turner know and when did he know it. A legitimate question to ask from the press to a public official. Public officials are not immune from inquiries from the press. Long story short, after many legal battles, Turners lawsuit against channel 13 was overturned on appeal. And the overturned appeal was upheld by the Texas Supreme Court.

Did you see what happened in the polls as soon as the report was released? That was a god send for Lanier. It was a bogus report, and the appeal and Texas Supreme Court played partisan politics.

No one's been disenfranchised. If anything, implementing policy only actively approved by 5.4% of eligible voters seems like tyranny of the minority. We're all collectively enablers for corrupt politicians as long as there isn't a backlash. Don't be so naive to believe what your 4th grade social studies book said about how democracy works.

If the majority is too lazy to vote then they deal with the results. You can't punish the ones that make the effort.

I found a New York time article on the referendum vote in 1988

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/18/us/rail-system-plan-backed-by-houston-voters.html

It looks like the Metro board changed their mind to build a monorail and that's what Bob Lanier killed

http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Why-no-monorail-For-city-s-transit-riders-two-1970501.php

City lab did a write up of old Houston Metro plans, with a few old maps, but I couldn't find one of the original 1988 plan (or where the monorail would have gone).

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/10/what-old-transit-maps-can-teach-us-about-a-citys-future/381149/

Also, why does it seem like Houston referendums usually don't mean anything when it comes to rail projects?

He would've killed it anyway

Because when only 5.4% of eligible voters actually vote in favor, it's pretty easy for officials to ignore. That's a disconnect between how things work in theory (an election decides it once and for all) and the reality that without real support ideas/bills/referendums can be killed pretty easily. So you can't really say that a vote is unequivocal evidence that the polity wants a particular policy implemented.

Great so let's disenfranchise those who actually take the time to vote, because we can. You're an enabler for corrupt politicians.

I did do research, and there was no people's vote on a monorail/people mover system. I can pull up the posts on it with cited articles, but Slick's narrative doesn't like pesky things like facts.

There was a referendum during whitmire's term. Look it up.

Pretty bold statement. How did you arrive at that conclusion? Are you saying Houston did NOT have amazing growth in the last 25 years? The stories of Houston leading the country in jobs were lies? All the new airline routes from IAH did not happen? Tons of new home owners? etc, etc,.

From what I can tell, and please correct me if I'm wrong. But Houston is hot and muggy most of the year and flat and ugly all of the year? Houston has no natural beauty. But for some reason people flock here? Often times people flock here from heavy rail cities that have failed them.

No Lanier did not set us back at all. More police, better roads are what people wanted and got. Houston has thrived ever since.

Lanier won because of a false report by Wayne delcefino that cost Sylvester turner the election.

Good old boys? Are you referring to Bob Lanier? Bob Lanier was a wheeler and dealer sure. But he wasn't some political crony. In the Cathy Whitmiere days Metro made a deal with Lanier, agreeing to spend more of Metro's funds on streets and roads. Metro could have said FU Lanier but they didn't. NO money was stolen. Metro made a political deal. When Lanier campaigned for mayor he campaigned on the promise to increase the number of police and to kill a monorail proposal that most citizens were skeptical about. The PEOPLE elected him. The PEOPLE told us what they wanted. This was not some crime of the century.

Buying land as a highway commissioner knowing highways will be built there due to your influence isn't cronyism? If you really believe that you're just dumb. And taking money that was already voted on and handing it over for something else is corruption and morally wrong.

Suit yourself, Slick, but your message is not effective at all because of your incessant whining about the meanies that allegedly killed streetcars. It's sort of like the guy that keeps talking about the touchdown he scored in high school 50 years ago. No one cares but him.

Such whining that 60 minutes did a story on it, books have been written, movies have been made. And I find it interesting you ignored my final remark. But then again not surprising. I'm sure you wish for the good old days with your fellow good old boys.

My great grandfather made a great living in Houston selling cars, starting in 1911. He started with Krit, and then sold Overland and then Willys, then moved to LA in 1920 or so to sell Fords after he and my great grandmother divorced. He worked at a dealer where the Marriott in the old Humble building is on Main. People wanted cars, and those who could afford them, bought them. Once they had cars, a whole new range of leisure and work options opened up.

You need to get over your misery about the streetcars going away. That happened a long time ago, and no amount of whining today is going to change it. At some point, Houston will expand rail. It isn't going to happen quickly, but it will happen when it makes sense to a majority of the population.

I'm not going to stop mentioning when a great crime was committed. I'm sure you would also have said slavery isn't a big deal it will be abolished when it makes sense for the majority of the population.

Thousands? A single thousand, maybe. Good article here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Electric

Keep in mind that most of the streetcar operations were gone by 1960, and, absent a time machine, are irrelevant to today's conversation, regardless of whether the causes of the decline were nefarious or because residents of cities in the South and Southwest realized that cars were a great thing that opened up a myriad of new lifestyle options.

1500 miles of track. Not sure how lifestyles changed, if anything made them attached to their cars and took away movement to move around otherwise. There's a reason Los Angeles is spending billions on rail lines now, back to the future.

I was just bringing up LA as an example since it hadn't come up in this thread. I understand its a different animal, but its a car-centric sprawling city with established system that is still expanding, with some successes and some failures.

Anways, i didn't realize our double trains can hold 460 passengers. The Park and Ride commuter buses hold 50 (seated)? Looking at the Gulf corridor, because I'm familiar with it and used to ride it often, they have 9 buses per hour peak, and they are mostly full with standing room on occasion. So one double train could hold an hour of today's capacity, impressive.

So as an example, if we were to extend the Purple line down to the Bay Area Park and Pool, that would be ~17 miles. Factoring in 2 stops (Fuqua and Monroe) and 60 mph between stops this would take ~25 minutes. Then add 22 minutes on the Purple Line current stops/schedule to get to Rusk, so 47 minutes total.

Current commute from the Bay Area Park and Ride to central downtown is ~40 minutes (barring no accidents in HOV or breakdowns).

Do you know LA had thousands of miles of streetcar tracks at one point? It only become car centric because of certain nefarious actions that took place.

Our light rail gets stuck in traffic too; in the med center. the green purple train also gets stuck in traffic in downtown. The light rail train horn is louder than any bus in Houston. I can hear the light rail train "whistle" from my office and I'm 70 plus floors above the street. Some Metro buses use compressed natural gas? No? The green link bus in downtown is zero emission, no?

I don't speak for the city. But the people of Houston have spoken for the city. They prefer their cars. When convenient they will use the park and ride system. When those who cannot afford cars, can afford them, they will stop using the local buses and instead use their new/used car.

You're such a moron it's hilarious. People prefer cars because the system is built for cars. Go do some research. Houston was a streetcar city. Cars were considered a failure. Why would someone spend half a year's salary for a car when they could take public transport for 5 cents? Certain bribed politicians in office decided that streetcars could not raise their fares and had to pay for maintenance of the entire roadways that they were on, basically bankrupting them.

Not to mention bob Lanier took $500 million meant for rail and handed it to the cops, and Tom delay and John Culberson did anything in their power to deter progress in rail projects. The system we have right now is the very beginning of something. This is like judging Michael Jordan at 10 years old and saying he sucks he'll never do anything. But then again I think you like being a troll. People are part of the system they are in. Make a dynamic rail system, people will ride it. The traffic is just going to get worse and worse and if you can't see that, you're blind.

I'm not anti rail per se. A well planned light rail is not a bad thing.

But lets not get carried away. The Red Line replaced busses that were the most frequently commuted in the city. Which makes sense, those busses connected the two major economic centers of the city, Downtown and the Med Center. The Red Line is heavily used today in 2015 because well, that route has always been heavily used. But how's the north line extension doing? What about the green/purple?

Houston is a city without zoning. Population centers may pop up one day and disappear the next. Probably the worst kind of city for fixed guide way transit. Busses are more flexible and can adjust more easily as the populations of the city adjust. etc, etc, I'm sure I could keep going but what's the point? You're just going to ignore all the reasons why Houston is a bus city...

Buses get stuck in traffic, are noisy, and pollute. The only good bus would be a bus rapid transit which is a fixed guideway. You don't speak for the city.

Last time I checked the medical center was, well in the Medical center. How does that further your position that downtown light rail is the cause of soooo much downtown development?

It's been proven post after post. You're just trolling now.

Huh? Of course there is. High-Income earners in Houston avoid it like the plague. And they especially avoid the local bus/ light rail, I can repost the chart I posted earlier if you like? These are actual Houstonians telling us what THEY are doing. It's a valid study with a solid population sample. Sorry it doesn't further your position....

Medical center workers must be a bunch of peasants

This is like arguing with a 12 year old.

I like houston's strategy what's the point of commuter rail if you can't get around once you arrive? Dallas is figuring that out and building streetcars in the city center.

Yup, the McDonalds/Greyhound area is pretty bad. In 2013 a women sued greyhound for being raped INSIDE the terminal by the SECURITY GUARD! It's pretty telling that MegaBus has their "terminal" a good distance away from the Greyhound one. They obviously do not want their brand anywhere near Greyhound or that area.

As I looked out my apartment window yesterday I noticed the Opening Spring 2015 sign for the restaurant next to Café Express. No construction, nothing. Wonder why? It's right on the rail? This morning I walked by the failed Georgia's Farmer's Market. I also wonder why? Right in front of the Light Rail Station, Business should be booming?

In more obvious news, early numbers for the green/purple lines are below expectations.

A good distance? It's 2 blocks away. You must not walk much. And you're back to trolling.

what? that are around the mcdonalds/grey hound isnt bad?!?! LOL if you go there during the evening time you see people shooting up meth in the mcdonalds parking lot ALL THE TIME. Thats the WORST area

It's not ideal but it's not Baghdad. I've been there at least 500 times in my life and nothing has happened to me.

The best build out will eventually be to have local circulators everywhere that feed into the light rail.

The idea in most cities is to have local buses that feed into rail stations. Parking at stations though convenient pretty much goes against the theory of transport authorities, particularly in areas where land is at a premium, and also encourages driving to an extent. That being said a park and ride is kind of a compromise I suppose.

well on fridays and Saturdays the lightrail going from fannin up north stops running at 1:40 ... so what sense does it make if you take the light rail and cant even ride it back once it closes?

The last train southbound is after 2 I believe. But regardless people should plan to make it back, or catch a cab or uber