cloud713

Are you saying votes don't matter? This isn't some third world dictatorship where voting is a mockery.

No, he's saying the plan we voted for is clearly not working (Culberson doesn't want rail coming past Shepherd) so we need to scrap it and vote on a new plan that we can make work..

How about maintaining the same route but go below grade at Montrose, Shepherd, and Kirby, similar to the Holcomb/Fannin intersection. Not a true subway, but would reduce traffic impacts and increase speed by bypassing these intersections. Any re routing along the Westpark power line easement east of Kirby would require removal of many dozens of homes and businesses, essentially destroying all of Vassar Street, Autrey, Chelsea.

The below grade dips/underpasses at intersections would surely help, but be expensive. Though I think there should be one or two underpasses on the Westpark segment (especially if it jumps over further east like I was saying at Yoakum), at Kirby and again at Edloe for an underground station connecting under 59 into the greenway tunnel system, there are just much more cross streets to deal with on Richmond. Plus Richmond will need more lanes of traffic one day (would slightly relieve thru traffic on Westheimer and San Felipe too). Do you really want to take up all that space with LRT on one of the busier streets in Houston?

The ROW/easement is clear between Kirby and Shepherd.. METRO owns all that land up until Shepherd.

Slick, I'm aware the Richmond route would have a higher ridership. Believe me, I wanted the Richmond line and was pissed about Afton Oaks, but we have to compromise.. And besides there really aren't many large destinations along the route.. The segment between uptown and the main st line should be as quick as possible to transfer people between the large hubs of the city. Not have 12 or so stops and take almost an hour to traverse. Some would say as should build the Richmond line as was planned, and have a faster commuter route between uptown and downtown along Memorial (would be awesome), but given our track record for getting rail built, I think all that is wishful thinking, at least for the immediate future, so iron tiger is trying to get a hybrid line built that can serve both needs (at least that's what I take from it, sorry for putting words in your mouth i.t.)

I think that the University Line as it is planned now is slow, ruins a road, and has way too many stops. If it's "already voted for" and with the delays, it needs to be scrapped entirely and replaced with a modified plan.

Agreed.. That's why I suggested jumping it over on Yoakum across 59. I don't think they'd be able to cross at Montrose, which is where METROs Westpark ROW starts, so Yoakum would be the best alternative to cross over into the ROW while maintaining the most amount of track along Westpark for higher speeds and a cheaper build.

Would it even be possible that since they seem to run it in a narrow ROW anyway west of 610, would it work to run it in the right of way just south of 610 where power lines currently go? It would be a few blocks away from the proposed stations along Richmond, but it might even go faster than the old one, and cheaper to build.

did you mean south of 610 or south of 59? i assume you meant south of 59. in which case, i believe METRO owns the other half of the Westpark ROW all the way up until Montrose. i dont see why they couldnt fit tracks under the power lines/ROW that continues past Montrose, almost all the way across from Wheeler Station. but i suppose i would like to see a Menil/St Thomas stop on Richmond before it jumps over to the Westpark ROW, so maybe that power line stretch east of Montrose doesnt matter. just run it down the planned/original University Line route from the east all the way up to Yoakum BLVD, so it still somewhat serves the Menil and St Thomas.. and then turn south, down the wide median on Yoakum, and build a new matching bridge across 59 for the train to jump over to the METRO/Westpark/power line ROW.

owntown multi-family residential is likely to have an average occupancy in the neighborhood of 1.2 per unit. Even at 1.25 per unit, with 7500 units, we're still talking only 9,375 total residents.

I thought the downtown population was over 4,000 when there were 2,500 units.. It would be interesting to compare how many of the new units are 1 bedroom vs multiple.

Exactly.. Which is why I say just put the whole University Line down the westpark ROW to Wheeler (though it will unfortunately miss st Thomas, the Menil, ect). As for cut and cover, I agree. So when the roads are being rebuilt is a perfect time to run a line under them. I think post oak, Westheimer, the current LRT lines through the downtown and TMC portions, and maybe even part of Kirby could use cut and cover subways next time they are repaired.

The DART line under cityplace is neat huh? I envision something line that for the Greenway stop connecting into it's tunnel network.

subway would be amazing (hopefully in the next 50 years), but i would prefer it go under Westheimer, not Richmond. 

a 4 stop line (seems like i heard that was a consideration once) running from Wheeler Station, across 59 into the Westpark/METRO/powerline ROW would be ideal for speed, but it wouldnt be able to serve nearly as much as a Richmond line. there could still be a stop for Wheeler, Edloe (Greenway/UK), Post Oak, and then Hillcroft TC, but with less traffic to deal with compared to down the middle of Richmond. maybe they could even submerge the tracks under the few crossroads there are along that route (or at least a couple of the more busy ones, and have a submerged station at Edloe with a tunnel under 59 over to the Greenway tunnel system).

i foubt they spent much time on a logo.. id imagine that will change, just like the name will likely change when the lead tenant is announced.. 

 How did you take this pic, from a three story tree house? Isn't that from the Oak Ridge neighborhood?

that would be one badass treehouse.. it was the onramp to Hardy tollroad heading south.

The Hines building is on like a quarter to a third of the block, vs half the block for block 35

I agree with Larry, but the sovereign and the whitco? No way.. This tower is way nicer looking.

The cladding is almost done on the south tower and the skybridge is starting to go in (don't know if you can see it from the angle I took the pic)

Since I never lived in Houston and in the era before Katy Freeway, I did research on that, and what I concluded was that the commuter rail idea was merely tossed around (and talked about) both before and after the original railroad was scrapped. At some point, when it became clear that adding commuter rail was a losing proposition, they eventually agreed to make the middle lanes sustainable for railroads later on, and that METRO gave money for this possibility. Whether METRO was foolish or conned, that's another issue, but no, rail was never officially part of the Katy Freeway plans.

Rail (LRT, not commuter) was never a part of the plan, yet they spent money to reinforce all the new bridges for LRT..? Sounds like it was part of the plan to me..

And I kind of agree with Slick, it will be hard to convert money making toll lanes into rail..

Nice! I didn't think this was supposed to start until like September or something

Why wouldn't the i10 line hit the northwest TC/ uptown line? And I'd argue that with the i10 line, it would hit memorial city, city center, the energy corridor, ect.. All while tying into the existing p&r system. The ROW is already there (one of the most expensive parts of building new rail), and some of the corridors you chose are highlighted for future commuter rail, so there would be no room to put light rail down the Washington ave/Hempstead rail line corridor.

You can google search Metro light rail map/plans and one of the pictures shows a phase 3 with a couple additional lines/extensions, and one goes from the dead end of the east end/southeast lines by the theater district, over to i10 and out towards katy

That Katy line was planned to go down the middle lanes of the Katy tollway on I-10, not along all those other routes..

oh wow, the project is a lot bigger than i realized.

shouldnt this go in the Coastal Prairies subforum, not the Sugar Land/southwest subforum?

the landscaping is nice (havent seen it in person, just saying, the idea..), but that skinny strip of land seems like it would be very underutilized as a part of the park, since its a small plot, on the other side of Fannin, and has two main thru streets on either side.. maybe the park will one day sell it off to a developer? wishful thinking.. heh

Looks like they removed another floor between Wednesday and Friday (when I took this photo)

Damn.. That sucks. Ah well, thanks for the info.

Looks like they are halfway through setting up to pour the slab for the 30th floor.. Just about 3/4th the way there!

That should be RDs chateau 10. Thanks for the updates!