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DNAguy

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Everything posted by DNAguy

  1. Nah bro. It's just zombie apocalypse ready. 'Bell tower' perfect for sniping and/or putting a 50 cal. in. The spikes prevent the scaling of the building.
  2. Since we are integrating stickers, can I just integrate my TxTag, registration, AND inspection into one sticker? Why can't I pay my registration automatically like my tolls from a TxTag account? Hmmmm. I just see that eventually all this inspection, registration, and 'toll' business will all get integrated. The 'tolls' will actually then go to a 'per mile' usage fee for all miles driven per year and your registration cost will reflect this. The gas tax just cant keep up. This will take some time, however.
  3. I guess that really depends how risk averse you are. Myself? Well, both my registration and inspection are due this month. I usually always do this with my vehicle b/c its easier to remember. I guess now the state is forcing my habit on all of us. However, b/c of the inspection-after-registration-grace year-loophole I'm going to get my inspection done August 1st. There you go. I'll have 15 minutes of driving total driving (to the shop) that I'll be out of compliance. I'll take that risk to save $40.
  4. As far as the signature downtown stations I'd like to see combine HSR, commuter, light rail, buses, and street cars there really is only two real places to consider: 1.) Current downtown post office or 2.) Hardy Yards The post office site has some advantages that Hardy doesn't and visa versa. What are the advantages of one site vs another as you guys and gals see them?
  5. Culberson's objection is ridiculous on so many levels. He stands for limited Fed government, yet he uses the power of the feds to deny a local government entity the right to execute the will of the people. The rights of few outweighing the will of many. Man, that doesn't sound like democracy to me. His big and most vocal objection is rail on Richmond. However, in his district the rail is on Richmond from Shephard to Edloe. That's it. A total distance of 1.4 miles. That represents less than 12% of the whole distance. He also raises the issue that METRO can't afford it. To this I might agree. METRO isn't run well at all. They are the Murphy's law of local governance. This is / may be true. But if this is the case, how on earth could we get fed $ if the agency is so backwards and poor? Maybe more effort should be taken to revise the grant / fed $ allotment process than to just blacklist a local government agency. And what makes all this even more comical is that he's doubling down when he's already won! Metro will lose out on 20% of the 1% sales tax revenue until 2025. That 20 % will go to building roads and not provide transportation. METRO has also released a revised bus system! A system that is efficient and provides more reliable service for the same amount of $. It's literally what Culberson / Republicans has been asking government to do: Live w/in its means and provide better outcomes. Does he not realize that he's won? Does he even know that METRO released a new bus system layout? Has he ever taken a bus?
  6. So they're going to move the two grave sites that are located at the corner of Memorial and Houston Ave? IDK about you guys (and gals), but the thought of living close to the courthouse haunts my dreams. In my own personal hell, I would have to spend eternity in that dingy building waiting to be called in front of a judge. I'll tell you what though; I never feel more appreciative about where I live and the work that I do do than when I'm done w/ a jury summons or had to appear for a ticket.
  7. I'm really curious about the 'flex' zones and how they'll work. Does any other major city have them? Are they a model for other areas of Houston / un-incorporated Harris county / suburban cities like Sugar Land could emulated in the future as more and more people move here? How do we ensure that we don't have to re-invent the wheel like this again? Does Metro have a strategic plan for bus service?
  8. Everyone knows that's totes been done, like, forever ago ......
  9. They help w/ the flow of traffic and make navigating easier by usually allowing more frequent exits / easier u-turns. However, I feel as if that they actually induce sprawl / make the city uglier. So I guess I'm 50/50 on them. Ok, I raise your question w/ another question: "What do you call the roads that run parallel to a highway that allow you to enter and exit the highway?" A) Frontage Rd B.) Feeder Rd (The Feeder) C) Access Rd
  10. Yes. All segments will be tolled except for the section between I10 and the westpark tollway.
  11. @ Purple You, sir, might be the most knowledgeable person I've met (ish) on the subject of truck nuts. I applaud your mastery of the subject. It also led me to my glorious new band name: "Truck nut Guru".
  12. Is there anything more fascinating than the set of 'truck nuts' on a vehicle? Hear me out. I mean, the mind races with questions when you're stuck behind an F-350 and a set of these babies wobbles in front of you as you speed along in the Texas heat. It's like a car accident dangling on the back of a hitch. You want to look away, but the hypnotic swaying draws you in..... So many questions..... A) Who was the first guy to make them? B.) What possessed him to put them on his truck? Did he think that his truck needed to identify as male? C) Who was the first person to mass produce truck nuts? D) Are there real chrome ones and what are the most expensive pair that anyone makes / has purchased. Are there truck nuts made of precious metals? What will future cultures think of us when archaeologists uncover a set? D) Are the Chinese factory workers who make them even able to comprehend why they're making anatomically accurate scroti (I'm assuming that's how you pluralize scrotum)? Would they be disappointed if they knew the truth? E) Is there anywhere else in the world where something like this could catch on? I really hope someone makes a documentary about them. I can see it now: "Truck Nuts: A True Example of American Exceptionalism" 'A City on a Hill', The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, Manifest Destiny, Civil Rights and now..... truck nuts.
  13. I'm pretty sure we're in the mess we're in w/ transportation and infrastructure because many of our officials' decisions were predicated by the statement "I guess it's not THAT bad if......".
  14. For the full loop, the section that is the thorniest isn't actually 146 itself. The issues comes when you try and get from 45 south to 146 to complete the loop. I just don't see the people of League city being all that jazzed about having a tollway replace Loop 646 / 16th street.
  15. They can't be that bad. I mean, Metro didn't get rid of them in the East end and it ended looking just fine......
  16. If it's so well known as a manufacturing methodology, why did I have to re-invent it 30 years later?
  17. Well, not exactly. If TxDOT builds a toll road, then it has to issue bonds. Tolls on the roads are, in principle, supposed to go to pay off those bonds. However, this really isn't the case. To TxDOT, money in is money in. In addition, they also leverages tolls + gas tax revenue to float more bonds for future projects. They count the tolls as income just as gas taxes. All they did is just take out a loan to build a road. So the $ to pay off the bonds comes from the whole pie of incoming TxDOT $. The extra 3, 7 , 9% could have build / maintained more lanes. So we really are stuck with a road that we paid more to build than if we had the $ today and the prospect of paying to use it forever. When $ is tight, there is always a premium to have something built faster. I'm not saying whether there actually isn't any benefit for building highways as tollways, but lets call it what it is. It disincentives use and incentives other means of transportation / mass transit. One could argue that all highways should be tolled.
  18. I know that TxDOT doesn't own the ROW, but why didn't they look into routing 45 from 610 to DT along what will be the Hardy DT connector? You then route it along 59 from I10 to 45 south. The current section of I 45 now becomes I145. Would there be enough ROW? Do the laws permit a swap between HCTRA and TxDOT so that I145 or some spur designation could be tolled? I'm curious if this could actually work.
  19. One thing I've come to realize is that when you get rid of a bottle neck in a system, you expose / exacerbate other bottle necks. If this prevents you from fixing a known problem (b/c you know that'll you'll just run into another problem down / upstream), then you in a paralyzed state where nothing gets down. No doubt that 59/288 interchange needs to be fixed. By fixing the 45/59 interchange, you're actually incentivising the earlier action.
  20. I like where your head's at. However, I think you run into problems with the directing the 'regular' through traffic of 45 into the industrial part of Houston. Lots of trucks from 59 to 45 south on 610. Plus you have a large bridge. And the 610 / 225 / 45 area is already loaded up with lands that end and merge in a way that would only add to the nightmare that it is today.
  21. With Houston's west side developing at a pace roughly 20 years faster than rest of Houston, I guess you're right. I fail to understand the need for the 59 north to I10 east section though. However, Exxon has a big refinery in Baytown and their new campus is right off the Grand parkway. I wouldn't put it past TxDOT to just build the road to help reduce that refinery to campus commute. What's a couple billion bucks anyway?
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