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cspwal

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Everything posted by cspwal

  1. cspwal
    You can have express trains and local trains on the same line; the counties are large enough that you can have acceleration space for the locals between each station so they don't slow down the express trains, and you can also put in points in the track for passing. And I was thinking of a TCR branded shuttle service, where you pay TCR the same price as parking at IAH for that time period, and park at the rural station, and you would get a train ride to the station, with a shuttle to bring you to the airport, with your bags transferred from the train to shuttle. It could be run as a loss leader to get people used to riding the train into town, or run to make a profit
  2. cspwal
    The two projects are both large infrastructure, with about the same price tag, but the similarities break down after that. The I-45 expansion is going to be 100% government funded, built, and maintained. It's construction impact will be entirely in one part of the Houston (downtown & north Houston), while the benefits will be mostly for those who want to get from north-northwest Houston area to downtown and back. It will displace about a 1000 people from their current homes, as well as businesses and other organization. That being said, it might be justified to as 45-North is one of the spines of Houston. Texas Central Rail is primarily privately funded; the land has to be paid for by a private company (even if acquired through eminent domain), the construction won't start unless they raise the capital the need, and it will be run and maintained by the private company to make money. The government will only pay for administrative and regulatory stuff that the government itself is imposing, as well as TxDot will rebuild road crossings where the line will cross. So right there, the big $40 billion price tag is not on us (the public) but on the private investors who think they can make money. Additionally, the 1000 parcels that they need to acquire aren't 1000 homes - they're pieces of land that is used for farming and such right now. It will definitely not be available to farm, but losing an acre of crop space is very different from losing your home. And the land would be an easement, only for RR use - if they can't raise their $40B, then it stays farmland. Finally, even a HSR is going to be much narrower than a freeway - it's about the width of a two-lane highway, which is narrower than the amount 45 is going to be expanded. And since the train is going from Houston - Dallas, it's primarily for everyone in Houston & Dallas who would want to travel to the other place. That's the only thing they could add - local stops in the counties, advertising a quick, seamless connection to DFW or IAH to the people who have to drive hours right now to fly anywhere.
  3. cspwal
    There's more homes that will be demolished (~1000) than parcels of land that Texas Central still needs to acquire (~900)
  4. cspwal
    I don't understand why Texas Central doesn't even try to placate them with small stations in each county; you can have local trains that stop there, but still have express trains that make the 90 minute trip between Houston & Dallas
  5. cspwal
    His seat is adjusted too low, and the bike itself looks like it might be too small
  6. cspwal
    You can see the old facade starting to emerge in the new pictures
  7. cspwal
    They should paint the columns white and just make it match the MFAH facade
  8. cspwal
    Living next to a straight train line with no immediate at grade crossings isn't too bad. If it was curved though, that's pretty bad. College apartment faced a curved train track on a mainline, and that's when I bought my first pair of noise canceling headphones
  9. cspwal
    What about the corner with the Chase Bank? Wasn't that going to be redeveloped?
  10. cspwal
    The city council approved a plan to temporarily close off main street between Commerce and Rusk for use as outdoor seating for the restaurants and bars on main street. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Houston-OKs-plan-to-let-downtown-bars-15736736.php Here's the relative agenda item: https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=21005&MeetingID=453
  11. cspwal
    Also the high line is a lot narrower, so doesn't impact the surface level environment as much as an elevated highway
  12. cspwal
    I would hate to be trying to raise capital for anything that depended on lots of people in one spot
  13. cspwal
    This really changes the feel coming in from 59 - makes it feel like you're immediately in downtown
  14. cspwal
    I think the "TH" was damaged - when they revealed it last week, it had a full "THE" but was shortly became "E", so I'm thinking they will probably make some EIFS TH to match the rest of the letters
  15. cspwal
    When I passed by this morning, it looked like some of the bricks might have been chipped at? I don't know if twas already like that, or if they are going to remove those bricked up sections
  16. cspwal
    Or a super skinny super tall
  17. cspwal
    Seriously? They could have at least curved the sidewalk around it, like you see some places
  18. cspwal
    Because they're replacing trees and soil that would absorb rainfall with impermeable building and pavement, and they want to make sure that when 48 inches of rain falls on it the bayou next to them doesn't flood them
  19. cspwal
    Here's a photo showing the northern facade with most of the cladding taken off. You can see the upper part is a brigh grey, and the lower part is brown/pink granite. For reference, here's a photo of it before https://www.chron.com/business/retail/article/Sears-to-close-iconic-Midtown-location-12266913.php#photo-12760016
  20. cspwal
    on the southern bank of White Oak bayou on the Heights bike trail https://www.google.com/maps/place/29°46'39.9"N+95°23'17.0"W/@29.7777592,-95.3886092,19z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d29.7777585!4d-95.3880625
  21. cspwal

    Where Am I?

    cspwal replied to hindesky's topic in Off Topic

    Found it! Bagby & Drew - rode past it on my way to Whole Foods
  22. cspwal
    At least on this side, the new part is the glass, and the grey and brown was the art deco that was hiding under the 70s cladding
  23. cspwal
    I get the feeling the city still thinks of this as a park that they can just declare "closed" after dark
  24. cspwal
    The bridge looks pretty locked off for now Also, I'm not sure where to put it, but it looks like there is a new trail head being built.
  25. cspwal
    According to the city, there's two ways to change a street name - either a citizen petition with 75% of the property owners on the street, or by city council passing an ordinance after notifying the owners. Notably, the council don't need to get consent from the owners; the check on it is public pressure on council members to vote against it if it is too out there https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Forms/devregs/StreetNameChangeProcedures-Standards.pdf
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