Trae

Well, now they can look at an 80-story tower instead. It's not like they are tearing down the Williams Tower.

I have no idea what an looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool is.

But anyway, this thing will be a success. I-10 won't really hinder it. At least not now. I mean, this isn't anything close to being T&C Mall here.

I-10 will be completed soon. Not like its permanent.

We hopefully this Snow Mountain Park is built near EarthQuest.

And there should be no question as to why Florida and California have more attractions than us. California has over ten million more people than us, and once Disney World was placed in Orlando, everything else followed.

Speaking of Midway and ORD, R. Kelly is not guilty.

Trae.. feel free to send me half the postcard for the assist.

Haha. Sure.

Hopefully it will help with the redevelopment of those damn strip centers into something urban. Especially with the rail coming in, too.

Damn. Is that a recent photo? Looks like cold weather.

Yes, and I still dont believe that Pittsburgh has a light rail system. I guess we are splitting hairs over what we call light rail.

I consider what Pittsburgh has a trolley system.

So what do you call this?

http://www.portauthority.org/paac/default.aspx

This is Pittsburgh's trolley you are talking about:

Damn.

Obama supports transit, so hopefully this helps METRO in their approach at getting more rail (only if, well, when Obama is elected).

My premises are rooted in physical and economic efficiency. Whether you believe them correct or not, they are at least on point. A premise to your counterargument is that my argument is "just stupid".

You can better further your position by letting RedScare handle the inane rhetoric. He's much better at it.

And that is what I have been doing. He can explain it better than I ever could.

Me too, because I am thinking in four weeks, we'll wait another four weeks. Enough with that crap.

It must be new. I lived there from '96 to 2000

I guess it is new (to you). You learn something new everyday.

Wikipedia is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Light_Rail

And weren't you the one earlier that didn't know Pittsburgh had a light rail system (that was built) in the 80s? How could you live there for four years not knowing that?

I like the light rail they have there.

Oh, I am sure the next President is DOOMED, but it won't be Iraq that will be is his undoing. It will be his associations and lack of experience in political matters.

PRINT IT !

Printer not working.

New maps.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

At the site you can click on individual states for the latest polls.

Jun. 12

Obama 304 McCain 221 Ties 13

Subway, no, tunnel yes. You see, they have to go through a small mountain and across 3 rivers to get into the city.

They didnt do it for the "cool" factor like you might belive.

You really do not know what you are talking about. Pittsburgh's has a subway in its Downtown. A place where it could easily be at street level.

If P&R and HOT lanes are used effectively and in combination (as is planned for the Katy Freeway), it is very difficult to conceive of how commuter rail could be anything more than duplicative, more expensive, slower, and less flexible.

Considering how much mass a commuter train has, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it used more energy per passenger mile and polluted more than busses, too.

What cities?

What magnificent powers of reasoning!

Like you have shown any.

... still waiting for someone to show us how commuter rail is an improvement over P&R buses with HOV lanes... (and getting to add pretty colored lines to the fun map on radicalcartography.com isn't good enough... we could make our own fun map showing routes and miles of efficient and flexible P&R bus systems and overshadow every other city in North America.)

It is another added use to our transportation system. You can have it, as well as P&R going together. Works in other cities.

You know, I've been taking Metro a lot more often lately and finding a lot more people who I know aren't homeless riding. Maybe this $4/gallon business has something to do with it. It's not just for the poor and homeless anymore. Driving makes you poor now.

So - supposing we're transitioning into a new norm where transit is a little more "mainstream" here - can you can explain to me how the expansion of transit (i.e. rail) is not going to cause more pedestrian traffic?

He can't and won't.

What mass transit does Pittsburgh have?

The incline doesnt count as mass transit. Its a tourist attraction. Sure, some people actually do use it to get to work, but only because its a novelty.

Pittsburgh has light rail. Even parts of it are in a subway.

Yep, and it is very much ahead of so many other cities in the moving-people-with-cost-effectiveness department.

Commuter rail is duplicative to P&R, is wasteful of precious right of way and trackage rights, and as it is currently planned is less flexible and does not necessarily result in time savings. Just what is the point?

Commuter rail can save time. It isn't like you have to eliminate the P&R buses, too, while having commuter rail. Both can coexist. Also, those cities I mentioned have light rail, subway, heavy rail, and commuter rail (some don't have each and every one of those though). All have more miles of track than Houston.

We can't just continue to widen freeways and build tollways down the middle of them. That is just stupid and costs more money to use.

behind what? please be specific? sounds like some is plagiarizing a list of cities with light rail and has no actual knowledge. it's not like you haven't done that before..this week.

Those are a list of cities that all have rail transport (more than Houston). Whether it be light rail, commuter rail, or heavy rail. Houston is behind with only seven miles of any kind of rail transportation. That is pathetic.

And about the plagiarizing thing, I have known him for over three years and he didn't mind when I asked. Should have kept in quotes.

I'm referring to the OP which listed:

I'm aware that this is not what METRO shows in their plans.

Also doesn't say it won't go Downtown (like from METRO maps I have seen). It will just be a major transfer point.

Dont forget that only 8% of the Houston workforce is located downtown. Currently, the P&R solution serves them well.

What about the other (larger) percentage of workers that work in other locations such as Greenway plaza, Galleria, TMC, etc that will now have an option they do not have today.

What about the reverse commuters who cannot use the P&R today, but could possibly use the commuter rail?

Dont assume this is being designed to only serve one purpose.

You can't serve everybody with a commuter rail line, but you can serve a lot of people. For those that work in Uptown, take the Uptown Line. For the TMC, you can always take the Red Line.

Houston just seems behind so many other cities in the rail department like: Dallas, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, DC, Baltimore, NYC, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Philly, St. Louis, and Denver. Look at what they have, and compare them to ours. Pathetic.

The residents of Afton Oaks don't need rail.

They don't have to use it. Don't put a station there.

So let me see if I have this right.

Someone commuting from Cypress to Downtown would take the commuter rail to NW TC, Uptown Line to Westpark, University Line to Wheeler Station, then the Red Line to downtown. Uh-Huh.

No. The commuter rail goes all the way to the Intermodal Station Downtown (near that Hardy Rail Yards site). It would go inside 610 and run in the Heights. Then they would take the Red Line into town. Where did you get that other stuff from?

Try lunchables.