Houston1stWordOnTheMoon

8 am

4 pm

Sorry to see it go, i celebrated my 21st B Day there at the Hard Rock Cafe :(:(:(:( That place introduced me to the "3 wisemen"

Has there been any movement to get president Bush to build his presidential library here in Houston? I think thay would a a fantastic addition to the city and great tourist attraction. Like him or not, he has presided over arguable the most important presidency since WW2 and the items that would be contained in the library would be excellent to see! Hopefully we are on the radar as a location for it. Would be nice to put it downtown or in the museum district! Preferably on or somewhere near the train route to make it asseble to many more than by car

Any thoughts?

This should be easy to solve. Why not have the train switch between Westpark and Richmond at one or more points?

E.G. have the train make a turn towards Richmond right before it hits Afton Oaks. Then the train goes through Westpark past 610 and goes back to Richmond.

I think that would really help drive up the cost. Take her down Richmond. Its already wide enough and familiar to most. Wouldnt require much disruption to the point of impossible unlike it would if it were to go down Westheimer.

Put it down Richmond. Westheimer would be a nightmare. Where would all that traffic be re-routed while construction is underway?

Nice pics!!

I've had that idea myself. However, a mile along a river or stream is not the same as a mile on a freeway or major arterial. You have to account for the many bends in Buffalo Bayou, especially upstream of Memorial Park, where it hasn't been straightened. Taking that into account, you can easily double the effective distance from place to place. Also, boats don't typically travel very fast on inland waterways, especially those as shallow as the Buffalo Bayou in its upstream segments. And if one were to travel quickly, you'd have two problems: 1) Water would be kicked up and splashed, possibly all over the very same commuters that just showered for work, and 2) the large wakes generated by motorboats would erode the banks, especially upstream of Memorial Park. Environmentalists would have a fit.

In the distant future, if enough residential population density can be built up along the bayou from about Riverway near the West Loop (but in particular around the Shepherd bridge) all the way down into the east end, possibly near Wayside, water taxis start to look promising. However, they're still unlikely to be an attractive option to someone who isn't in it for the aesthetic appeal.

All that said, the water taxi at The Woodlands Waterway received federal subsidy from the FTA on the grounds that it could relieve congestion. If that's possible, then it may very well be that an operator of a small craft could pull this kind of business off.

the first heavy rainfall will shut it down completely.

actually plenty of airports are self sufficient, inlcuding hte Houston Airport System airports. Landing fees and franchising pay for the airports, not city tax dollars

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,

Capt-AWACS, Seven continents down, none to go

You are correct with Continental Airlines paying the bulk of the fees do to both the large operations at IAH and the mix fleet types of aircraft serving IAH. Larger planes= larger fees More money for the city

I hate the dungeon basement train at IAH. Good news is that it isnt in the plans for the future. The above ground train will eventually connect all terminals and will be inside of security. There will no longer be a need to exit and reenter security in order to travel between the terminal buildings.

I doubt it if Arizona is using it so successfully. As hot as Houston is much of the year, it's nothing compared to Phoenix.

Will it hold up to the excessive heat and humidiity that Houston has? The heat in Phoenix is dry as opposed to the Houston climate

Im all for extending the light rail lines. Having traveled the world and still travel different points in the world on a nearly weekly basis, its a shame to see my hometown-Houston-behind smaller and less comparable cities when it comes to mass transit! I for one am no fan of buses but i would take a train in a heart beat! A world class city like Houston needs a world class transit system. Lightrail can open the door to many opportunities the city has yet to experience. Given the upward direction in fuel cost, it would be smart to plan and break ground on the futureof our city with the light rail lines! Having a viable mass transit system is paramount to future growth and development.

I would love to see more super tall buildings in downtown Houston as well as uptown. I fly in and out of IAH regularly and on appraoch looking towards the south, it appears that Houston actually has 2 distinct downtown areas as measured by the tall buildings. Looks very good for the city and also for the skyline