DaTrain

Denver's and Dallas's light rail both run in their streets, at least downtown.   Oh, and so does Seattle's. 

 

And Minneapolis.  And Portland.  And Los Angeles.  And San Diego. 

I thought Seattle runs theirs underground and shared with their bus routes in the same tunnel.  LA runs their Blue Line downtown for a short length before tunneling to meet the Red Line subway, although the Gold Line has been extended years ago on its downtown east edge.

Adding to the list of cities that run LRT on surface streets of downtown:

San Francisco - the historic F Market trolley line on Market Street, and the cable cars.

Sacramento

Salt Lake City

New Orleans

Memphis

Norfolk

Baltimore

Phoenix

Dunno - I think both the MUNI and METRO logos each have their own, stuck in the decade they were created charm.  The practical difference between the MUNI light rail trains and ours is that MUNI doesn't have the restriction on length that we do posed by the length of a downtown Houston block.  The longer MUNI trains run underground in the business district, and they are building more subway as we speak.

MUNI's light rail service (coincidentally called MUNI METRO) was actually an evolution of their longtime streetcar system; same can be said for Boston and Newark.

I've only seen vertical signals like these in Houston along the new light rail lines. I asked a lady who works for the COH with signals about the new vertical arrangements and she thinks it may have something to do with visibility along the line.

 

We aren't the only city in TX to have vertical signals though. I've seen them in Galveston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.

From a closer look I think the reason the vertical signals are arranged that way as opposed to the typical horizontal look you see all over is due to the size of the traffic arm stick.  The city just wanted to fit as many signals on that stick as possible based on regulations.

As for cities in Texas that have vertical traffic signals, Beaumont and Amarillo take the cake on having the most.

Enjoy those feeder bypasses on the Gulf Freeway while you can. I used to do that when I commuted home from my old job in League City. Once the expansion project is done in a few years, I-45 will go over those roads instead of them going over I-45.

I don't understand why Texas has a tendency to convert underpasses to overpasses.  It doesn't make no sense.  They could have just built a new bridge on top of the interstate with wider lanes and or a wider clearance between support columns to accomodate a wider freeway like they did the Post Oak bridge over the Katy.  I think it screws up traffic by funneling it all in a narrow space to take out a bridge, not to mention forcing cars on the feeders to sit through new traffic signals once the interchange is taken out.

Disagree with you on LA. They have some of the best looking freeways. So nice that you will exit to get some gas, and then get right back on because the area you got off at is the hood.

To a degree I have doubts about the world's largest freeway system being that nice.  A handful like the Hollywood Freeway or the Foothill Freeway (I-210) has greenery around it.  The rest are wall to wall and the only saving grace to them aestheticallly are the mountains in the distance.

In the case of California, San Francisco and the Bay Area have better looking freeways than LA does.  They don't have as many noise barriers as LA does plus they have more of an oleander look due to the regionality, as well as having nine major bridges cut across water.  Many of em cut through undeveloped elevations (golden brown hills) and yet are still in the same region between urbanized areas.

One example is I-580.  It is designated as a scenic route, and it maintains it as it cuts through Oakland from the MacArthur Maze before commuters hit the Bay Bridge to Hayward.

http://www.aaroads.com/california/i-580ec_ca.html - eastbound

http://www.aaroads.com/california/i-580wc_ca.html - westbound

Another advantage is that it's the only major interstate not to allow big trucks on it mainly through the Oakland city limits, although the disadvantage is them detouring along I-880 (Nimitz Freeway) instead.

Just caught wind of this story on another sight but it seems like Belo is exiting the television business soon.  Gannett (USA Today's owners) is expected to buy out most of the Belo stations including KHOU.

http://www.chron.com/business/article/Gannett-buys-20-stations-from-Belo-4597999.php

Just sad how conglomerates keep getting bigger and bigger.

Attention gospel music listeners in Houston: we are set to lose the inspirational KROI Praise 92.1 next month. Ironically Radio One (Black-owned and operated conglomerate) did not sell the property but has decided to take on a news format.

From All Access:

RADIO ONE has announced that Christian Inspirational KROI (PRAISE 92.1)/HOUSTON will flip to News/Talk "NEWS 92 FM" on the week of NOVEMBER 14th. The 24-hour news and information station will be fortified by the world wide resources of ABC NEWS RADIO and ASSOCIATED PRESS PLATINUM; The Gospel format will move to sister Urban MAJIC 102's HD channel and will stream online.

More: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/98281/radio-one-houston-to-flip-praise-92-1-to-news

My thoughts: Just when I thought a variety of urban radio in Houston is dismal, the 24/7 gospel format has filled a void needed on the FM dial here in a major city that is considered the western end of the South, since most other major cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, and New Orleans have FM gospel radio. I hate to see it go since the other gospel offerings are limited to early Sunday mornings on Majic 102 and KTSU, and the three AM gospel stations don't cover the entire city too well (1360, 1140 and 1500).

I'm surprised black folks in Mo City are all clustered in the Hunters Glen subdivision and scattered elsewhere to the other side of Texas Parkway. Just when I thought it was diverse everywhere in the suburb of its size. So much for being a continuation of the Fort Bend side of Houston below the belt.

Source: The Atlantic Wire

http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20100922/cm_atlantic/mappingthesegregationofuscities5133

Mapping the Segregation of U.S. Cities

Heather Horn – Wed Sep 22, 1:13 pm ET

WASHINGTON, DC – Many people have an anecdotal sense of what areas in a particular city are predominately black, white, or other ethnicity. Eric Fischer has a more precise sense, creating maps that visually represent segregation in urban areas. Using Census Bureau information and the methodology of cartographer Bill Rankin, who produced a racial map of Chicago, Fischer created maps for each of the forty largest cities in the U.S. Here, for example, is the one for Detroit, one of the most obviously segregated urban areas. White areas are pink, Black ones are blue, Hispanic orange, and Asian green. Example here:

The full set is on Fischer's Flickr page. Bloggers are exclaiming over the images and trying to draw social conclusions out of them. Link to page:

The Fascinating Cases of Boston, Houston, and Vegas "Hispanics live in Somerville, Blacks live in Dorchester, and Whites live everywhere else," says Gus Lubin, commenting on the map of Boston. In Houston, "clear racial divisions fan out from downtown" like pie slices. Meanwhile "Las Vegas is relatively mixed!"

Here is the map to Houston in its maximum size for clarity:

I don't understand why there HAD to be construction on I-10 West between the 45 junction and inside Loop 610. I'm specifically talking about in the Heights. I went shopping a few days ago at the Sawyer Heights Center (where Target is) and noticed bridge pillars and bridge beams right next to the mainlane freeway presumably for feeders from Studewood to Taylor. Another construction spot is between Shepherd/Durham and Yale. Why the hell would TxDot do another useless construction project? The freeway was fine the way it was without feeders for the most part. But now they are putting in more access roads that nobody is going to use.

If TxDot is going to do stuff like that in secret they might as well convert Pierce Street downtown to a feeder road for 45 Elevated. Does anybody HAIFer in the Heights know anything about this?

Yeah, Houston needs one more hip-hop/RnB station and another classic RnB station. Sad how a top ten market has horrible radio stations. 97.9 and 102.1 went into the crapper without competition. And when we had that Party 104.9 station (that then went to Party 93.3), they played a bunch of Reggaetone bullcrap because it was owned by Telemundo. What are the chances Houston gets more urban stations?

I'm confident Houston has a good chance of getting two more urban competitors. We do have a huge Black population to support those opportunities. Right now the music played is slanted toward the teenboppers/young adults and people who grew up in the Motown era. So that means folks who grew up on late 80s and 90s music in the Old School Hip Hop and New Jack Swing eras don't have a choice here (unless you're listening to noon lunch mixes or on Friday and Saturday nights).

I'm glad I'm not the only one on here who has issues with Majic 102. I know people here in town who only defend the station because 97.9 is worse off than 102 is. But even if 102 plays more than 97.9, they tend to limit their playlist to Luther, Anita, Marvin Gaye, Aretha or the Temptations. Plus I recently noticed from listening to online R&B Classic Soul stations in other cities that 102 MISSED OUT on new songs or otherwise start playing a new song two months late than the other cities. Laziness.

I mean look at Praise 92.1. They play contemporary gospel music but thankfully it has competition from two more gospel stations which are mostly on the AM dial like KYOK 1140 and KWWJ Gospel 1360. Both of those stations play traditional gospel.

Houston is one of the top 10 radio markets but unlike most other radio markets, we have one hip hop/RnB station (which is watered down anyway) and one R&B/Classic Soul station. It is not fair that other radio markets like Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia and Detroit have at least two hip hop stations and two RnB/classic soul stations and one gospel station in some cases. On a local scale, it is not fair that we're limited to only three Black radio stations - like most cities we should at least have four or five. Not to mention 97.9 has a two hour playlist loop or less and unfairly banned Trae due to that situation with Radio One, which is wrong. 102 got rid of their Sunday Classic Soul program, now it went from a traditional R&B/Classic Soul station to a corporate average station as a result. I know we had Power 97.5, 98.5 Kiss and the other hip hop stations that had potential to stay around like Hot 97.1 or Party 104.9/93.3. It's funny how the city has 3 country/western stations, 10 Mexican stations and 5 Rock stations.

I'm no fan of today's watered down hip POP but it would be nice to fill the void. 97.9 and 102 can use some "middle ground" competition with a urban station that plays current RnB, Neosoul and the stuff neither station hardly plays: stuff from the 1980s and 1990s (97.9 plays 2000-present while 102 plays 1960's, 1970 and very few 80's and 90's tracks), like old school hip hop in its golden age, more underground H-town artists (97.9 lost its luster in this) and lots of 1990s era RnB music - it would be nice to hear some New Jack Swing RnB on Houston radio a lil more since Power 97.5 has been gone for years now.

Examples of other markets:

Atlanta - WVEE, WHTA (hip hop/RnB), WALR, WAMJ (RnB/soul)

Washington DC - WKYS, WPGC (hip hop RnB) / WMMJ, WHUR (RnB soul)

San Francisco/Oakland - KMEL, KYLD (hip hop RnB) / KBLX, KISQ (RnB soul)

Chicago - WGCI, WBBM, WPWX (hip hop RnB) / WVAZ / WSRB (RnB soul)

Detroit - WJLB, WHTD (hip hop RnB) / WDMK, WMXD (RnB soul)

Dallas - KBFB, KKDA (hip hop RnB) / KSOC, KRNB (RnB soul)

Philadelphia - WUSL, WPHI (hip hop RnB) / WRNB, WDAS (RnB soul)

I know Blacks are not the only target audience for this but different strokes for different folks.

Everywhere.

Yeah that was bullsh-eye-t about the Krackernuts losing their job recently. I wish 97.9 had more freedom in their playlist like for example this station in San Francisco that plays old (80s and 90s) and new stuff AND local artists in balanced rotation.

KBXX 97.9 The Box Fires The Krackernutz for play Trae Tha Truth!

They were some of the best talent the station still had. There really needs to be some competition now! The Box had always been one of my favorite stations, but every since a few years ago when they made all the cuts and its last true competition left (KPTY Party 9.33), the station has been on a downward spiral. They now play almost no local artist. And they fired the Krackernutz for playing a Camillionaire song with Trae in it .

At least Madd Hatta a.k.a. Mista Madd didn't get replaced by radio syndicates.

I don't believe they have a dedicated programming block for the older stuff anymore like 90.9 does on Fridays. You can check on Sunday at 11am or 12pm when they stop playing gospel music. I remember they used to play the old stuff on Sundays after they played the gospel playlist.

Unfortunately Radio One's budget affected Majic too. First Inspirational Wednesday w/Kandi got cut (it ain't like every single person could listen to 92.1 everday anyway), then the 5:00 request hour got cut, now the Sunday Vintage Classics is gone. Now 102 is just another R&B station with a good selection of music with a cookie cutter playlist approach - the one that never allows RARE lost soul hits to be dusted off to see the light of day. I would like to see another R&B station in Houston with a focus on 80s and 90s R&B and new jack swing music this time (i.e. Power 97.5). Something that could place it in between 102 and 97.9.

I don't know if this thread was done already, but anyways:

Source: http://personals.aol.com/articles/2009/08/24/top-10-cities-for-black-singles/

(I knew this was originally on Black People Meet's webpage but the link has since been taken down)

Top 10 Cities for Black Singles

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Filed under: African-American, Black People Meet

Posted Aug 24th 2009 6:00PM

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by Staff, for BlackPeopleMeet

Tired of looking for love in all the wrong places? If you're single and Black, you're not alone. A whopping 42 percent of black men and 41 percent of black women are unmarried, according to the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative, a campaign of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The good news according to these figures is that there are still plenty of eligible singles out there, you just need to know where to find them. So may we suggest you review BlackPeopleMeet.com's Top 10 Cities List. Regardless of what you're looking for in a mate – hotness, smartness or sugar, spice and niceness – we'll point out the best places where you can get lucky in love.

2. Houston

If you're young and searching for "the one," Houston may be the perfect place to settle down. This multi-cultural city boasts one of the youngest populations in the country where Black people represent more than 25 percent of the total. Young or old, you won't break the bank or wait too long before things heat up in this in this Southern city. A low cost of living makes dating on a dime possible, and there's nothing like hot, sticky weather to get your thirst up and those juices flowing.

The other nine cities on the list are: (1) Chicago, (3) Atlanta, (4) New York, (5) Philadelphia, (6) Los Angeles, (7) Detroit, (8) Dallas, (9) Washington DC and (10) Jacksonville. Times like this, I'm proud to be black and single in Houston for sure.

I was driving in Baytown the other day and on one of the streets I discovered a bus stop sign -- and it is not METRO. Just when I thought you'd have to live in Houston (METRO), Woodlands (Woodlands Express/The District), Fort Bend (TREX) or Galveston (Island Transit) to live near transit much less drive to a park and ride, I discovered Baytown had transit bus service since early this year after doing a google search. The agency is Harris County Transit (HAHAHA). On the site they are supposed to extend service to Crosby and Pasadena and Clear Lake; HCT is focused on East Harris County right now. Now if only they can focus on the big chunk of unincorporated land between Humble and Cypress.

Here is the link: http://www.harriscountytransit.com/

To answer your question, METRO stated on its blog awhile back that the articulated buses simply don't make economic sense. I don't recall the exact numbers but the gist of it was that they carry, say, 50% more passengers but cost twice as much to maintain. I, for one, don't mind one bit if they retire all the artics as long as they run 40 footers more often, since this is more convenient for passengers. Hopefully the schedule changes that go into effect tomorrow will make frequencies more reliable by reducing the bus bunching you mention.

Is there a direct link to this about artics not making economic sense? And I don't really understand what they really meant when you said that. Sorry to ask, it's been awhile since I posted last time.

The Greater Houston already has three other transit agencies. Montgomery County has the Woodlands Express, Fort Bend has the TREX and Galveston has Island Transit. But still I would like for another transit agencies to fill in gaping urbanized holes in transportation holes someway somehow. And in the future buy out TREX and Woodlands Express and expand in both of those areas. Plus the Northern and Eastern portions of Harris County and Brazoria County can establish their own. Park and ride routes running between Pearland to Houston and TMC can finally be realized this way, and new P&R routes can be created for Richmond and Rosenburg since they are the farthest from the well known part of Fort Bend.

I knew before METRORail was up and running, many routes that were eventually truncated to terminate with the new light rail stations and split in two carried 60 foot articulate buses, such as the 65, 2, 68, 82, 56, and many more. Now that the Main Street Corridor and the paralleling streets in Midtown are reduced to having just one bus route (the 1 Hospital), it also seems like more and more articulates are replaced with regular 40 footers. In the last couple of years until now I noted the 163 Fondren Express was the only route to run 100 percent articulates at least on the workdays. Others that still have them but not as many are the 2, 85, 65, 68, 56

I can understand that METRO doesn't have the full capacity of people to continue having the 60 foot buses but the only advantage over the rest of the fleet is that EVERYBODY gets to have a seat at their own personal comfort and space. If they are going to retire the entire fleet of the articulators how come all this time they bought a fleet of two models of 40 foot hybrids that they couldn't look into new 60 foot buses, particulary hybrid low floors? I don't wanna see Houston lose its distinction of being the only city in Texas and the south to have articulate transit buses only to have another cookie cutter transit system consisting of a fleet of 40 foot buses only or less. I'd rather METRO spend a little extra on new articulates instead of waiting 5 years later for the 81 or 82 routes for example to be overcrowded and constantly remedy it with more 40 footers because it wouldn't be worth it. They'll just go off schedule and bunch up behind the other anyway.

With the Neoplan models disappearing, METRO could still invest in these like this low floor hybrid in Albuquerque (minus the hybrid model face):

or this one in LA:

LA METRO uses these on the Metro Rapid system, so I would like for METRO to run these on Westheimer as potential for the second quickline on this heavily travelled corridor by car or public transport behind the 402 Bellaire aka QL2.

Being a city influenced by the auto is one thing and snarling the nose at bus transit is another, but it isn't really time to go R.I.P. Houston Articulated Transit Bus. But I'm still backing METRORail expansion regardless even though routing is debated but that ain't the point right now.

Just for info...

Also what about Sugar Land? Are there any transit agencies down there?

Yes, it's called the TREK (link: http://www.trekhouston.org/). It is substandard in its express service because it only serves Uptown and Greenway plaza. Transferring to METRO to get downtown would be time consuming as TREK doesn't go that far. HUH??!

I knew they were reconfiguring the MacGregor Way/North MacGregor Drive intersection toaccomodate the Cambridge-over-the-Brays Ext but I didn't know North MacGregor was going to be rerouted to match the alighment with South MacGregor. I thought the intersection reconstruction was it, and just it? Another reason why Houston stays losing when it comes to greenery from your cars. They should have left it alone; is it that big of a deal to reroute something to appease Cambridge access?

Alaska, Delaware, and Nevada would also fall into that category.

Add to the list:

Missouri

South Dakota

New Jersey. The NJ Turnpike runs between the two but there is an Interstate gap between Trenton and Newark, which is why I-95 doesn't count

Next Houston freeway up for mast installment: 225.

This thread was inspired by a thread about having a Braes Tollway created by ex-HAIFER Plastic, only on a more mature imagination. I would like to see Braeswood Blvd, North and South, go from two separate two-way four way streets into one six lane street, with three lanes in each direction from the 610/Post Oak Y intersection to where North and South Brayswoods come together as a four lane artery before you hit Fondren. The very thought of having two four lane streets separated by the Braes Bayou makes no sense to me. It may not be fair to those who use either one pending direction to head home that they would have to go all the way around, but I would like to see North Braeswood go all westbound and South Braeswood go all eastbound. I'd recommend three lanes in each direction as opposed to four is because the far inside lane on the other side of the median can be used as a parking lane for people who want to walk the Brays Bayou trail. And Houston has a sick obsession with concrete as is, so I'd just leave the medians there as is and use the third lane on the other side of the median for a carpool lane for cars (like a street HOV) and buses (namely the METRO route 68 Brays Bayou Crosstown bus). The original lanes in the same direction would do just fine for regular cars. I'm not sure about traffic volumes but could it work?

I'm sure y'all HAIFERS know by now that more masts will be installed at the 45/59/288 interchange where the original cobra head lights line the 59/288 segment including the ramps leading to and from 59. I noticed just weeks ago driving along Chartres under the interchange that the mast concrete foundations were in place, now recently the mast poles are laid down set to be in place. SMH @ TxDot.