ihop

Transit engineering is a complex and involved process on it's own.  When you politicize it, it is darned near impossible.  This new leadership at Metro has turned this agency around tremendously since Frank Wilson was tossed out by his ear five years ago.  Are they perfect, no.  Are they as terrible as the uninformed arm chair transit pundits will have you believe, not by a long shot.  

And a number of these issues are complicated by issues inherent to implementing at-grade light rail in a city with under half the population density of LA...

People talk about being pro-rail anti-metro.  But being pro-rail to the point where you want to see rail regardless of how poor the implementation is will result in these sorts of outcomes. 

People make the case for rail, but that case consistently falls apart when you compromise grade separation just to see any sort of rail be implemented.

Street cars vanished from modern society some time ago for good reason.  When you limit yourself to surface streets, buses are a more efficient more flexible solution.

Don't know if they make it themselves, but BB's Cajun Cafe on Montrose near Westheimer has a boudin po' boy.

The thought of paying to induce additional wear and tear to my vehicles is absurd to me. And where people were going a constant speed before, you have them accelerating and breaking violently at times.

Sunday, I passed by and saw a truck from the Aztec company parked on the bridge setting up a tent. I guess there was some ceremony for the completion of the bridge. Today, I passed by and noticed some workers doing final touches to the bridge. The road closed signs were still up. I suspect it will be open soon. I haven't seen any traffic lights put up at the MacGregor side of the bridge. There's one traffic light there, but it's not really positioned to be intended for bridge traffic as it's just a temporary setup for the realignment of MacGregor. I suspect it'll be open later this week or sometime next week.

They had a few signs up for "Bridge Event Parking" on Monday, at the bridge and on Harvin Blvd. I thought there was supposed to be some sort of event on Monday, but I couldn't find any listing about it from the city, and there were heavy thunderstorms all day Monday. Apparently there was an event Tuesday? But the bridge won't be open until "fall" which isn't too helpful.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/bellaire/news/6631528.html

Funny, I remember the grand opening of the Westpark Tollway being rained out.

I was in Sedona, AZ recently, where they replaced a few intersections along hwys 179 & 89 with roundabouts just under a year ago. They're at intersections where the major thoroughfare through the town is a state hwy, with small cross streets. Apparently they've been pretty effective at reducing congestion.

So is your issue on Rice/Sunset that people are blocking the road off from allowing bicyclists to pass when they attempt to go around someone turning left, or that they're actually running people off the road?

My guess, as it would be with most other absurd restrictions like this, would be the threat of "terrorism."

Hah, I love it!

"Customers were told that a nearby resident was afraid this business might attract the criminal element and complained to Fiesta. Even though MAM's signed a six month contract with Fiesta, Fiesta is exercising its right to terminate the agreement at any given time.

...

We put our exclusive Crime Tracker to work and there was no crime to speak of over the first three months of the year at the intersection where MAM's is. MAM's is moving less than a mile and a half away to 20th and Rutland."

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=...&id=6874945

Possibly. I remember hearing some criticism against TxDOT for planting trees too closely, which in turn would not allow them to grow fully or something like that.

I see this a lot in newly planted medians. Leaves me wondering if they don't want them to grow? Maybe limit the size so massive root systems don't tear up the roads later on.

But that might be giving too much credit where none is due, prolly just poor planning.

I flew alone all the time when I was a kid. Typically to visit grandparents. Not a big deal, and I was frequently not the only unaccompanied minor on any given flight.

I think I even managed to reschedule a missed connection in LUV by myself when I was 12 or 15, going to spend the summer with some relatives. Might've been a bit tougher at a younger age, but really not too difficult.

Actually, I think the Heights is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Most Heights residents believe in good old capitalism with low taxes, and at the same time they welcome diversity and alternate lifestyles.

I was referring to how PureAuteur considered GWBush most liberal pres in their lifetime, and noting how there are different spectrums which someone can be conservative on one while being liberal on another. Not classifying the Heights as such.

I'm not even sure what it means to be a liberal anymore. As the two major political parties become more and more similar...

If these people are liberal, then this is surprising, since I would say Bush was the most liberal president in my lifetime (born 1981)(not counting Obama).

Fiscally liberal, maybe. But socially conservative. Perhaps the question in the OP could have been more specific.

I thought this was an interesting use of silos:

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/05/07/abando...a-climbing-gym/

I think it was just by the population of each county. But it looks like the people who did those did a set of 2008 maps as well, with a few shades of purple as well:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/

I seriously doubt 4 cycles.

That's nice, but it's obvious you haven't driven around there during peak times. Instead of posting that you doubt it, give it a try sometime.

Hmm - the doctors oppose universal care, and they are not the ones allegedly lining their pockets with cash. Universal care is bad it will eliminate competition, and all care will suffer. There may be fewer minor problems, but many many more untreated major problems.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/politics/11health.html

I can't remember where, but I think I saw something that said the AMA has opposed pretty much all health care reform for the last 70yrs, so their position isn't anything unique here.

What I think is amazing about our health care is that there are countries that spend 1/2 what we do per capita and rank much higher overall for care provided. I'm wondering, do you think nothing should be done to try to improve health care in the US, that it's fine as is?

I think these are from 2004, might be from 2000 tho'. The first is a county map like yours, but the second is skewed so that each county is expanded or contracted in such a way that its size on the map correlates to its population.

And it's not just left turns across the rail from the street the rail runs down, but crossroads as well.

The biggest issue is in places where the tracks cross a road slantwise, close to but not through an intersection. When a train comes to such a crossing, the traffic signal cycle is pre-empted to give a green light to the lane that might have cars sitting on the tracks, so they can clear out. Then after the train passes the cycle continues from there rather than going back to where it was previously. If enough consecutive trains come by at the right (wrong) times, then the people who are last in that cycle get screwed.

Yeah, I understood that. So, apparently he's never driven along the light rail line either. One has to have an extraordinarily low "nightmare" threshold for anything along the light rail line to trigger it.

Yes, I mean Fannin & Greenbriar, sorry, I live near the Med Center & stick to 288, Almeda, & Montrose for heading north, not that familiar with Main.

Try turning left from Fannin northbound to Braeswood westbound (at old Fire Station 33) during rush hour, you'll end up sitting there forever. There are a few other places where making left turns can be highly frustrating, but I can't remember them too well since I've totally altered my driving habits to avoid them.

I can't wait for the Cambridge St bridge from Holcombe to MacGregor opens, it's been almost completely done for awhile now, but it looks like it won't connect until the MacGregor realignment is complete.

Those that don't ask always get a tip from me for using their brains, although I don't doubt one second that they would get fired if they got caught because Aramark wants to keep the monopoly. I saw them card a white haired man with a cane once and it made me mad as hell.

And not only that, they ask twice usually - once with the person who hands it to you and again with the person who takes your money.

BTW - this isn't a discourse on underaged drinking. People under 21 should not be served alcohol at baseball games. I'm only commenting on Aramark's lousy service and monopoly at the ballpark that they're trying to protect from TABC. I get it.

I'm betting they have people in plain clothes who order stuff now & then to evaluate 'em.

Also, my grandfather in his mid-70s was carded by a roving beer man at an Astros game once.

The nightmare about Main St and driving near light rail is whenever you want to make a left turn across it. The traffic signals don't seem to know how to handle it and you can sit through 4+ cycles while waiting to make a left turn in some places.

Hah, I have a pretty good sense of humor, but cryptic and convoluted references are kind of worthless.

And given the level of enmity aimed at Obama by some people, it's difficult to tell what's serious & what's not. So I simply assume the people who make comments like yours are serious(ly insane)

Lighten up cupcake, it was a joke.

Hah!

...

which part was the joke?

Hmmmmm, Type 1 diabetes AND Osteoporosis ?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/0...s_her_foot.html

Do those yield any fascinating insights into her judicial philosophies?

I'm guessing that part of the unpaved part below is where they are going to extend Bertner through to OST.