RailOnWestheimer

i don't think you should limit it to the burbs. there are many inner loopers than feel the same way. at least the ones who have an alternative.

You're saying a majority of innerloopers don't want mass transit? Is it fitting then to wait for the streets and freeways to become so congested that the majority cry out for an alternative?

In talking with folks, it appears that a majority of people in The Woodlands, Katy, and Sugarland would never take public transportation, even if an express regional rail system were in place. I wonder how bad the freeway would have to get before they would consider taking public transportation. Right now it would seem a majority are adamantly against it and will only drive.

It's no wonder, when your read about rapes, guns, and knives on METRO busses. Our city will have to take a zero-tolerance policy like Manhattan with lights, cameras, and police everywhere.

...I will also point out that those that claim the light rail causes congestion are over the top as well. There is virtually no congestion on Main Street. The backups at the Main Street traffic lights do not even extend a block, and all of the cars are able to get through before the signal changes.

Just because there is no congestion on Main doesn't mean lightrail in the street doesn't cause congestion. Specifically, the reason there is no auto congestion on Main is because drivers avoid Main for the other very excellent parallel streets a few hundred feet away from Main that don't have rail on them. If lightrail is built in the street and there are no alternatives for vehicles to avoid the train, added congestion will result. This is one reason why Lower Westheimer should be used for rail, because Lower Richmond is good at moving a lot of vehicles and Lower Westheimer is very poor, so fewer vehicles need to be displaced by rail.

i might have something at home (finding it - that's the issue)

here is a google street view (maps.google.com)

It's google's photography that is poor, not the center. It's actually pretty clean, check out photo taken this morning:

What did Manhattan do with its panhandlers and homeless? They're gone now. Just relocated?

Richmond is not as much of an artery as Westheimer, so Richmond is a better choice for rail.

I interpret your comment to reflect the fact that Richmond is not the commerce and retail center that Westheimer is, therefore it will get less ridership than a Westheimer streetcar.

You know, I'm starting to wonder if A-oaks is in charge of the Rail on Westheimer thing?

I guarantee you, we at RailOnWestheimer.org have no association with Afton Oaks. The people who are anti-rail are unwilling to support rail on any street whatsoever. We are a group of midtown residents who believe that ridership will be greater if the rail traverses Lower Westheimer through the heart of The Montrose. For those who believe in Montrose and Lower Westheimer, who live within walking distance of that intersection, they know what rail karma is and how it just fits there.

It's not too late to ask METRO to reconsider Westheimer, when it never got a fair vetting. Join the cause!

i will not support a plan that causes additional congestion.

What exactly do you mean by "additional congestion?" The whole point of rail is that if people are riding the rails, they're not in their cars. What we're looking for is overall less congestion, or greater mobility -- but this is tricky, because if you build rail on Richmond, you will increase overall congestion, whereas Westheimer is already completely congested (and frankly, almost undrivable between Shepherd and Bagby.) Since Richmond (as it is now) is very effective at moving car and trucking traffic, that capacity will be lost if rail is put there. But Lower Westheimer does not effectively move car and truck traffic, and so overall car and truck traffic will not be severely impacted.

Yet another reason why Rail On Westheimer... just fits!

Haven't seen westheimer that empty since the evacuation.

There's no cars on Westheimer because everyone's on the train!

Can their be a line at both Richmond and Westheimer? They can join up at the Hillcroft Transit Center.

I would guess rail advocates would feel fortunate to get one line. And what was the budget, $2 billion? We better be sure to evaluate every route's impact before we make that kind of commitment.

If Westheimer is impractical now, then it was impractical a year and a half ago. All we're asking for is a good-faith environmental impact report instead of discarding it capriciously.

You act like rail can't be built at all unless METRO tears into Richmond next month. If, after adding a Westheimer evaluation to the report, Richmond still appears to be the best route, then so be it, rail can be built on Richmond at that time. We won't miss the opportunity on Richmond just because we take a good hard look at Westheimer.

My guess is that it isn't too late to consider Westheimer, otherwise you wouldn't be so upset by my suggestions.

Maybe because it had serious obvious flaws that made it undoable from the start...

Maybe you don't personally like the Westheimer alternative, that doesn't mean it doesn't make sense or can't be done.

It's never too late to reconsider a plan. It's only too late after the project has been installed already.

If you must have Greenway Plaza (and I worked there for several years so I can tell you that you can eat lunch by simply walking to many places such as the strip mall on Richmond or the mall inside of Greenway Plaza itself) then Greenway Plaza could be on the regional line as a stop between Hillcroft and Downtown, on the Westpark corridor. That way you could get from Greenway Plaza to either the Hillcroft Transit Center or to Downtown in one single stop.

The time to fight for a Westheimer route was during any of the other previous comment periods before the 6 present route alternatives were chosen back in December.... back when Westheimer alternatives were on the table.

Well there's no sense in crying over spilled milk. We have to do what we can now.

At this time, comment on Metro's DEIS should be to voice opinions on those alternatives and to bring up modifications such station location, noise control, land acquisitions ... it is not time to resurrect old routes already considered and discarded.

Only if we fully understand the impact of a particular route selection can we make rational comments on its effect. If a Richmond route rips out 200 mature oak trees and the open greenspace on the esplanade, well we need to understand that impact in the report and weigh it against the impact of a Westheimer alignment (where there is no esplanade by the way.)

Besides, Westheimer was never seriously fleshed-out. When they killed it they said they would reconsider if there was interest -- well, I'm interested, and I think others are too. Now it's timely to ask METRO to add it to the DEIS.

Could we all do without driving on Westheimer?

The important question is, can we afford to destroy car and truck capacity on Richmond when little would be lost by doing the same on Westheimer?

Your proposal altogether is a year too late and pointless at this junction in the process.

Pardon me, but I thought the whole point of the current process was to comment on METRO's DEIS before the September 17 deadline. I ask that people consider the Westheimer alternative given the DEIS as it stands now, and I urge the public to ask METRO to modify the DEIS to include an evaluation of a Westheimer routing.

Maybe you can explain why METRO is asking for comments on its DEIS if it's too late to comment on its DEIS?

It make sense connecting Highland Village Shops to the Galleria... but it in no way serves UST, the Menil, or Greenway Plaza..

Longdistance commuters getting to work at Greenway Plaza won't be served by a local streetcar, they need regional rail. The westpark corridor should be kept open for the time when high speed regional rail is built. If you are worried about serving UST, Menil, or St Thomas University with lightrail then an Alabama alignment makes much more sense. But the busiest, densest development is actually along Westheimer which is why the streetcar should be there.

http://www.RailOnWestheimer.org/

Rail on Westheimer -- it just fits!

Let's bring the lightrail to Westheimer and Montrose. See

www.RailOnWestheimer.org

There's a better alternative -- Rail On Westheimer! Check out:

www.RailOnWestheimer.org