musicman

not sure they are related. there is a pinche's in webster.

as the service provider, they covered the failed infrastructure as part of maintenance.

they got a 20 yr extension for some of the larger billboards but will take down 2/3 of their smaller ones. turns out that the ones on federal roadways are beyond the city's grasp so some of the smaller ones didn't have to come down at all but will under this agreement

it's more involved than one extra lane and a feeder lane. the maintenance on the 60's infrastructure, had become expensive, and many portions did not meet recommendations for height, etc. The inner loop portion of the katy has already been rebuilt for the same reasons and we gained no lanes. were you against that as well? as with all infrastructure, it must be maintained at the minimum and/or expanded to accomodate growth. a couple of yrs ago, the city was forced to replaced the sewer system on my street because residents at the other end of the block were having issues. this past weekend, the electrical service to my house failed due to aged infrastructure i.e. it was not maintained. not sure about you, but i'm grateful for maintenance.

sometimes you never know what will happen

yep but we're not the ones who are bewildered.

what modes of transportation are accident free?

According to numbers provided by METRO to the Dept of Transportation, in 2003 the HOV lanes accounted for 40 percent of the morning peak hour total person movement on three of the freeways. IMO that's impressive.

most teams win together and lose together.

REV Houston services are free, with various options to pay for gratuity. it looks like it will service some places in midtown as well. participating places will have specially coded decals on their doors. no more taxis!!

concur. I don't think anyone's doubting the technology. Implementation is the killer.

The IOC has stripped the medals from Marion Jones' U.S. relay teammates at the 2000 Olympics because of her doping history. full article ouch

i'm sure there are dollar stores looking for a new home.

trae, some routes that previously went directly to downtown were shortened by forcing people to get on the lrt for the ultimate portion of the ride. they have to get off, wait for train, and then continue on their journey downtown. buses in a controlled access lane don't take as long as buses that interact with traffic, hence the brt. because the lrt here interacts with traffic travel times are increased from what they could be if a better design was implemented.

no your comment was that we paid a few billion for tolls lanes in the middle. we didnt. gas taxes are being used to finance some of the expansion (the free lanes /feeder) but hctra is funding the toll portion. this is a special venture where entities are working together which allowed them to finish the project earlier. we have 3 lanes now because it isn't finished. we're gaining a regular lane and a feeder lane on the free portion when it is completed. wow a right? remember it's a privilege to drive not a right. the funding source for toll roads is not like a regular road. users pay for it.

it's a gringos

just like people ride the bus now. of course but when trip durations are lengthened as a result, it discourages ridership.

one thing i would have to investigate is the a/c situation. today was a relatively cool day so the 2nd floor addition was probably ok, in august would the story change? i don't think the rebricking would be a problem. this is done quite frequently.

you don't have faith in METRO either?

hopefully in the end yes, so far they are still short on funding. this is an example of something that troubles me about the design on the university line. the eastside has complained for yrs about delays caused by trains. while it will be much shorter delay, the congested westside will have to deal with a train running down a major thoroughfare. METRO could propose a few elevated portions over some of the busier crossings (Shepherd and Kirby come to mind) to minimize disturbances but common sense probably won't prevail. It will be interesting to see how many new riders the proposed lines will attract. METRO used quite a few tactics to force riders on the red line. Eliminating bus routes, eliminating the trolley, etc. The new lines don't offer as many options for METRO. If ridership doesn't respond positively, it doesn't bode well for expansion.

understand. I don't think anyone is looking to go as cheaply as possible but rather want to ensure that whatever is built will actually make a difference transit-wise. does it not concern you that METRO actually proposed to end a line at a train track because it didn't propose a bridge/underpass bypassing the train track so it could continue to a transit center?

I'm looking at the article. it sure doesn't use the word subway or say that brt is just filler. the question posed was how much cost difference is brt vs lrt. not sure i'm losing, but sounds like you're lost.

so numbers from the governing organization mean nothing? yet a presentation by a pro-transportation group is valid?

we didn't pay a few billion for tolls lanes in the middle. HCTRA did, just like the other toll roads around houston. If you want to use it, then you will be charged like the other toll roads.

even before that, the FTA references METRO's own numbers on the change from BRT to LRT. it said you could build a minute maid park every 2 miles, not 1.