ADCS

It wouldn't necessarily have to be, though. This is where TCR could partner with the First Ward/Rice Military superneighborhood - in exchange for TCR adding space to the infrastructure for landscaping, civic organizations could take charge of beautification and landscape maintenance. What was once railway brownfield could become a terraced park/tunnel combination. There are plenty of options, as long as you are creative with cost distribution and control.

I don't disagree that it's shortsighted, but another part of it is that it's being seen as an imposition of foreign technology on rural areas that they didn't ask for. One comment was made that while trains might be good for the Japanese, Texans like trucks. We all chuckled at that, but there's no doubt that these are very deeply felt sentiments. One of the things that I did not understand was the strong concern with the lack of notice. There are clear legal requirements for notice that appear to have been met, but some of the attendees would not have been happy with anything short of someone going around and knocking on every door within a 30 mile radius of the line, and leaving materials. Needless to say, this would be an extraordinarily unreasonable request.

As mkultra25 alluded to, it could be our Grand Central Station at that location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_(Amtrak_station)

I didn't get the impression that access was primary concern. To me, it seemed like the biggest objection was over a project that would overwhelmingly benefit the big cities, while primarily impacting the countryside in what they saw as a negative way. There was lot of rural animus over urban hegemony, as evidenced by the outraged Waller County constituency, even though only 12 miles of the railroad would lie within Waller County bounds in the utility corridor (Gold Line).

I attended last night as well, and most of your assessments were right on. I also noticed that the majority of comments were NIMBY-ish in nature, which is surprising given the reported acceptance in the Dallas meeting. I did agree with the civil engineers' concern about the adaptability of Shinkansen technology to FRA regulations. In particular, if tracks are shared with either the BNSF or UP lines at any point, the use of the technology will be impossible, as FRA weight requirements will not be met with the technology as it exists. Several comments were made about adapting the project to have a commuter component. While I'm firmly in support of commuter rail, I did think that the forum was inappropriate for the discussion of those projects, since TCR wouldn't be involved at all, nor ought it to be given the requirements of a high-speed corridor. However, the FRA representative did indicate that connectivity would be a large consideration when it came to route recommendations; I'd imagine routes would be less favored if they removed the possibility of future commuter rail along the same corridor. I was somewhat perplexed at the strong opposition that many Rice Military residents had presented, given that they already live near an operating rail line whose equipment is much noisier than that being proposed here. Further concerns about takings seem unwarranted given the high property value of the area; any option that involved purchasing or expropriation would likely not be cost-effective. However, given the above, it seems that a downtown station is much less likely than a Northwest Mall location. Political opposition from an affluent area, along with last-mile cost considerations, make it much more difficult to get to downtown Houston. This is in particular contrast to Dallas, where the line would run through lower-income areas within the urbanized zone.

Think of it this way, though... the shade provided by the el downtown would actually promote somewhat of a street culture during the summer months! OK, grasping at straws here...

I've always heard it as "Lord, please let it get back up to $40 a barrel, I swear I won't blow it this time" Nowadays, we're (well, those of us not in the oil industry) all praying for it to get back DOWN to $60 a barrel!

I wonder if Blackstone is planning on opening this as a La Quinta (as previously mentioned), then converting it to a Hilton, another one of their holdings. Perhaps with the rest of the country's economy on a bit of shaky ground, they find it necessary to hedge their bets a bit.