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ADCS

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  1. ADCS
    Mature cities have traffic. A lot of traffic. At nearly all hours. The important part isn't reducing traffic, it's making traffic patterns regular and predictable. It's not necessarily a bad thing if it always takes 45 minutes to get from one side of the loop to the other, so long as it always takes 45 minutes, with 95%+ certainty. This allows for a greater ability to plan trips and regularize transportation decision-making. With respect to through traffic on 45 downtown, we need to focus less on catering to their needs, and more on inducing them to use alternative routes where available (for example, the East Loop, bypassing downtown altogether).
  2. ADCS
    Printed up those "Keep Houston Suburban" shirts yet?
  3. ADCS
    They're macadamized dirt roads and Belgian-block streets?
  4. ADCS
    Incorporate all the schools into two flagship systems, just as they do in California. All the schools would have PUF access, but they wouldn't have independence in administration of the funds. It's an even trade-off. What wrong things? Neither UT nor UH are my alma mater, so I don't have a horse in the race.
  5. ADCS
    Yet you're asking them to give up money, receiving nothing in return. That's something for nothing. The only thing that I can think of that UH has to offer that would be an even exchange for PUF access is institutional independence. Yet, I haven't seen any proposals from UH boosters that even countenance giving something up to UT in exchange for that access. It's only "we demand this" and "you should do this because this is unfair", like UT or A&M should care about such things, not to mention the people in the state's other big cities who would receive no material benefit from such a change. UH doesn't have the leverage to get PUF access, and yet its supporters are the ones making the demands. Can you not see how this appears extremely foolish to others?
  6. ADCS
    No one's proposing to do it that way. Da Mare wanted to cut into UT's slice of the pie, to the order of hundreds of millions: https://www.dailytexanonline.com/organization/permanent-university-fund
  7. ADCS
    Why should they disperse the funds when it's only to the UT and A&M systems' detriment, and only to the UH/TTU systems' benefit? You're asking for something in exchange for nothing. There is no reason that we couldn't have a mass higher education reorganization tomorrow. All it would take is negotiation. But, you have to understand, UT and A&M aren't going to give up their spots as the state's flagships. If you want them to give on something, you've got to give on something as well. I have not seen any pro-UH posters on here being willing to do so. The most that's being offered is an ultimatum of PUF access in exchange for us not throwing a hissy fit. Is that an even exchange? Sacrificing independence while maintaining a bit of autonomy, on the other hand, would be. In all honesty, I don't know why any UH graduate would be opposed to it. It enhances the value of your degree overnight.
  8. ADCS
    I'd probably divvy up the State University system between the UT and A&M systems, leaning heavily toward the latter (I'd reckon that they're feeder schools for A&M more than UT).
  9. ADCS
    You want to follow the California system? I'm all in favor. Dissolve the UH regents and incorporate it into the UT system as an autonomous university, like UCLA. Texas Tech can be added to the A&M system. Of course, I don't think Mr. Fertitta will like that idea too much.
  10. ADCS
    Along with this, there's the Permanent University Fund which is composed of hard assets, along with the Available University Fund, which is where the liquid assets are located. UT and A&M each have access to a portion of the AUF for the annual budget, while the PUF remains in a sort of trust.
  11. ADCS
    Seems like our UH friends have learned their negotiation skills from our Congresscritters.
  12. ADCS
    Now there's the machine politician I was expecting when he came into office.
  13. ADCS
    Y'all are arguing that state-of-the-art research magically appears wherever a bunch of smart people cluster together, without any logistical concerns, and I'm the delusional one? That's rich.
  14. ADCS
    Lots of things are shipped all over the world in containers. They're the backbone of the modern global economy. You want a high-tech particle accelerator? It's probably going to be constructed in Germany or Japan. It's probably going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to get it shipped to you. Road/rail freight costs are about 3-4x sea freight costs, so the 170 miles it takes to get from the Port of Houston to Austin will add another 15-20% to the costs of shipment. Now, imagine you're having to make these sorts of purchases several times a year to keep up with the current state of the art in research, along with making your talent happy. Those 15-20% overruns start to add up. That's why being close to a seaport is important - every penny counts when you're running an operation that large.
  15. ADCS
    You mean Alexandria, right on the Mediterranean coast and the closest spot in the Nile Delta to Greece and Italy? I think you're making my point there more than refuting it. Also, the entire San Francisco Bay Area functions as an economically interconnected region, just as Greater Houston does. Its sea, road and rail connections are far denser and have a greater capacity than those between Houston and Austin. This in turn lowers transportation costs. San Jose is as far from San Francisco as Galveston is from Houston. I don't think anyone would disagree that we're tied to Galveston far more than Austin. Finally, connecting flights are expensive, and when you're having to budget for hundreds if not thousands of visitors a year, even a few hundred dollars a person can add up to quite a bit. This is especially the case when you're having to ship delicate or fragile materials.
  16. ADCS
    Saving money on bringing top experts into town, along with shipping precision crafted tools and supplies, doesn't have a lot to do with research? Transportation is everything when it comes to harnessing brainpower.
  17. ADCS
    I don't think there's much persuading to be done - the country folk don't like us city folk much, and they really don't like foreigners. Give them just a bit of rationalization and FUD, and they'll be frothing at the mouth in no time. Never mind the actual landowners who are impacted - they can't wait for the annual paychecks for the use of their land that go far beyond whatever productive use they'd get out of it. It's their neighbors who always have the strong opinions on the subject.
  18. ADCS
    More like the rich kid wants to build an office building in your neighborhood, you object to the perceived gentrification, he decides to let you help design the building, and you say "no way, but give me access to your bank account". It most likely is sheer, dumb coincidence. UT probably doesn't think about UH in its decisionmaking process nearly as much as you'd like them to. Austin isn't close to a major international airport, nor one of the largest seaports in the world. That's why Houston makes so much sense.
  19. ADCS
    “Taking property against a landowner’s will, especially land that may have been in the family for generations, is a serious matter. Because this is a state project, I am requesting your leadership in determining if Texas Central Partners has state eminent domain power. I question that it does," Brady wrote. Because if you don't like reality, just question it!
  20. ADCS
    Yes, but they won't be parking lots with a freeway on top of them.
  21. ADCS
    Didn't we just pass two constitutional amendments because TxDOT had an extreme shortage of money? I'm pretty sure that's why the Grand Parkway is a toll road.
  22. ADCS
    You don't think something like this, adapted for the roadway curves and doubled for capacity, would be appropriate?
  23. ADCS
    If it was appropriate and served the functional purpose (extending the main span of the bridge and removing piers), then why not?
  24. ADCS
    What bridge to nowhere problem? This is going to be the primary gateway to Midtown from north and west of Houston. There's nothing impractical about this - it's simply a matter of reducing the number of piers by using different bridge designs. In fact, it's particularly practical by opening up more usable space within a park.
  25. ADCS
    Why? It opens up the area underneath the bridge, i.e. the very valuable Buffalo Bayou park corridor, creating a more inviting and usable landscape. As Houston continues to grow in size and prominence, these are amenities that add considerable value to the area, along with increases in surrounding property values. No one is asking for something like the Margaret Hill bridge - an extradosed design, such as what we see for the I-35 feeders over the Brazos in Waco, would be an elegant solution providing for a long main deck and open area underneath the bridge, while maintaining a low profile.
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