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Howard Huge

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Everything posted by Howard Huge

  1. Howard Huge
    Some genius busted a utility line digging on site.That leak is going to delay the next two rail line openings indefinitely.
  2. Howard Huge
    "Ho hum" and I'm on the ledge? Its not that crucial.
  3. Howard Huge
    Houston transit takes a $168M hit for useless projectsMetro admits it blew a large fortune Ill-advised plans to the tune of $168 million to be written off February 21, 2011 The Metropolitan Transit Authority is preparing to declare that it has spent $168 million on what have turned out to be useless assets. Most of it was spent over several years on rail expansion projects that never will be built or will have to be started over. For example, Metro has given up on what it calls an intermodal terminal just north of downtown at Main and Burnett streets on the planned North rail line despite having spent $41 million on it. "We're not going to put the public's money into monuments. We're going to put it into transit services," Metro President and CEO George Greanias said. The design for the terminal included bus bays, a kiss-and-ride area, light rail, commuter rail and possibly a Metro RideStore, restrooms, food service, newsstands and gift shops. Greanias said there will be a light rail stop at Main and Burnett, but it has not been determined whether the station will serve other modes of transit. He added that the now-shelved design called for a facility that would have cost far too much to maintain and operate. An additional $28 million went to a Spanish rail car firm for a now-canceled deal that never produced a single car. Metro actually spent $42 million on a contract with the firm, but recently persuaded the company to return $14 million. Metro ran afoul of federal rules requiring the transit agency to buy American-made rail cars, so it had to eat the money it sent to the Spanish firm and rebid the rail cars or forfeit eligibility for $900 million in Federal Transit Administration grant money. 'Unrealized assets' Metro lists another $61 million in what it calls "unrealized assets" for rail expansion in addition to the terminal and rail car spending, including: · $17 million: A result of switching contractors to do design work. · $7 million: Redundant development work by a third contractor. · $9 million: Related to Metro's switch from a light rail plan to a bus rapid transit plan, and back to light rail. · $16 million: From repeated design changes that occurred after laborious review and negotiation. In addition to the $130 million on projects for which Metro has nothing to show, it also is wiping from its books $38 million in operating expenses that had been listed incorrectly as capital expenses.
  4. Howard Huge
    Well if they do bring this up as more fuel for their anti-rail hatred, then it's a total red herring argument, which is actually comforting. It lets me know that SOME of those people aren't actually against the rail, they're against the incompetent, dunderhead organization in charge of building the rail. Which means we have something in common.
  5. Howard Huge
    Metro coming up short again. Color me suprised.
  6. Howard Huge
    ^ I think it was Tom Delays great grandfather who passed that city ordinance.
  7. Howard Huge
    Ho hum. The entire inner loop will look like this in 30 years. Could be worse I guess.
  8. Howard Huge
    Your posting is getting extremely tired and one dimensional. Every post you make is anti-rail, pro highway, pro sprawl trolling. EVERY. SINGLE. POST. Either that or you follow Slick Vik all over the board and reply to all of his threads/posts with the same rhetoric, often needlessly insulting him. Its getting old.
  9. Howard Huge
    So whatever he wrote up that blocked the federal money from being used, is that written in stone? Or is that reversible at some point in time?
  10. Howard Huge
    Can someone explain the legislation that he got passed that effectively "killed richmond rail forever"? Ive heard alot of posters here say there is no such thing as "forever" and that there are ways to reverse it or work around it. Also, are there any term limits for culberson? And even if he was voted out, isnt his rail killing legislation already in place?
  11. Howard Huge
    I dont think so, i think its far enough inward that it will have a nice slope of roofs going down into midtown, especially after Chevron builds their 50something story buildings next to enron 1 and 2.
  12. Howard Huge
    That would be an AWESOME site to build tall and it would stretch the width of our skyline to near the max within downtowns borders.I think if anythings ever built there it would probably be some kind of heavy rail transit station maybe?
  13. Howard Huge
    I agree that we need more homes "for sale" in downtown.I think though that even if we extended the tax abatements to ~10k units, there would still be an ocean of surface parking available to build more offices/condos or what have you. We dont exactly have a shortage of land in downtown yet.
  14. Howard Huge
    Bingo.I agree with you a thousand percent. I never liked the placement of Bank of the Southwest tower for the exact reason you said, it would give the skyline a triangular silhouette and make it look smaller than what it is. Ive always felt our skyline has to grow WIDER before its starts growing taller. Coming in from 45 south, it looks like the skyline comes to a crescendo at Chase tower, and then falls off a cliff after that. We need more buildings in the 40-50something story range continuing out to the bayou to even out the skyline. The Market Square towers, and anything else north of Chase will start to stretch the skyline width-wise. I like the density being added to interior downtown by the short apartment buildings going up, but if were gonna go tall, please extend our skyline and build in midtown or north downtown/hardy yards. Or my current favorite proposal location, 5 Allen.
  15. Howard Huge
    What would the implications be of upping the number again, to say....10,000 units?
  16. Howard Huge
    I cant believe they voted it 8th best skyline!Compared to the royalty of Dallas, Hong Kong should have come no closer than 20th place.
  17. Howard Huge
    My sentiments exactly. Im gonna be laughing in 20 years when our population has reached unsustainable numbers due to complete and utter gridlock due to the millions upons millions of residents clogging your precious 50 lane freeways because theres no other alternative mode of transportation. Ill be the first to say "I TOLD you so"
  18. Howard Huge
    True, but im with Texasota, I dont want any other midrises or highrises to go up anywhere else in the city until downtown and midtown are completely full. We got a long ways to go downtown, so I wouldnt care if they built 10 more Skyhouses. As long as we are eating up surface parking, Im good.
  19. Howard Huge
    We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We are everywhere.
  20. Howard Huge
    Et tu Larry?? Why?Density is King.
  21. Howard Huge
    Even better, how long until we start hearing complaints from the "McSkyhouses" crowd?
  22. Howard Huge
    Someone gets it ^
  23. Howard Huge
    > Be me> open up HAIF > see Richmond Rail thread bumped > get excited at possible good news (inyourfaceCulberson.jpeg!) > read scarfaces post > you bastard
  24. Howard Huge
    It really is.I remember browsing HAIF in worse times when nothing was being built and we only got a new announcement every few weeks/months. We would all get giddy over an announcement of a 5 story mid-rise multifamily going up inside the loop..... Times have changed. Remember this boys and girls, cherish it. We may never see another boom like this in our lifetimes...dont take any of it for granted....
  25. Howard Huge
    I must be dreaming
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