tamtagon

Hopefully, Culberson will realize he is not the umpire for METRO expansion.

I work in Fountain Place, next door to the Fairmount. Friday after work, I joined four coworkers for happy hour at Campizi's. We didn't leave downtown till 3 A.M. We barhopped and clubbed for hours, so I don't know what Mr. Fella is talking about.

The last time I was in Houston, I had a room at the Doubletree downtown. On a Thursday night, my brother and I decided to walk to where the "action was" on Main St. Let me tell you, that was one long scary walk. And there wasn't that much action. It was much better on Friday night, but this time we took a cab.

It's all relative to expectations and prior experiences. If you're familiar with an area, and have a fixed destination in mind, getting there is a non-issue - can even be fun. But if you're not too sure where the things you like can be found, then getting there can quickly become an unpleasant. The first night ever I went out for fun in New York City, I went right the Empire State Building. There was nothing to do, zilch. My mistake.

I don't know why some people in Dallas call it funkytown when the city is funkless.

Downtown is what it is, and it's great, but if you're looking for The Funk in downtown Fort Worth, you're looking in the wrong neighborhood.

Fort Party Worth is my favorite nickname.

High Hopes

Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn

Next time your found, with your chin on the ground

There a lot to be learned, so look around

Just what makes that little old ant

Think hell move that rubber tree plant

Anyone knows an ant, cant

Move a rubber tree plant

But hes got high hopes, hes got high hopes

Hes got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your gettin low

stead of lettin go

Just remember that ant

Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your backs to the wall

There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram

Thought hed punch a hole in a dam

No one could make that ram, scram

He kept buttin that dam

cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes

He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your feelin bad

stead of feelin sad

Just remember that ram

Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam

All problems just a toy balloon

Theyll be bursted soon

Theyre just bound to go pop

Oops there goes another problem kerplop

Eventually I think more imported cargo will be received for processing through PoD than received through the PoH

I don't think that will be the case.

It'll be fun to keep track of.

I think at this point - the only thing that will help Tam's argument ... trying to convince Houstonians that the "Port" of Dallas is bigger and more significant than the Port of Houston ....

But for God's sake get a life before it's too late.

Dude, you're getting all riled up thinking I'm boasting and showing-off and arguing about something that Dallas has/will have making it better than Houston (okay, knowingly wording statements without precaution just for the mild entertainment to observe pep squads and drill teams mobilize - sure), but that's not my intent. I dont expect Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor initiatives to make much of a difference for most Houstonians, at least not until the Port of Houston's Agile facility starts making waves.

Now, I dont expect the port in Dallas to become more significant than the port of Houston. The bulk of activity in the PoH serves the country's largest petrochemical complex. The PoH importation of raw material, Ship Channel area processing & manufacturing, then PoH exportation of finished product, in my opinion, is much more significant than the activity imminent for the Port of Dallas, the bulk of which will be receiving, repacking and distributing imported goods. At some point, more heavy industry and manufacturing should develop because of the flow of product, but that's a ways off.

Eventually I think more imported cargo will be received for processing through PoD than received through the PoH - probably happen within a few years, too. I also think the total economic impact of PoD has the potential to rival and/or surpass the economic impact of both DFW Airport and the Port of Houston:

DFW has had a consistently positive economic impact on the local economy in Texas, generating more than $9.7 billion annually and has created 185,000 jobs in the Dallas / Fort Worth area.

Economic studies reveal that ship channel-related businesses support more than 287,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $11 billion in economic impact.

The potential for more significant operations at the Port of Dallas lies squarely with agile port cooperative with the Port of Houston. The agile port will help increase the ability of PoH to expand cargo import traffic, and that's important; but, the biggest deal of all comes from the potential increase of American Exports embark through the Port of Houston. Bad for Chicago and New Orleans, good for Dallas and Houston.

Getting a life, well, I learn alot from the time wrapped up in these forums. It's all good.

They've been working on this for a while. A cooperative agreement with the Port of Houston is one of the more recent components:

Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor

Copied from the Houston versus Dallas shopping thread:

As for the port's effect on Dallas, there are too many assumptions made to make that call. However, one thing is certain. Dallas' "port" is a subset of Houston's port. It will be decades before the Dallas installation even remotely approaches the volume that Houston's port does now.

One last thing. The bottom line in these operations is efficiency. The reason the Port of Houston is proposing this is to more efficiently move goods through the port. By definition, efficiency means the most work achieved with the least amount of labor. While this "port" will create well paying jobs, it will not create the numbers of jobs one might expect. Much of these goods will be moved in an automated fashion. In a metro of 6 million people, there might be 3.6 million jobs. Even 10,000 jobs a YEAR is not enough to employ all of the new residents.

It is a big deal for South Dallas. The rest of the metro, not so much. And, for Barney's.....not even on the radar.

It seems like Tam is counting his high end chickens before they hatch.

Tam should save the facts and figures for when (or if) this SE Dallas warehouse district makes a significant economic impact to the Metroplex. I'm sure this thread will still be going strong in 20 years. Then Tam might have some ACTUAL numbers to back up the claims instead of talking about hopeful projections and cryptic fantasies.

The Port of Houston will be a big contributor, but the Dallas Inland Port is not be a subset of the Port of Houston:

06:14 AM CDT on Tuesday, September 5, 2006

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...n1.3e3b8e3.html

...

The first signs of what will happen are already visible along Interstate 45. As you travel south of Loop 12, you can see the stacks of railroad cars peaking above the roadside and the giant warehouses already under construction.

...

These shipments currently arrive in huge cargo containers at Long Beach, Calif., the nation's second-busiest port. The annual number of containers (6.7 million) and the number of vessel visits (5,300) has overwhelmed the port, requiring ships to wait up to eight days to unload.

To reduce the backup, about 60 percent of these unopened containers would be shipped by rail from Long Beach to southern Dallas County. Once here, the goods would be divided up, or even warehoused, until they could be distributed via truck, train and even airplane to the Midwest and East Coast.

...

The development could spur as many as 30,000 jobs in the next 20 to 30 years. They would range from $10- to $15-an-hour warehouse jobs to possibly more lucrative office and management work.

...

"The southernmost route from the West Coast is the most economical way to reach the East Coast and Canada," said Dallas City Council member Bill Blaydes, who led the coalition. "The trade mission to China was to introduce Dallas as that crossroads."

E-mail sjacobson@dallasnews.com

In addition to Long Beach, trains will travel from two or three Mexican ports. I couldnt find on the Port of Houston webpage an estimate of cargo container volume, but I'm going to make the inevitable Pro-Dallas guess that the volume of cargo traveling from Long Beach to Dallas (~4.02 million containers) is greater existing volume of cargo containers currently received through the Port of Houston. [Like, cargo container volume guess is based on another guess that about 20% of the tonnage through the Port of Houston made up of cargo, and 80% is petroleum based and/or chemical stuff?]

The 30,000 warehouse jobs mentioned in Sherry Jacobson's column does include the Port of Houston leg of the inland port, nor does it include the activity from a planned cargo airport.

$10 to $15 wage earners do not shop at high end shops.

But, the thousands of middle wage port jobs in Houston have not created a Rodeo Drive here, just as they will not create one in Dallas.

Ya, that's what I said: the port will not create thousands of high end shoppers.

This is not an economic theory, this is a sociologic theory.

The port will generate a population geography underwriting the emergence of highly concentrated high end retailers.

Maybe Tam could make Superbowl predictions like those geniuses at ESPN as well.

Superbowl winners, The Dallas Cowboys, of course. Who did you think.

The economic boomtime coming through the Dallas Agile Port will increase the prominence of the Metroplex as a shopping destination.

I do believe Dallas is on its way to become the haute couture epicenter of the South Central US.

I'm not one of those who feed on Dallas' shortcomings but I'm convinced that Tamtagon doesn't have a clue of what he's talking about here.

Ya, the decoder ring was not included with the cryptic [ridiculous] talk.

Tamtagon's post suggested, either, that the existence of this massive rail yard will bring massive amounts of upscale goods to the metroplex, thereby making Dallas more of a shopping mecca, OR the massive rail yard will create so many jobs that the thousands of newly employed yard workers will suddenly spend their new-found wealth on designer clothing.

...

So, the only thing he could be suggesting is that the creation of this huge rail yard will flood the Dallas area with heretofore unattainable upscale goods, making Dallas the upscale shopping mecca of the universe.

Now, I am going to sit back and watch the two of you do backflips and cartwheels explaining that this is not what you meant, and that railyards DO increase a city's image as a shopping destination. Upon doing so, I will then slap my forehead, scream, 'D'oh!', and drive out to the Port of Houston rail yard to purchase a new Armani suit.

I did not intend to suggest either of the possibilities you presented, RedScare, although the disposable income from tens of thousands of new Metroplex jobs is a cornerstone of secondary influencers to the expansion of upscale shopping availability in Dallas:

The anticipated rapid growth of the agile/inland port industry segment in Dallas County will have a significant upward impact on the economy of the Metroplex and State. The Metroplex population growth rate is much more likely to be sustain at 30-33% per census because of the inland port, at least for 15-20 years. The indroductory pay rate for an average warehouse job should be around $10-15/hour. Additionally, most of the jobs will be available to and have above average pay for many under-qualified job-seekers already moving to the Metroplex en masse. One of the best case scenerios of good economic health for any population center is an industry expansion which organically assists the movement of large numbers of people from a low income existance to a middle income lifestyle. So, a whole lotta families will successfully make longterm investment purchases (homes) and still have a decent amount of disposable income for occasional purchases of designer clothing.

Location is the primary reason the agile port will increase the prominence of the Metroplex, specifically Dallas, as a shopping destination. All of this agile/inland port is gonna happen just a few miles SSE of downtown Dallas, and on top of the thousands of acers locked into industrial use, there's still enough open, easily developed land for more than 500,000 new Dallas County residents. Neighboring counties will experience similar population growth. The significant impact of this new geographic direction for Metroplex population growth is how downtown Dallas will become more central to the entire population. While many residents of northern satellite communities may no longer need or tolerate an increasingly lengthy trek into Dallas, the easy trip from southern satellite communities into Central Dallas will bouy "the city" atmosphere. Downtown Dallas neighborhoods (CBD, Uptown, Deep Ellum, Cedars) become a much better location for the niche retailers incapable of making a profit in the suburbs. The rise of densely populated, ultra-affluent downtown sub-neighborhoods is bouyed by a more vibrant city atmosphere and the flood of ultra-expensive retail and service-oriented operations is directly linked to the concentration of domestic wealth and disposable income.

So, the upscale shopping availibility thing - it's not as much that a new industry segment will support a growing Metroplex population and economy, it more that this industry expansion will geographically shift the destination for much of the new population growth and increase local visitation of the downtown retail/entertainment setting. The more satisfying city-experience possible in Downtown Dallas combined with an extremely affluent local population will manifest a setting where the most expensive, most upscale niche retail venues can thrive.

So, that, in a nut-shell, is why I think the agile port will increase the prominence of the Metroplex as a shopping destination.

The funny thing about that port - it will be a disasterous blow to the pride of those Houstonians who feed on Dallas shortcomings. The success of the cargo processing complex in Dallas County is vital to the diversification of Port of Houston enterprises. The real trick will be getting American exports processed through the Dallas County complex.

The economic boomtime coming through the Dallas Agile Port will increase the prominence of the Metroplex as a shopping destination. For now, though, there's not that much difference between the Dallas and Houston shopping availability.

I wonder if this is a sign a) they are leaning towards ignoring Culberson and announcing a predominantly Richmond route and if an announcment is coming soon.

I think that would be the best way to proceed. I do not think he's bluffing about making problems, but Culberson doesnt have any business trying to direct Metro's route decision making process.

My point was that 5% of the voters that voted for the referendum might not have voted for the referendum had they known that METRO's intended route was Richmond, and that there was never any intent by METRO of putting rail on Westpark.

It's also possible that more voters would have voted in favor of the referendum had Richmond been mentioned as a possible route.

It was a bad mistake to use Westpark as the label for the vote on this western expansion of Houston's train. I'm sure some people thought they were voting for/against a specific route, some knew they were voting for/against the expansion - route to be determined. Voters in this part of Houston should be accustomed to a different reality once the election smokescreen clears based on the actions of Congressional representatives; the poorly worded initiative has given way too much politically manufactured traction to those who would demand the route was pre-determined.

It's a wasteful and devisive exercise to politically manipulate a route decision that should be based on best case scenerio calculations. The residents of any particular neighborhood, like Afton Oaks, who dislike a routing consideration should keep it real when making noise.

Is it part of 'White' culture to live in a secluded area by yourself or something?

EVERY culture does this to some extend. To me, the concept of a single homogenized culture is a more deflating proposition than the bigotry which we must endure today.

It will be interesting to follow economic neighborhood movement in the Dallas area. The satellite cities have historically been built for middle class to upper middle class, leaving the Central City for the poor and super rich. Most of the swankiest neighborhoods in the Dallas area are close the Central Busines District, and one (re)developing downtown neighborhood is on track to end up with both the highest concentration and greatest number of million dollar dwellings in the region - probably in the entire South Central US.

The population churn between Dallas County and Dallas satellite communities (aka caucasian population shrinking) is less motivated today by ethnic comfort levels than by economic factors. The caucasian population in Dallas County will probably stop shrinking before the end of the decade as the Southern half of the county begins a middle class neighborhood expansion.

Fortunately my Representative in Congress, and several City Council members feel the same way....

I would expect city council members to state a position on the route this train will take, but I dont think the Federal representative should influence the decision making process through political extortion.

you mention the smooth holes as I did exactly that with my Queen.

Overall, I prefer the weather in Houston because the winters are usually more mild and the extra rain makes things more lush. To me, difference between Metroplex and Houston weather is not that big a whoop.

So, like, why isnt Westheimer a consideration?

Taking everything into consideration, politics, engineering, construction, and whatever else, is there a timeframe ballpark when the light rail extention will open? regardless of route?

It's very encouraging that this political fight is less about whether or not to build it, rather it's about the details of where & how to build it....?

They seem like 2 different people to me.

Hold your water until the very last note.

I love Atlanata's individual buildings. It's amazing how a simple spire or a couple of wings can change the entire dynamic of a building. Look at that new Symphony tower in midtown (silver building in Gary's first picture). It really is just a basic design but those wings at the top change the entire building and make it more dramatic. I'm sure the wings raised the cost of building the building but it was totally worth it IMO.

I like the street-feel Symphony brings to that intersection. I do not like the wings, I think they detract from the skyline views given by neighboring buildings.

I'd probably be considered a Centrist.

I hope this one last longer than the last Atlanta-specific discussion forum, and I hope this one get good participation. I really prefer the city specific forums.

...some kind of Fiat.