METRORail Green Line

[rsb320]

Yep, there are barricades separating the sidewalk from the street. Also, the street is all marked up with orange paint.

[rsb320]

Ellen is making announcements at the train platforms. Like - "Hey Houston, it's Ellen, the next train arrives in 1 minute." then "Have to told someone you love them today?"

[tanith27]

FWIW I grew up in Calgary who (like many cities) is light years ahead of Houston as far as rail goes, but one thing they do there is make all rail free for the downtown core. I think this would be a smart move for Houston to do as well, especially since the east side is now booming on its own. Moving east side workers/conventioneers/sports enthusiasts quickly and freely to the theatre district or other hot areas of downtown seems like nothing but a positive to me.

[Houston19514]

FWIW I grew up in Calgary who (like many cities) is light years ahead of Houston as far as rail goes, but one thing they do there is make all rail free for the downtown core. I think this would be a smart move for Houston to do as well, especially since the east side is now booming on its own. Moving east side workers/conventioneers/sports enthusiasts quickly and freely to the theatre district or other hot areas of downtown seems like nothing but a positive to me.

How do they handle ticketing on their system? I like the idea of free downtown rides too, but wonder how it would be enforced with our ticketing system (which is pretty standard for light rail systems). Are all riders "home free", so to speak, while in the downtown zone?

[JamesL]

Here's what's going on with the downtown crossing construction. They have to avoid Texans weekends.

http://ridemetro.org/AboutUs/Board/working_meetings/2012/Presentations/082312/Main-Street-Interline082312.pdf

[ricco67]

Here's what's going on with the downtown crossing construction. They have to avoid Texans weekends.

http://ridemetro.org...rline082312.pdf

Don't avoid the Texans, they're undefeated this season so far.

This is going to be interesting to follow. What threw me off is they are going to be able to transfer trains from one line to another as the need arises.

[editor]

How do they handle ticketing on their system? I like the idea of free downtown rides too, but wonder how it would be enforced with our ticketing system (which is pretty standard for light rail systems). Are all riders "home free", so to speak, while in the downtown zone?

That's how it works* in Seattle. Within the downtown district, all buses and trains are free.

If you board a bus or train in the downtown area, you pay when you get off, but only if out get off outside the "free zone." If you board outside the downtown free zone area, you pay when you get on.

/off topic

*The system is going away soon because it seriously crimps the ability of the transit agencies (there are several involved) in routing. They also claim that it's costing them money, but I think that's a red herring. I have yet to see a Sound Transit/King County Metro bus operator that didn't allow someone to ride even if they had no money. The philosophy is that the transit system exists to move people, not to make money. So people who can't pay are generally allowed to ride anyway. I've seen it happen dozens, if not hundreds of times.

Doesn't work on the county or state ferries, though; or on Sounder, Amtrak, or Sound Transit trains. Those guys are all hardcore.

[Houston19514]

That's how it works* in Seattle. Within the downtown district, all buses and trains are free.

If you board a bus or train in the downtown area, you pay when you get off, but only if out get off outside the "free zone." If you board outside the downtown free zone area, you pay when you get on.

That seems like a bit of an unenforceable mess.

According to King County Metro website, the free ride area never applied to rail, but it ends as to buses Sept. 29.

How could it not cost the transit agencies money to give away rides? I don't see how it would crimp any route planning. THAT seems like a red herring (and one that I never saw mentioned in what I've read about the ending of the Ride Free area. The only reason I saw was the loss of revenue, specifically the revenue that the city of Seattle formerly paid to the King County Metro for the free ride area downtown.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Houston19514

[rsb320]

The plants are all dug out of the median where the new station is going in downtown. It looks like the early stages of construction. Does anyone know which design has been selected?

[TheNiche]

I noted a comment on the Swamplot post about the botched sidewalks along the Green Line (fmrly. Brown and/or East) from user Local Planner. It follows:

Please know that the City government had the power, through its consent agreement, to require wider sidewalks. Put another foot or two on a sidewalk and suddenly an intrusive fixture, like a power pole, become less of an obstacle. However, elected officials at that time were freaked out about right-of-way takes. Also, the mayoral administration at that time decided that the City should not burden METRO with more costs, a position with which of course METRO heartily agreed. There was no other funding mechanism (like the recently created East End TIRZ) to fill the cost gap. There were those of us who tried very hard to express our concern, but it was decided otherwise. So when you are dismayed at the photos above, rest assured that when the City officials made their choice, they knew full well that we would end up with those results.

October 1, 2012 at 10:11 pm

That the city would pay for the sage advice of constituents as mediated through professional planners, and then deliberately ignored it by cutting METRO a break, has managed to piss me off immensely. What is the point of transit without adequate pedestrian infrastructure? How can we fund an underpass and ignore sidewalks? How is it that now that there's a revenue source, we're hearing about streetcars, the most expensive fix to the 'last mile' problem that could possibly be conceived? This is just pitiful.

Where is the accountability?

[kylejack]

They're not ADA compliant. There must be 36 inches of clearance generally speaking, and no less than 32 inches at any one point. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[mfastx]

Those sidewalks do suck. However, they are perfectly fine for a normal pedestrian. 100% better than what was there before. I wish all sidewalks in Houston were that good.

I do agree that the electric lines need to be buried though. Not only are they obstructing the sidewalk for disabled pedestrians, they are an eyesore.

[samagon]

It's neither here nor there, cause the poles are still obstructions, but they're light poles (most of them are anyway), not power poles.

It's been a while since I've ridden by the moon tower inn to check out the progress, I might do that this weekend, and ride down harrisburg and look more closely.

Edited October 2, 2012 by samagon

[TheNiche]

Those sidewalks do suck. However, they are perfectly fine for a normal pedestrian. 100% better than what was there before. I wish all sidewalks in Houston were that good.

I do agree that the electric lines need to be buried though. Not only are they obstructing the sidewalk for disabled pedestrians, they are an eyesore.

I'm not advocating for buried power lines. That gets to be really expensive, and only affects the aesthetic environment. If its that big of a deal to some people, then I'd sooner have the power lines moved to sacrificial side streets (like Uptown did) than pay for burying them.

But let's take a step back from that debate because we can both agree that wherever the power lines go, there will be vertical obstructions in a sidewalk that abuts the curb of a street. Between trees (which will mature), signage, light poles, power/telephone poles, garbage cans, and other pedestrians, a narrow sidewalk abutting a major thoroughfare with light rail is a busy place. Abutting means that it starts at the edge of the pavement, where the cars go past at high speed. The extra width in a configuration like this is a mechanism toward safety and the comfort of use. It is not perfectly fine for a normal pedestrian.

[kylejack]

Trees are great things. I love tree-lined streets.

But in a city like Houston where we have a government that just washes their hands of busted up sidewalks, we can't afford to be planting trees. Functional sidewalks are more important than aesthetics, and if the city or some other entity won't take responsibility to maintain them, we can't have roots busting them up.

[TheNiche]

Trees are great things. I love tree-lined streets.

But in a city like Houston where we have a government that just washes their hands of busted up sidewalks, we can't afford to be planting trees. Functional sidewalks are more important than aesthetics, and if the city or some other entity won't take responsibility to maintain them, we can't have roots busting them up.

Trees spaced out ever so often can provide a psychological barrier between pedestrians and vehicles as well as provide shade, with their roots being accommodated by the extra width of an appropriately-large sidewalk zone as they mature. These are functional enhancements that promote walking and transit use.

[kylejack]

Trees spaced out ever so often can provide a psychological barrier between pedestrians and vehicles as well as provide shade, with their roots being accommodated by the extra width of an appropriately-large sidewalk zone as they mature. These are functional enhancements that promote walking and transit use.

I think so too, but unfortunately the city simply refuses to spend money to fix sidewalks. Montrose area has some really awful ones.

[TheNiche]

I think so too, but unfortunately the city simply refuses to spend money to fix sidewalks. Montrose area has some really awful ones.

METRO is bound to abide by the City's codified standards for sidewalk widths. That means that METRO should have paid for them. The City of Houston waived that requirement.

[totheskies]

How many people use the HOV lanes daily? How would a light rail line from the Galleria to UH help the people commuting from Katy, Spring, etc? What should the outlying residents get for their tax money?

Ask anyone that ever has to park on UofH campus. They'd probably say it would help a hell of a lot.

[TheNiche]

Ask anyone that ever has to park on UofH campus. They'd probably say it would help a hell of a lot.

Okay. A UH student lives in Cypress and schedules his classes to coincide with the availability of Park & Ride service. This means putting up with 8:30AM or 10:00AM classes. But never mind that those are unpopular.

The trip from Cypress P&R to the Northwest Transit Center takes 25 minutes.

Continuing into downtown takes another 10 minutes, and then the student can transfer (averaging, say, 4 minutes) to the Southeast Line and continue 3.4 miles to Scott Street or 4.0 miles to Wheeler Street (the student's choice, no transfer necessary). Light rail averages 19mph, so that'll be about another 12 minutes. The student's trip from the Northwest TC to the campus border took 26 minutes.

If they had attempted to use the Uptown and University lines from the Northwest TC, that would make for a 12-mile trip on light rail. So that's 4 minutes for the transfer plus 38 minutes for the light rail ride: 42 minutes.

Upon approach to the UH campus you can anticipate some combination of transfers and/or walking the remaining one, two, or three quarters of a mile to your classroom. That can vary a great deal, but let's just call it 8 minutes.

A commute can be done in either 59 minutes on the Southeast Line or 75 minutes on the University Line at the same cost to the individual. Choose one.

[RedScare]

So, uh, how's progress on the Green Line? Or is that off topic?

[samagon]

So, uh, how's progress on the Green Line? Or is that off topic?

It's fine.

Okay. A UH student lives in Cypress...

A UH student also lives in Katy.

A UH student also lives in Ft. Bend.

A UH student also lives in Sugarland.

A UH student also lives in Pearland, Stafford, Clear Lake, Pasadena, Deer Park, Friendswood, Greatwood, Kingwood, the Woodlands.

Surprisingly UH students also lives inside the loop, in exotic places like the Heights, East End, Braeswood among others.

Would each of these benefit directly from a rail line that goes from UH to points west of the Galleria area? Maybe not, but it will still benefit them. reduce the total number of vehicles used by commuters into UH campus by giving them reliable transit options, will free up parking places, making it that much easier for the people driving into campus to find parking and get to class.

And parking on campus is a tough job at any time of day.

Edited October 3, 2012 by samagon

[TheNiche]

Would a moderator please move the tangential comments starting with 'totheskies' post over to the University Line thread, since that was the subject of an old post that he was responding to? Thanks.

[downtownian]

Here's Main and Capitol at 13-Jan-2013. It looks like METRO integrated the East End line and the red line.

Here's Main and Rusk.

[Chi-Char-Hou-Dal]

Have we confirmed here or elsewhere that the construction past Bayou Place & Sundance across the Buff Bayou is for this line?

[JamesL]

Have we confirmed here or elsewhere that the construction past Bayou Place & Sundance across the Buff Bayou is for this line?

 

http://www.gometrorail.org/go/doc/2491/1336803/

[Chi-Char-Hou-Dal]

James - cant open on iPad, went back through the thread too. seriously not trolling

[Houston19514]

Have we confirmed here or elsewhere that the construction past Bayou Place & Sundance across the Buff Bayou is for this line?

The short answer is "yes"

Have we confirmed here or elsewhere that the construction past Bayou Place & Sundance across the Buff Bayou is for this line?

The short answer is "yes"

[samagon]

the longer short answer (that is based on my minuscule understanding) is that the bridge is where they will be terminating the line and changing direction from west to east.

[ricco67]

Finally got around to doing the east line again.

 

: http://youtu.be/mWVEm1NRKd0