citykid09 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 This documentary traces METROs humble beginnings, its rocky middle years before the 2003 referendum was passed and its current state of affairs from its modern, hybrid-electric bus fleet to its plans of building five light-rail lines. By the way, its hosted by former KTRK reporter Laura Whitley. There are multiple parts. I have posted part 1 below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrLan34 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 By the way, its hosted by former KTRK reporter Laura Whitley. There are multiple parts. I have posted part 1 below: very cool, the only way a city this size is going to have effective population is with a combination of transit like they said... rail, buses, van pools, biking, etc.... good videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 very cool, the only way a city this size is going to have effective population is with a combination of transit like they said... rail, buses, van pools, biking, etc.... good videosYeah, the guy in the video knows what he is talking about. I don't know if its in part one or in one of the other parts, but he also talks about how Dallas kept their 1 cent tax that helped build their system and Houston didn't. Imaging if Houstonians back then felt the same way about rail transit as they do now. Houston could have had a full service heavy rail system like a city its size should have. All we can do now is hope that that would be the next step after light rail and commuter rail. What else could come next if it isn't a heavy (non commuter) rail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 It's an ok (if rather one-sided) documentary, but it's a shame that right near the beginning they refer to electric streetcars as "cable cars," not once but twice. Houston never had cable cars, which are an entirely different technology than electric streetcars or trolleys. Calling a streetcar a "cable car" is like calling the Queen Mary a "sailboat". Yet another example of Houston's historical amnesia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrLan34 Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 very cool, the only way a city this size is going to have effective population is with a combination of transit like they said... rail, buses, van pools, biking, etc.... good videos*effective transportation... I guess effective population could work too even though that's not what I meant to type. If we kept relying on more and more roads instead of rail or other means, traffic would get to a point where the city would simply have to stop growing and we would see people living the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 It's an ok (if rather one-sided) documentary, but it's a shame that right near the beginning they refer to electric streetcars as "cable cars," not once but twice. Houston never had cable cars, which are an entirely different technology than electric streetcars or trolleys. Calling a streetcar a "cable car" is like calling the Queen Mary a "sailboat". Yet another example of Houston's historical amnesia.I think that just highlights how ignorant people in Houston are to the different types of transportation that are available. Even the experts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Yeah, the guy in the video knows what he is talking about. I don't know if its in part one or in one of the other parts, but he also talks about how Dallas kept their 1 cent tax that helped build their system and Houston didn't. Imaging if Houstonians back then felt the same way about rail transit as they do now. Houston could have had a full service heavy rail system like a city its size should have. All we can do now is hope that that would be the next step after light rail and commuter rail. What else could come next if it isn't a heavy (non commuter) rail?Houston has never gotten rid of the 1 cent sales tax. In the 1990s, Bob Lanier pressured METRO to donate a substantial portion of the tax to Houston for an increased police force. METRO also put a substantial sum toward rebuilding roads in its service area. That has all been phased out now, I believe.As for heavy rail, neither Houston nor Dallas will ever have heavy rail transit, other than commuter trains. You may as well move to Atlanta now, as both cities have chosen to go the light rail route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 That has all been phased out now, I believe.Incorrect. One fourth of METRO's sales tax receipts are to be reserved for "General Mobility," or city and county road projects. This is a principal reason why DART has been able to build and expand its LRT system so much faster than Houston.From the CTC Houston website:Houstonians fund transit with a $.01 sales tax. In 1992, Bob Lanier diverted ¼ of our transit tax collections to the General Mobility program. This money is shifted to local jurisdictions within the METRO service area to fund road improvements across the region. In fiscal 2008, more than $130 million of METRO's transit tax collections was allocated to the General Mobility fund, and $94.7 million was claimed by the City of Houston. Since 1992, more than $1.6 billion has been diverted from transit, funds which may have lost us more than $1 billion in federal matching dollars. An additional $1 billion will be diverted from transit to General Mobility projects between now and September 2014, when the current agreement ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 As for heavy rail, neither Houston nor Dallas will ever have heavy rail transit, other than commuter trains. You may as well move to Atlanta now, as both cities have chosen to go the light rail route.Whatever happened to you leaving HAIF for good after my "Entertainment Indusrty in Texas" Thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 By the way, its hosted by former KTRK reporter Laura Whitley. There are multiple parts. I have posted part 1 below: This video was first posted here 3 months ago. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=20807 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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