lockmat Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 I took my wife and suburban brother in law and nephews on the 20 bus from Long Point/Wirt to downtown to visit discovery green today. My wife and I have been wanting to try the bus to downtown to see how it is in case we ever want to use it for an Astros game or other special events. Although I have taken the exact same route via car many times before, I almost felt like a first time out of town visitor.First of all, the bus itself inside was very nice - as good or better than public transit experiences from other cities. We really enjoyed it. A/C and clean seats.We got off in front of city hall and walked the rest of the way.For some reason, everything felt fresh/new/different to me, I think, all because I came in via bus instead of car. It was just a better urban and pedestrian experience. It felt more pedestrian friendly, the buildings height, architecture and interaction wowed me more than usual, too. I was just impressed by downtown, even though I'd been numerous times.Being a true pedestrian by not arriving by car, it allowed me to see it with a fresh set of eyes. It allowed me to see all the potential downtown really has for a 24/7 livable place. It even made me see Houston as a whole as more pedestrian friendly. Granted, this was a leisurely trip and a bus stop is less than a 5 minute walk from my house.Here's to Houston, it's growth and pedestrian potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 How long was the trip? Did you go back the same way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 How long was the trip? Did you go back the same way?20-30 minutes just to get to our stop and another 10-15 to get to the park at a leisurely pace. My sister dropped off her family at our house while she went to a work event so she picked us up in the car since she had to pick up some organic food at a co-op nearby, and we wanted to see what they had to offer, too.The kids really seemed to enjoy the entire experience, as did the adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 That's great. I was afraid that we were going to hear a horror story. I'm happy that public transportation is improving in Houston, and I love to use it. It really is like viewing things from a whole new angle. Love to people watch too! Looking forward to the new light rail lines opening and the new bus routes from the "re-imagining" thing going into effect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Glad you had a positive experience. After driving everywhere for the first 40 years of my life it was very strange being miles from my car the first time I rode a metro bus. I enjoy it now. I think very few people will step outside their comfort zone like you did. I'm about as conservative republican as a person can be except for social issues and I ride local metro buses all the time. Usually it's a couple white collar guys like me, a bunch of maids, and a few blue collar guys. I see no hipsters. I doubt any of the people are liberals that push rail. The people on these buses don't have time to push for rail, we just have to get to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt16 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 My only problem with buses is they are not keeping pace with street maintenance in this town for the amount of tearing up they do. The streets in Houston are aweful from all the buses we run and clearly Metro isn't bringing in enough to keep up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 My only problem with buses is they are not keeping pace with street maintenance in this town for the amount of tearing up they do. The streets in Houston are aweful from all the buses we run and clearly Metro isn't bringing in enough to keep up. Don't they pay a quarter of their income to maintain roads? That seems like it should be more than enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt16 Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Don't they pay a quarter of their income to maintain roads? That seems like it should be more than enough.Do you drive in Houston? It's clearly not. Every right lane drives like a bombed out Middle Eastern street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Do you drive in Houston? It's clearly not. Every right lane drives like a bombed out Middle Eastern street Yes I do. METRO shouldn't be paying anything to maintain the roads. That's the city's responsibility. The city should stop being so damn cheap and repair the roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Yes I do. METRO shouldn't be paying anything to maintain the roads. That's the city's responsibility. The city should stop being so damn cheap and repair the roads. Don't get me started. I spoke before city council a couple of months ago. I had reported some pot holes for 6 months with no response from the city. I had photos, etc. the mayor had put her staff on the matter because of my complaints. well the mayor's response was that they closed out my 311 request. so I asked "when are the potholes going to be fixed? closing out a 311 request only improves your metrics but we still have the problem" she quickly batted her eyelashes as she always does when she's put in a bad position and said "my staff has handled your problems" This is who is in charge and why the roads are in such bad condition. Money from the drainage fee she implemented is also supposed to be for road construction. remember she said no money will be used to fund salaries in public works. well 25% of the funding is paying salaries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Don't get me started. I spoke before city council a couple of months ago. I had reported some pot holes for 6 months with no response from the city. I had photos, etc. the mayor had put her staff on the matter because of my complaints. well the mayor's response was that they closed out my 311 request. so I asked "when are the potholes going to be fixed? closing out a 311 request only improves your metrics but we still have the problem" she quickly batted her eyelashes as she always does when she's put in a bad position and said "my staff has handled your problems"This is who is in charge and why the roads are in such bad condition. Money from the drainage fee she implemented is also supposed to be for road construction. remember she said no money will be used to fund salaries in public works. well 25% of the funding is paying salaries!Well 25% of Jacinto Port Blvd.'s potholes have been filled... With asphalt. One has to have quite some ground clearance on their vehicle to drive anywhere. Not only are they bad on every street, a majority of the freeways are getting some BIG ones! It's pretty shameful, I've jacked up my alignment so many times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt16 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Yes I do. METRO shouldn't be paying anything to maintain the roads. That's the city's responsibility.The city should stop being so damn cheap and repair the roads.No argument here, but you have to see that the big heavy buses Metro runs contribute a lot to the terrible street conditions this town has. I can't argue against what you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Parker's campaign HQ's is right next to some nice potholes on Richmond @ Greenbriar. You would think that she would at least fix these given the optics of our road situation. Not so, as she knows that she has a 100% chance of winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 No argument here, but you have to see that the big heavy buses Metro runs contribute a lot to the terrible street conditions this town has. I can't argue against what you say. Or maybe they improve street conditions by taking lots of cars off the road for those commutes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 No argument here, but you have to see that the big heavy buses Metro runs contribute a lot to the terrible street conditions this town has. I can't argue against what you say. While this is true, a lot of the "damage" METRO buses do are due to the cheaply made streets. The worst streets in Houston are the ones where the city just cheaply slathers a layer of asphalt down on the bumps, which actually makes things worse over time. There's no structural improvement. But yeah METRO buses do some damage, but there's also big trucks and larger vehicles that do just as much if not more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Parker's campaign HQ's is right next to some nice potholes on Richmond @ Greenbriar. You would think that she would at least fix these given the optics of our road situation.The city took a gamble that the Richmond rail project would cause Richmond to be rebuilt. They lost that bet and are most likely going to put it on a distant CIP project. that seems to be the answer they've been giving me. even temporary fixes are hard to get done now. the mayor thinks closing 311 requests without doing work is the solution. it's all about metrics. Or maybe they improve street conditions by taking lots of cars off the road for those commutes, etc.a pothole is still a pothole, no matter how many cars use the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Or maybe they improve street conditions by taking lots of cars off the road for those commutes, etc.It just forces more sudden lane changes and more trips to the mechanic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 the mayor thinks closing 311 requests without doing work is the solution. it's all about metrics. Maybe Parker should campaign on a "No Roads Left Behind" platform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Maybe Parker should campaign on a "No Roads Left Behind" platform. seeing the words Parker and Behind is the same sentence sure goads a scary vision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 seeing the words Parker and Behind is the same sentence sure goads a scary vision. Classy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.