U.S. transportation chief: Houston needs to 'get its act together' on light rail

[Slick Vik]

Perhaps we should wish that Galveston, Brazoria and Fort Bend form their own transit organization?  You could call it "Coastal Connection" or some other name... and the focus could be on connecting the cities in those counties together and allowing diverse transit options within each community, and then also tie-into hubs that would connect to METRO and the City of Houston?  Worth a try?  And besides, it will take more than 1 single transit agency to keep 6+ million people moving.  Look at NYC, sure they have the transit authority, but there are certainly other organizations working within those areas as well.  I do see Montgomery County having to take a similar approach down the road.

 

Galveston has something like that, a commuter bus system that they hope one day could be rail. It gets good ridership too.

[ig2ba]

Can't one agree that Metro needs to "get its act together" on rail without necessarily agreeing that more rail is needed?

 

I think the competency/efficiency issue can be addressed separately from the debate on which mix of funding (to each mode of transportation) is the best.

[arche_757]

We can all agree that METRO needs to "get its act together" on just about every aspect of its organization (save probably the mechanics).

 

And yes, Galveston has Island Transit.  Which was Texas' first Light Rail operator (its really a glorified trolley, but still LR).  And they've recently expanded bus service to League City (which is far less organzied than Galveston it would seem).  I expect they will eventually run express bus service further into Harris County at some point.  They've started replacing the old "buses" with newer more efficient and transit worthy vehicles.

[IronTiger]

1. Rarely, if ever use? If there was a way for Pearland people to go to medical center and downtown on a grade separated train, you're telling me it would rarely be used?

 

2. Dallas DART light rails trains go up to 65 mph once it leaves downtown. To answer your question, yes these trains can go up to 65 mph. Elevated would probably be best, as you say going up bridges would add time, a flat train would be better whether surface level or elevated, but not sure they could do all those crossings.

Well, if we're going by the DART example, which are mostly built on old freight lines (designed for going fast), the extended mileage out from DART isn't bringing in a lot more people, the numbers show that. Getting from Plano to downtown Dallas, for instance, sounds fantastic on paper, but it's not bringing in people.

As for your other questions, I think the DART trains and the Houston METRORail trains are different and thus have different top speeds. As for crossings, that's not so much an issue for the train as it for cars.

[arche_757]

I thought I read that METRO's Light Rail trains top out around  "These S70 cars have a top speed of 66 mph," [per wikipedia] thought they do not travel that fast on the RED Line because...well, they have to make stops.

 

Regardless, Pearland is only ~20 miles south of Downtown.  A train traveling most of that distance without stopping too often can make that distance in around 30 minutes.  Main Street Line has a bunch of stops every 8 or so blocks (every 4 blocks in Downtown and Midtown - which slows it down).  Still I'd rather sit in a train for a half-hour and read or check out news on the net (or post here) than sit in my car driving.

[IronTiger]

I thought I read that METRO's Light Rail trains top out around "These S70 cars have a top speed of 66 mph," [per wikipedia] thought they do not travel that fast on the RED Line because...well, they have to make stops.

Regardless, Pearland is only ~20 miles south of Downtown. A train traveling most of that distance without stopping too often can make that distance in around 30 minutes. Main Street Line has a bunch of stops every 8 or so blocks (every 4 blocks in Downtown and Midtown - which slows it down). Still I'd rather sit in a train for a half-hour and read or check out news on the net (or post here) than sit in my car driving.

Would be nice to see light rail down to Pearland, but METRO has been slow getting lines up and running...in 2009 I read that all the new lines should be up and running by this time. Granted, there's been a lot of things going on both METRO's fault and not:

• Culberson and METRO need to stop fighting. Culberson, I think, doesn't deserve the hate he's gotten and probably wanted to stop METRO from wasting time and money as it has (he mentioned in a post four years old that he supported rail referendums in the past), but in the end, he's making METRO lose even more time and money.

• University of Houston has really held up construction in a line that benefits them.

• The underpass in Harrisburg isn't anywhere close to being built. Blame METRO.

That being said, if METRO were to get its act together, there are some points to address: Houston's existing LRT system tends to cannibalize roads. Functional avenues become two way roads with limited turns. The best plan for an expansion out to Pearland is to use "sneaker" routes as described by Keep Houston Houston. This of course necessitates more demolition, but it keeps roads free and even probably saves more businesses than it kills. The way METRO has things now is that it may save a business from being razed, but tends to choke it out when it becomes barely accessible.

One possibility is extending the Red Line across the two railroads and put in the median of 288. There will still be enough room for HOV lanes under that plan, and those things could run express straight toward Pearland Town Center. But knowing METRO, they likely wouldn't start building that for another decade.

[arche_757]

^I thought it wasn't UH but rather TSU that opposed having the rail run through their campus?  I thought UH was pro-rail, and has been since the get-go?  TSU cited student safety (as if its really that hard to NOT see a 35 ton train coming down the tracks).

 

Culberson is -and has been- a thorn in METRO's side.  I think he is pro rail down specific areas, notably US 290, but against it in the inner city as METRO has laid it out.

 

Light Rail has pros and cons, the cons being that it doesn't serve enough people.  But if we built lines to Katy, Woodlands and Pearland then people in Richomond/Sugar Land and League City and Kingwood and Cypress would all have their feelings hurt that we didn't build lines for them.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't in this town.

[IronTiger]

^I thought it wasn't UH but rather TSU that opposed having the rail run through their campus?  I thought UH was pro-rail, and has been since the get-go?  TSU cited student safety (as if its really that hard to NOT see a 35 ton train coming down the tracks).

UH had that thing, IIRC, about the parking being lost. Besides, if you look on Google Maps, the light rail doesn't go near TSU (about two blocks away).

 

And you're underestimating the stupidity of college students when it comes to cluelessness on roads/rail.   

 

Culberson is -and has been- a thorn in METRO's side.  I think he is pro rail down specific areas, notably US 290, but against it in the inner city as METRO has laid it out.

I can't really comment on Culberson. As of yet, I saw ONE thing written back in 2009, and mostly griping by people.

 

Light Rail has pros and cons, the cons being that it doesn't serve enough people.  But if we built lines to Katy, Woodlands and Pearland then people in Richomond/Sugar Land and League City and Kingwood and Cypress would all have their feelings hurt that we didn't build lines for them.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't in this town.

If the suburbs were taxed in the way that if say, Pearland was getting a line and Cypress wasn't, then Pearland would be taxed higher. I still think running light rail down the 288 median is a pretty neat idea.

[Ross]

Pearland could raise its tax to join.

 

 

No, it can't. Sales taxes are at the state maximum 8.25% in most of the city.

 

[Slick Vik]

No, it can't. Sales taxes are at the state maximum 8.25% in most of the city.

City could vote to pay an extra tax to metro.

[august948]

 

Pearland could raise its tax to join.

 

Uh...no...it can't.

 

To join the Metro service area, Pearland voters would have to agree to support Metro with a 1 percent sales tax. This option, however, is not even on the table.

"Pearland cannot join the Metro service area because state law caps localized sales taxes at 2 percent," said Pearland City Manager Bill Eisen. "We currently have a 1 percent city sales tax, a half percent economic development sales tax, and Brazoria County levies a half percent sales tax which is used to keep down property taxes. We are at the cap," he said.

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/pearland/news/article/Pearland-to-look-at-Park-Ride-options-after-4879542.php

 

[Slick Vik]

Uh...no...it can't.

 

 

 

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/pearland/news/article/Pearland-to-look-at-Park-Ride-options-after-4879542.php

 

There are ways. They could replace that half cent of sales tax that is used to keep property taxes down. Or they could add on to property tax and give that to METRO. Where there is a will there is a way.

[IronTiger]

There are ways. They could replace that half cent of sales tax that is used to keep property taxes down. Or they could add on to property tax and give that to METRO. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

With the whole Obamacare problems and watching health insurance premiums dramatically increase, no one is going to want to see their taxes increase even higher. Secondly, the residents of Pearland would be wary to give their tax dollars to METRO who is more likely going to squander it instead of delivering a timely light rail system to Pearland (or any system to Pearland, for that matter). A vote to increase property taxes for METRO would likely bomb in the polls.

 

The only way that it could work is one of two things:

 

1) METRO suddenly gets competent, making it a much more desirable thing to get onto, and actually delivers promises on time and within budget

2) Pearland starts its own transit network/partners with a private company, creating a "METRO-compatible" light rail line (it still follows the same route of the Red Line). Imagine if (I don't know if this would actually work) but let's say Pearland creates a new transit district with other communities called SHRT (South Houston Rapid Transit). At the Pearland station, you buy a SHRT ticket, which takes you to the main Red Line. On the return trip, you get a METRO ticket to take you back to Pearland. METRO still gets half of the profits, while Pearland doesn't have to pour its tax dollars into an incompetent government agency which won't provide service for years to come.

 

See, I think it would be nifty if there was light rail to Pearland, but I don't think it should be forced down their throats to join METRO.

[Ross]

There are ways. They could replace that half cent of sales tax that is used to keep property taxes down. Or they could add on to property tax and give that to METRO. Where there is a will there is a way.

The half cent is imposed by Brazoria Cunty, not Pearland. The City of Pearland cannot get rid of a county imposed tax. I guarantee you that the residents of the rest of Brazoria County have zero interest in getting rid of that particular sales tax.

[arche_757]

Thoughts on anything transit related that doesn't have anything to do with Pearland's taxes?

[Slick Vik]

With the whole Obamacare problems and watching health insurance premiums dramatically increase, no one is going to want to see their taxes increase even higher. Secondly, the residents of Pearland would be wary to give their tax dollars to METRO who is more likely going to squander it instead of delivering a timely light rail system to Pearland (or any system to Pearland, for that matter). A vote to increase property taxes for METRO would likely bomb in the polls.

The only way that it could work is one of two things:

1) METRO suddenly gets competent, making it a much more desirable thing to get onto, and actually delivers promises on time and within budget

2) Pearland starts its own transit network/partners with a private company, creating a "METRO-compatible" light rail line (it still follows the same route of the Red Line). Imagine if (I don't know if this would actually work) but let's say Pearland creates a new transit district with other communities called SHRT (South Houston Rapid Transit). At the Pearland station, you buy a SHRT ticket, which takes you to the main Red Line. On the return trip, you get a METRO ticket to take you back to Pearland. METRO still gets half of the profits, while Pearland doesn't have to pour its tax dollars into an incompetent government agency which won't provide service for years to come.

See, I think it would be nifty if there was light rail to Pearland, but I don't think it should be forced down their throats to join METRO.

Obamacare is a problem? I guess people with pre existing conditions and millions who were unable to afford insurance that now can don't matter to you. We get it you hate the government but leave the tea party rhetoric out of your posts.

[IronTiger]

Obamacare is a problem? I guess people with pre existing conditions and millions who were unable to afford insurance that now can don't matter to you. We get it you hate the government but leave the tea party rhetoric out of your posts.

Talk about rhetoric in posts...

[Trae]

Well, if we're going by the DART example, which are mostly built on old freight lines (designed for going fast), the extended mileage out from DART isn't bringing in a lot more people, the numbers show that. Getting from Plano to downtown Dallas, for instance, sounds fantastic on paper, but it's not bringing in people.

As for your other questions, I think the DART trains and the Houston METRORail trains are different and thus have different top speeds. As for crossings, that's not so much an issue for the train as it for cars.

That has more to do with the layout of DFW than the design of dart. Dart needs some crosstown routes to really work. A hub and spoke system would work well for Houston.