Slick Vik Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Ok, so you were wanting to eliminate the lanes. But...why? Both relieve congestion, both serve different functions.If there is room for both keep them by all means but only the managed lanes I think have enough room for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 If there is room for both keep them by all means but only the managed lanes I think have enough room for that. But there is room in the Westpark ROW (which IIRC METRO owns, after it split the other half with HCTRA), no strings attached, and it could hook up with the University Line. Bonus: a lot of the transit centers line up already with the ROW. As for the 290 ROW, they could in theory scrape up some ROW along the existing freight track for new trackage. But since I haven't seen trains go up and down and there nearly as much as they did prior to 2009, they might be able to share it this time around. Either way, a 290 railroad would be difficult since it could only go downtown, and isn't conducive to connecting to the Northwest Transit Center, where the light rail/BRT would terminate. Even if your plan was to build on the HOV/HOT lane was valid (and any questions of stability were solved), there's pretty sharp turns in the system and the whole transit center would need to be redesigned. Remember, the ramps from the transit center to 10 East were rebuilt about 10 years ago as well. I'm not against commuter rail, but I seriously question its viability and use in the HOV/HOT lanes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 The 290 rail would need to terminate at the northwest transit center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 The 290 rail would need to terminate at the northwest transit center.Why not try to terminate it in downtown? Bring the line down hempstead highway onto or near Washington and bring it all the way in? That way there wouldn't be an awkward stop from the 290 rail corridor to the other light rail segments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Why not try to terminate it in downtown? Bring the line down hempstead highway onto or near Washington and bring it all the way in? That way there wouldn't be an awkward stop from the 290 rail corridor to the other light rail segments.That too. I just meant it should stop at the transit center for people going to galleria or university line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 That too. I just meant it should stop at the transit center for people going to galleria or university line.Well with the recent article stating that the HSR Houston station will end near the Galleria, a Northwest Transit Center Station with HSR, Commuter Rail, and Light Rail sounds like a very exciting option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 If your talking about the Japanese newspaper article I think I know what you are talking about. The Galleria is being pitched around, but honestly I don't see how since it has no access to rail at all and is quickly becoming to dense to create a rail through it other than lightrail. Not to mention it would be a huge mistake to end it at the 610 loop. A preparatory stop to get more people on the train itself after leaving the main station...sure, but not as the main station. I know that they are still heavily seeking a main station near downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Why not try to terminate it in downtown? Bring the line down hempstead highway onto or near Washington and bring it all the way in? That way there wouldn't be an awkward stop from the 290 rail corridor to the other light rail segments. Whose property are you going to take to do that? There's not really any room to run rail along that route. There's no way that the freight lines are going to give up their ROW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 If your talking about the Japanese newspaper article I think I know what you are talking about. The Galleria is being pitched around, but honestly I don't see how since it has no access to rail at all and is quickly becoming to dense to create a rail through it other than lightrail. Not to mention it would be a huge mistake to end it at the 610 loop. A preparatory stop to get more people on the train itself after leaving the main station...sure, but not as the main station. I know that they are still heavily seeking a main station near downtown.I think it was a Star-Tribune paper. Look at my post on the High Speed Rail thread I just linked. I'd link it here but I'm on mobile.Whose property are you going to take to do that? There's not really any room to run rail along that route. There's no way that the freight lines are going to give up their ROW.There just so happens to be a run-down mall for sale at the corner of 290 and 610.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 If your talking about the Japanese newspaper article I think I know what you are talking about. The Galleria is being pitched around, but honestly I don't see how since it has no access to rail at all and is quickly becoming to dense to create a rail through it other than lightrail. Not to mention it would be a huge mistake to end it at the 610 loop. A preparatory stop to get more people on the train itself after leaving the main station...sure, but not as the main station. I know that they are still heavily seeking a main station near downtown. I certainly hope that is the case. It would be a shame to see a huge project like this terminate at Northwest Mall, and then force people to sit in traffic on cheap shuttle buses to get to downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I certainly hope that is the case. It would be a shame to see a huge project like this terminate at Northwest Mall, and then force people to sit in traffic on cheap shuttle buses to get to downtown. That might not be the greatest site in the world, but they will no doubt be constrained by feasibility and cost. There's an assumtion, though, that everyone or even a majority riding the hsr in from Dallas is going downtown. Since they're targeting the air travelers between here and Dallas I think you need to look at it from the perspective of what those travelers currently do (go to IAH or Hobby) and where they come from/are going. Plus, if this is a success, might it not eventually drive a light rail line in the northwest corridor or at least an upgrade to the uptown line and a hard shove to the university line, if it's not already built by that time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 That might not be the greatest site in the world, but they will no doubt be constrained by feasibility and cost. There's an assumtion, though, that everyone or even a majority riding the hsr in from Dallas is going downtown. Since they're targeting the air travelers between here and Dallas I think you need to look at it from the perspective of what those travelers currently do (go to IAH or Hobby) and where they come from/are going. Plus, if this is a success, might it not eventually drive a light rail line in the northwest corridor or at least an upgrade to the uptown line and a hard shove to the university line, if it's not already built by that time? True that not everyone is going to be going downtown. Current travelers go to IAH or Hobby, but both of those are hindered by lack of light rail connections, forcing visitors to take cars. Maybe more important than the specific location of the terminal is that it is somehow integrated into the light rail network. In a perfect world one should be able to get from the train to downtown to the airports without having to get in a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I certainly hope that is the case. It would be a shame to see a huge project like this terminate at Northwest Mall, and then force people to sit in traffic on cheap shuttle buses to get to downtown.Well if the recent reports are true, the Gulf Coast Regional Rail Authority is working with TCR on their rail plans, so if this were to be the location then I wouldn't be surprised to see an announcement for commuter rail from downtown through this area and down 290. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 True that not everyone is going to be going downtown. Current travelers go to IAH or Hobby, but both of those are hindered by lack of light rail connections, forcing visitors to take cars. Maybe more important than the specific location of the terminal is that it is somehow integrated into the light rail network. In a perfect world one should be able to get from the train to downtown to the airports without having to get in a car. Looking at the P&R buses that run through the northwest transit center, the schedule says 10 mins between there and downtown. That's not too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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