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Gerald Hines Calls For More Mass Transit In Houston


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Amid memories of Horne, his longtime friend, and insights on his ideas and vision for Houston, Hines mentioned the need for a mass transit system in Houston multiple times.

"Howard and I worked on some things, like mass transit, which didn't happen. We got defeated on that one," Hines said. "But we’ll all pay the price for the lack of mass transit."

He addressed a room of the top leaders in Houston commercial real estate and implored them to take the reins on the issue.

While explaining the positive growth he foresees happening in the city, he cautioned, "We’ve just got to get the infrastructure, the transportation up to a passable level. And that’s going to take a lot of political horsepower."

 

"And looking at the crowd here," he added, "there’s got to be some horses to run that thing – not a guy in his 90th year."

When asked what he learned from Horne, Hines said, "Integrity and a sense of responsibility to the community. Thinking about the whole community, and not just your part of it."

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2015/04/gerald-hines-calls-for-more-mass-transit-in.html

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Hines said, "Integrity and a sense of responsibility to the community. Thinking about the whole community, and not just your part of it."

Seriously. If our ridiculous politicians, road builders and NIMBYS of Afton Oaks could look at the whole picture they would understand! It's about all of us, our kids and those that come after us. We must look at the benefits of our entire community.

Hines is a true asset to our city.

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For the record, Hines just wanted more mass transit, which is an admirable goal. I can't see anywhere where he said that "METRO is doing the right thing" or "Afton Oaks needs to suck it down" or any other of the common sentiments seen around here.

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Hines continued:

 

"See there will be a point in which our gridlock will become so bad in this city and the public transportation system so poor, that even your help will not be able to get to your homes until 9 or 10 AM" said Hines.

 

What were mostly blank stares of the wealthy white crowd began to shed away. A frightful gasp was let out from the back of the room when the point finally registered.

One person was reported to have shrieked, "My breakfast won't be prepared until 10AM?!"

 

A palpable sense of panic reverberated amongst the Houston elite. Hines tried to reassure the room with more equine and nonagenarian humor, but the damage was done. Silence took hold and everyone began to shuffle out much like mourners at the funeral of a great man. 

 

 

You left end of the article out.

 

 

 

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I think it's probably already too late.

 

At the rate Houston is growing, many freeways and surface streets will be pure gridlock in just a few years, maybe 3 to 5.

 

I can't wait for the solution the politicians will bring at that time when they propose a 50 lane highway. 

 

And it's not even mass transit we need more of. I think it's land use. Mass transit will be near useless in a suburban Houston.

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I think it's probably already too late.

 

At the rate Houston is growing, many freeways and surface streets will be pure gridlock in just a few years, maybe 3 to 5.

 

I can't wait for the solution the politicians will bring at that time when they propose a 50 lane highway. 

 

And it's not even mass transit we need more of. I think it's land use. Mass transit will be near useless in a suburban Houston.

 

3 to 5 years isn't enough time to get any kind of major infrastructure built.  So what will happen?  Will Houston collapse on itself and be consigned to the dustbin of history?  I doubt it.  Employment will move out of the core, closer to where the employees live.  Then it's a matter of expanding the highways further out, where it happens real estate is cheaper to purchase and there's more room for expansion anyway.  Look for expansions to the tollways especially in the next few decades.  Maybe, just maybe, they'll put in commuter rail, too.

 

More or less this has already started happening.

 

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I think it's probably already too late.

 

At the rate Houston is growing, many freeways and surface streets will be pure gridlock in just a few years, maybe 3 to 5.

 

I can't wait for the solution the politicians will bring at that time when they propose a 50 lane highway. 

 

And it's not even mass transit we need more of. I think it's land use. Mass transit will be near useless in a suburban Houston.

 

I agree, I posted something like this just now in another thread.  However at our current growth rates it'll probably be three to five decades, not years.  

 

Eventually we will reach a point of critical mass and even the most staunchly opposed will give in to build some public transit.  Won't be for quite some time though.  

 

Something similar happened in LA, it too that region to get almost 15 million people for them to realize the value of mass transit and start investing. 

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whats left by the time the city gets built out, other than expensive ass subways? don't get me wrong, i would love subways running all under Houston. i just don't see it being practical for our needs. we need to start planning for the future. at least METRO has the Westpark corridor reserved for future use. one thing they've done right...

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It's all well and good that Hines gets it, but inspiring speeches and scaring people won't be enough.

 

It should already be obvious, and if it isn't now, it will be in 5 years. Density around the red line (where it's been for over 10 years now) is really starting to kick. There's people aquariums up and down main street, hugging the course of the light rail. These developers notice, and if they don't, they are going to notice soon. Mass transit opens up the land for more density. 

 

Yes, downtown had their tax write-off for housing in downtown, but if you look at where it's at? All within a block of light rail. That's not a coincidence. Look at where some of the bigger apartments in midtown are being built, look at where they are built between midtown and the museum district. They are built on the streets that carry the light rail.

 

Give it just a little more time, land owners and developers are going to start nudging, and eventually pushing for fixed guide-way mass transit, preferably on streets that are next to their property, of course, but it's going to happen, it's only a matter of when.

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^^^^  This.

 

People seem to forget that when the freeways and tollways were being laid out, they passed through or conveniently close to big tracts owned by Mayor Bob, the county judge, and various of their cronies.

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It's all well and good that Hines gets it, but inspiring speeches and scaring people won't be enough.

 

It should already be obvious, and if it isn't now, it will be in 5 years. Density around the red line (where it's been for over 10 years now) is really starting to kick. There's people aquariums up and down main street, hugging the course of the light rail. These developers notice, and if they don't, they are going to notice soon. Mass transit opens up the land for more density. 

 

Yes, downtown had their tax write-off for housing in downtown, but if you look at where it's at? All within a block of light rail. That's not a coincidence. Look at where some of the bigger apartments in midtown are being built, look at where they are built between midtown and the museum district. They are built on the streets that carry the light rail.

 

Give it just a little more time, land owners and developers are going to start nudging, and eventually pushing for fixed guide-way mass transit, preferably on streets that are next to their property, of course, but it's going to happen, it's only a matter of when.

And this is the reason why I believe the push for light rail may come at just the right time, not too late and not as soon as we would want but right on time. Give it the next 3 to 5 yrs and I can almost guarantee the market will force more mass transit in Houston. The good thing is the bus system is revamping which will be the foundation for mass transit, as it should be. Secondly, the light rail is finally an actual network. Is it as intricate and built out as we want right now, of course not, but the foundation for rail is set and can only go forward. And what's better is it is built in the core of the city where most of our attractions are located. Now all the talk about reaching the burbs with heavy rail is great. IMO the focus needs to continue to be Loop 610. Those burbs will get a clue soon enough.

 

 

 

I wanted to add, that I was in dallas recently for the Rockets game. This is not a knock on dallas, because I will admit I am all about Houston, I love my city. The reality is, for all the light rail that dallas has, they did it so wrong. Convenience first and foremost is key when it comes to public transportation. It is so inconvenient to catch a train in dallas. The reason is because there isn't an incentive big enough to catch a train to outside areas. Second, the reason ridership is so bad is because it makes more sense to drive in dallas than catch 'light' rail from the burbs to downtown. If they had heavy rail to the cities core, much how we are planning, and light rail for more inner city dallas alone, I believe ridership would be better. There are no major destinations to catch in dallas on light rail, at least nothing in comparison to our Red Line. What make's it even worse is the fact the way the city is laid out, they built the light rail opposite of how it's built. I compare all the miles of dallas light rail and all the spending for the network to a person who get's a dollar and just has to spend it, with no afterthought of how it could affect anything. I see Houston doing a better job getting the job done right though the process may be a bit more grueling.

Edited by j_cuevas713
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I wanted to add, that I was in dallas recently for the Rockets game. This is not a knock on dallas, because I will admit I am all about Houston, I love my city. The reality is, for all the light rail that dallas has, they did it so wrong. Convenience first and foremost is key when it comes to public transportation. It is so inconvenient to catch a train in dallas. The reason is because there isn't an incentive big enough to catch a train to outside areas. Second, the reason ridership is so bad is because it makes more sense to drive in dallas than catch 'light' rail from the burbs to downtown. If they had heavy rail to the cities core, much how we are planning, and light rail for more inner city dallas alone, I believe ridership would be better. There are no major destinations to catch in dallas on light rail, at least nothing in comparison to our Red Line. What make's it even worse is the fact the way the city is laid out, they built the light rail opposite of how it's built. I compare all the miles of dallas light rail and all the spending for the network to a person who get's a dollar and just has to spend it, with no afterthought of how it could affect anything. I see Houston doing a better job getting the job done right though the process may be a bit more grueling.

I think that a heavy rail/light rail combo will probably de-incentivize rail even further, not make it better (because transfers just add another layer of inconvenience). I find it interesting that the Red Line going northeast gets the most ridership and it's the only(?) one paralleling a highway. Others tend to meander through spaces where they can get it...the airport-downtown connection is just one example.

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Holy shit we need to get it together.. Traffic eta was 45 minutes to get from 69 to 10 on 610.. That's like what, 2 miles?

 

The west loop is best avoided during rush hour.  Not sure any of the mass transit plans I've seen are going to make a big dent in that, though.

 

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no, mass transit plans necessarily won't (though some creative ones could at least provide options).. but i can sure as hell blame the "Friends of Memorial Park" or whatever organization it was that rallied all the support that stopped TxDot from expanding 610. does anyone know how many acres it would of taken out of Memorial Park? a tiny fraction obviously. the small part of Memorial Park cut off to the west by 610 is completely unused anyways.. just widen it to that side if you want to save every acre of the Arboretum.

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I think that a heavy rail/light rail combo will probably de-incentivize rail even further, not make it better (because transfers just add another layer of inconvenience). I find it interesting that the Red Line going northeast gets the most ridership and it's the only(?) one paralleling a highway. Others tend to meander through spaces where they can get it...the airport-downtown connection is just one example.

 

Transfers with buses suck, because even though they are on a regular schedule, they aren't.

 

Rail tends to be more timely in their comings and goings, so transfers are much easier and predictable.

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Yesterday around 530pm we were walking the Whole Foods of W. Alabama which was bumper to bumper just like Kirby and Westheimer.  A lady in a black SUV was so over the traffic turned left to get off W. Alabama puched it and ran a stop sign.  It's where Kuhl Lipscomb is on the corner of Steel St.  She almost hit us!  She was going towards Westheimer were the traffic is worse!  Poor woman because there is no cross street.  So she got nowhere.  

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When Imma Hogg gave the land that is now Memorial Park the stipulation is it cannot ever be developed.  Is so the land will go back the her estate.  They tried to build the Astrodome there which they could not.  That is why they cannot widen it.  The only choice is to double deck it.

I'm sorry, but I've gotta call BS here. 610 didn't exist when Hogg gave Memorial Park to the city, so obviously that original ROW had to come from somewhere... its probably even been widened a few times since it was built through Memorial Park, it just wasn't until the 90s that there was a big push to stop it from "taking anymore land".. :rolleyes:

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