METRO Next - 2040 Vision

[__nevii]

https://x.com/petesfinetweets/status/1786127165827751986

Edited May 2 by __nevii

[mattyt36]

Yeah way too much to expect new Board members to want to “advocate” for transit.

I’m sure Alexandra is having a great time.

Disgusting and undoubtedly 💯 by design. Wonder what the next step of their “strategic plan” is.

 

[hbg.50]

1 hour ago, mattyt36 said:

Yeah way too much to expect new Board members to want to “advocate” for transit.

I’m sure Alexandra is having a great time.

Disgusting and undoubtedly 💯 by design. Wonder what the next step of their “strategic plan” is.

 

You are really fixated on Alexandra del Moral Mealer.

Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock is Metro’s chairperson.  Why don’t you focus on her?

1 hour ago, __nevii said:

https://x.com/petesfinetweets/status/1786127165827751986

Cue the Reddit/Twitter hysteria…and the small contingent on HAIF I guess…

[mattyt36]

39 minutes ago, hbg.50 said:

You are really fixated on Alexandra del Moral Mealer.

Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock is Metro’s chairperson.  Why don’t you focus on her?

It's very easy (and quite logical) to focus on someone who has put themselves and their opinions on maximizing vehicle lanes out there, wouldn't you say?  That seems to be their "elevator pitch": "We're not removing any vehicle lanes--for bikes or buses--in Houston."  Mark my words, we'll be hearing a lot of this.

What has Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock said of interest on the topic?

41 minutes ago, hbg.50 said:

Cue the Reddit/Twitter hysteria…and the small contingent on HAIF I guess…

You think it's "hysteria" to discuss on a message board covering Houston in a specific section of said board dedicated to transit in Houston that METRO has removed links describing BRT projects approved by voters?  You have a very strange definition of hysteria.

[__nevii]

With regards to Elizabeth, she seems relatively good faith regarding transit needs (if a bit misguided). Nothing like Mealer's hostility. The problem is that Elizabeth is seeming like the "religious type", literally putting belief over actual facts and data:

Metro chair aims to boost police presence, on-demand service (houstonlanding.org)

 

 

Edited May 3 by __nevii

[004n063]

I have spent the last several years defending Houston because of its small but significant and hard-fought improvements. But between HISD, I-45, and the machete spree that the last four months have been to every scrap of progress we've been fighting for, I'll be honest - I'm damn near ready to give up on this city. I suppose that's the goal.

[__nevii]

1 hour ago, 004n063 said:

I have spent the last several years defending Houston because of its small but significant and hard-fought improvements. But between HISD, I-45, and the machete spree that the last four months have been to every scrap of progress we've been fighting for, I'll be honest - I'm damn near ready to give up on this city. I suppose that's the goal.

It is — Republicans are cowardly and scared that they are losing their grip regarding state political control. Lots of GOP led positions in Harris county swept by Democrats in 2018 onwards. They are trying every trick in the book to destroy urban areas/make living conditions miserable such as to drive out left-leaning people (who tend to like well-functioning urban environments). This is their dying grasp in attempts to wrestle back power.

That is why they are trying to control elections in Harris county. That is why they took over HISD. That is why they are attempting to push I-45.

Now, the only thing that will complete this theory is whether or not Whitmire is "in on it" regarding the Republican agenda.  Is he a "lackey" of Abbott, sent in to Houston because the state leaders knew that no Republican would win a city race? Or, is he simply a "useful idiot?"

But the wrinkle, is whether or not they truly drive Texans out of the state. Stuff at HISD, I-45, etc might only merely drive Houstonians into suburban counties, or to other cities in the state at best. If the voters themselves have not changed, then popular elections like governor's seat will remain unaffected.

[samagon]

1 hour ago, __nevii said:

It is — Republicans are cowardly and scared that they are losing their grip regarding state political control. Lots of GOP led positions in Harris county swept by Democrats in 2018 onwards. They are trying every trick in the book to destroy urban areas/make living conditions miserable such as to drive out left-leaning people (who tend to like well-functioning urban environments). This is their dying grasp in attempts to wrestle back power.

That is why they are trying to control elections in Harris county. That is why they took over HISD. That is why they are attempting to push I-45.

Now, the only thing that will complete this theory is whether or not Whitmire is "in on it" regarding the Republican agenda.  Is he a "lackey" of Abbott, sent in to Houston because the state leaders knew that no Republican would win a city race? Or, is he simply a "useful idiot?"

But the wrinkle, is whether or not they truly drive Texans out of the state. Stuff at HISD, I-45, etc might only merely drive Houstonians into suburban counties, or to other cities in the state at best. If the voters themselves have not changed, then popular elections like governor's seat will remain unaffected.

at least the crazy conspiracy theories aren't all just coming from right wing extremists.

i45 expansion is being pushed by HGAC outer counties that want to increase their tax base. plain and simple, the only way they can do that (at least as they see it, and with as little investment on their part as possible) is to get TXDoT to make connectivity better for them.

I know plenty of teachers in HISD, aside from very few schools, the district was in horrible disarray. does HISD failure help to further the goals of Abbot and his voucher system, absolutely, but HISD failed all by itself, unless it had been infiltrated by republican spies that made it fail.

Whitmire would not be mayor if SJL hadn't run, was she convinced by a republican spy to run for mayor because they knew that would result in getting people to go vote for anyone other than her, which just happened to be Whitmire?

at the end of the day, the loss of the University line is kind of disappointingly predictable, even without Whitmire involved it wasn't moving anywhere on a timeframe that showed that the leaders wanted to see it successfully built, it was more of a political posture of "look at me, I support this thing, I am all about urban design and multimodal transit options!" when it fact, it was money being spent on a project that always seemed to be 10-15 years out.

I guess on the plus side the East End residents don't have to worry about an overpass in their neighborhood.

Edited May 3 by samagon

[mattyt36]

1 hour ago, __nevii said:

It is — Republicans are cowardly and scared that they are losing their grip regarding state political control. Lots of GOP led positions in Harris county swept by Democrats in 2018 onwards. They are trying every trick in the book to destroy urban areas/make living conditions miserable such as to drive out left-leaning people (who tend to like well-functioning urban environments). This is their dying grasp in attempts to wrestle back power.

That is why they are trying to control elections in Harris county. That is why they took over HISD. That is why they are attempting to push I-45.

Now, the only thing that will complete this theory is whether or not Whitmire is "in on it" regarding the Republican agenda.  Is he a "lackey" of Abbott, sent in to Houston because the state leaders knew that no Republican would win a city race? Or, is he simply a "useful idiot?"

But the wrinkle, is whether or not they truly drive Texans out of the state. Stuff at HISD, I-45, etc might only merely drive Houstonians into suburban counties, or to other cities in the state at best. If the voters themselves have not changed, then popular elections like governor's seat will remain unaffected.

The pattern of State attacks against the City and the County (without corollaries elsewhere in the State) implies a level of coordination that is pretty plain to see for anyone who can put two and two together (and you can put Ogg in this bucket as well). 

I'm sure they had a similar plan for the County (that was the holy grail to regain control of elections), but they managed to lose that one with abysmally poor candidate selection.  They did better with Whitmire because he wasn't nearly as grating and had a D after his name.  Still, the campaign ingredients were the same and let's just they weren't, "I love this City"--in fact, it was quite explicitly the opposite.  I'm sure the same people who had Mealer on "speed dial" have Whitmire as well.  (It may be more accurate to say they had already had his for a long time.)

Sammy's post is very revealing.  Can't say I'm surprised--certainly confirms what I've figured for a while. Community input is absolutely necessary when it is a project he doesn't like--to h*ll with it when it doesn't ("surprisingly predictable," que será, será).  The same sort of arguments that he has made about I-45 are now thrown out the window when it comes to this administration's stated policy that neighborhood preferences can be subordinated to those of commuters:

Whitmire administration dings Houston’s Vision Zero efforts (houstonlanding.org)

When considering community input, Gaffrick said the administration views the community as more than just those that live near proposed projects. That includes commuters.

Sure HISD is in bad shape and has been for a long time, as are virtually every other urban school districts in the country, but there are some bright spots, which you acknowledge.  Here's some questions:

(1) Are there other districts in the State similarly situated as HISD?

(2) Why is the State not "helping" them fix their school systems?

(3) What're the real problems at HISD?

(4) How exactly are the State and Mike Miles going to fix it?  

(4) is the real question.  Let's see where we are a couple of years from now.  I'd love to be wrong.  But I have a suspicion that if there is any movement of the ball down the field it'll be in the opposite direction due to the simple truth that you can't fix an institution that you are hell-bent on destroying from an ideological perspective.

The goal is to make Houston unmanageable so that they have an excuse to "clean it up."  I'd guess their strategy is to make Houston the rhetorical Chicago of Texas.

But these final points, I suppose, are points to be made in a different thread.

[hbg.50]

55 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

The pattern of State attacks against the City and the County (without corollaries elsewhere in the State) implies a level of coordination that is pretty plain to see for anyone who can put two and two together (and you can put Ogg in this bucket as well). 

I'm sure they had a similar plan for the County (that was the holy grail to regain control of elections), but they managed to lose that one with abysmally poor candidate selection.  They did better with Whitmire because he wasn't nearly as grating and had a D after his name.  Still, the campaign ingredients were the same and let's just they weren't, "I love this City"--in fact, it was quite explicitly the opposite.  I'm sure the same people who had Mealer on "speed dial" have Whitmire as well.  (It may be more accurate to say they had already had his for a long time.)

Sammy's post is very revealing.  Can't say I'm surprised--certainly confirms what I've figured for a while. Community input is absolutely necessary when it is a project he doesn't like--to h*ll with it when it doesn't ("surprisingly predictable," que será, será).  The same sort of arguments that he has made about I-45 are now thrown out the window when it comes to this administration's stated policy that neighborhood preferences can be subordinated to those of commuters:

Whitmire administration dings Houston’s Vision Zero efforts (houstonlanding.org)

When considering community input, Gaffrick said the administration views the community as more than just those that live near proposed projects. That includes commuters.

Sure HISD is in bad shape and has been for a long time, as are virtually every other urban school districts in the country, but there are some bright spots, which you acknowledge.  Here's some questions:

(1) Are there other districts in the State similarly situated as HISD?

(2) Why is the State not "helping" them fix their school systems?

(3) What're the real problems at HISD?

(4) How exactly are the State and Mike Miles going to fix it?  

(4) is the real question.  Let's see where we are a couple of years from now.  I'd love to be wrong.  But I have a suspicion that if there is any movement of the ball down the field it'll be in the opposite direction due to the simple truth that you can't fix an institution that you are hell-bent on destroying from an ideological perspective.

The goal is to make Houston unmanageable so that they have an excuse to "clean it up."  I'd guess their strategy is to make Houston the rhetorical Chicago of Texas.

But these final points, I suppose, are points to be made in a different thread.

This thread has defined hysteria.

So you think Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Dan Patrick are aligned with John Whitmire, Kim Ogg, Annise Parker, and Ed Emmett... to basically trash Houston, Texas. 

That makes a lot of sense!  🤣

[__nevii]

On 5/3/2024 at 11:05 AM, hbg.50 said:

This thread has defined hysteria.

So you think Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Dan Patrick are aligned with John Whitmire, Kim Ogg, Annise Parker, and Ed Emmett... to basically trash Houston, Texas. 

That makes a lot of sense!  🤣

Many of the same people that supported the election-denying fascist Mealer in her run against Lina also supported John Whitmire. John Whitmire was also key in the 2003 redistricting, and also lack of A/C in prisons. Whether teamed up with Abbott/co or not, he's just not good leadership material: his actions against Houston's progress are exactly what will assist in the goals that Abbott/co have in terms of destroying Houston (and, in turn, other urban areas).

And Kim Ogg? She went and sent the investigation case to the very impartial Ken Paxton.

Annise Parker backs Kim Ogg, and actually supported state takeover of HISD in 2018.

Ed Emmett, to his credit, did lament the actions of Texas republicans after the 2018 sweep, including how it led to lack of rail across Houston area. Unfortunately, he still supported actions that were not in Houston's best interests relative to the surrounding suburbia (see: his comments regarding the 2023 Prop B).

It's plainly obvious what is going on. You and @samagon have to be asleep to be missing it (either that, or just bad faith actors).

Edited May 4 by __nevii

[004n063]

On 5/3/2024 at 11:05 AM, hbg.50 said:

This thread has defined hysteria.

It seems to me that the thread is reacting with outrage at a rapid spate of major actions that pull back on most of the few crumbs of progress we've managed to put together over the last ten years. I would call that outrage justified, not hysteria.

[Lectro]

I haven't posted in a while, but I am so upset about the direction this city is going. I have been talking to my husband about leaving this city... a city that I have always loved and was a vocal supporter to friends and family. I will always love Houston, but maybe my time here is done. Over the years, most of my friends left to more urban cities and I would love to show them the progress we made when they made visits here. Recently, my really good friends that live in Nashville were in town and were really impressed with the Montrose Collective, Montrose itself and MKT, which made me so proud. They wanted to walk everywhere and I loved it! They have their own issues with Nashville, but I go there often and the amount of construction and urbanism there is very striking. Btw, I would never live there..... My husband doesn't want to leave, but I am in my 40's, and I think, is this what I want for the rest of my life. I know this is by design for republicans, but I am struggling with the decision with leaving or staying and fighting. So glad Molly Cook won tonight!

[samagon]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:25 PM, 004n063 said:

It seems to me that the thread is reacting with outrage at a rapid spate of major actions that pull back on most of the few crumbs of progress we've managed to put together over the last ten years. I would call that outrage justified, not hysteria.

outrage, excellent, we should should be.

some of the connections though, they seem to conjure images.

the problem with venting outrage by making some weird connections that probably don't exist is that they end up changing the subject away from what it should be, which in this case, mobility.

I'm not even sure if METRO has been discussed on this page?

[j_cuevas713]

Recall Whitmire

[hbg.50]

It’s normal when a new regime comes in to pause and reassess existing projects.  Have any of you ever worked in corporate America?  My company would reorganize every 5 years.  

Put the brakes on all the drama and overreaction and wait patiently for the new plan.  Stop all the “Whitmire hate.”  It won’t get you anywhere but labeled a special interest activist.

[Kinglyam]

1 hour ago, hbg.50 said:

It’s normal when a new regime comes in to pause and reassess existing projects.  Have any of you ever worked in corporate America?  My company would reorganize every 5 years.  

Put the brakes on all the drama and overreaction and wait patiently for the new plan.  Stop all the “Whitmire hate.”  It won’t get you anywhere but labeled a special interest activist.

Can you provide some indications of such projects halted by previous administrations? Particularly those that put millions of Federal dollars at risk?

I've been in Houston since Brown, and I don't recall White, Parker, or Turner halting projects of the previous administration while they "reassess" them. Much less take a sledgehammer to them right out of the gate like Whitmire has some, like the Houston Avenue median project. There was no "reassessment" there. It was ripped up within about a month of his inauguration.

[Houston19514]

38 minutes ago, Kinglyam said:

Can you provide some indications of such projects halted by previous administrations? Particularly those that put millions of Federal dollars at risk?

I've been in Houston since Brown, and I don't recall White, Parker, or Turner halting projects of the previous administration while they "reassess" them. Much less take a sledgehammer to them right out of the gate like Whitmire has some, like the Houston Avenue median project. There was no "reassessment" there. It was ripped up within about a month of his inauguration.

IIRC, Mayor Turner halted the Bush Airport international terminal expansion plan in its tracks shortly after taking office.

[hbg.50]

19 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

IIRC, Mayor Turner halted the Bush Airport international terminal expansion plan in its tracks shortly after taking office.

Didn't Hidalgo put the brakes on Astrodome renovation plans after she beat Emmett? 

Seriously, it happens all the time. 

[samagon]

2 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

It’s normal when a new regime comes in to pause and reassess existing projects.  Have any of you ever worked in corporate America?  My company would reorganize every 5 years.  

Put the brakes on all the drama and overreaction and wait patiently for the new plan.  Stop all the “Whitmire hate.”  It won’t get you anywhere but labeled a special interest activist.

putting a project in the planning stages on pause is one thing. walking back a project that was 99% completed is something completely different. as is deciding to stop a project that is so far down the tracks that phase 1 is nearly complete and they are planning to break ground on phase 2 later this year.

18 minutes ago, hbg.50 said:

Didn't Hidalgo put the brakes on Astrodome renovation plans after she beat Emmett? 

Seriously, it happens all the time. 

 

41 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

IIRC, Mayor Turner halted the Bush Airport international terminal expansion plan in its tracks shortly after taking office.

where were either of these at as far as planning and design?

so far as I seem to understand from this thread, this Shepherd project was funded and ready to break ground. in fact, phase 1 is nearly done right now, and phase 2 was supposed to be started later this year.

any Astrodome renovation plans were still in the stage of going from a conceptual idea to designing details.

I'm not sure where the Bush expansion was in relation to breaking ground, but I would be shocked if it was a certain way down the tracks.

the University line for METRO being stopped where it is makes sense to me, yes, there was a lot of money spent, and designs being done, but it wasn't so far down the tracks that phase 1 was nearing completion, and that phase 2 was going to break ground later this year. contextually, that's where this is.

imagine the i45 project, they get segment 1 99% done, then, as they are planning to start groundbreaking for segment 2, someone just steps in and decides unilaterally to stop it.

Edited May 6 by samagon

[Triton]

4 minutes ago, samagon said:

putting a project in the planning stages on pause is one thing. walking back a project that was 99% completed is something completely different. as is deciding to stop a project that is so far down the tracks that phase 1 is nearly complete and they are planning to break ground on phase 2 later this year.

This.

There's no way anyone can say that what Whitmire is doing is normal. Correct, previously, they paused planned projects if it didn't meet their agenda. We haven't seen them completely reverse projects that are nearing completion because everyone knows that's a waste of resources.

If the Houston Ave reversal and now the Shepherd reversal aren't telling you anything, it's that the march to make the inner loop accessible for everyone.... cars, bicyclists and pedestrians.. appears to be over as long as this mayor is in office. And I don't think that's being hyperbolic at all. This mayor is out to make a statement and he thinks he's cleaning up house when he's actually making a mess of things.

[hbg.50]

8 minutes ago, Triton said:

This.

There's no way anyone can say that what Whitmire is doing is normal. Correct, previously, they paused planned projects if it didn't meet their agenda. We haven't seen them completely reverse projects that are nearing completion because everyone knows that's a waste of resources.

If the Houston Ave reversal and now the Shepherd reversal aren't telling you anything, it's that the march to make the inner loop accessible for everyone.... cars, bicyclists and pedestrians.. appears to be over as long as this mayor is in office. And I don't think that's being hyperbolic at all. This mayor is out to make a statement and he thinks he's cleaning up house when he's actually making a mess of things.

What's his motive @Triton?  

[mattyt36]

47 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

IIRC, Mayor Turner halted the Bush Airport international terminal expansion plan in its tracks shortly after taking office.

This is incorrect.  The design procurement was redone due to concerns the prior Controller identified before leaving office--he wouldn't approve the procurement, and the incoming Controller also refused (similar to what has happened recently with Terminal B).  The project got further delayed due to COVID.

2 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

It’s normal when a new regime comes in to pause and reassess existing projects.  Have any of you ever worked in corporate America?  My company would reorganize every 5 years.  

Put the brakes on all the drama and overreaction and wait patiently for the new plan.  Stop all the “Whitmire hate.”  It won’t get you anywhere but labeled a special interest activist.

His certainly implied his plan--not taking away any lanes of traffic for bikes or buses.  Not to mention a decent manager would have a plan (or stated policy) in place before announcing such a change in policy.  Please tell us when we're allowed to have an opinion.  Why all the apologia?

Also, governments are not corporations.  I know a certain political demographic think they are, but they are not.  Strange to me that this is become such a salient issue for Whitmire when (at least by my recollection), it certainly wasn't a salient issue in his campaign.

[Triton]

9 minutes ago, hbg.50 said:

What's his motive @Triton?  

Not sure it's motive as opposed to mindset.

He's used to wide open lanes where cars are the main source of moving people around. But most people live in the loop because they like that there are alternatives to getting around town now. Sure, not all of them are commuting to work on a bike, but they sure are walking their dogs and pushing their child in a stroller down many of the walking trails we've added around the city. If Whitmire had his way, he probably would have thought the MKT trail was a waste of taxpayer's money. Whitmire doesn't see that many of the people moving in are people who want these type of amenities/options and that's why they are willing to spend more money on a home to have them.

[Houston19514]

Some posters need to review the history and tap the brakes on the hyperbole.

[Triton]

Time will tell whether this is hyperbole or not. So far, the pictures not too bright. 

[mattyt36]

17 minutes ago, Triton said:

Time will tell whether this is hyperbole or not. So far, the pictures not too bright. 

Agreed.  I find the feverish defense of all of this quite interesting.  I'd say it's in line with what appears to be his approach to governing, too--he just gets perturbed whenever anyone disagrees with him like it' some sort of severe inconvenience he has to answer to anyone.

The guy didn't think this would be controversial?  Chooses to suspend a high-profile project without some sort of indication as to where he was going other than "gotta factor in commuters"?  Boneheaded political move AT BEST and it shouldn't be any surprise that it's got some people scratching their heads as to what exactly is going on.

[Houston19514]

Millions of Dollars had been spent on the planing and design for the Astrodome work and construction was scheduled to begin only a couple months after Hidalgo canceled it (work was scheduled to start right after that year's Rodeo).

According to reports at the time, Turner "tore up 5 contracts" for Bush Airport's International Terminal Expansion project, after "Phase 1" of the project (the construction of new Terminal C North to prepare for the replacement of old C North) had already started.

[004n063]

38 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Some posters need to review the history and tap the brakes on the hyperbole.

I'm not sure there'a anything I'd rather eat crow about than Whitmire.

[Houston19514]

37 minutes ago, Triton said:

Time will tell whether this is hyperbole or not. So far, the pictures not too bright. 

We don't need time to tell us that it is hyperbole to claim that he has completely reversed multiple projects that are nearing completion.  AFAIK, that description only applies to one project (the Houston Ave re-do).