METRO Next - 2040 Vision

[Houston19514]

FWIW, from what I know, I don't agree with the Mayor's pending moves regarding the Shepherd/Durham pair.  But no minds will be changed by engaging in hyperbole and hate.

Also, with regard to Metro and the University Line (and other BRT projects), it is indeed hyperbole to say they have been canceled. They are still shown on Metro's website as part of their plans.

[mattyt36]

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

FWIW, from what I know, I don't agree with the Mayor's pending moves regarding the Shepherd/Durham pair.  But no minds will be changed by engaging in hyperbole and hate.

Also, with regard to Metro and the University Line (and other BRT projects), it is indeed hyperbole to say they have been canceled. They are still shown on Metro's website as part of their plans.

"Hyperbole and hate"?!  Give me a break!  Now THAT sounds comically hyperbolic to me to describe back-and-forth on an Internet message board about TRANSIT IN HOUSTON.  What words would you use to describe the I-45 thread?!

For anyone who can put two and two together, there's more than enough reason to speculate that the projects in their current form will be canceled.  Having conceptual descriptions of projects approved by voters on METRO's website was removed because they were seen to "advocate" for transit, for God's sake.  C'mon.

And, BTW, he can set the record straight any time he wants!  He doesn't seem to want to do so, however.

[AcresMansions]

SJL wouldn't have had time to tear up Turner's legacy with all the photo ops 🥲

[hbg.50]

53 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

Hyperbole and hate"?!  Give me a break!  Now THAT sounds comically hyperbolic to me to describe back-and-forth on an Internet message board about TRANSIT IN HOUSTON.

For my part my sentiments are also informed by Twitter posts of people who frequent this board, and yes I think calling the mayor a clown and an idiot (among other things) is rather hateful (and immature and disrespectful).

56 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

For anyone who can put two and two together, there's more than enough reason to speculate that the projects in their current form will be canceled

"In their current form" being the operative words.  The mayor has been clear he will not eliminate lanes (otherwise known as road diets) and he will standardize 6 ft sidewalks.   Hopefully the mobility designers can get creative with their updated designs.

[Triton]

3 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

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).

I think you should reread what I wrote. 

I think with Whitmire the general trend of making projects more bike and pedestrian oriented is over while he's in office. That's what I meant by I don't think this is hyperbolic what I'm saying. I have serious doubts now that the city will press forward with the bike lane improvements along N Main and Airline in the Northside and Heights area, and there's a stronger possibility that he'll reverse bike lane improvements if it improves vehiclar congestion. That's what I meant by, time will tell. He keeps saying that these projects are paused and under review for the good of the city but his actions indicate he's focused on improving things for one group... Drivers. 

Look, he could surprise me but so far he's been a major disappointment that I voted for. 

[editor]

If you two want to continue to talk about the mayor, take it to the Politics area.  

Even better — since the conversation is being monopolized by just two people, take it to PM so everyone else can discuss the topic of the thread.

[samagon]

16 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

What's his motive @Triton?  

I know you asked Triton specifically, and not the whole class, but it seems to me that the simplest answer is usually the right one.

that he's appeasing the people who donated to his campaign.

I mean, sure we can get all conspiracy theory about why he would go from having this stance in 2019:

"The reconstruction of Shepherd and Durham are critical components of the transportation infrastructure for the City of Houston, the Houston-Galveston region, and ultimately, the State of Texas," Whitmire wrote on June 24, 2019

to the stance he has now where he wants to stop the project after half of it is complete, but simply, donors speak loud.

and to be sure, he doesn't care about Jane VanSanten's $4 contribution, it's more the $30,000 donation from TAR, $20,000 from HPOU, Cobb Fendley, ACEC Houston, or feel free to investigate his donations for yourself. https://www.transparencyusa.org/tx/candidate/john-whitmire/contributors?by=electionAmount

[hbg.50]

52 minutes ago, samagon said:

I know you asked Triton specifically, and not the whole class, but it seems to me that the simplest answer is usually the right one.

that he's appeasing the people who donated to his campaign.

I mean, sure we can get all conspiracy theory about why he would go from having this stance in 2019:

"The reconstruction of Shepherd and Durham are critical components of the transportation infrastructure for the City of Houston, the Houston-Galveston region, and ultimately, the State of Texas," Whitmire wrote on June 24, 2019

to the stance he has now where he wants to stop the project after half of it is complete, but simply, donors speak loud.

and to be sure, he doesn't care about Jane VanSanten's $4 contribution, it's more the $30,000 donation from TAR, $20,000 from HPOU, Cobb Fendley, ACEC Houston, or feel free to investigate his donations for yourself. https://www.transparencyusa.org/tx/candidate/john-whitmire/contributors?by=electionAmount

Yeah, I reject that theory…a bit too sinister for me.  Heck, SJL scared so many people, who didn’t contribute to Whitmire’s campaign?

[samagon]

1 hour ago, hbg.50 said:

Yeah, I reject that theory…a bit too sinister for me.  Heck, SJL scared so many people, who didn’t contribute to Whitmire’s campaign?

it's still the simplest answer, and the conspiracy theory just takes a lot more steps.

we're all theorizing at this point. so you can believe what you want, and I'll do the same.

[hbg.50]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:33 PM, __nevii said:

The problem is that Elizabeth is seeming like the "religious type", literally putting belief over actual facts and data:

@samagonbe careful or you will end up labeled a “religious type” by @__nevii for theorizing rather than relying on facts and data.

Perhaps we should all wait for more facts and data?

[BeerNut]

Facts and data?  Sorry we can't have those because of terrorist.

[editor]

On 5/7/2024 at 9:12 AM, samagon said:

I mean, sure we can get all conspiracy theory about why he would go from having this stance in 2019:

"The reconstruction of Shepherd and Durham are critical components of the transportation infrastructure for the City of Houston, the Houston-Galveston region, and ultimately, the State of Texas," Whitmire wrote on June 24, 2019

to the stance he has now where he wants to stop the project after half of it is complete, but simply, donors speak loud.

and to be sure, he doesn't care about Jane VanSanten's $4 contribution, it's more the $30,000 donation from TAR, $20,000 from HPOU, Cobb Fendley, ACEC Houston, or feel free to investigate his donations for yourself. https://www.transparencyusa.org/tx/candidate/john-whitmire/contributors?by=electionAmount

Maybe a worm died in his brain?

[BeerNut]

Metro removing downtown red lanes in downtown Houston, citing maintenance costs outweigh benefits

Quote

Despite advocates saying the nearly 18-month pilot that painted the bus lanes red really helped with both speeding up buses and keeping drivers out of the lanes, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said maintenance of the lanes was too much to warrant a fresh coat. In muggy, rainy Houston, any lane marking gets marred by time in the sun and under constant battering from cars, trucks and buses.

 

[hbg.50]

6 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

Metro removing downtown red lanes in downtown Houston, citing maintenance costs outweigh benefits

 

For those unable to read the article... the lanes themselves will remain and be used the exact same way they are today.  They just won't be painted red.   Instead they will be marked with diamonds. 

[Some one]

Because that worked so well the last time.... 🙄

[AcresMansions]

Removing the red lanes seems like a gesture of good faith working with Whitmire's narrative that "Houston is Broke." I  suppose i don't hate them for reaching out to the mayor while keeping service on the corridor the exact same. 

 

[__nevii]

Remember when the mayor made comments regarding the contrast between Denver Harbor's "lack of sidewalks" and Heights "tearing up perfectly good 3-foot sidewalks for 8-foot sidewalks"? Or when he appeared on Houston Matters and criticized VisionZero for "not being proactive enough?" The quoted text below contains all the same tactics, but with the mask more off regarding his true intentions:

1. He poisons the well by feigning concerns of equitability, with the end goal of undermining the credibility of truly vital infrastructure projects (i.e. Montrose BLVD, Shepherd-Durham, and now potentially METRONext).
    
2. The sown discord is then used as a justification to pause or even cancel vital infrastructure improvements (i.e. Montrose BLVD, Shepherd-Durham, and now potentially METRONext).

Now, there's a lot of detail regarding what's at stake with transit under this current administration. But the quoted text is very telling, as it provides a more visible display of Whitmire's true (R)acist sentiments and contingents (and hence, the real reason he wants to backtrack walkability in Houston). A classic motte-and-bailey if I've ever seen one.
 

Quote

The mayor, however, took it a step further following the Westheimer press conference, questioning whether Gulfton residents actually want access to an area like the Galleria. 

“They’re largely undocumented immigrants. They just want basic services. They don’t want to be part of the Galleria,” Whitmire said. “You think they’re going to be welcome in the Galleria?” 

The comment rankled Rodriguez.

“I don’t know who he’s been talking to in the Galleria that they don’t want people from Gulfton,” she said, pointing out that many Gulfton residents work in the Galleria as she once did. Beyond that, Gulfton residents still are consumers who shop in the Galleria.

“I really thought we were past that,” she said. “What I’m seeing, it feels like the community’s voice doesn’t matter. That all these years that we’ve invested and put into these projects and these planning efforts doesn’t matter.”

LINK Houston Executive Director Gabe Cazares said the mayor’s comments stigmatized the use of transit to only people who need it, a counterintuitive prospect to Metro’s stated focus on getting more people to choose public transit over their personal vehicles. 

Whitmire’s Metro to focus more on roads, microtransit (houstonlanding.org)

Edited yesterday at 05:52 PM by __nevii

[__nevii]

And while Whitmire's comments were the most egregious, they weren't the only concerning sentiments from this current administration:
 

Quote

“Uber has set the standard for what transportation should look like in the future,” Brock said recently.

And in her attempts to justify going against voter approved projects:

Quote

 

The week before the Westheimer press conference, Metro took down the webpages for the University, Gulfton, and Inner Katy bus rapid transit projects. The trio of projects would have added 75 miles of BRT as part of the agency’s METRONext program. That program was at the center of a $3.5 billion bond election approved by 68 percent of voters in 2019.

Brock points to Whitmire’s election last November, where he took just under 65 percent of the vote, as an endorsement of the mayor’s transportation plans. The mayor nominates – and City Council approves –  five members of Metro’s nine-member board.

“The public authorized (the bond), they didn’t mandate it,” Brock said. “The public expects us to be very nimble and expects us to be responsible with taxpayer dollars.”

Brock is reluctant to issue the voter-approved bonds for projects that Metro leaders see as questionable investments. If the agency does issue the bonds, she said the money would be used for public safety, infrastructure, and microtransit.

 

 

[Some one]

Racist dog-whistle aside, what's the point of having referendums for public transit if our politicians and board members keep throwing them away because they don't like it? And I don't get Brock citing Whitmire's election as proof that the voters don't want it. More people voted yes on METRONext than they did for Whitmire (for the RUNOFF ELECTION I might add). It's not fair to say Whitmire's victory means that people don't want METRONext anymore cause that seems more like an apple-to-orange comparison. It also seems like a gross misuse of public funds that we voted for, not to mention the METRONext plan already accounted for microtransit and increased security/safety in the first place.

Seriously have any other cities been screwed over as much as Houston has when it comes to public transportation? We can't even get BRT for pete's sake!

ETA: It really feels like Houston is regressing back to the 20th century with Bob Lanier 2.0 in charge.

Edited 22 hours ago by Some one