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Old 02-21-2012, 12:08 AM
 
Location: Austin/Houston
2,930 posts, read 5,270,843 times
Reputation: 2266

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where was that photo taken Trae? looks like somwhere in Dallas. j/k

stoneclaw/C2H (ComingtoHouston)

 
Old 02-21-2012, 11:51 AM
 
976 posts, read 1,056,898 times
Reputation: 1505
Quote:
Originally Posted by marcopolo2000 View Post
I'm talking strictly light rail. Its been almost ten years since Houston opened its first and only light rail line. Dallas has its blue,red, green and the soon to open orange lines carrying passengers all over the city. At the rate Houston's going, it will take over 20 years to get to that level.
The light rail plan for houston and Dallas are fundamentally different. Houston is attempting to build a true urban core light rail system and Dallas has decided to build a syatem that serves the suburban ridders into the city.

Not saying is one is better than the other but teh Houston rail is going to take longer to plan because of land issues in already established areas. We won't be able to tell which idea is more successful for another 20 or 30 years as the market builds around it.
 
Old 02-21-2012, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Where Else...?
739 posts, read 1,187,768 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HtownLove View Post
That will be the University line. Running from Hillcroft to UH passing through uptown, near TMC and the Museum District to UH and TSU.
ok. I was kinda hoping tho that a proposed track would run parallel to the Westpark Tollway....... frankly, the WP Toll should've been a rail line, but.....
 
Old 02-21-2012, 03:26 PM
 
Location: Where Else...?
739 posts, read 1,187,768 times
Reputation: 662
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trae713 View Post
They already have some of the tracks put in place. Here is the Southeast Line with a bike path next to it:


Trae! *snatches photo* where'd you find this, and are there more....
 
Old 02-21-2012, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Up on the moon laughing down on you
18,495 posts, read 32,943,565 times
Reputation: 7752
Quote:
Originally Posted by Queen Palm View Post
ok. I was kinda hoping tho that a proposed track would run parallel to the Westpark Tollway....... frankly, the WP Toll should've been a rail line, but.....
that would have been an excellent idea especially since west Park was more of a an Industrial type looking street than Richmond, Westheimer, Bellaire etc. But anyway, Some portions of the University line will be on Westpark. Unfortunately it only goes to Hillcroft. I would have run it all the way to Alief.

Anyway, the entire DART rail system has a ridership of 75K. The university line will push Metro's ridership way past that since the heaviest bus routes are through the South West. Add to that the Uptown Line, The North Line, and the South East line and you will finally hear those Dallas people stop complaining about their rail.

Houston is Smart. Houston is building its rail upon successful transit routes or to areas of high activity (Universities, Sporting and Convention Centers, Museums, etc) while Dallas is building rail hoping to create TODs. Like H'ton says, it will be 20 years before we see who wins, but I will bet you anything that the Houston system will win out. Houston is concentrating its light rail in its core and will connect these with Commuter Rail and special Bus service to the burbs. I don't know if it is me, I just don't like the idea of using light rail to function as commuter rail.

Although it is counter intuitive, I bet the TOD's will be easier to develop in Houston than in Dallas. The Dallas System is just too massive in my opinion, and doesn't encourage growth to be centered in the city of Dallas. Houston's Rail is already in areas where multifamily residences are popular (Downtown, Mid Town, TMC, Greenway, Uptown). Anyway, I probably am not too familiar with the future Dallas comprehensive transit plans but from what I heard it sounds like it is heading in the direction that Houston already is in (Rapid Bus Routes, Park and Rides, etc). Non of which sounds like it will help packing people in clusters around transit.

Can someone from Dallas tell us more about new TOD's in Dallas


BTW here is Houston's old rail system map:



Current Plan:


With TOD's:



Masterplan with Commuter lines and Rapid Routes:

Last edited by HtownLove; 02-21-2012 at 05:07 PM..
 
Old 02-21-2012, 05:38 PM
 
Location: On the Rails in Northern NJ
12,380 posts, read 26,848,855 times
Reputation: 4581
Houston needs more then that , it needs streetcars , Subways , High Speed Rail , it needs a huge regional rail system...
 
Old 02-21-2012, 05:45 PM
 
Location: Up on the moon laughing down on you
18,495 posts, read 32,943,565 times
Reputation: 7752
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey View Post
Houston needs more then that , it needs streetcars , Subways , High Speed Rail , it needs a huge regional rail system...
Yes it does, but you must admit that it is quite a start.

btw, I don't see subways here ever.

Too costly. And Maintenance will be a *****. Our tunnels were privately built, and keeping them dry is a pain.

Houston's water table is really high. It was raining this weekend and water was going up threw lawns and flowing down like underground streams.

It is the reason why we don't build basements here. The soil conditions and high water table makes them impractical.
 
Old 02-21-2012, 06:05 PM
 
Location: On the Rails in Northern NJ
12,380 posts, read 26,848,855 times
Reputation: 4581
Quote:
Originally Posted by HtownLove View Post
Yes it does, but you must admit that it is quite a start.

btw, I don't see subways here ever.

Too costly. And Maintenance will be a *****. Our tunnels were privately built, and keeping them dry is a pain.

Houston's water table is really high. It was raining this weekend and water was going up threw lawns and flowing down like underground streams.

It is the reason why we don't build basements here. The soil conditions and high water table makes them impractical.
But they've built subways in the Netherlands and Singapore ,with High water tables...
 
Old 02-21-2012, 06:48 PM
 
Location: Dallas,Texas
6,695 posts, read 9,943,902 times
Reputation: 3449
Two weeks ago I decided to go to Uptown Dallas. (I haven't been down there in years) I was on McKinney Ave in Uptown, I actually saw people walking on the streets (BTW this was on a Saturday at 3 O'clock in the afternoon) . The trolleys were full of people, I was surprised how vibrant and urban the area is. I thought to myself, we should make this the new Downtown. I passed by the Deck park and the Museum Tower and stood there in awe.
 
Old 02-21-2012, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Dallas,Texas
6,695 posts, read 9,943,902 times
Reputation: 3449
Quote:
Originally Posted by llmrkc07 View Post
Well if planning was so great in Dallas why do you have:

Horrible Road System (too many of them) I'm gonna ignore that one, it's not worth arguing over.
A transit system that no one rides (they have more riders who ride Metro than the Dart) But it's bigger than Houston's and still expanding.
Lack of cultural attractions and activities (this alone knocks you off anything Urban) We have Fair Park, Dealey Plaza, The West End, Etc.
"mediocre" arts district (Looks can be deceiving)
No Theater District or Museum District (Oh yea yall call it "the Art District")
Health Care (you guys are maybe 10 years behind with this one) How is it mediocre? Please explain. BTW our new theaters are state of the art.We're currently expanding our medical district. The largest project is the New Parkland Hospital, the new building will be over 2 million sq ft.

These are just a few things that an urban environment has that your so called urban environment/planning lacks. One thing that I have noticed is when it comes down to arts and culture Dallas (not Forth Worth) has a hard time PLANNING that.
I answered in red.
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