Houston Light Rail extension (Dallas, Katy: to rent, house, employment)

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Thaskateguy

Am I mistaken, but didn't the Houston voters, vote down Light rail twice already?

Maybe twice before it passed in 2003, although on Richmond they're haggling over what exactly they voted for.

[crbcrbrgv]

I don't even know why people are worried about crooks coming on the light rail out to the suburbs. Houston should be planning to have Rail police and undercover cops on these trains anyways. Most cities do this. Light rail to the suburbs is a big deal. It will transform the city and the metropolitan area in a way that will cause a shift in which politicians and suits make the big bucks. This is the real issue.

[jfre81]

Last time I saw a drunk(?) homeless guy at a rail platform downtown he got cuffed and hauled off. Really he wasn't bothering anybody but he had a way of swinging his arms when he walked, and as he went to walk off from the METRO cop who was asking what he was up to, he swung his hand a little too close to the cop's face. I don't think he was trying to hit him, but it didn't matter.

When I shot those downtown at night pictures for that thread from a couple months ago, that's when it was.

[DJboutit]

Houston was the worst mass transit of the 5 to 7 largest cities in the US. People here are really dumb they want to drive every where in there big SUVs & trucks but do not want traffic or light raill that is funny & sad at the same time

[tijlover]

I'm coming to Texas in Dec. for an experimental vacation, for a change. No car whatsoever. We'll see how it all pans out.

First stop to Dallas to ride the ever-expanding light rail system there for a few days, compare it to all the other future-oriented cities across the country that are laying miles and miles of light rail track.

Then to Houston on Greyhound. Ride their light rail there, which I understand is very, very limited. But I'll use it anyway. Take local buses everywhere.

Increasingly, as I get older I want a car-less vacation and I'm so encouraged by all the light rail systems going in all over the country. There'll be separate trips to try out the LRT in Sacramento, Denver, St. Louis.

Is it possible that light rail will stimulate the tourism industry of the cities that have it?

What kind of vacation is it, when you're dependent on a car and all the accompanying stress? I wish to find me a nice bar, drink my heart out, and stumble to light rail train to take me back home at night. Can't do that with a car.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by travelguy_73

East End and Southeast are actively being worked on. They are knocking down buildings and laying utilities as we speak.

Mass transit is complex in a sunbelt city like Houston. We cover a large amount of space in low density (even inside the loop by urban standards), and have multiple business districts. So while light rail might be cool and neat to have, it is a very expensive transit option to create. And it is fixed, so not so dynamic as housing and location trends change over time.

I would rather see a massive increase in bus options, with dedication lanes for them (bus rapid transit).

Because the plans they have for these areas around the station and beyond would then make the BRT obsolete in a matter of a decade. LRT is will be fine for Houston. It's already near 6000 people per sq mile and that is likely to increase over the next few decades.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I don't even know why people are worried about crooks coming on the light rail out to the suburbs. Houston should be planning to have Rail police and undercover cops on these trains anyways. Most cities do this. Light rail to the suburbs is a big deal. It will transform the city and the metropolitan area in a way that will cause a shift in which politicians and suits make the big bucks. This is the real issue.

I like the current light rail inside the loop as it is now. In fact, it's perfect for the loop. But if they run the system in the suburbs like they run it inside the loop, it would be a disaster. I think for suburbs like Katy, Sugarland, Pasadena, and Spring, heavy rail or commuter rail should be the option. But Houston's light rail is nothing more than a 21st century version of a trolley. It's not a rapid transit system mostly because they run on the street.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by tstone

Hmm, after riding a Metro bus for downtown jury duty (and then back midday), I fail to see much need for SE-suburban rail for awhile, monetarily speaking.

I agree with you completely....







....if we're only talking about midday business travel between downtown and Clear Lake. It exists to take people to and from work, nothing else. There's nothing really of interest in CL, other than NASA I guess, to anyone living in inner Houston unless they happen to work there (e.g. at NASA).

If we're looking at a bigger picture, such as taking that rail and extending it to Galveston, then we have a whole new dynamic will be thrown in there. It will stop being just a way to get to and from work, and be actually used for (omg!) leisure travel. That's a totally foreign concept in a metro that tends to view the worthiness of any transportation infrastructure based solely on what gets people to and from work.

Along the way you'd also connect people who work in places like Texas City but want to live in CL or League City. Texas City has a bus system (kinda) now that could tie into that down the road. I'd use it to go visit people down there, and use it to go to Galveston. I don't really care for driving or parking in Galveston but with a rail line that wouldn't be an issue. It'd help Houston too, because it would connect it with the area's biggest tourist magnet.

Oh, and wouldn't it be nice to have a way of moving people out of the way of a hurricane that doesn't contribute to the kind of gridlock we saw for Rita? I think so.

[Thaskateguy]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Houston was the worst mass transit of the 5 to 7 largest cities in the US. People here are really dumb they want to drive every where in there big SUVs & trucks but do not want traffic or light raill that is funny & sad at the same time

But it is so much fun, to race the toy train down main street.

[dv1033]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

Houston was the worst mass transit of the 5 to 7 largest cities in the US. People here are really dumb they want to drive every where in there big SUVs & trucks but do not want traffic or light raill that is funny & sad at the same time

Except that Houston has the best mass transit in Texas and probably in the top or near the very top in the entire South. Rail doesn't always equal high usage.

Originally Posted by Thaskateguy

But it is so much fun, to race the toy train down main street.

Toy train? Are you referring to the toy train that carries the second most riders per mile in the USA?