Houston vs. Dallas --- SMACKDOWN! (San Antonio, Arlington: condo, university, malls)

[jfre81]

I gathered that linking the airport via rail was meeting too much resistance to the car rental companies - did they placate them somehow?

Point in Dallas' column for rail link to airport....we need that here in Houston.

[Guerilla]

Hobby will be here by 2015, but IAH may take a while.

[jfre81]

Will they have the Red Line or University Line connected to Hobby in 2015? Where have you read this?

Hobby would still be sweet - I fly out of Hobby rather than IAH when I can.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by metroplex2003

Actually, it's briefly touched upon in the Green line video.

Oh that little part. I see. But when does the Orange Line break ground for construction? The Orange Line opens at the airport in 2013.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by jfre81

I gathered that linking the airport via rail was meeting too much resistance to the car rental companies - did they placate them somehow?

Point in Dallas' column for rail link to airport....we need that here in Houston.

Very much agreed!

IT's so sad that the 4th largest metropolitan area in the country (AKA Dallas/Ft. worth), and the 6th largest (maybe 5th now) in Houston does not have direct rail link access to their airports.

St. Louis, DC, Chicago's Midway, SFO, etc, they all have direct links.

We need to start thinking a/b rail. The average mph is expected to drop to 27 mph on the freeways in DFW over the next decade. We need to continue to find ways to expand our rail and add on more "DART" cities.

Well, the good news is that the Green/Orange line will have stops at Dallas Love Field and DFW airport.

[case44]

I give Houston the edge right now because of newer and better infrastructure. The Katy Freeway expansion is going to be great. Dallas is way behind with their infrastructure and their older freeways are in dire need of rebuilding, and they can't get any funds while Stemmons and 183 are crumbling. Houston only needs to rebuild the North Freeway inside the BW, and the North and East Loop as well put new interchanges at the South and North Loops off of I-45. Dallas only has Central and Landry (I-30 West) already rebuilt. They will have a tough time getting other projects done and it will take a long time. And LBJ is going to be a nightmare once it gets torn up between I-35E and U.S. 75 as that mammoth new project begins.
As far as everything else goes between the two cities, food is pretty much a toss-up, and in sports, I would say Houston because the Astros play their games downtown and the Rangers don't.
Some other edges:
Specialty catfish restaurants: Dallas
Palm Trees: Houston
Personality: Houston
Gallerias: Houston (sorry, it's just larger)
Beaches: Houston (obvious)
Lake scenery: Dallas (Ray Hubbard and Joe Pool)
Winters: Houston (mild)
Business destination: Houston (but just slightly)
History: Houston (Dallas wasn't named after a Texas hero)
Airports: Houston (DFW Int'l is larger, but Dallas has no airport authority)
Tourism: Even

So, there you are in a nutshell.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by case44

I give Houston the edge right now because of newer and better infrastructure. The Katy Freeway expansion is going to be great. Dallas is way behind with their infrastructure and their older freeways are in dire need of rebuilding, and they can't get any funds while Stemmons and 183 are crumbling. Houston only needs to rebuild the North Freeway inside the BW, and the North and East Loop as well put new interchanges at the South and North Loops off of I-45. Dallas only has Central and Landry (I-30 West) already rebuilt. They will have a tough time getting other projects done and it will take a long time. And LBJ is going to be a nightmare once it gets torn up between I-35E and U.S. 75 as that mammoth new project begins.
As far as everything else goes between the two cities, food is pretty much a toss-up, and in sports, I would say Houston because the Astros play their games downtown and the Rangers don't.
Some other edges:
Specialty catfish restaurants: Dallas
Palm Trees: Houston
Personality: Houston
Gallerias: Houston (sorry, it's just larger)
Beaches: Houston (obvious)
Lake scenery: Dallas (Ray Hubbard and Joe Pool)
Winters: Houston (mild)
Business destination: Houston (but just slightly)
History: Houston (Dallas wasn't named after a Texas hero)
Airports: Houston (DFW Int'l is larger, but Dallas has no airport authority)
Tourism: Even

So, there you are in a nutshell.

Good, we're back to debating again.

If you are comparing Houston Galleria to Dallas Galleria, yes Houston's is bigger, but Dallas has more high quality malls than Houston and more exclusive high end chains than Houston. But Houston leads Dallas (currently) in boutique shopping (which is also high end).
As for infrastructure, yes Houston's freeway system is farther ahead, but Dallas is changing their freeway system rapidly and are expanding or fixing the areas that you mentioned.

But as for rail, DFW clearly wins on that point. They are doubling their DART rail size and adding 3 new lines on the Dallas side and one new line on the Ft. Worth Side. They are expanding their existing 3 lines (TRE, Blue, Red) as well. Yes Houston is expanding theirs, but DFW is expanding theirs even more.

As for Airport, DFW Int'l is the largest and busiest in Texas and home to the largest airline in the world. Dallas Love field is home to the largest domestic carrier in the US, Southwest Airlines.
Combined, they have more flights than Houston, though Houston leads in international flights.

Sports:
Dallas wins on football, major league soccer, hockey
Houston wins on basketball and baseball.

alright, more later.

[jfre81]

Dude, the football team up there hasn't done anything in a decade. Let's just not talk about football unless it's high school. Then you might have something to beat your chest about.

Hockey - Lord Stanley's Cup kissed Texas soil first in Dallas, but Gordie Howe played in Houston. Remember the WHA. Hockey is a push.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Dude, the football team up there hasn't done anything in a decade. Let's just not talk about football unless it's high school. Then you might have something to beat your chest about.

Hockey - Lord Stanley's Cup kissed Texas soil first in Dallas, but Gordie Howe played in Houston. Remember the WHA. Hockey is a push.

Yes but overall, The Cowboys have the majority market share of fans in the stateof Texas and hold reign to the most number of Superbowl wins just like the Yankees have their hold on most number of world series championships.

And I also would argue that at least the Cowboys have made the playoffs in the last decade, something the Texans cannot lay claim to.

But this year will be yet another year of great NFL action.

Cowboys should be good.
Texans should be better, key word is better....though they're going to kick themselves everytime they see Reggie Bush score a touchdown or rush for 100+ yards in a game.

[jfre81]

Houston deserves better than the Texans and their management. So does Houston native coach Gary Kubiak.

Hopefully Okoye won't be yet another wasted pick on the DL.

And hopefully Romo has wiped the Vaseline off his hands?