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Old 05-17-2016, 07:01 PM
mm4
 
5,711 posts, read 3,951,850 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
You're not going to find the aesthetics or the excessive wealth of Brentwood/Pacific Palisades anywhere in Texas. California upscale is a whole world above Texas! Upscale in Texas is comparable to West Hollywood's commercial area on either side of Beverly Center from east Beverly Hills to the Fairfax District, centered along Beverly Blvd or 3rd Street. That's why I love the Westside of L.A. above anywhere else in Western North America (Canada and Mexico included).

Even the suburban areas of L.A. such as Santa Clarita and South O.C. (Mission Viejo area) have aesthetics that surpass Sugar Land, The Woodlands, and even here in Cinco Ranch (don't know about Dallas) due to the planning and regulatory methods in California. You do get what you pay for in California!



There is more to Houston's shopping scene than just The Galleria. River Oaks Shopping Center is currently being revitalized, Highland Village is now at the height of its popularity, and Rice Village is still popular but showing its age. Upper Kirby is starting to look like L.A.'s Miracle Mile area; Tootsies moved from Highland Village to the street level of luxury apartments/condos(?) at Westheimer and Kirby.

Though all this effort may go to waste once Downtown revitalizes and all the suburban mall stores close down and move to Downtown to reduce operating costs to compete with e-tailing and take advantage of the commuter bus network once it is extended to weekends and later commuter rail. So in the end, Houston may be the first city in this century and in the Sunbelt to shop in a Herald Square-style Macy's.
Where they'll arrive on a commuter bus network.
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Old 05-17-2016, 07:20 PM
 
Location: C.R. K-T
6,202 posts, read 11,379,012 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mm4 View Post
Where they'll arrive on a commuter bus network.
Commuter rail as in Chicagoland's Metra or NYC's Metro North or LIRR is coming to Houston. Busses will fill in areas in between the spokes that have less population/ridership. It all takes time and the right leadership to make it happen.

I consider DART as equal to METROrail service whose service area has been stretched too far since light rail is designed for inner city service. Trinity Rail is too much like the old interurbans since it's point-to-point downtown-to-downtown.

But that's what you get with the GOP in the state legislature and in our federal delegation running things--cars, cars, freeways!!! Luckily Houston has stuck to the hub-and-spoke model, while DFW is pretty much a bedroom community now. Public transportation to job centers is feasible in Houston, but not feasible in Dallas since most of the activity is scattered in Legacy Center-like corporate campuses along freeways and major highways.
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Old 05-17-2016, 08:37 PM
mm4
 
5,711 posts, read 3,951,850 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
Commuter rail as in Chicagoland's Metra or NYC's Metro North or LIRR is coming to Houston. Busses will fill in areas in between the spokes that have less population/ridership. It all takes time and the right leadership to make it happen.

I consider DART as equal to METROrail service whose service area has been stretched too far since light rail is designed for inner city service. Trinity Rail is too much like the old interurbans since it's point-to-point downtown-to-downtown.

But that's what you get with the GOP in the state legislature and in our federal delegation running things--cars, cars, freeways!!! Luckily Houston has stuck to the hub-and-spoke model, while DFW is pretty much a bedroom community now. Public transportation to job centers is feasible in Houston, but not feasible in Dallas since most of the activity is scattered in Legacy Center-like corporate campuses along freeways and major highways.
That light rail is doing 65 MPH alongside the traffic on Central. Much faster than the transit anywhere on NYC's MTA, and the MBTA inner 128 suburb system, faster than the Inner Loop Metra network. They're not trolleys. BART and WMATA are designed to go a few MPH faster.

By contrast the definition of commuter rail is intra-regional--as much as half a state. Eastern Mass/RI (MBTA commuter rail (purple)); NYC/Western CT/NJ/northern burbs/Long Island (NJ Transit, Metro North; LIRR); your Metra example; Chesapeake region (MARC, VRE); etc. In all but the rarest instances (like greater NYC), they're self propelled because of the cost of electrifying anything but the densest region.

Dallas has two: a line between Dallas and Fort Worth (TRE), as well as a line between suburban Dallas and Denton (DCTA-A).

Houston doesn't have any commuter rail. It has vaporware. It barely has a local light network--and that's hobbled by street intersections almost everywhere (and can't even find easement to build toward the West Loop, let alone the other side of it).

Dallas will build commuter rail to the Woodlands before Houston does.

Last edited by mm4; 05-17-2016 at 09:12 PM..
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Old 05-17-2016, 09:19 PM
 
515 posts, read 551,730 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ziggyNZ View Post
Great thread. I'm relocating with family to McKinney from Palos Verdes next month. I will, for sure, miss the beaches, coastline and access to all that wider LA has to offer including the climate but the cost of living and housing affordability is getting out of control here (and has been for a while). We looked at smaller inland cities to see if we could stay in SoCal but nothing really worked and arguably why be in SoCal at all when you are 1.5 hours from the beach. After visiting Dallas a number of times you really see a difference in how clean it is (well the parts I was in anyway) compared to LA including the South Bay.

We looked at a load of cities around the DFW area and all had distinct variations in feel, layout etc. McKinney suited us for schooling, access to parks/trails, community etc. And with the $$$ we'll save here we can rent a beach-house in Carlsbad for the month of July and still be well on top financially.....


Welcome to Texas.... Your reasoning is exactly what I thought when I was living in central California. If you have to live in Bakersfield just to be in CA, you might as well move to somewhere else where you can live within your means and enjoy life. I lived in Austin for 15 years and enjoyed it. Now in Dallas for almost 2 years and have began to really like it here too. The only issue I am having now is WHERE TO LIVE? The Metroplex is so big!!!
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Old 05-17-2016, 09:33 PM
mm4
 
5,711 posts, read 3,951,850 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
...most of the activity is scattered in Legacy Center-like corporate campuses along freeways and major highways.
Then it sure is a good thing that all of Dallas's freeways that radiate from downtown were built immediately adjacent to those old rail corridors DART now uses in large measure.

Speaking of Legacy, there's actually rail easement that can get a train from Farmers Branch, off the Carrollton line, then straight up north parallel to Dallas North Tollway and past Sam Rayburn. It comes within a 30 minute walk east to JCP, Toyota N.A., etc.

All DART would have to do is fix up the tracks and put a DCTA-A- or Austin Capitol-like self propelled diesel on it, if the demand was there.

There's more track east of there to Central Expressway, but the practicality of that to meet toward the north would be debatable (though it's been mentioned as an airport crosstown line from Plano).


Everyone's got their fingers crossed that Metro can get from Main Street to West Loop South someday. Westheimer, Alabama, Richmond, are, I don't know, kind of crowded.

Last edited by mm4; 05-17-2016 at 10:22 PM..
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Old 05-17-2016, 10:17 PM
 
Location: C.R. K-T
6,202 posts, read 11,379,012 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mm4 View Post
Then it sure is a good thing that all of Dallas's freeways that radiate from downtown were built immediately adjacent to those old rail corridors DART now uses in large measure.
But all those suburban campuses are counter productive to public transit. They were designed for cars. It's a long walk from the street to the building in the middle of the estate and then from the entrance to your office. Commuting from another suburb on a different spoke by car/transit or reverse-commuting from the city on transit is a pain in the rear!

Houston is mostly centered inside the Loop, which makes commuter bus/rail easy to use and implement. Downtown, Uptown Galleria, Texas Medical Center, and Greenway Plaza are the largest employment districts respectively. In fact, all the space in the TMC is as large as Downtown Dallas.

Quote:
Speaking of Legacy, there's actually rail easement that can get a train from Farmers Branch, off the Carrollton line, then straight up north parallel to Dallas North Tollway and past Sam Rayburn. It comes within a 30 minute walk east to JCP, Toyota N.A., etc.
30 minute walk? Are you kidding, in this heat/cold? At least be decent enough to have shuttles. Even with a shuttle, it's not as convenient as a short walk from the station to the building and contributes another transfer to the commute.

Quote:
All DART would have to do is fix up the tracks and put a DCTA-A- or Austin Capitol-like self propelled diesel on it, if the demand was there.
You might have to fix the tracks so they are not on street level on Pacific/Bryan. Aknard Station looks like Main Street Square. The you would have to connect the line to a proper terminus/hub at Union Station. Too bad Dallas County is small, the DCTA-A stops at the county line and you have to connect at Trinity Mills. It's all about one seat rides!

Too bad Texas does not allow multiple-county transit authorities. In Harris County, that would have been a direct route to Downtown since it's a big county.

Quote:
Everyone's got their fingers crossed that Metro can get from Main Street to West Loop South someday. Westheimer, Alabama, Richmond, are, I don't know, kind of crowded.
It will be a quieter, residential neighborhood once the commercial activity consolidates in Downtown.

As it stands now, Texas is behind in upscale. Oddly Houston may be the most likely candidate to have a Chicago-style Downtown (just add commuter rail), while Dallas is still trying to reach Oklahoma.
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Old 05-17-2016, 10:27 PM
 
8,011 posts, read 3,572,650 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post

30 minute walk? Are you kidding, in this heat/cold? At least be decent enough to have shuttles. Even with a shuttle, it's not as convenient as a short walk from the station to the building and contributes another transfer to the commute.
lol, well if they have showers at work, might be ok
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Old 05-17-2016, 10:41 PM
 
18,499 posts, read 7,254,362 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamezz View Post
That poster was absolutely right. Highland Park is certainly wealthy, but it doesn't make the list of the zip codes with highest gross average income.

New York, NY 10153: $10,284,676
New York, NY 10274: $5,035,236
New York, NY 10106: $5,001,180
New York, NY 10152: $4,303,444
New York, NY 10179: $4,172,93
New York NY 10005: $2,864,801
New York, NY 10004: $1,506,169
New York, NY 10103: $1,258,599
New York, NY 10112: $1,079,216
New York, NY 10154: $1,010,233
New York, NY 10020: $1,070,336
New York, NY 10167: $983,031
Give me a break. Most of those aren't real zip codes (you know, with thousands of residents).


10153 is 767 Fifth Avenue. One building! With no residences!


10274 also has no residences! It is P.O. boxes only!


10106 has no residences. Same with 10152. And 10179.
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Old 05-17-2016, 10:43 PM
mm4
 
5,711 posts, read 3,951,850 times
Reputation: 1941
Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
But all those suburban campuses are counter productive to public transit. They were designed for cars. It's a long walk from the street to the building in the middle of the estate and then from the entrance to your office. Commuting from another suburb on a different spoke by car/transit or reverse-commuting from the city on transit is a pain in the rear!
Do you know how much residents of older big cities walk to be able to get around on trains (including in NYC)? You need stations at the doorstep?

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
Houston is mostly centered inside the Loop,...
One would never guess, looking at a map that aspires to this:

http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/chri...agram07-10.jpg

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
...which makes commuter bus/rail easy to use and implement. Downtown, Uptown Galleria, Texas Medical Center, and Greenway Plaza are the largest employment districts respectively. In fact, all the space in the TMC is as large as Downtown Dallas.
And all of the space at UT Southwestern Medical and Baylor is as big as downtown Houston.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
30 minute walk? Are you kidding, in this heat/cold? At least be decent enough to have shuttles. Even with a shuttle, it's not as convenient as a short walk from the station to the building and contributes another transfer to the commute.
It's just to give a sense of scale. Of course there would be corporate shuttles.

Corporate shuttles are used for much shorter distances even on lines in the northeastern U.S.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
You might have to fix the tracks so they are not on street level on Pacific/Bryan. Aknard Station looks like Main Street Square.
?

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
The you would have to connect the line to a proper terminus/hub at Union Station. Too bad Dallas County is small, the DCTA-A stops at the county line and you have to connect at Trinity Mills. It's all about one seat rides!
It's a simple spur off the Carrollton line around FB, before Trinity Mills.

And the DCTA-A doesn't go further because it doesn't need to. It meets a station node in the outer reaches of the DART network.

You do know that DART and TRE are trans-county? Ft. Worth is not in Dallas Co., neither is Plano.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KerrTown View Post
Too bad Texas does not allow multiple-county transit authorities. In Harris County, that would have been a direct route to Downtown since it's a big county.
Well, you know Houston. Growth by annex.

Last edited by mm4; 05-17-2016 at 11:22 PM..
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Old 05-18-2016, 09:43 AM
 
10,097 posts, read 9,929,810 times
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Looking at lower Greenville now. That place looks great. What's that area like? It looks like a fun area with a lot of younger people and seems to have a good bar scene, no? Is it like deep Ellum or an extension of? Seems as though Dallas has more of these types of areas than Houston. Are there a lot if nice eats, shops and venues?
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