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I'd at the very least be willing to pay 5% more in income tax. Most states have income taxes and I think they could lower property tax and perhaps even sales tax because more people would be paying income tax. 30% and 50% are not numbers, but obviously you're not being realistic here. Please come back when you're serious or...
I hate to break the bad news to you, but you have quite a bit of illogical gumption in this discussion. I'm out. Choochooo
This is why it's so hard to have an intellectual conversation with you. Because you constantly act like a child. Well, when you're ready to have a serious conversation that leaves out the ad hominem, you know where to find me. I understand why you resort to that. I'm just asking you to apply some personal discipline and temper it a little. Or don't.
I believe that light rail should be done in stages. Let people come around to the fact that its available, use it, then have it eventually be a part of the overall landscape.
The Metro as it stands does get decent use, it wasn't a disaster. And where their expanding looks to be promising. Live in the heights or Med Center or Uptown and be able to take the train home or to work. Wherever at night as well.
Although the Chicago's rail lines are in debt. It provides such a central need for so many. Go to Chicago on a Friday night, and see how many people use the CTA. Its ridiculous. And what I found most interesting is that folks from all walks of life use it. Not just the hobo's and weirdos that many anti-rail Houstonians would have you believe.
There were professionals, older folks, teenagers, and YUPPIES.
I think Houston can build that, and provide it without going into debt. I believe our economy is just that strong. And, guess what! They are. Now to build a city around that will take time. Houston wasn't built around the rail line and up until the Super Bowl, Houston never saw a rail line. So it will take time to get used to it, but the 4th largest city without a reliable source of public transportation(which is rail, busses are subject to traffic delays and breakdowns) is a shame. Thank god, people saw that and are moving in the right direction to build the solution. Despite some people's fear mongering mantra's.
I dont know about light rail, that seems just like a silly bet on something that might not work.
how about starting with loop buses thing. The corporations do that in NYC. Even the ferry service to NJ has their buses going around the city. I think Houston downtown has something going (i saw a poster ) about a similar bus service
I believe that light rail should be done in stages. Let people come around to the fact that its available, use it, then have it eventually be a part of the overall landscape.
The Metro as it stands does get decent use, it wasn't a disaster. And where their expanding looks to be promising. Live in the heights or Med Center or Uptown and be able to take the train home or to work. Wherever at night as well.
Although the Chicago's rail lines are in debt. It provides such a central need for so many. Go to Chicago on a Friday night, and see how many people use the CTA. Its ridiculous. And what I found most interesting is that folks from all walks of life use it. Not just the hobo's and weirdos that many anti-rail Houstonians would have you believe.
There were professionals, older folks, teenagers, and YUPPIES.
I think Houston can build that, and provide it without going into debt. I believe our economy is just that strong. And, guess what! They are. Now to build a city around that will take time. Houston wasn't built around the rail line and up until the Super Bowl, Houston never saw a rail line. So it will take time to get used to it, but the 4th largest city without a reliable source of public transportation(which is rail, busses are subject to traffic delays and breakdowns) is a shame. Thank god, people saw that and are moving in the right direction to build the solution. Despite some people's fear mongering mantra's.
The reason all sorts of people ride rail in Chicago is because they HAVE to. One, they don't own cars in the city so the choice is walk, talk a bus, cab or train. Two, if you do have a car, there is NO WHERE to park. And if you happened to find a space near your building, you may not want to give it up if you can simply go out and take the bus. Another reason is owning a car in Chicago is VERY expensive. There is over a 1.00 city tax on gas which takes gas up to near $5 when it's high. Paying for parking in your building can run $150 to $300 a month. And most establishments you would drive to don't have parking available.
NONE of these are an issue in Houston so none of those issues would compel people to take the bus or rail. And another point you left out is,one of the reasons people take the train everywhere is because they ALSO take the bus everywhere. The two go hand in hand. The train is pretty limited as to where it goes. It pretty much takes you from one square grid to another, then you transfer to a bus to move across or up and down the grid. Well, we have a HUGE bus system in Houston and NO ONE rides it. In fact, nobody on this thread is even advocating riding it. So without the buses, you can't have the trains. The two complement each other.
Again this is the problem when people try to compare one city with another. Chicago and Houston are completely different. Same with NY. Hell NY and Chicago are completely different. Oh and one more thing, as a long time resident of Chicago, let me tell you, yes,you will see all sorts of people riding the train and the buses in the white, yuppie areas which are like 90% white. Go to the "other"parts of town and you will NOT get on that train or bus. Houston is not structured like Chicago. There are a lot of poor areas in the loop and the trains and buses would have LOTS of sketchy characters that would NOT make for an enjoyable experience. Again, two very different cities.
Oh and buses do not break down that much and you can build bus only lanes to get around the traffic issue. These are MUCH cheaper to deal with then building out a billion dollars train system as nice as it sounds on paper.
I believe that light rail should be done in stages. Let people come around to the fact that its available, use it, then have it eventually be a part of the overall landscape.
The Metro as it stands does get decent use, it wasn't a disaster. And where their expanding looks to be promising. Live in the heights or Med Center or Uptown and be able to take the train home or to work. Wherever at night as well.
Although the Chicago's rail lines are in debt. It provides such a central need for so many. Go to Chicago on a Friday night, and see how many people use the CTA. Its ridiculous. And what I found most interesting is that folks from all walks of life use it. Not just the hobo's and weirdos that many anti-rail Houstonians would have you believe.
There were professionals, older folks, teenagers, and YUPPIES.
I think Houston can build that, and provide it without going into debt. I believe our economy is just that strong. And, guess what! They are. Now to build a city around that will take time. Houston wasn't built around the rail line and up until the Super Bowl, Houston never saw a rail line. So it will take time to get used to it, but the 4th largest city without a reliable source of public transportation(which is rail, busses are subject to traffic delays and breakdowns) is a shame. Thank god, people saw that and are moving in the right direction to build the solution. Despite some people's fear mongering mantra's.
I wouldn't worry much about the naysayers. They're concerned with here and now. As I said, it's already being built so there's not much to worry about anyway. Nevermind the fact that poor road maintenance is an issue and gas taxes, tolls, etc are not really enough to keep them repaired. I would love to see how much motorists would like BRT when they wouldn't be able to use or cheat the lane themselves and the fines associated with it because BRT would have to use existing lanes.
Yep, I a agree and as soon as Houston no longer has so much free and available parking it should accelerate rail use. Not just parking at restaurants and clubs or your workplace, but when you can't even have a free space at your residence (apartment\condo\highrise) and have to shell out a few hundred a month to park (each vehicle) or tens of thousands to buy a space public transport will become not only more popular, but a necessity for more and more people.
As Houston becomes more dense I could see where public transit can really become advantageous in this city for all people living in all areas. I see new highrises and mid-rise buildings constructed all over. In time we may see some of our precious parking spaces disappear to make way for more living space. Might be good to have more rail before that happens, or it might be a way to take need based action. Right now it is just too easy for people to go everywhere by car.
Even though the Houston area is growing outward, it is also growing upward. Rail out to the burbs will be just as important as rail in the city.
I do think we are a long way off before this happens, but look what happened in the last 5 years....who knows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OducksFTW!
I believe that light rail should be done in stages. Let people come around to the fact that its available, use it, then have it eventually be a part of the overall landscape.
The Metro as it stands does get decent use, it wasn't a disaster. And where their expanding looks to be promising. Live in the heights or Med Center or Uptown and be able to take the train home or to work. Wherever at night as well.
Although the Chicago's rail lines are in debt. It provides such a central need for so many. Go to Chicago on a Friday night, and see how many people use the CTA. Its ridiculous. And what I found most interesting is that folks from all walks of life use it. Not just the hobo's and weirdos that many anti-rail Houstonians would have you believe.
There were professionals, older folks, teenagers, and YUPPIES.
I think Houston can build that, and provide it without going into debt. I believe our economy is just that strong. And, guess what! They are. Now to build a city around that will take time. Houston wasn't built around the rail line and up until the Super Bowl, Houston never saw a rail line. So it will take time to get used to it, but the 4th largest city without a reliable source of public transportation(which is rail, busses are subject to traffic delays and breakdowns) is a shame. Thank god, people saw that and are moving in the right direction to build the solution. Despite some people's fear mongering mantra's.
Yep, I a agree and as soon as Houston no longer has so much free and available parking it should accelerate rail use. Not just parking at restaurants and clubs or your workplace, but when you can't even have a free space at your residence (apartment\condo\highrise) and have to shell out a few hundred a month to park (each vehicle) or tens of thousands to buy a space public transport will become not only more popular, but a necessity for more and more people.
As Houston becomes more dense I could see where public transit can really become advantageous in this city for all people living in all areas. I see new highrises and mid-rise buildings constructed all over. In time we may see some of our precious parking spaces disappear to make way for more living space. Might be good to have more rail before that happens, or it might be a way to take need based action. Right now it is just too easy for people to go everywhere by car.
Even though the Houston area is growing outward, it is also growing upward. Rail out to the burbs will be just as important as rail in the city.
I do think we are a long way off before this happens, but look what happened in the last 5 years....who knows.
Yes, I think it is the fade away of plentiful, free parking in the denser areas that will start getting the masses more interested in alternative ways of getting around (transit, walking, biking). It seems though that many Houstonians are really wed to the idea that every single destination (outside of their workplace) has to provide a bunch of free parking for them. Thus they push for the City to require more on-site parking everywhere, which is an unjustified burden for developers and just artificially makes development more expensive. Also, the thinking that local streets should be reserved for parking by the single family detached residents only. What?!?
Look, there's more folks living in the middle of the city, and they will be chasing the a limited number of parking spaces; we can't turn every parcel into a parking structure. It won't hurt the city's quality of life if you can no longer assume "easy drive, easy park" everywhere in the middle of town. Just walk, bike, or take transit and taxis/jitneys like in other cities.
People don't understand that it makes the city more livable.
Houston is the only place I have ever lived. In my 44 years, I have never used public transportation.
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