How can a Mass Transit for Houston Suburbs work? (Sugar Land: homes, buying)

[HungryBox2001]

I'm thinking of trying to make the Houston Suburbs more walkable as one of my long-term goals (with more side-walks and eventually transit buses)

Now the question ask, how can Mass Transit in the Houston Suburbs (Pearland, Sugar Land-Missouri City, Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands-Spring, etc.) work?

Do i get Metro to make more garages and routes in the suburbs?
or
Do i get said suburbs to make their own transit bus services (besides just P&Rs) in case they don't have them already?

And what street from each suburbs could use a Transit bus route and why?
What should the bus routes look like?
What major places should they stop by?

[ndcairngorm]

I guess you must be some kind of Superman if you can make the West-Southwest suburbs of Houston walkable. This must be one of the most un-walkable areas in the United States. Same goes for the Woodlands/Spring.

Rail is almost out of the question because of the difficulty of connecting far-flung additions in far-flung suburbs. Bus services, to be useful, would need to have a huge car park at the terminus and most major stops because no one wants to walk more than a block or two.

This is because there are no town centers with shopping that everyone visits, and since there is no zoning in the city of Houston, anyone can put a shopping center or a factory anywhere, instead of having these things grouped into a central place of some sort. Thus, you have a thousand destinations for any one suburb to consider.

I wish you a lot of luck.

[gwarnecke]

Why on earth would you propose bus transit in areas that are so low-density and decentralized that:
- The cost of providing service on a per-user basis would be laughably high
- The resulting service would be so inconvenient, relative to driving, that no one would use it?

Better off letting people drive from their homes to local destinations and/or to work, and offer P+R or vanpools to the minority of residents who benefit from it. Which is basically what the Houston area already offers.

Any transit expansion should focus on the poorer and denser portions of the city, where it actually benefits users who are less likely than suburb-dwellers to be able to afford a car.

[Raider Scott]

Walkable?


Half the year it is 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Rains pop up out of nowhere too.


You want to walk more...in conditions like this? LOL

[Dopo]

FM1960-Hwy6 has 6 lanes
Change it to 4 lanes, put a light rail in the middle that goes from Sugar Land to Humble
And Houston suburbs will move up to a whole new level

Doing this would also provide easy access by rail to George Bush airport

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by Dopo

FM1960-Hwy6 has 6 lanes
Change it to 4 lanes, put a light rail in the middle that goes from Sugar Land to Humble
And Houston suburbs will move up to a whole new level

Doing this would also provide easy access by rail to George Bush airport

Overall a reasonable concept.
But it will work only if the light rail is above the ground and trains don't have to stop at the traffic lights. Which is making it too expensive/unrealistic.

[mojo101]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

Overall a reasonable concept.
But it will work only if the light rail is above the ground and trains don't have to stop at the traffic lights. Which is making it too expensive/unrealistic.

good point,cant imagine a train stopping at red light

[LocalPlanner]

Let's work on suburban walkability before we seriously plan transit (other than P&R). Keep in mind that large portions of our suburbs are not members of METRO either and would have to come up with their own $ to fund any service.

And yes, walkability can be a thing, even in Houston. Other southern U.S. cities with climate similar to Houston have walkability that people enjoy, even if it dates from pre-1950. And global cities that are tropical year-round, with humidity and downpours, or are in baking desert climates surpassing 110F are also walkable. No reason it can't be like that here. Shade and rain protection from trees and awnings / porticos are key.

[mojo101]

people who cant afford a car usually do their shopping locally, they may pay more buying from local convenience store,but they do not have the expenses of having a car.
or they should live in the city where there is public transportation,like Sharptown,Galleria area. and plenty of local shops

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Let's work on suburban walkability before we seriously plan transit (other than P&R). Keep in mind that large portions of our suburbs are not members of METRO either and would have to come up with their own $ to fund any service.

And yes, walkability can be a thing, even in Houston. Other southern U.S. cities with climate similar to Houston have walkability that people enjoy, even if it dates from pre-1950. And global cities that are tropical year-round, with humidity and downpours, or are in baking desert climates surpassing 110F are also walkable. No reason it can't be like that here. Shade and rain protection from trees and awnings / porticos are key.

Not to mention, the general people who complain about the heat are white. Houston is very diverse and international.