METRO releases rendering of METRORapid Katy fwy line (Houston, Dallas: renting, hotel)

[Double L]

Houston does a good job of planning its public transportation but we are so far behind on public transportation that it will be hard to catch up. We need to put a lot more resources into public transportation.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Correct. In my opinion, this line is a game changer for 1 reason and 1 reason only. And that’s that the 3 business districts (Downtown, TMC, and Uptown) will each be connected along with Rice, UH, TSU, UST and other cc campuses plus the general recreation areas. This alone doesn’t solve the public transport problem but it’s a step in the right direction that may/should be continuously expanded. Being in a bad spot is one thing. Being at a standstill is another.

Agree with Dopo on the 2 separate tiers. One being buses that stop in every corner and the other one being the LRT/BRT system which needs to be expanded.

The University/Blue Line is on the table too now, they recently hired AECOM to engineer it.

The problem with this plan and the Uptown line is theyre butchered plans from what voters originally approved over ten years ago. All these lines would be way better with rail, and have higher ridership because of it. The BRT plan is okay but using BRT as the primary mode is not going to excite new transit riders. BRT should be used as a supplement to a rail system. New transit riders prefer rail overwhelmingly to buses.

I wish there was a way those plans could come back. This Inner Katy lane was supposed to extend all the way out to the Energy Corridor.

[airdrawndagger]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

The problem with this plan and the Uptown line is theyre butchered plans from what voters originally approved over ten years ago. All these lines would be way better with rail, and have higher ridership because of it. The BRT plan is okay but using BRT as the primary mode is not going to excite new transit riders. BRT should be used as a supplement to a rail system. New transit riders prefer rail overwhelmingly to buses.

I wish there was a way those plans could come back. This Inner Katy lane was supposed to extend all the way out to the Energy Corridor.

Agree. It would have been great if they could have used some space where the HOT/HOV lanes currently are located for light rail - connecting ITL neighborhoods to Energy Corridor and other job-centric locations in west Houston.

[houston-nomad]

the "we don't need it" argument ignores the future. We cannot manage with only roads and cars. The city will continue to expand and public transit will be necessary.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

The problem with this plan and the Uptown line is theyre butchered plans from what voters originally approved over ten years ago. All these lines would be way better with rail, and have higher ridership because of it. The BRT plan is okay but using BRT as the primary mode is not going to excite new transit riders. BRT should be used as a supplement to a rail system. New transit riders prefer rail overwhelmingly to buses.

I wish there was a way those plans could come back. This Inner Katy lane was supposed to extend all the way out to the Energy Corridor.

Appreciate this well descripted response. Here's what I agree and disagree with.

Agree:

-This line can be better with rail and should've already been rolled out. In fact, supposing that the system rolls out as planned, this is the best designed system METRO has launched yet. It's almost fully elevated including the stations. It is a bit weird that they go to that extent and launch it as a BRT line rather than LRT.

-Long list of butchered plans - enough said.

Disagree:

- You mention that BRT should be used as a complimentary service to light rail. This line is infact a complimentary service to LRT. The current Uptown line isn't connected to the light rail system, but it was built with the future in mind of there eventually being that connection (which is the purpose of this line).

- Not exciting riders - To be fair, as a car centric city (including other car centric cities that are ahead of us), public transport won't be the exciting route for a long time. As mentioned above, the metro maps will show both the LRT and BRT systems because they are integrating as a combined system with longer separated stations rather than bus stops of every corner. Those who do enjoy riding the current rail will see it on the system map so it wouldn't be just another bus route. A TMC worker/resident/visitor who would use the LRT system and would want to go to the Galleria would be more willing to get there in this system than hopping off the LRT for a long bus ride that isn't even on the system map.

- Plans to extend to EC - This plan still exists but in further phases. The more important phase is the focus first.

Other things to note:

-Future transportation technology. Automation + separated lanes may integrate very well with BRT in the future.

Overall, I don't think a single person with any sense would say that we are where we should be in terms of public transport. But just because we aren't there doesn't mean that we shouldn't work towards that. The positive comes when steps are taken to improve. After the opening of the Green and Purple lines, METRO was basically at a complete halt of any major progress. There was that one occasion where they redid the bus lines, but this was logical route improvement rather than infrastructure improvement. Connecting Uptown to the LRT system is a big step forward that should constantly improve. There may be some point in the future when rail can take you Uptown, but you can't get there without progress.

The idea of converting BRT lanes to rail is occasionally brought up and if it does happen (minimum of 10 years down the line but probably more), it is made possible by using segments and cross bridges.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I honestly will never understand the “this is too nice and expensive” argument. Being cheap and poorly done is even worse of an argument. Yes people will always find a way to complain but that one is the worst of the bunch.

And logically, if these lanes were built with lanes shared along the Katy Freeway, good luck explaining how in the world this would be safe. Putting stations along a freeway? Really?

The Silver Line Uptown’s poor ridership is mostly attributed to being unconnected to the light rail (hence why this project is a thing)

Actually the Silver Line's poor ridership is mostly attributed to the low commuting to offices since the pandemic. The line's main purpose to begin with was connecting Uptown's offices to P&R routes via NWTC and the new transit center at Westpark. Many of Uptown's commercial property owners were concerned that now that their tenants' employees predominately live so far out of town, Uptown would be less appealing as a commute location because it's relatively hard to get to compared to some other locations in the suburbs and didn't have good commuter transit.

The pandemic has thrown that all into question, because the amount of daily office commuting is unknown going forward. Same for Downtown - P&R numbers are still down substantially.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Actually the Silver Line's poor ridership is mostly attributed to the low commuting to offices since the pandemic. The line's main purpose to begin with was connecting Uptown's offices to P&R routes via NWTC and the new transit center at Westpark. Many of Uptown's commercial property owners were concerned that now that their tenants' employees predominately live so far out of town, Uptown would be less appealing as a commute location because it's relatively hard to get to compared to some other locations in the suburbs and didn't have good commuter transit.

The pandemic has thrown that all into question, because the amount of daily office commuting is unknown going forward. Same for Downtown - P&R numbers are still down substantially.

From my point of view, the biggest bulk of the Silver Line will ultimately come from LRT riders headed Uptown in the long run. Would be hard to believe otherwise.

[LocalPlanner]

Those of you saying everything BRT should be LRT, I don't get you. The service quality is the same, especially since METRO's using BRT buses and platforms with same-elevation boarding (i.e., you can just wheel a stroller right on, or a wheelchair) and multi-door boarding. With BRT, METRO gets to build a lot more service because it doesn't have to buy train sets or the electrical system. I'd rather get MORE of the same quality of service as LRT. A principal reason the University Line wasn't built was that upgrading the Green and Purple Lines to LRT from BRT depleted the available funds, there's wasn't enough left for University.

What's the fixation with extending the LRT to the airport? If the Red Line was extended, since it's deployed as enhanced streetcar (not grade-separated high-speed heavy rail), it would take over an hour to get from IAH to Downtown, and probably another 30 to 45 minutes if you're going on to Uptown (the largest concentration of hotels). How many folks would do that vs. other options? The Purple Line extension to Hobby won't be that much better, though it will be convenient for UH travelers I guess.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

These are the hard lines that METRO announced in December. In phases of course. The Inner Katy route isn’t shown here, only the light rail system and the silver line in Uptown. But the Inner Katy Line’s construction is planned before this system begins, so I’m not sure which segment will break ground first.

Also, since Dopo asked about a map for the Inner Katy BRT route, I’ll post it too.

And as your map shows, the line avoids Afton Oaks. This is good, not just because of neighborhood opposition but also because the transit center is at Westpark. There's really nothing in Afton Oaks that would enhance ridership anyway.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Double L

Houston does a good job of planning its public transportation but we are so far behind on public transportation that it will be hard to catch up. We need to put a lot more resources into public transportation.

I’ll agree with that when one of the rail lines goes all the way to one of the airports