Houston Light Rail extension (Dallas, Pasadena: home, utilities, living in)

[Thaskateguy]

light rail--forget about it.

[City Love]

Originally Posted by jfre81

They surely wanted it once gas hit $4/gallon last year.

Basically irishlover, the big thing holding it back is this ridiculous idea that rail is going to give criminals access to where they live that the freeways don't already afford them. They don't understand that a highway is the most efficient bad guy mover mankind has ever devised.

It is true though. The metro bus takes a lot of lowlifes and homeless people to different areas of town where they would never be if it wasn't for the bus.

We have some property in the inner loop and we often see homeless people or thugs get off the bus and just start wandering the streets looking for things to do. How do I know they don't belong in the area? Because my husbands walks up to them to ask them if they are lost. They usually reply with, "Nah, we are just checking out the area."

[bamba_boy]

Anybody know what the order of construction is for the new rail lines? I think I heard or read awhile map that only one or two are actually funded. True?

Also, there is an error on that map. Both the University and Uptown Lines are called "Uptown". The east-west Uptown is really the University and it says it that way in the small print paragraph below.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by City Love

It is true though. The metro bus takes a lot of lowlifes and homeless people to different areas of town where they would never be if it wasn't for the bus.

What stops them from stealing a car to use the roads?

If you have any problems, that's what a 12-gauge Remington's for.

Originally Posted by irishlover

Cool, thanks! No plans for an Intercontinental or Hobby airport run either?

Not currently, unfortunately.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by bamba_boy

Anybody know what the order of construction is for the new rail lines? I think I heard or read awhile map that only one or two are actually funded. True?

Also, there is an error on that map. Both the University and Uptown Lines are called "Uptown". The east-west Uptown is really the University and it says it that way in the small print paragraph below.

East End and Southeast are actively being worked on. They are knocking down buildings and laying utilities as we speak.

Mass transit is complex in a sunbelt city like Houston. We cover a large amount of space in low density (even inside the loop by urban standards), and have multiple business districts. So while light rail might be cool and neat to have, it is a very expensive transit option to create. And it is fixed, so not so dynamic as housing and location trends change over time.

I would rather see a massive increase in bus options, with dedication lanes for them (bus rapid transit).

[City Love]

Originally Posted by jfre81

What stops them from stealing a car to use the roads?

If you have any problems, that's what a 12-gauge Remington's for.



Not currently, unfortunately.

We aren't talking about hard core criminals here. It's mostly criminal mischief. They look for open cars, open garages, easy opportunities.

Some can and do steal cars, but most are crimes of opportunity. Heard of those? If they have access to cheap or free transportation, they will take it and "enjoy" the evening in another part of town. If the train goes to the galleria, that's about as far as they will go. If it stops in midtown, then that's their exit.

Having a train all the way to the burbs is a great idea, having a police offer after hours would probably help this problem. These idiots aren't riding the bus or trains during work hours. They use them in the evening or overnight.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by City Love

most are crimes of opportunity. Heard of those?

Nah, I was only born and raised in that bastion of low crime known as Texas City and have been living in an apartment on the South Side for, what, three years now? Never heard of it.

So, anyway, if bus service is the great connector between the undesirables and the desirables, then why am I getting panhandled in the parking lot of Best Buy off 288? Oh, that's right, it's next to a freeway. Last I checked, METRO doesn't serve Pearland.

That dude had the nerve to ask - nay, demand - $10 from me. $10! I should've given him ten fingers clinched in two fists to the side of his jaw instead. The ones in front of the corner store at Main Street Square will settle for some loose change or a cigarette, and they'll leave you alone if you tell them in no uncertain terms you've got nothing good for them.

[City Love]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Nah, I was only born and raised in that bastion of low crime known as Texas City and have been living in an apartment on the South Side for, what, three years now? Never heard of it.

So, anyway, if bus service is the great connector between the undesirables and the desirables, then why am I getting panhandled in the parking lot of Best Buy off 288? Oh, that's right, it's next to a freeway. Last I checked, METRO doesn't serve Pearland.

That dude had the nerve to ask - nay, demand - $10 from me. $10! I should've given him ten fingers clinched in two fists to the side of his jaw instead. The ones in front of the corner store at Main Street Square will settle for some loose change or a cigarette, and they'll leave you alone if you tell them in no uncertain terms you've got nothing good for them.

You know, I live in Pearland and have never been panhandled. I've been asked for money many times by people who claim to represent different organizations. But never a homeless looking person panhandling. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I pass by 518/288 every single day, and it has never happened.

Inner city lowlifes and homeless, are slightly different than those in the outskirts of town like Texas City, Pasadena, South Houston, etc. The inner city lowlife variants are use to walking the streets looking for opportunities. They sleep under bridges or in shelters, they don't own cars, collect cans and metal from the streets(or anything of value.) Those are the kinds of people that most people protest against.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by City Love

You know, I live in Pearland and have never been panhandled. I've been asked for money many times by people who claim to represent different organizations. But never a homeless looking person panhandling. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I pass by 518/288 every single day, and it has never happened.

Inner city lowlifes and homeless, are slightly different than those in the outskirts of town like Texas City, Pasadena, South Houston, etc. The inner city lowlife variants are use to walking the streets looking for opportunities. They sleep under bridges or in shelters, they don't own cars, collect cans and metal from the streets(or anything of value.) Those are the kinds of people that most people protest against.

Uh, those people are in Texas City too, and I have a bit of a reputation for wandering those inner city streets you're trying to teach me about. Truth be told, most of them are harmless, a lot of them are winos and they're not that hard to put flat on their back if they cross a line. In the great pantheon of the big bad boogeymen of the streets, they're strictly on the lower level.

Actually, since I'm in a direct-honesty state of mind at present, I wouldn't even call what I experienced in that parking lot "panhandling." That would be disrespectful to panhandlers who wait for people to come around them instead. This douchenozzle had the gall to come up to my car window and tap on it like he was a cop or something. So there I was, in the "safety" of my (parked) car, and he's asking me for money. Maybe that's why I didn't lay him out. I completely believe if you tell me it hasn't happened to you. But I can tell you it happened to me.

I could go find the other threads that talk about the supposed crime wave in that part of Pearland, where this would probably be more on-topic. In any case, I'm guessing the guys who (allegedly) picked up some guy at his mailbox at Shadow Creek Ranch didn't use METRO to take him by gunpoint to the ATM to withdraw money, or to drop him off at the Wal-Mart afterward. Not even saying that happened for sure, but if it did, the bus didn't have anything to do with it.

[Thaskateguy]

Am I mistaken, but didn't the Houston voters, vote down Light rail twice already?