Archive for February, 2008

The stadium revisited: getting priorities straight

Monday, February 25th, 2008

In the forums, David Crossley asks if there is an alternate stadium site:

Putting it directly behind GRB or the Ballpark or the Toyota Center wouldn’t be a problem, I presume. Those streets are already gone.

That sounds familiar. Here’s the Chronicle from October:

The Dynamo first set sights on land owned by the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority […]

Revisiting the soccer stadium

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Last week, City Council delayed a vote on buying six blocks of land just East of Downtown for a soccer stadium. They will vote again this week. I’m glad that the stadium’s impact on METRO’s Southeast and East End light rail lines has been part of that discussion. And it seems that METRO is looking […]

Extreme transit makeover: Schedules 2.0

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Everybody know that the Web has given us all access to personalized information: directions, book recommendations, news. Transit agencies have started taking advantage of that with trip planners and schedule alerts. And transit (at least somewhat) easier to use.

But technology has changed paper, too. Once, printing meant large production runs. Now, it’s possible to print […]

A complete transit plan

Friday, February 15th, 2008

One cannot run for office in Houston or Harris County without addressing transit. That’s good. But when transit becomes political, it becomes a simplistic caricature. Politicians are pro-rail or anti-METRO or pro-monorail. But it’s rare to see anyone lay out a real transit plan, one that addresses all modes of transit in the entire region.

This […]

Judging rail

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Charles Bacarisse, candidate for Harris County Judge, has had a lot to say about light rail recently. Or, rather, he’s said one thing over and over.

From his platform:

As county judge, I pledge to use every tool at my disposal to demand that METRO either (1) adhere to the clear terms of the 2003 Referendum, or […]

This Saturday: the rail tour returns

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Last July, CTC organized a bus tour of freight rail in Houston. We saw junctions, yards (that’s the Englewood hump above), industries, and neighborhoods — places that many Houstonians never see. Tom Kornegay of the Port of Houston, Joe Adams of Union Pacific, Houston City Councilmember Adrian Garcia, and myself explained what we saw. And […]