http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof Christof Spieler on highways, transit, roads, bike paths, etc., etc., and how they all fit together. Wed, 07 May 2008 13:43:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In my last post, I mentioned that METRO has settled on a Downtown alignment for the East End and Southeast Lines. Here's what I learned from a recent meeting with METRO staff. This is one of the most important segments of the whole system. It will be a major transfer location ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/05/06/downtown-crossing/ This map is a snapshot of an ever changing picture: as METRO's lines get close to construction stations shift slightly, junctions get figured out, and line routings are clarified. Meanwhile, the HOV bus system expands, too. Click on the map above for a large version, or click here to download pdfs: ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/05/03/the-map-keeps-changing/ KUHF reports that the city, the Gulf Coast Freight Rail District, and METRO have reached an agreement on a grade separation on Harrisburg to allow the East End Line to reach Magnolia Transit Center. City Councilman James Rodriguez: "This whole Metro Solutions works if you're able to connect to a major ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/04/07/coordinated-planning-on-harrisburg-for-real/ Note: this is an April Fool's blog post. The outcome described occurred only in an alternate universe where transportation agencies coordinate their planning. The problems are real; the solutions -- for now -- are not. In October of 2007, METRO realized they had a problem. The Federal Railroad Administration has long ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/04/01/coordinated-planning-on-harrisburg/ The Chronicle reports this morning that METRO's plan to stop the East End Line 6 blocks short of the Magnolia Transit Center -- rumored for months -- now seems to be official. Essentially, METRO wants to save the cost of an overpass over a freight rail line (the East Belt ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/03/28/temporarily-inconvenient-on-the-east-end/ 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 ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/25/230/ 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 ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/23/revisiting-the-soccer-stadium/ 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. ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/23/extreme-transit-makeover-schedules-20/ 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 ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/15/a-complete-transit-plan/ 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 ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/11/judging-rail/ 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 ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/02/11/this-saturday-the-rail-tour-returns/ Not all bus lines are the same. On a METRO map, the 25 Richmond and the 34 Montrose are represented by the same kind of line. But the 25 comes every 15 minutes on weekdays and 20 on weekends; the 34 comes only every 45 minutes on a weekday and ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/27/better-bus/ 2008 started with a new development in an old Houston debate. Former mayor Bob Lanier and several real estate developers have organized a PAC to fight increased building regulations, speaking to city council and bringing in anti-planning speakers. It might seem as if old battle lines have been re-drawn, and ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/21/six-things-you-might-not-know-about-planning/ It's not enough to put a rail line in the right street; it has to be done right, too. That involves a lot of "little" decisions that add up to a big deal: station designs, crosswalk locations, left turn lanes, sidewalk widths, street trees. If you do that right, you ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/14/what-should-richmond-look-like/ This is the Texas Department of Transportation's brand new Houston District Headquarters on Washington Avenue. Where's the sidewalk? There's a nice paved path from the parking lot to the building, but there's no path at all along the street. In fact, there's a bus stop in front of the building, ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/13/whats-wrong-with-this-picture/ The Chronicle reports on plans for an new soccer stadium just east of Downtown. A soccer field is 300 feet long. That's bigger than a Downtown block. Add stands, and you have a 3-block-long structure. Unless you elevate the stadium -- and that's an expensive proposition -- you have to close ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/10/offsides/ At the corner of Church and Market (above), you have transit choices. To get to Downtown San Francisco, you can take the J Church light rail line (the silver train), which ducks into a tunnel 2 blocks later and runs in a subway under Market Street. You could also take ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/08/hop-skip-and-jump/ It's the beginning of a new year, so it's a good time to look into the future. But here's a caution for transit planners: don't look too hard. As a society, we like to believe in the power of technology to change things. Transit has not escaped that, and we regularly ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2008/01/02/the-high-cost-of-high-tech/ This is the beautiful Hudson River Valley, and on the left is Dia Beacon, one of the most amazing museums I have ever been to. And, yes, there's a Metro-North train. But the train is not what's important; it's just a way to get here to go home or go ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2007/12/24/dashing-through-the-snow/ Rep. John Culberson had an opinion piece in this Sunday's Chronicle laying out his vision of Houston transit. His basic point seems to be that urban light rail is ineffective, and that the answer is commuter rail. Culberson claims: The most important lesson from the transit experiment is that light rail ... http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2007/12/18/common-sense-is-finite-and-irreplaceable/