It gives people who live in that area access to the interesting places that you mentioned (med center, downtown, Rice University/Hermann Park, Reliant complex). Rail is not only to give easy access to employment centers, but to give easy access to a larger urban region of our city.
There are light rails there but there are also grade separates systems that do the brunt of the hard work. Light rails are complementary to metro systems there. If houston finishes it's light rail projects it could tie in with commuter rail well.
plenty of buses have always given them access to that, and MANY MORE places, too this new rail line is a real head scratcher in terms of location.
Yes, I agree they/them/those have had access to bus routes all over the city, in the same manner as other major metropolises have provided the same service to their citizens. The only thing that we can both agree on is this , if you don't use the rail line you won't value it. I'm sure if you sit down with someone (unlike the Batman Jones rendezvous) who uses it on a daily basis they will tell you how fortunate they are to have it! Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case the user. If there is something to complain about, it's the 745mil that it cost to build! I'm sure the people who approved the project and the people who got the contract to build it stuffed as much money in their pockets as they possibly could, but it's okay.....their rich and influential, so we should probably praise them and berate the peasants... ....... ....... .......
Party at Moody Park to celebrate opening of Metro North Line December 21 http://www.ridemetro.org/News/Pdfs/Events/NorthLine-Launch-Save-the-date112613.pdf
Going to the celebration? What: Metropolitan Transit Authority free concert to mark opening of the North Line rail route. When: 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 21. Where: Moody Park, 3725 Fulton St. Performers: A.B. Quintanilla III y Los Kumbia King All Starz, Mango Punch, Fama, Támar Davis.
Original flyer. http://www.ridemetro.org/News/Pdfs/Events/RailOpening_Flier_en.pdf Why couldn't they get English-only peeps? Discrimination. BooOOoOoooo...
I was responding to the comment that street level rail was a bad design. My response was that most major city's have systems similar to Houston's. I'm not disputing your assertion that most of those cities ALSO have grade separated systems. I'm simply stating that grade level rail is very common. It's true that what makes Houston different is the absence of commuter rail but that is a different issue. (Those two subjects often blend into one topic and confuses most Houstonians.)
