I just wanted to take a quick poll. I live near Richmond and I vote "Yea". I vote that way even knowing that construction might tank a handful of businesses along Richmond. But in the long run, I believe it's what's best for the city as a whole.
Agreed. And I vote YEA on Richmond. Light Rail has to be convenient in order for people to use it. I wish it would have been done in Houston in the 1970s when it should have.
I'll pass on the burglar delivery service, but if I had to choose between Richmond and Westpark, I'd pick Richmond. Obviously, the train connecting downtown and the Astrodome has been a fantastic failure. Really, the bulk of the ridership is represented by the people displaced when they cancelled the bus line that ran on the same route. Real estate development has far lagged expectations along the line, and we all know how horrific life in Houston was when they were constructing the train line. The funds should be used to address congestion. Light rail simply doesn't do that. The problem is the big highways -- I-10, 59, 45, 290. It's not the side streets around town.
It sure would be convenient to all the businesses the light rail construction will destroy. All at the cost of something that nobody would use.
I'm all for adding light rail but I'm kind of at a loss as to why they are wanting to add light rail to the locations that they have proposed and implemented. Like T_J said, the problems are on the major freeways trying to get commuters from the suburbs to downtown and other commercial areas. Here's an idea that just popped into my head. With the way that IT has evolved, with laptops, VPN access, email, tele and video conferencing and the such, would companies be more inclined to let people work from home if they were given a tax deduction for promoting less commuting, therefore creating less congestion, traffic, etc. which would directly benefit the environment?
Like all of the businesses the Main Street line destroyed? Can you even name one well-established, already successful business that was destroyed by the Main Street line? Most businesses that crashed along that line opened up to take advantage of it, but couldn't survive when the line's construction took longer than expected. Anyway, Metro has pledged to build on Richmond in segments so as to minimize the impact on the businesses. As far as I know, only one business would definitely suffer due to the loss of its few parking spaces. Anyhow, I use the Main Street line, so I guess that makes me nobody in your book. Gee, there sure are a lot of nobodies riding it with me. Sure, the majority of people don't use it because, duh, it's only meant to be a single piece of a larger system. And unless that larger system is properly put into place, the Main Street line will continue to be underutilized.
Please tell me exactly how horrific life in Houston was during the train construction. I used to go to school downtown while the Main Street line was being built, and the construction didn't bother me at all - unlike the constant, massive freeway construction, which is a never ending source of gridlock, all so we can add more lanes to make it easier for people to leave town at the end of the day. That is your actual horror. By the way, I ride the Main Street line, and I'm always seeing new real estate developments along it. What exactly were the expectations? That Disneyland would pop-up overnight? I work in the real estate field and I know how long it takes to plan, much less build, commercial developments. Do you have any such clue? I think not.
only if people would take the light rail into town than drive that ford f150. lol. its silly to say dont build it because people wont use it. people need to be educated.
I'm no urban planner, but between downtown and the Galleria area, at least, most of Richmond is wider than Westheimer. There's a median on Richmond for pretty long sections, and I don't think Westheimer really widens much until you get past the Galleria. Beyond that, I think it's a wash.
TJ is still debating whether we should have rail or not. He needs to build a bridge and ride over it. That ship has sailed. He's just sour grapes over the issue. What he fails to recognize is contruction, of any sort, is distruptive. See I-10. How many business failed on the I-10 corridor? Hmmm ...TJ doesn't talk about that. Anyway, the question presented is whether the rail should go down Richmond or Westpark. Without a doubt, it should be Richmond.
Rail on Richmond supporters take note: John Culberson will be having a town hall meeting on Thursday, February 22 at 6 p.m. on Rice University campus - McNair Hall, Shell Auditorium, entrance #20. RichmondRail.org is encouraging supporters to show up early, decked out in pro-rail gear (signs won't be allowed). I'll be there and I hope to see a big pro-rail turnout.
