Should I Vote Yes or No on Rail? Houstonians Please Help

i voted early.

i voted for the proposition.

 

Haven't they already started laying track for this?

 

Just for the line from the Dome to downtown.

 

I'm not sure where you're getting the 1% number from. Did you just make it up? Imagine going to a bar in Lower Greenville or Deep Ellum. It's 2 AM, and you're completely sh*tfaced. Instead of having to get into your car, or deciding between you and your friends who is least drunk all you have to do is hop on the DART. Disaster averted.

 

You got that, plus businesses get tax breaks for paying for their employees to ride the train to work. I rode the train everyday for free instead of having to pay $70 a month or more to park downtown.

Every weekday morning, whenever I tried to ride from 6:30 to 8:30, the trains were jampacked. I never rode later than 3:00 in the afternoon, but I'm guessing the same could be said for the afternoon rush hours.

 

I'm not sure what time you're at 59 and 610 but at 9:00am and 5:30pm it's damn near a parking lot! Widening Freeways is not the answer, if you have a weight problem the solution is not a bigger belt!

 

At 2am you'd be SOL since the last trains stops running at midnight. Great example.

 

The rail they already have put down makes it a pain in the arse to drive down Main. Can I turn or not? It says I can't. So I have to keep going striaght forever?

 

And you are a stooge to the Harris County Republican Party and their shrill partisan hystrionics. What is your point?

 

Me too.

 

I absolutely am not a stooge to the Harris Country republican party. I don't even support most local republicans. On a national level I usually vote republican, though.

Nice try, RMtex. Wrong as usual, though.

 

Technically, it doesn't quite go to D/FW airport yet. And it doesn't go to Love Field.

I've had the opportunity to ride the DART rail twice in the last few weeks from the Plano - Parker Rd. Station. Once to go to the State Fair and once to go to a Stars game downtown (actually, the trains don't go to either of those places, but they had bus shuttles from the CityPlace Station and the West End station respectively).

I could see riding the rail every day if I worked downtown or along North Central. The ride is moderately quick (not quicker than driving on the weekends, but I could see it being quicker during rush hours during the week).

The study so far say DART rail isn't making anywhere near a significant dent in traffic congestion along North Central. And it's very expensive to build for such small results.

But it does add some level of convenience that is nice to be able to take advantage of as a commuter.

But they don't run between midnight and roughly 4am from downtown, at least not on the Red Line.

 

Does anyone know if I can turn left across the tracks on main or not?

 

www.texansfortruemobility.com

Rail would be an unmitigated disaster for the city of Houston. No proponent of rail dares to talk about its cost effectiveness. Ask them what the costs of the plan are and they are silenced. What plan is complete without some analysis of the cost? None. They are attempting to sell this plan on the false illusion of turning Houston into a pedestrian-friendly NYC or Boston or some European city. Anyone who has lived in Houston can tell you that it simply won't happen. Rail in Dallas has been a financial nightmare for the city. It is losing money hand over fist -- and asking for more! We have seen the disaster that is construction in Houston. Do we want to launch in on a rail project on a much larger scale, after the utter failure that the current project has provided us? Say no to the toy trains and yes to easing traffic congestion.

 

Then defend your position. My inclination is that you bought into the liberals' propaganda -- propaganda that is based on false images and is sorely lacking in financial reality.

MadMax, please justify your vote based on a *cost analysis* of the plan. I don't think you can do it.

 

Link, please.

 

Since you're unwilling to do the 10 second google on this, I'll provide the link. $80 MILLION DEFICIT. Not exactly the rosy picture many had hoped for.

http://www.dallasnews.com/dmn/news/stories/073102dnmetdart.8251d.html

 

http://www.dart.org/DARTAR2002Financials.pdf

According to their income statement, the DART system has $42,584,000 in operating revenue and $391,053,000 in operating expenses.

Including other sources of revenue and expenses, the DART system lost $69,150,000 for the fiscal year ending Sept. 2002.

That's not broken down by rail vs. the rest of th esystem. But it may be further into the report.