Posted on 03/21/2006 7:58:02 PM PST by Jalapeno
March 21, 2006, 2:37PM
By RAD SALLEE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
More than 500 people attended a town hall meeting Monday night on the controversial choice of a route for the Metropolitan Transit Authority's next light rail line, most opposing plans to build on Richmond Avenue.
Those who spoke at the meeting, at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer, were each given one minute to talk, and most said they favored a line on nearby Westpark.
Some, like Christina Campbell, said construction on Richmond would disrupt neighborhoods and destroy business.
"The construction will kill businesses and rail will not support businesses there," said Campbell, who owns a hair salon at Richmond and Kirby.
She said she lost a business in the Midtown area when business fell off due to rail construction there.
Others said Metro should abide by the 2003 referendum in which voters narrowly approved a resolution calling for a long-range transit plan including a light rail line on Westpark.
"Metro should study the democratic process before they study a way to get around it," said Chris Seeger, of Afton Oaks.
But the resolution also said that "final scope ... and other details" of the plan would be based on "demand and completion of the project development process, including community input."
Metro contends that this clause provides room to choose an alternative route if that serves the community's needs better.
A few supported the proposal.
Robin Holzer of the Citizen's Transportation Coalition said the proposed line is "a long corridor with different needs, different concerns."
Richmond Avenue is destined to change as its use increases, Holzer said.
She added that a light rail line might be preferable to the alternative.
Mayor Bill White tried to assure residents that leaders are listening to their concerns.
"This is the way things work," White said. "Without some agreement between the chair of Metro and its board and me ... there is not going to be some new rapid transit route in West Houston
ping if you please
Will it make a stop at Dave & Busters?
It might put a stop to Dave and Busters....
Acutally, in a more serious reply...I think the proposal has it stopping at the Galleria.
Lunacy. There is physically no room for it to pass within several blocks of the Galleria Mall.
My experience of the growth of mass transit light rail is that crime follows it where ever it spreads. That's what happened with Bart in the Bay area over the last 25 years.
As long as it doesn't stop at Kingfish. That place has horrible food.
At least you have something that attempts to pass as a democratic process. Here in NM King Bill Richardson has bought a railroad, purchased commuter engines and cars, and is planning to start service from nowhere to nowhere in a few months. And he did it all without holding a vote, bond election or other input from the people. He snookered the legislature in approving it, but the cost, of course, is going to be more than they understood it would be, and fare recovery is estimated to be only 10% of operational cost with the unasked taxpayer picking up the rest. He'll be a fine Democratic candidate for President -- he can weasel with the best of them.
Do a search on Richardson's Railroad for details.
Yea, I've read a number of articles posting on FR about that issue. The backstory to the Houston rail issue is that it was put to a public vote where it was defeated. But guess what? Houston got the metro rail anyway...
The Kingfish on Richmond is closed. I guess we know why!
Since they're not even considering a line that goes west of the 610 loop, this is more about building a high-density downtown area than moving any commuters into downtown.
It's all about building a utopian vibrant city center and having the evil Republican commuters from the suburbs pay for it while not having the remotest chance of benefiting from it.
I'm going to refer to it as Mess Transit as it does nothing to reduce congestion. Removing multiple lanes of traffic only reduces the throughput on those roads.
Main Street is a joke. Buses would have been far more efficient (even if their travel times may not have been as good, because the rail is authorized to run red lights always and Metro buses only when they are coasting on yellow).
The democratic process is only paid lip service in this town. We've had Rat mayors for decades. Term limits forced out the former property developer Metro head Bob Lanier. He's handpicked his successors.
When a Republican enters the race for the non-partisan office, suddenly it is a "partisan" and "divisive" race.
The Comical is decidedly pro-rail and has savaged Tom DeLay for years because of his opposition to Federal funding of Houston's bloated boondoggle ("light rail").
The public who live along the Richmond corridor had better learn to lay back and "enjoy it". Maybe put some ice on that sore later. But the city leaders are going to have their way with 'er.
I recently got a contract to work in downtown Houston and have needed to go there the past few weeks. I decided to take the train.
Before my first hand riding experience, I always looked at it as a waste of money, as a bus on a rail. As a disaster in transportation design siince there is still at least one car/pedestrian accident a week with the thing, and the money spent on it is way more than even it's opponents anticipated.
But now that I ride it, I see there is a much bigger problem. It is a criminal disaster waiting to happen. I road NYC subways back in the Dinkins days, I have seen a dangerous rail system. Houston's is begging to become one.
There is no control of the train. You don't have to buy a ticket. No one ever comes on and spot checks.
The trains are very insecure. There is a lot of room to walk around, yet the cars are small and you cannot change cars. There is only one employee on the train, and that is the driver. The driver is isolated to where he/she can not really see what is going on on the train. The second train car is VERY isolated from any Metro representatives, as there are rarely any on the entire line.
The train passes through a bad area of town. Homeless people get on and off, beggars move from station to station. You see a lot of people sitting down, on the platform, obviously with no where to go, and they don't get on the train when it comes.
Even worse, I have seen gangs displaying their colors on the train. Groups of threes usually. This is not good. I predict we will see a rape or a multi-stop crime/assault at some point and people will wonder how it could possibly happen...
And what I have seen is during peak commuter times. I absolutely will not ride at night.
So you have a system that encourages fair-beating and no safety security. Yeah, sounds real good. Let's add more.
Can't say I'm shocked. I've avoided even driving past that place after I made the mistake of eating there once.
Well, that and I don't live in Houston any more. ;)
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