Jaime Castillo: Release of Trans-Texas Corridor details can't escape suspicion

San Antonio Express-News ^ | October 1, 2006 | Jaime Castillo

[deport]

All three of you seem to appear when ever BigHair and TTC are the subject and all of you use jpegs on your profile page...

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You reckon it maybe because TSR pings us to his threads he post?...... Otherwise I doubt we'd see 1/2 of them. I know I don't go looking for threads or specific topics.

Yep some appear that pro TTC and some appear that anti TTC..... same ones over and over as they are on TSR's ping list.

[TXnMA]

Looks like "KOOKMAGNETTHREAD" is the appropriate keyword right now.

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Please specify which of the 17 posts preceding yours in this discussion qualifies for "kook" status.

Tolerance Sucks Rocks has done an outstanding job of pinging interested parties to articles on both sides of the issue.

If you have nothing aside from ad hominem innuendo to contribute to the discussion, then, do everyone a favor and STFU until you have reached adulthood!

[TexPride]

Hello Lunatic Fringe, guess what! It's not supposed to, hence the name "Trans-Texas Corridor". The idea is to route all of this "trans-Texas" traffic onto a highway system where it is routed around the major cities to help alleviate metropolitan auto traffic and cut down on smog to boot. You might want to read up on it.

[Lunatic Fringe]

The idea is to route all of this "trans-Texas" traffic onto a highway system where it is routed around the major cities to help alleviate metropolitan auto traffic and cut down on smog to boot.

Fine. Then why the commuter and high-speed rail lines??

I'm not going to drive an 1 1/2 hours to get to a high speed train station East of Dallas to travel to Austin, where I then have to rent a car to drive another 45 minutes to get to Austin. I could drive straight through from Dallas faster.

And why is commuter light rail needed in non-metro areas? Who needs commuter rail in Killeen or Tyler?

The whole project is an obscene waste of money.

[Lunatic Fringe]

More....

If this were simply a highway project, I'd be fine with it. But it's not.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[TexPride]

The TTC is a 50 year project. Why do we need commuter rail to Killeen? I'm sure people 50 years ago would have asked similar questions about the necessity of 4 lane highways crossing the nation. It's called "vision". A lot of folks don't have much of it.

[AwesomePossum]

I'm just not real sure that I want to be involved with a group headed up by some of the people who helped give us 8 years of clinton..............................besides, the more I look into TTC, the more I like it...............

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Dog Gone's not on my ping list, but he does seem to follow this issue regularly.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

You're welcome.

[Ben Ficklin]

Under the multi-modal concept, no particular mode will be confined entirely to the corridor.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Why do we need commuter rail to Killeen? It's called "vision". A lot of folks don't have much of it.

Killeen does not need a commuter rail. Neither does Tyler, or Brownsville, or Midland, or Waco.

Build highways to nowhere and light rail in cities that have no need for them? That's Perry's "vision" for Texas.

[TexPride]

Ok Fringe, you seem a little slow so lets try it again, Yes, they do not need it NOW, but 30 to 50 years from now they will. Growth is continuing and will continue what may seem a waste today will be realized as genius 50 years from now when all of the metro areas have ballooned in size even more.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Ok Fringe, you seem a little slow so lets try it again, Yes, they do not need it NOW, but 30 to 50 years from now they will.

You seem to be the slow one if you believe government can effectively plan for traffic patterns 50 years from now.

[TexPride]

So the Interstate Highway system was a failure?

[Lunatic Fringe]

The Interstate was built mainly on or near existing roads. But we were talking about the light rail and high-speed rail lines in the middle of Texas ranch land.

Building light rail where it is not needed and ignoring current problems where light-rail would be ideal (Houston/Dallas/Austin/San Antonio and points between) is a waste of money.

And... if mid-sized cities like Waco, Killeen, Midland, and Brownsville need light rail, they need to raise the money and build it themselves.

We apparently disagree on the wisdom of the TTC.

[TexPride]

It's obvious you need read and/or comprehend the TTC plans. No where in there will you find any reference to light rail. The rail (not light rail) component will be built when needed, it will not be built at the beginning. I would suggest you read up on the definition of light rail then read up on the TTC before you come back and respond to this post.

Part of our current problems in Dallas, Austin/SA and Houston come from all of this through truck traffic, the idea of the TTC is to take this traffic around our metro areas and pass it through the state as rapidly and efficiently as possible, hence the highways through the ranch land and not through the cities.

[Lunatic Fringe]

"It's obvious you need read and/or comprehend the TTC plans. No where in there will you find any reference to light rail."

Semantics. When I said light rail I was referring to the building of commuter trains ("light rail") in places where there are more horses than people.

From the TTC own website:

As envisioned, each route will include:

* separate lanes for passenger vehicles and large trucks
* freight railways
* high-speed commuter railways
* infrastructure for utilities including water lines, oil and gas pipelines, and transmission lines for electricity, broadband and other telecommunications services

From CorridorWatch.com:
Each segment of the corridor will contain:
* Six 12-foot Passenger Vehicle Lanes (80mph); 112-feet in aggregate width with shoulders.
* Four 13-foot Truck Lanes; 84-feet in aggregate width with shoulders.
* Two Tracks for 200mph High-Speed Passenger Rail. (All depots are contained within the corridor.)
* Two Tracks for 80mph Commuter Passenger Rail.
* Two Tracks for 80mph Freight Rail.
* A 200-foot Utility Zone for large underground water lines, natural gas and petroleum pipelines, telecommunication cables and overhead high-voltage electric transmission lines.
* Operational Maintenance Zone.
* Safety Zones sufficient to accommodate future roadway expansion.

[deport]

The TTC encompasses only a small portion of the rail system that is located or proposed for Texas..... The state has been reviewing the rail system in Texas and has put together an overview of the many facets. Here is a study if you are interested in the total rail concept that Texas is exploring.

Texas Rail System Plan

[Kenny Bunk]

Well vision is one thing, surrounding the Big Thicket and the Piney Woods with a 400-meter (note PC units) barrier is another.

However, if it keeps the residents of those areas in, I am all for it. However, I certainly is totally mystificated as to how this is supposed to hook up with other states. (Even if they are unrecognized by Texans.) Do we all get these super-duper Spanish Corridors? Will it allow our 100 Million + new residents a way to get back to Chihuahua to see the folks? Will the tires on Mexican 18-wheelers have tread?

And can I have taco concession at the truck stops?