The advance rail intelligence unit known as Christof Spieler puts together another map showing Metro’s latest plans for the new 2012 lines. What’s changed since last time?
Texas Southern University now has no stop alongside campus. There is a station called “TSU,†but it’s three blocks from campus, on the opposite side of a public housing project. Rice, UH, St. Thomas, and UH Downtown all get excellent connections to the 2012 system, but TSU is getting left out because METRO couldn’t figure out how to work with a neighborhood to get a Wheeler/Ennis route figured out. That’s an unfortunate situation for a university that’s trying to raise its profile.
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There’s additional stations in Uptown and the East End, but one fewer in Greenway.
The East End Line now goes to the Theatre District, not the Intermodal Center. . . . The Intermodal Center was never an important destination anyway; there’s a lot more demand to go to the west side of Downtown. Running both the East End and Southeast lines there creates a frequent east-wets circulator service across Downtown. And keeping East End trains off of Main Street allows Main Street trains to run more frequently. The transfer still isn’t ideal, though.
Also from Spieler: an update on rail construction.
- The map — now with officially approved colors! [Intermodality]
- Houston 2012 Fixed Guideway Transit (PDF) [Intermodality]
- Light Rail Update [OffCite]
- Previously in Swamplot: The Light Rail Map Update Metro Didn’t Announce
Metro Rail diagrams: Christof Spieler
Aren’t Tierwester and Cleburne/TSU on the East End line closer to TSU than the University Line TSU stop? Can’t tell for sure from the map.
This is so sad. I am a student at TSU Thurgood Marshall Law and I take great pride in the fact that this school was founded on the principle of providing access to education for those who are historically and systemically oppressed. See Sweatt v. Painter (TX Constitution denied Blacks from attending UT Law school in 1950).
We have come so far since 1950, and yet we still see systemic oppression of minority kids and families occurring here in the nation’s fourth largest city. This University Rail line provides access for all the schools except the one school with the most need.
And why? Because the neighborhood couldn’t work it out. I call bullshat on that one. If the city can rip through Montrose/Museum down Richmond and upset all the wealthy commuters and business owners, surely a rail can be placed in the third ward and at TSU.
The city and its community should be doing everything possible for children growing up in the slums. Perhaps, making sure they have EQUAL access to education as everyone else in the city is a good way of accomplishing this goal.
This proposed rail line sucks my left testicle. Shame on the city council members for not fighting harder for this important urban development.
STOP SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION OF MINORITIES NOW!
Sam, I understand your frustration. I think this may be a rock and a hard place for the rail planners. I am not in the habit of defending Metro, but I think the whole Wheeler issue was that it is a minority neighborhood that they were going to rip up to put in the rail so they opted to move it to protect those homeowners.
Sam,
Sorry to disagree with you, but this article’s contention that TSU is being snubbed is an overstatement. Looking at the maps, TSU is no worse off than St. Thomas. The Montrose/UST stop will be at Richmond and Montrose, at least three blocks South of most of UST’s main buildings. TSU is not being singled out. Hell, even though the Main St. line has a Rice stop, the main buildings of the Rice Campus are far enough away that it is at least three blocks too. There is no racism here, just geography. Chill.
Sam,
So it is “systemic oppression” of minoritites because METRO is NOT ignoring a minority neughbirhoods wishes? It would have been better and less racist in your opinion if METRO had not tried to work with the minority neighborhood and property owners and treated them just like the “wealthy commuters and business owners” I call bullshit on you because you and I both know if that had happened you would be doing just what you are doing now…. calling people racist when you have no facts to back up the accusation. You sound ridiculous.
3 Blocks, big deal, walk it. It can do all of us well. I took metro from 1993 to 2005 and walked more than 3 blocks. Uphill, against the wind, in a driving snow, err rain storm. I was thin then. Now not so much.
@Sam
Some wisdom:
You’re young, you’re passionate, and have at least some sense to you becuase you’ve landed in law school.
Right now, you should try to keep your ears open more and your mouth shut more – this will get you to where you want to go a lot quicker than the reciprocal.
_
As an aside, It is good to see that METRO didn’t try to push their agenda on the minority subdivisions around TSU (and 3 city blocks is not an access issue).
Shame on Sam for buying into the BS that the pandering race baiters peddle to the naive masses who slobber it up like pablum. This country needs more race baiting attorneys like we need another Bernie Madoff.
Metreaux also does what it wants, how it wants and where it wants. Never is Metreaux honest with anything it does. But such is the realm of an entity that is run by appointed leaders, not elected.
sam, i walked home from college everyday and was dang glad to be able to do that. 3 blocks? please! many of us would be very grateful if metro would go around us 3 blocks.