20 Comment

• Shannon March 2, 2015 at 9:18 am

  Unless the proposed bus lanes on Post Oak could easily be converted to Light Rail, I wouldn’t support this project. It says a great deal that not one Apache employee said they’d use this system. Also, is Apache ever going to break ground on a new headquarters, it’s been years since that announcement, they’re beginning to seem like Chevron or vise versa.
• I Love Heights Walmart March 2, 2015 at 10:06 am

  The Post Oak bus lane was originally going to be a light rail corridor. It has been in development for over 10 years, and as a light rail line it was going to connect to the rest of the system via the university corridor (the one of “NO RAIL ON RICHMOND” infamy). IMHO i think a bus lane or LR corridor would actually increase congestion on Post Oak.
• TheNiche March 2, 2015 at 10:26 am

  Re: Post Oak. The author of this article misses the point. The problem isn’t that Post Oak is congested, the problem is that the West Loop is congested and that every thoroughfare leading to the West Loop is congested. The dedicated bus lanes on Post Oak are intended to provide an alternative to somebody that would otherwise use the West Loop, thereby taking vehicles off of both the West Loop and the thoroughfares leading to it. The Uptown Management District wants to replicate the success of METRO’s park & ride system in downtown.

  The belief that transit along a particular thoroughfare is intended to relieve traffic along THAT thoroughfare rather than as a part of a huge system is, to put it politely, a premise lacking the slightest bit of nuance; and both the pro-rail and anti-rail camps get this one wrong in some of their propaganda. Shame on the Chronicle editors for letting them vocalize their nonsense.

  Re: Northeast’s identity. Northeast Houston (outside of the Beltway, but including Fall Creek and excluding select portions of Humble) is a fantastic option if you work downtown, in north Houston, or along the Ship Channel. It’s similar to Pearland if Pearland had easy access to huge parks and forests and a lake and rivers and had bigger highways and cheaper housing. It also has more white people and whiter white people, albeit not necessarily more affluent white people. That last couple of bits sounds terrible, but I don’t regret having said it. By and large, its true, and moreover it does have a reputation, and that is its reputation.
• DNAguy March 2, 2015 at 10:27 am

  I grew up in ‘Northeast Houston’. The reason why it hasn’t developed isn’t because of identity, its b/c of infrastructure. The Beltway wasn’t completed until 2011. Additionally, there is no easy way to get to the back part of Kingwood or Atascocita unless you take Kingwood Drive, 1960, or W. Lake Houston Prkwy…. all of which become paralyzed in the morning and evening.
  I’m no great fan of tollways ,but it seems to me that if they were to build one that connects Atascocita, Kingwood and/or Huffman in addition to the Grand Parkway then the place would explode.
• Local Planner March 2, 2015 at 11:11 am

  I haven’t seen this survey of Apache employees, but why did it say they would drive to the NWTC to catch the Uptown bus? That’s not the point of the system at all – it’s to allow folks to drive to the outlying P&Rs and get to Uptown, via the NWTC. If that’s not the way it was phrased, then it was an invalid survey question relative to the design of the project.

  And how, exactly, would the BRT lane (and let’s call it BRT because that’s what it would be), screw up traffic? It’s just a bigger median. Nearly all the crossings would remain, better controlled than they are already. The major intersections would not have signal timing changed. The buses would be able to access the HOV/HOT system without sitting in traffic, so they would function much better. Why should Downtown be the only place with decent regional transit access?

  You have people opposing this project because they don’t want transit on POB period. Others oppose it because it’s not light rail or something even more expensive. Both of those camps are utterly wrong.
• Superdave March 2, 2015 at 11:19 am

  The headline caught me, and I read the whole thing to find the “Rodeo Drive” and tourist reference in the last paragraph. That is quite laughable; good job Swamplot on correctly calling out the hyperbole.

  I’m on the fence on this one, though I lean pro-transit, a lot of the stats given in the article are somewhat dubious and do not directly support the argument. For example, saying that Metro’s park and ride lots are only used to 55% capacity…do users want to arrive at a Park and Ride that is crammed full, with only a few parking spots left, and experience long lines and jam-packed busses?
• skooljunkie March 2, 2015 at 11:26 am

  The opinion on the dedicated bus lanes assumes METRO will only run buses from the Northwest Transit Center to Uptown. These dedicated lanes will allow the linkage of Uptown to all northwest, west, and southwest park and rides–the entire reason the project was proposed. I’d ride these buses if my alternatives were sitting in hours of traffic or waking up at 3:30 am to avoid said traffic. I for one am sick of hearing my coworkers griping about traffic on these freeways and their lack of evening free time. Ride the bus, move, or suck it up.
• Mike March 2, 2015 at 11:34 am

  That editorial had too many Houston anti-rail clichés for me to take seriously, starting with “look what happened to the merchants on Main Street,” as though there was this thriving retail scene on Main Street that disappeared. Sounds like a new graduate of John Culberson University.
• ZAW March 2, 2015 at 11:45 am

  I am all for Light rail on Richmond – or Westpark. We desperately need to bring light rail to Southwest Houston, and to do they we need an East/West connection. But the more I read about the Post Oak BRT/LR plans, the less I’m convinced about that one, though.
  .
  I wonder if a better option would be to either relocate the Northwest Transit Center so that it’s more easily reached from The Galleria and Uptown offices; or build an Uptown Transit Center in addition to the Northwest Transit Center. Of course I’m sure the anti-transit crowd would scream bloody murder over that, too.
• TheAntiMetro March 2, 2015 at 12:04 pm

  “I am all for Light rail on Richmond”

  You wouldn’t be if you actually lived along Richmond.
• SBV March 2, 2015 at 12:08 pm

  Jay Wall is a clown. He is an office tenant rep broker; his take on mass transit should be ignored.
• Cody March 2, 2015 at 12:31 pm

  skooljunkie: I’m with you. I can only take so much from people crying about traffic. If I had to drive somewhere every day, and that drive took me an hour plus, I’d MOVE closer.
  .
  The reason people put up iwth that 1+ hour drive is because the OTHER benefits to their BFE living (cheaper house psf, schools, etc.). You don’t get to have it all.
  .
  The people that rent small apts in Montrose for what they could rent a house for in BFE do so because they want to be close to where they work and play. I get the ‘but I have kids’ argument — even though I have my place in Montrose with a wife+kid and it seems to work…
• joel March 2, 2015 at 12:45 pm

  DNAguy, that’s why I think we’ll find the more eastern portions along 90 and Crosby to start growing at a much larger pace than the northern portions. kingwood seems to be pretty well built out these days and the traffic in those northeastern areas is horrendous, even worse than in-town. however, you can still get to the east side of the lake in a breeze and it’s amazing how quickly 90 separates you from the city. wouldn’t be a good option for any folks heading to the woodlands due to the clogged roadways heading north, but it’s a fantastic option for anyone that heads to downtown.
• ZAW March 2, 2015 at 3:33 pm

  Funny you should say that, AntiMetro. I lived on Richmond from 1998 to 2003, and I was for light rail on Richmond even then.
  .
  @Cody: or work closer. I’m moving out to Sugar Land in about 6 weeks. But I’ll still work in Sharpstown. I’m very thankful not to have to go past Hillcroft on 59. I mean really, I’m happier than I probably should be about that.
• lhd March 2, 2015 at 5:53 pm

  These comments remind me that it is time to send Culberson a donation in appreciation of his fine work.
• Local Planner March 2, 2015 at 10:21 pm

  Yes, one would hope that Culberson will continue to support the Post Oak BRT as he has been doing.
• Rex March 3, 2015 at 7:44 am

  I am undecided about the bus land project, but that article did nothing for me. Critical thinking and the true meaning of analysis is almost gone in our society.
• Ornlu March 3, 2015 at 8:06 am

  @lhd “it is time to send Culberson a donation in appreciation of his fine work.”
  .
  Sending a congressman feces in the mail ain’t cool man…. but it is funny.
• TheAntiMetro March 3, 2015 at 12:04 pm

  Sure, ZAW, sure. Whatever you say.
• Rodrigo March 4, 2015 at 9:31 am

  ZAW, I didn’t know you still work in Sharpstown. The company I worked at three years ago was near Westpark and Fondren, and boy do I miss all my cuisine options.