11 Comment

• Dana-X July 13, 2015 at 9:32 am

  As a resident of the East End I’m happy in a selfish way that the Green Line was built but my objective view is that it was a huge waste of money. I’ve ridden on it a few times and, as I suspected, there were few other riders, 5-7 during the late afternoon weekdays, and on a weekend, and passing 3-4 stations with no passengers getting on or off was/is normal..
  The public voted for it and Metro got it done so they’re really not to blame. If the Univ Line and Uptown line had gotten built too this, and the even worse Purple Line would’ve stand out so starkly as politically correct boondoggles.
• commonsense July 13, 2015 at 10:00 am

  It’s rightly so that The Woodlands runs Montgomery County, it’s the most valuable area by real estate values and the tax base. Anybody north of 1488 is a toothless hillbilly who wouldn’t have roads or police if it wasn’t for The Woodlands.
  —
  Creekside gets a little tax benefit because it’s at the far fringes of Harris county and they don’t really keep track of property values thereby lowering assessed values.
• Daniel Williams July 13, 2015 at 11:43 am

  I’m a regular Metro rider who lives in the East End, beyond the current divide created by the lack of an Union Pacific overpass. Right now it doesn’t make sense for me to ride rail since I would have to take a bus to the rail, then transfer to get downtown and the bus is going downtown anyway. Once the overpass is finished I’ll be 1.3 miles from the last rail station and will likely walk it, taking the rail almost daily. Hopefully, at some point in the future Metro and city will have the vision to extend the East End line all the way down Harrisburg, along the bend where it turns into Broadway and down to Hobby Airport, if that happens we’ll really see ridership tick up. Have some patience and let the system get into place. In the long run having a robust rail system is going to be good for our city.
• Bernard July 13, 2015 at 12:54 pm

  MetroRail is a joke. It was a horrible plan from the get go. We’ll rip up the tracks someday, just like our last rail system.
• toasty July 13, 2015 at 1:37 pm

  The green line is so short right now, there’s no where to go on it. After it splits with the purple it’s 3 stops. that’s it. those two extra stops will make a difference. Of course, it’s still a really short line, but that’s because there’s more railroad tracks they would have to navigate. Considering the cost associated with crossing the two railroads they did/are, they didn’t need to tackle any more. This has hampered the realistic boarding numbers they should expect though.
  .
  Over time, as more Millennials move into the area (because they can’t afford midtown/The heights/The montrose, but want to live close to downtown), the ridership will go up.
• Local Planner July 13, 2015 at 3:04 pm

  As I’ve noted before, the long term success of the East End line, built as it is in area of low density and few or no major destinations (and taking an out-of-the-way route on an extension to Hobby Airport wouldn’t help), rests entirely on that area’s major densification, which also likely means its gentrification.
  .
  The Purple Line is marginally better in that it at least serves UH, a major destination, but still it’s overall a low density area. Same goes for the Red Line north extension.
  .
  One wonders how much funding could have been available to instead build improvements that allocate existing roadway space in higher density areas, like along Richmond, Westheimer, Washington, Shepherd, Kirby, Bellaire etc. for improved bus and bus rapid transit service.
• artfox July 13, 2015 at 3:11 pm

  I live in the Greater Eastwood area about half way between two Green Line and Purple Line stations. Friends and I would love to take light rail to the all the stadiums and the theater district. Problem is, it’s too far to walk from my house to either station. Riding our bikes home after dark doesn’t feel safe. Getting to/from either light rail station by bus from a nearby bus stop requires a couple of transfers and long waits…IF the bus is running at night! We considered piling in someone’s car and driving to a station, but there’s no place to park except the street or maybe the UH parking garage near the tracks on Scott.
• HouCynic July 13, 2015 at 9:10 pm

  For Pete’s sake, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it certainly wasn’t built free of expense or without vision. It will take a very long time for citizens of our car-centric city to change habits. People still resist using buses and those have been around for how long? The Green Line will eventually benefit from increase in density in East End (I still hate the use of EaDo) at the detriment of the current housing and displacement of its current residents. When that time comes, we will all then whine about some other mega project.
• Major Market July 13, 2015 at 10:37 pm

  As another person has pointed out: “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. But, unfortunately, I don’t have centuries to wait for the grand vision of the Metro rail lines to come into focus. After watching it flounder for 25 years, I don’t think Metro can do whatever its mission is. (I honestly don’t know what is its mission.)
  .
  At this pace, I fear that the day that the “John Culberson Afton Oaks” Line is opened, our sun will also go supernova – which will put a definite damper on the celebrations.
• toasty July 14, 2015 at 8:32 am

  artfox,
  .
  You can absolutely park in any of the lots on UH after 8pm, and anytime on weekends for free, I don’t know if the parking garages offer the same rate. park on the east end of campus by spur 5, grab a coffee at the Nook Cafe, and walk up Calhoun to the station on Wheeler. I recommend the east end of campus cause there’s always people around on that side, more so than by the stadium.
• Rex July 14, 2015 at 10:34 am

  Springwood village has built very slowly and with the heavy demand the prices have gone up. I am sure its by design.