A SPECIAL KIND OF LIMBO FOR METRO’S UNIVERSITY LINE 
Have plans for a light-rail line along Westpark and Richmond from Hillcroft to Eastwood been dealt a deathblow? In a story aired this evening, Ted Oberg claims Metro “recently took that project off the table” — and that “nothing will be built until at least 2025 if Metro gets its way.” But transit agency spokesperson Jerome Gray says the patient is still alive: “The Metro Board has not scrapped plans for the University Line,” he tells Swamplot. “While work has slowed down Metro has not pulled this project out of its rail expansion program. . . . Metro will proceed with rail expansion as funds become available.” [abc13] Map: Metro
Sign up for the Newsletter
Tag: Public Transportation
COMMENT OF THE DAY: LIGHT RAIL FOR THE PEOPLE “One very interesting upshot to delaying Uptown and University is that it heads the ‘LRT is elitist’ argument off at the pass. If you open the E, SE, and N lines without Uptown and University then you’ve just created an LRT system that predominantly serves black and hispanic neighborhoods. Possibly the first such new-start system ever built in [the US and Canada]. Opposition to the ‘white man’s train,’ whether it takes a grassroots, Los Angeles Bus Rider’s Union form, or whether it’s simply a talking point for people who will always think rail is a ‘boondoggle,’ is thus impossible. Considering that H-town will be minority-majority by the 2020 census, I think it’s kinda cool. And I’m an elitist white dude.” [KHH, commenting on Light Rail Scorecard: 6 Miles Down, 9 To Go, Culberson Blocking Goal]
A public meeting at the Together We Stand Christian Church tonight is the third of 4 Metro has scheduled to discuss the possible route of a new 9-mile light-rail leg connecting Missouri City to the southernmost stop on the existing light-rail line, roughly paralleling US Route 90A. Metro isn’t anticipating construction of the extension before 2017, but there are a couple of kinks to consider: The main difference between the 2 route alternatives being considered is the northeast end of the journey. The first alternative (above) jogs off 90A to follow Bellfort into the existing Fannin South rail station, while the second (below) takes the Holmes Rd. route in:
The hip-hop spokeskids for Houston’s transportation agency are out with their second CD — though, as Houston Press music editor Chris Gray notes, it appears that in at least one video by the Transit Boyz, the rapping progeny of Metro employees have been replaced by puppets. Puppets modeled after the Beastie Boys. A few other references are thrown in too: “We like big buses and we cannot lie.” Yes, they really did just say that.
16 of the 25 official station names announced today for Metro’s new East End and Southeast light-rail lines and North Line extension include slashes. No, you won’t need to choose between Cesar Chavez and 67th Street: The Cesar Chavez/67th St. station will honor both. Same for MacGregor Park/MLK. The term “EaDo” has made it on to a station name — but only as part of the EaDo/Stadium team — not to be called “EaDo Stadium” of course, since Spanish bank BBVA Compass just paid a lot of money for the exclusive naming rights to the new soccer venue.
A few other station names you’ll want to be careful with:
From those rockin’ dudes at Metro, moving to their own beat: a timelapse view of last weekend’s marathon Friday night to Monday morning East End Line construction project at the intersection of Harrisburg and Lockwood. (Traffic lanes and utilities had already been installed.) The beat goes on. . . .
- East End Line coverage [Swamplot]
Video: Metro
FREE CNG BUSES WILL CRISSCROSS DOWNTOWN 
Beginning next spring, a new free shuttle service called Greenlink will connect the George R. Brown Convention Center to City Hall — and about 20 stops along the way. The fleet of seven 30-ft.-long buses running on compressed natural gas is being paid for by the Downtown Management District, Houston First (the new corporation that now operates the convention center), and British gas company (and new Downtown tenants) the BG Group, with help from a grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Buses will run every 20 minutes along the 2.5-mile route from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm on weekdays only, and every 7 minutes at lunchtime and other peak traffic times. Update: Stops haven’t been chosen yet, but here’s a route map. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: George R. Brown Convention Center
THERE GOES YOUR POPULAR LOW-COST AIRPORT SHUTTLE SERVICE, HOUSTON Saturday, August 20th will be the last day for Metro bus 500, the half-hourly Airport Direct route from Downtown to IAH. Metro’s board voted to end the service last month because of low ridership and continuing revenue losses. A reduction in fare from $15 to $4.50 and the addition of several hotels to the route this past January increased the number of riders but “did not reach a level where the service could be sustained,” according to a Metro statement. The service had been in operation for 3 years. Committed Metro airport passengers will still be able to ride the 102 bus, which costs just $1.25 — but it’s not an express route. [more info; previously on Swamplot]
HAIF poster ricco67 adds to the collection of videos showing views along the paths of the under-construction or promised light-rail routes with this mostly accurate west-to-east drive-through of the promised University Line, from Hillcroft to Eastwood. It’s a long trip, made only a little faster by the absence of any Metro construction work along the way.
- University Line On Richmond [HAIF, via InnerLooped]
- Previously on Swamplot: Early Driving Tours of Metro’s Next Light Rail Lines
Video: ricco67
A web app put together by a 23-year-old German programmer lets you figure out how far you can travel on public transportation within a specific time period from any point in Houston — and 60 other cities worldwide. Give Mapnificent an address and a time limit (say 15 minutes) and it’ll mark on a Google map what areas of town are within your reach. Tell the app if you’re lugging around a bike or the maximum distance you’d be willing to walk to a stop or station and the resulting shapes will change accordingly. As Stefan Wehrmeyer’s video above demonstrates, you can also use Mapnificent to figure out areas where you and your car-shunning friends could meet up within 20 minutes — as well as all the coffee-shop, bar, nail-salon, or Apple Store hangouts available to you. More generally useful: Mapnificent can generate a heatmap for any location, showing what neighborhoods around any particular address are quicker or slower to reach by bus or train. (Note: If you don’t have Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, or a car, you’re out of luck. The app doesn’t work on Internet Explorer.)
Video: Stefan Wehrmeyer
METRO MANAGERS TO RIDE OWN DOG FOOD A new requirement for Metro senior managers: riding public transportation 40 times a month. That’s from George Greanias, the transit agency’s now-official president and CEO — who counts as one of those senior managers. “Some of the same executives will be affected by cutbacks in Metro’s use of car allowances and staff take-home cars, Greanias said. Only employees whose daily duties require using vehicles will receive these benefits; others will simply be reimbursed for Metro-related mileage on their personal cars, Greanias said.” [Houston Politics]
Here’s a little handy graphic from Mayor Parker’s Metro transition task force, identifying what the team considers “major unresolved design issues” in the planned East End, Southeast, University, and Uptown light-rail lines. Attempts to resolve all 6 of them appear to be “bogged down” at the Metro staff level, according to the task force committee. Each problem might delay construction or increase cost, and each has already been “actively discussed” for at least a year.
What are they?
- the Downtown alignments of the East End Line and Southeast Line on Capital and Rusk streets as they cross the Main Street Line;
- how the East End and Southeast Lines and car traffic will flow around the proposed Dynamo Stadium site in East Downtown;
- how grade separation will work with a freight-rail crossing on the East End Line on Harrisburg near Hughes St.;
- details of the Southeast and University Lines near the University of Houston along Scott St.;
- how the University Line will cross and interact with Main Street Line at the Wheeler station in Midtown; and
- the design of the Uptown Line north of San Felipe, along the 610 West Loop.
Oh, and then there’s this little bit about finding the money to build it all:
EXTENDING METRO’S MAIN ST. RAIL LINE TO FORT BEND COUNTY Metro’s lame-duck board gave its staff a half-million-dollar go-ahead yesterday to figure alignments, hold public meetings, and begin environmental studies on an 8.2-mile commuter rail line along U.S. 90A. The hunt for federal funding comes next: “It was the second development this month in efforts to bring commuter rail to the Houston region. The Gulf Coast Rail District recently hired a Houston engineering firm to study a line along U.S. 290 to Hempstead. A key advantage of Metro’s [Fort Bend] plan, [Chairman David] Wolff said, is that it would use trains Metro already owns on tracks that would parallel Union Pacific freight tracks in the same corridor, tying into the existing Main Street light rail line to create a seamless experience for passengers. The commuter line would begin at Fannin South, the southern end of the Main Street line, and continue to the Fort Bend County Line at Beltway 8.” [Houston Chronicle]
At a meeting last week at Kenny & Ziggy’s Deli organized by Jim “Mattress Mack” MacIngvale, owners of businesses located along Post Oak Blvd.’s vast double phalanx of front-loading strip centers — and representatives of a few of their landlords — groused about Metro’s design for the new Uptown Line and prepared for possible battle. The Examiner Newspapers’ Michael Reed first brought attention to a few quirks of the latest design for the Post Oak stretch of the light-rail line late last year: It features 7 stations, 5 gated crossings, and in all close to 2 dozen traffic signals along the 1.7-mile path from Richmond Ave. to the 610 West Loop. It also blocks all instances of that staple of sprawl-style shopping-center development: the non-intersection left turn.
Had Metro been communicating its plans to the property owners? Had the property owners been relaying any information they received from the transit agency to their tenants?
What are the stations for the new Metro light-rail lines gonna look like? This full-scale mockup of a section, cobbled together from foam core, poster board, cardboard mailing tubes, and Plexiglas, now waiting way off-site in the offices of RdlR Architects provides one clue.
And here are a few more:
