Houston appears on track for 40 crashes in first year

Houston Chronicle ^ | January 28, 2004 | LUCAS WALL

[discostu]

Trains that are in the road are more of a traffic hinderance than busses ever could be, as these accidents clearly demonstrates. The tracks are omni-present, in order to keep the tracks clear for the train they have to change traffic laws and basically leave that former lane completely useless to cars. Even when busses get a dedicated lane they can cohabitate with existing traffic and don't need to rewrite laws. Trains suck, that's all there is to it, they cost a lot, don't get the ridership necessary to make themselves a good investment, and they're ugly. Trains were replaced by cars, trying to make them the traffic solution of the future is going backwards.

[af_vet_rr]

I've driven in Houston a lot (as much as I hate to) and this does not suprise me. Seen lots of illegal left turns. The difference is, other cars are more agile than a train. Anybody who manages to hit a train pulling an illegal left turn is an idiot. It's a train for God's sake, how hard is it to not hit one.

[discostu]

More than likely those left turns weren't illegal before the train.

[Dog Gone]

I believe these lefthand turns are illegal only when a train is coming. I have yet to visit Main Street and see the Death Train in operation.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

If you want to address the environmental argument, either run them on natural gas or biodiesel. In terms of maintenance, trains might need maintenance less often, but does the maintenance savings offset the overall cost to the point of being less expensive than a bus?

As for being a traffic hinderance, if you put one bus out there that can seat 50 people, you've potentially removed 50 other traffic hinderances from the system.

[N. Theknow]

I believe these lefthand turns are illegal only when a train is coming. I have yet to visit Main Street and see the Death Train in operation.

Oh. The Darwin Award Finals for "Hey, I can make that crossing before the train gets there."

Granddaddy was an engineer for the old Atlantic Coast Line, used to call them coupler grease idiots.

[blabs]

Opportunity comes in many forms, you just have to know when to take advantage of it.

Many "family" neighborhoods have had their streets zoned to commercial because of the high amount of traffic. The people who were smart converted their properties to businesses, or sold for a higher cost. It's called higher and better use. It happens all over the country, including your neighborhood.

It doesn't necessarily enrich the few. It enriches the few who seize the opportunity.

[thackney]

"Wham Bam, thank you Tram" bump

[hopespringseternal]

The only thing left to do is stack the freeways, or run commuter rail. How many more billions will we invest in concrete?

Figure up how much we would need to spend on concrete to meet traffic needs, then figure up how much would need to be spent on light rail at $68,000/ft.

Light rail is a joke that is irrelevant to traffic. Anyone who has any concern for traffic will spend money someplace other than light rail.

[blabs]

If commuter rail were first to be laid down in houston, the light rail would still be built. It only makes sense to connect the Med Center and Downtown. The Medical center has over 250,000 visitors per day. It is exploding with growth. A new Bio-Technology area is currently being developed, which will house 26 different bio-tech and pharmaceuticals, bringing more than 70,000 jobs to Houston in the next ten years.

Where do you go for culture in this city? Plays, Opera, Symphony, Concerts, Sporting Events, Museums, Conventions? All of it is in the downtown area. In fact, what else is there to do in the city besides eating?

Properly placed commuter rails will take advantage of what this rail line has to offer.

[Your Nightmare]

I work in the Med Center and you are right. The left-hand turn lanes are on the tracks! The left-hand turn is only illegal when a train is coming and the electric signs they have to notify people when a train is coming are so confusing they just add to the problem. Many people are so confused they try turning left from the center lane, blocking traffic.

It seems to me that METRO has set up a confusing system here and are blaming drivers when they can't figure it out. Maybe they should look in the mirror.

Rail on this route was a mistake. Nothing but a gamble on getting the Olympics that we crapped out on.

[Your Nightmare]

The Medical center has over 250,000 visitors per day.

But those 250,000 visitors aren't coming from downtown.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

Are you suggesting use of existing heavy rail lines or the construction of new ones? If existing, you are going to have to get permission from the owners to share the track. If new, where would you find the right-of-way to run commuter rail? You're going to have an Environmental Justice issue to deal with if you plan on tearing down existing homes.

[kaktuskid]

Any body that puts a trolley line down the center of a major street is an idjit..that was the reason the tracks were taken out of the streets back in the 50s!

[Squawk 8888]

I can understand your point, rail involves huge capital outlay but can be worthwhile at high passenger volumes. A 40-foot bus will comfortably carry about 50 passengers, but here in Toronto the standard streetcars hold ~100 and the articulated streetcars hold ~175. From an enviro standpoint anything electric is more eco-friendly than buses, especially if a substantial percentage of the power in hydro or nuclear.

What I don't quite fathom is why they even considered running trains that share the road with other traffic- what were they thinking? Streetcars are cheaper and tend to get along better with cars.

[Dog Gone]

It's surprising that these trains haven't killed anyone yet. But it's inevitable.

[discostu]

The key phrase there is "at high passenger volumes". A lot of the problems rail has in America is cultural. In many place the public transportation system is a joke (like most of the cities west of the Mississippi) and people avoid using it as much as possible. I know if somebody waved a magic wand today and made Tucson's public transportation system actually useful I still wouldn't use it, because I've spent most of my life here and the idea that our public transportation (bus really, there's a trolley in the hippie part of town which I avoided at all costs long before the trolley) is completely worthless is deeply engrained in my mind and it will take years of that situation not being true for me to stop thinking it's true.

The key to if a city would be a good fit for a rail system is the bus system. For one thing that's how most passengers will be getting to the train so if the bus system is no good the train won't be used. But also it's the barometer for how much the people of that area use public transportation, if nobody is riding a city's busses nobody is gonna ride the train. The public transportation lobbyists in America have gotten totally hooked on trains though, so nobody is beefing up the bus systems to try to make trains a good idea in the many places they are a bad idea.

[Guvmint_Cheese]

That's the problem. The way Houston has developed, there isn't enough ROW to do anything without taking out existing lanes or existing houses. If you try to take out property, you end up with a slew of eminent domain suits delaying or killing a project. Do it in the wrong neighborhood, you get an entire community out there with torches and pitchforks.

[Teacher317]

Houston just looooooves to spend tax money! Their OLDEST pro stadium was built in 2000... The Texans and the Rockets both have newer facilities than the Astros!

[Guvmint_Cheese]

I agree. Culture does play a part in it. I'm not against rail as a concept. I used to live in Montreal, which has an incredible Metro system. I've also experienced Toronto's system, which I think is great. If I had a commute (I'm currently a six-minute walk from work), I'd rather take a bus or a train. I don't want to deal with the rest of Houston trying to get to work.

It's not that rail is bad, it's just not right for Houston. There's a city planning "guru" named Peter Calthorpe, who pretty much said that a transit system is effective if you have a residential density of at least 10 units per acre. Houston has 4-5 per acre on average.

I'm just not convinced that it's going to work here.