Category Archives: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Some East End residents are still unhappy about the way the Harrisburg light rail line is shaping up. East End residents overwhelmingly supported the rail line in a 2003 referendum, thinking it would boost the redevelopment already taking place. Back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This would be nice. Houston Metro is due to receive as much as $180 million over the next 12 months from a huge economic stimulus bill to help jump-start construction of two light rail lines, a House committee chairman said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, there is some logic to it. The Houston Police Department is considering changes — possibly even expansion — to its red-light camera program after a city-commissioned study showed that crashes went up at intersections where the devices have been … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So what else is new? The Houston Police Department tried to influence the outcome of a controversial city-commissioned study by changing how crashes at intersections with red-light cameras were counted, according to documents included in a lawsuit. HPD’s request was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It could happen. The idea of high-speed rail is being pushed again in a big way in Texas, and backers hope to have $12 billion to $18 billion high-speed trains running by 2020. This time, they say they have taken … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Andrew Burleson had a couple of good posts last week that followed up on Christof’s streetcar suggestions and my post about a KIrby light rail line. Here they are: West Gray Streetcar, in which he takes Christof’s concept for a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So we still don’t know how much the Katy Freeway managed lanes will cost you to use. Harris County Commissioners are expected to consider a fee schedule and the opening date next month. The new lanes — two in each … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Maybe it’s just me, but I thought this story about a potential toll road rate increase in Harris County was amusing. When the Harris County Commissioners Court gave the Toll Road Authority permission to raise rates by 25 cents in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Christof completed a three-part look at streetcars in Houston (see parts one and two for background) by discussing possible places that streetcars in Houston might make sense. Not surprisingly, they tend to mirror the places where streetcars had been built … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Christof notes that with the arrival of the new year, the Main Street Line has reached its fifth birthday. Today, by every measure, the Main Street Line is a huge success: It carries 40,000 people on an average weekday. That’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t know the answer to that question, but it’s certainly the case that the long-awaited study of Houston’s red light cameras didn’t give any clear answers about what effect they might have had on the accident rate at intersections … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The city of Houston has now released its own red light camera study, and to say the least the numbers are interesting. The number of crashes at Houston intersections with red-light cameras doubled in the first year after their installation, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Christof notes that according to its original schedules, Metro should be a lot farther along its 2003 rail expansion plan than it currently is. The North and Southeast Lines, for which a public design process had already been completed by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Could be. A number of signs point to possible success for rail advocates, who for years have been talking up the merits of so-called multimodal transportation planning, but to a mostly unreceptive audience among Texas transportation policymakers. This month, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The red light camera study is less than a month old, and already it’s the subject of a lawsuit by a couple of longtime camera critics. Houston lawyers Paul Kubosh and Randall Kallinen, who have fought the program in courts … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Woodlands, which installed red light cameras last year, is set to add more of them. “The number of violations has decreased,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Ed Chance. “It appears the reduction of red light runners is down 20 percent.” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Morning News notes the trend of fewer vehicle miles travelled (VMT) in the US. All across the country, Americans began driving fewer miles on average as far back as 2005, and they may have crested as early as 2002, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Peter Wang brings the bad news. Despite letters from Judge Ed Emmett, all four Republican and Democratic Harris County Commissioners, and other public officials, METRO is going to place orders for the new trains on Christmas Eve 2008… without any … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The city of Fort Worth is taking steps towards installing streetcars. The task force and city staff recommended hiring a consultant with transit experience to help with the project. The plan recommends starting with a limited system: A loop in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Huge, gaping bags of it, apparently. An estimated $313 billion will be needed to meet Texas’ transportation needs through 2030, a special panel appointed by Transportation Commission Chairwoman Deirdre Delisi said today. The figure takes into account the investment required … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Galveston City Council has approved a study of a possible commuter rail line from Galveston to Houston. The Federal Transportation Administration will use the analysis to decide whether engineering can begin and Congress will use it to decide whether … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So, you think Houston has expensive parking meters downtown? It could be worse. If you plan to park at a meter anywhere in Chicago, get ready to carry plenty of change: rates will likely quadruple next month for most spots … Continue reading → Continue reading →

TxDOT to Congress: Stimulate me, baby! Texas transportation officials have sent the state’s congressional delegation a $6.2 billion list of ready-to-go road projects on the chance a stimulus package is approved, including nearly $677 million for the Houston area. Critics, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that mass transit ridership was up when gas was selling for $4 a gallon. Now that pump prices are less than half of that, it turns out that ridership is still up. … Continue reading → Continue reading →