Tag Archives: Metro

Metro looks beyond parking lots for its park and rides

I like the idea. It will need some careful thought and planning, but the idea seems to be on the right track to me. The Metropolitan Transit Authority spent decades developing a network of parking lots where drivers could leave … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Metro looks beyond parking lots for its park and rides

The slow but steady march of Houston’s non-car transportation infrastructure

Good story. When he arrived in Houston two years ago, what David Fields saw belied what he had heard. The nation’s fourth-largest city has long been known as car-centric and geared toward commuting, with a web of wide freeways that … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The slow but steady march of Houston’s non-car transportation infrastructure

West 11th construction is about to start

Get ready, here it comes. City staffers are finalizing a plan to add protected bike lanes along 11th Street in the Heights and reduce the number of driving lanes, despite pushback from some residents in the area. Crews will begin … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Vote No and take the credit anyway

It’s a tale as old as time. Republicans in Texas are proud to stand and announce local grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The problem is they all voted against it. All of them. For the second time in two … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Metro gets electric bus money

Good. Metro’s plan to gradually get rid of gasoline-powered buses took a step forward this week, when federal officials awarded the transit agency nearly $21.6 million to replace 20 diesel buses with electric ones, and the equipment needed to keep … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Elevating I-10

My antennae are up about this. A state proposal to elevate Interstate 10 near White Oak Bayou is raising concerns among neighbors, who worry about the effects a higher freeway would have on noise and drainage. The $347 million project, … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Elevating I-10

More on the planning for the University BRT line

Yes, Metro has to make some predictions about where transit will be needed. Building a line that goes through some of the densest parts of town probably helps with that. Metropolitan Transit Authority officials told voters in 2019 “we have … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on the planning for the University BRT line

Time to meet the University Line BRT plans

A big step forward, but there are many miles yet to go. The biggest of Metro’s big bus offerings is about to turn from lines on a map to a full-fledged discussion for Houston residents, as transit officials prepare for … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The next street safety project my neighborhood will be fighting about

My wife came back from this month’s civic association meeting and handed me a flyer for this, along with more or less the exact words I’ve used in the title of this post. North Main Street runs north from I-10 … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mask mandate lifted for planes and trains

And other forms of mass transportation. The Biden administration will no longer enforce a U.S. mask mandate on public transportation, after a federal judge in Florida on Monday ruled that the 14-month-old directive was unlawful, overturning a key White House … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Metro approves I-10 Inner Katy BRT route

Big step forward. Metro officials Thursday settled on the route for a busway along Interstate 10 that they predict will improve transit for urban and suburban travelers, whether they hop on board or not. The elevated busway planned along the … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Metro approves I-10 Inner Katy BRT route

Turns out it’s not great debuting a transit service in a pandemic

What are you gonna do? The future of Houston transportation is not moving many people, even as traffic rebounds to pre-pandemic levels and ridership returns to many Metropolitan Transit Authority lines. The Silver Line, billed as a viable alternative to … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Turns out it’s not great debuting a transit service in a pandemic

Metro electric bus update

Some new details here. Within the next year or so, you’ll see electric-powered buses buzzing around Bayou City. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) recently awarded a $22 million contract to Saint-Eustache, Canada-based Nova Bus for the production … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Metro electric bus update

Ambassador Patman

This was a pleasant surprise. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Houston lawyer and Metro chairwoman Carrin Patman as the nation’s next ambassador to Iceland, according to a White House statement. “I am presuming nothing. It is up to the … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Ambassador Patman

Get ready for more construction in 2022

Happy New Year! Here are the places you’ll want to avoid driving in 2022. Flush with green, Houston area transportation officials have a whiteboard full of highway and transit projects poised to start in 2022, but rolling out all that … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Get ready for more construction in 2022

Still no Metro redistricting

Check again in 2031. Growth in western Harris County outside Houston’s boundaries was not enough to tip Metro’s board to 11 members during the 2020 Census, transit officials said “It didn’t occur, so we have the same board composition,” said … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Shepherd and Durham Major Investment Project

Get ready for some major construction, but the end result will be well worth it. Beginning next month, those who travel along North Shepherd Drive and Durham Drive in the Heights are going to have to cope with road construction … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here comes that Universities BRT map

Show me the route! The largest and most-sought segment of Metro’s planned bus rapid transit expansion in Houston is poised next week to officially move from being just lines on a map to the starting line — even if construction … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Metro approves electric bus purchase

We should have them in a few months. Metro is charging ahead with its plan to add electric buses to the local transit fleet. Board members Thursday approved a $22 million contract for 20 new buses and chargers that will … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here come those electric buses

Here comes the commitment to buy them, anyway. Local transit officials no longer are blowing hot air about the emissions coming out of Metro buses. Board members Thursday approved a plan for all new Metropolitan Transit Authority buses to produce … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Metro moving forward on new BRT line

As they should. Even with fewer riders hopping aboard and a more dour financial outlook, Metro officials say the agency is full steam ahead on a host of projects aimed at adding buses to scores of routes and neighborhoods. That … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Metro seeks electric buses

Proof of concept for now and contingent on a competitive federal grant, but hopefully the start of something bigger. Transit officials in the self-proclaimed energy capital of the world are recharging their attempts to wean Metro off fossil fuels. Metropolitan … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can you tell me how to get (safely) to Memorial Park?

Safety is nice. A $200 million-plus plan to improve [Memorial Park] is aimed at making it a signature destination for all Houstonians. With that success, though, will come the same challenges anything popular in Houston faces: How will people get … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Can you tell me how to get (safely) to Memorial Park?

Get ready for your first Universities Line BRT map

Feel the excitement! No, seriously, we’ve waited a long time for this. The largest and most-sought segment of Metro’s planned bus rapid transit expansion in Houston is poised next week to officially move from being just lines on a map … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Let’s try and get those federal transit funds now

Works for me. Transit officials, sensing the timing may be right to tap federal funds for major projects, are moving quickly on portions of a planned bus rapid transit line viewed by some as the backbone of Houston’s future movement. … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s try and get those federal transit funds now

The I-45 effect on Metro

There will be a lot of disruption to mass transit as a result of the I-45 project. Metro’s board on Thursday approved hiring design and engineering firm STV Incorporated for services related to the controversial Interstate 45 project. Though the … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The I-45 effect on Metro

Not everyone opposes the I-45 project

Life is a rich tapestry. Jill Rafferty proudly acknowledges she bothers a lot of people. Better to rub them the wrong way, she reasons, than let a lack of attention wash her Independence Heights neighborhood away. Flood control efforts, mostly … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

The infrastructure bill and the Hobby Airport light rail extension

More good thing we could get from the eventual Infrastructure Bill. Houston was made and marketed by the slogan “where 17 railroads meet the sea.” Local elected officials now think its short-term future, and the local success of a proposed … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The lack of regional consensus on I-45

This is really frustrating. Regional transportation officials on Friday reaffirmed their support for a planned $7 billion widening of Interstate 45 in Houston, over strong objections from city and Harris County officials that the resolution passed was a toothless enabling … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Normal” bus service is on the horizon

Isn’t it great to imagine the return of “normal”? It’s coming for Metro riders. Having sharply reduced service and staffing during the pandemic, Metro officials now are readying for higher demand when school populations return to normal and downtown businesses … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on “Normal” bus service is on the horizon

Are you ready for some I-10 construction?

Well, ready or not… State highways officials set out in 2004 to develop a plan to remake Interstate 45 and add managed lanes, only to face increasingly stiff opposition in the past three years from elected officials and community activists … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

What can we expect from the maskless mandate?

More COVID, obviously. The Centers for Disease Control is increasing pressure on Republican leaders in states like Texas that have eased COVID restrictions, publishing a study on Friday showing evidence that the measures — such as the mask requirement that … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Reactions to the maskless mandate

Let’s start with the doctors, since clearly they weren’t consulted. Houston-area doctors and medical professionals reacted with dismay to Gov. Greg Abbott’s Tuesday decision to roll back the state’s mask mandate and other precautions against COVID-19. “I had a pretty … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments