ssullivan Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 Trains coming south from the Northline Transit Center (the planned terminus of the first extension) not be able to continue onto the existing Main St. line as currently planned and complete their trip at the Fannin South Park and Ride. People going between the north side and Medical Center will have to transfer trains. And, with a new technology, that means probably another expensive train barn and maintenance facility will have to be built, or major modifications will have to be made to the train barn at Fannin South, along with a connector line between it and the "new technology" lines. That just adds to the cost of extending the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Architect - https://www.arup.com Edited July 28, 2022 by hindesky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) What's the plan here? Edited August 2, 2022 by j_cuevas713 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.33 Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 METRO will be replacing the existing transit center and building a new garage facility near the existing property with a variety of enhancements including new bus bays. Style will be similar to Lower Uptown TC. https://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/TC-Northline.aspx 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 14 hours ago, Justin Welling said: METRO will be replacing the existing transit center and building a new garage facility near the existing property with a variety of enhancements including new bus bays. Style will be similar to Lower Uptown TC. https://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/TC-Northline.aspx I wonder if the I-45 rebuild could incorporate a direct connection from the Managed Lanes to this transit center? The only big obstacle seems to be a surface parking lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 I asked METRO last year about this project and why they needed to spend tens of millions on a parking garage when so many bus stations don't even have benches. (no real answer given) They are also paying for a new traffic light on the basis of the increased traffic for their 500 parking spot garage. At the time, there were no plans to even harge for parking in this garage. Love having our transit agency subsidize car drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 1 hour ago, wilcal said: I asked METRO last year about this project and why they needed to spend tens of millions on a parking garage when so many bus stations don't even have benches. (no real answer given) They are also paying for a new traffic light on the basis of the increased traffic for their 500 parking spot garage. At the time, there were no plans to even harge for parking in this garage. Love having our transit agency subsidize car drivers. Building a free garage at that site should provide an incentive for people to park there and take the Red Line to Downtown, rather than paying for parking Downtown. If you want people to take public transport, especially rail, there has to be a place to park the car they will drive to get to the rail station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 2 minutes ago, Ross said: Building a free garage at that site should provide an incentive for people to park there and take the Red Line to Downtown, rather than paying for parking Downtown. If you want people to take public transport, especially rail, there has to be a place to park the car they will drive to get to the rail station. If this was a park and ride with no local connection service, then fine, but this is a transit center with numerous connecting local lines. Where do these people live that are needing to drive to this transit center so they can take the light rail into town? Also, remember that they charge for the parking lot at the other end of the light rail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 3 hours ago, wilcal said: If this was a park and ride with no local connection service, then fine, but this is a transit center with numerous connecting local lines. Where do these people live that are needing to drive to this transit center so they can take the light rail into town? Also, remember that they charge for the parking lot at the other end of the light rail! People will drive and park somewhere to reduce the number of connections. A friend who used to work Downtown and lives in Shepherd Park would drive to the CVS at Shepherd and 43rd/Crosstimbers, and take the bus from there directly to Downtown. He said that was far more reliable than taking a bus to get to the Downtown bus. There's going to be people who work downtown, but find it more convenient to drive to Northline, then take rail. Especially people who don't like buses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 (edited) On 8/5/2022 at 8:23 AM, wilcal said: I asked METRO last year about this project and why they needed to spend tens of millions on a parking garage when so many bus stations don't even have benches. (no real answer given) FWIW, Metro also has a very large and ongoing project to add shelters, benches and generally improve thousands of bus stops. Edited August 29, 2022 by Houston19514 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 On 8/5/2022 at 8:23 AM, wilcal said: I asked METRO last year about this project and why they needed to spend tens of millions on a parking garage when so many bus stations don't even have benches. (no real answer given) They are also paying for a new traffic light on the basis of the increased traffic for their 500 parking spot garage. At the time, there were no plans to even harge for parking in this garage. Love having our transit agency subsidize car drivers. Per Metro's responses to Questions at public meetings for this project, no decision has been made regarding charging for parking or not. (That is quite different from "no plans to even charge for parking . . . ".) They are taking comments and suggestions on that topic and anything else related to the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 On 8/29/2022 at 3:59 PM, Houston19514 said: Per Metro's responses to Questions at public meetings for this project, no decision has been made regarding charging for parking or not. (That is quite different from "no plans to even charge for parking . . . ".) They are taking comments and suggestions on that topic and anything else related to the project. People dig free parking. I've seen towns in Illinois and Connecticut that put in free public parking at train stations in order to encourage people to use the train. Seems to me that the cost could be covered by federal clean air money, or something similar. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 On 8/5/2022 at 12:39 PM, Ross said: People will drive and park somewhere to reduce the number of connections. A friend who used to work Downtown and lives in Shepherd Park would drive to the CVS at Shepherd and 43rd/Crosstimbers, and take the bus from there directly to Downtown. He said that was far more reliable than taking a bus to get to the Downtown bus. There's going to be people who work downtown, but find it more convenient to drive to Northline, then take rail. Especially people who don't like buses. Yep I used to do that daily when I lived in the Spring Branch area. I believe my bus was the 36 at the time, and then I would take the train all the way to Midtown where I worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 "A long-sought solution to an illegal parking crunch at the top of Metro’s Red Line light rail is slated for construction early next year. Transit officials are relying on a new, but unproven, way of selecting a builder aimed at expediting construction and lowering risk. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members, at the board’s capital subcommittee meeting on Wednesday, approved staff soliciting bids for a 497-space parking garage and transit center on the east side of Fulton where the Red Line ends at Northline Commons, near the Houston Community College (HCC) campus. The project, which could total more than $50 million, would more than triple the amount of parking for transit riders, replace the cramped Northline Transit Center bus bays and have a Metro Police substation, ride store and possible commercial space." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/metro-parking-garage-light-rail-northline-transit-18209183.php 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbg.50 Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 This is great news…very much needed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 The last time I asked METRO, the parking is going to be free. I just don't understand how METRO can justify spending tens of millions to provide free parking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 16 minutes ago, wilcal said: The last time I asked METRO, the parking is going to be free. I just don't understand how METRO can justify spending tens of millions to provide free parking. As discussed up-thread, I'm not sure any decision has been made about whether to charge for parking at this garage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 2 hours ago, wilcal said: The last time I asked METRO, the parking is going to be free. I just don't understand how METRO can justify spending tens of millions to provide free parking. TXDoT does it on every freeway! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay123 Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 And is the metrorail going to be extended to shepherd park and ride?I haven’t seen metro lately say anything about that and the extensions to hobby airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted September 26, 2023 Share Posted September 26, 2023 On 9/25/2023 at 8:45 AM, wilcal said: The last time I asked METRO, the parking is going to be free. I just don't understand how METRO can justify spending tens of millions to provide free parking. Considering there's a retail component, that seems like a good idea. People in Houston love free parking, and it will bring hundreds people past the stores each day. Slightly off topic, but I wish that more transit agencies America would take the development-funding business model seriously. It's worked so successfully in so many other places from Singapore to Tokyo and elsewhere. If Metro has x acres of land for this project, build an apartment building on it, plus offices, and retail. The money from the rents goes to fund Metro, and the buildings are a natural draw to bring people who live and work there to use the transit system. Some of the largest real estate developments on the planet are owned by transit companies. Bonus: That's less money the transit agency needs from tax payers. Who owns the World Trade Center in New York? The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the same people who run the commuter trains and busses across the Hudson River. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 Yeah these new transit centers are disappointing with no residential or retail component. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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