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>Wouldn’t fast efficient light rail been generally better? Light rail has been there since before the toll lanes. This is not a small medical center, some of

>Wouldn’t fast efficient light rail been generally better? Light rail has been there since before the toll lanes. This is not a small medical center, some of the hospitals are skyscrapers.

dangus 9mo ago
Sure, Chicago’s daily regional transit ridership is 10x higher than Houston though. And they also have skyscraper medical centers. One of them doesn’t even have direct interstate access. Houston’s red line has similar ridership levels to Chicago’s third busiest L line. The two metro areas have a very similar population.
- fuzzfactor 9mo ago
  Good observation. In Houston the rail does not actually extend to any suburbs, if they have that in Chicago it would probably make a big difference. I got the idea when they were building it in Houston that a large bit of the Metro system is geared toward transporting people in lower-income areas who can't afford cars, so they can gain employment downtown and in the med center. When it comes to toll roads most suburbs have a long-established freeway commute, but directly west from downtown a major suburb is known as the International District containing a large concentration of immigrants. The only traffic solution leading in that direction was built as a tollway instead. It all started with the Beltway 8 toll bridge with toll that was cheaper than the gas saved by taking alternate routes. By now the toll road authority has expanded and embraced a growth mindset for so long, and in recent years gotten so expensive, that any upcoming candidate for County Judge may be able to prevail on a single-issue of lowering the tolls alone.
  - dangus 9mo ago
    > I got the idea when they were building it in Houston that a large bit of the Metro system is geared toward transporting people in lower-income areas who can't afford cars, so they can gain employment downtown and in the med center. This is how most US cities view public transit: poor people only. Only a handful of US cities treat it as something that everyone uses, places like NYC, Chicago, DC, and Boston. Houston should have an equivalent to the Metra or MBTA commuter rail.
    - SoftTalker 9mo ago
      It works in NYC and Chicago because owning a car there is frightfully expensive even if you're middle-class. Parking costs, city fees, higher gas taxes, higher insurance, and massive rush hour congestion all make owning a car unattractive.
      - deleted 9mo ago
        [deleted]

>Wouldn’t fast efficient light rail been generally better? Light rail has been there since before the toll lanes. This is not a small medical center, some of the hospitals are skyscrapers.

dangus 9mo ago

Sure, Chicago’s daily regional transit ridership is 10x higher than Houston though. And they also have skyscraper medical centers. One of them doesn’t even have direct interstate access. Houston’s red line has similar ridership levels to Chicago’s third busiest L line. The two metro areas have a very similar population.

fuzzfactor 9mo ago
Good observation. In Houston the rail does not actually extend to any suburbs, if they have that in Chicago it would probably make a big difference. I got the idea when they were building it in Houston that a large bit of the Metro system is geared toward transporting people in lower-income areas who can't afford cars, so they can gain employment downtown and in the med center. When it comes to toll roads most suburbs have a long-established freeway commute, but directly west from downtown a major suburb is known as the International District containing a large concentration of immigrants. The only traffic solution leading in that direction was built as a tollway instead. It all started with the Beltway 8 toll bridge with toll that was cheaper than the gas saved by taking alternate routes. By now the toll road authority has expanded and embraced a growth mindset for so long, and in recent years gotten so expensive, that any upcoming candidate for County Judge may be able to prevail on a single-issue of lowering the tolls alone.
- dangus 9mo ago
  > I got the idea when they were building it in Houston that a large bit of the Metro system is geared toward transporting people in lower-income areas who can't afford cars, so they can gain employment downtown and in the med center. This is how most US cities view public transit: poor people only. Only a handful of US cities treat it as something that everyone uses, places like NYC, Chicago, DC, and Boston. Houston should have an equivalent to the Metra or MBTA commuter rail.
  - SoftTalker 9mo ago
    It works in NYC and Chicago because owning a car there is frightfully expensive even if you're middle-class. Parking costs, city fees, higher gas taxes, higher insurance, and massive rush hour congestion all make owning a car unattractive.
    - deleted 9mo ago
      [deleted]