(12:00:29 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Welcome to Transit Talk. This month our subject is the five light-rail lines we're building. All questions will be moderated. Please limit your questions to this topic.

 (12:02:17 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Alison both showed how vulnerable our current light rail line is to natural disasters. This seems like a problem that must be overcome if light rail is to be the backbone of Houston's transit system. What steps are being taken to reduce the effects of wind and water on our present and future light rail lines?

A: Actually, the whole METRO system was backing up and running very quickly considering the size and scale of the storm. And many of the constraints on METRO opening back up, just like the rest of Houston, were from issues outside our control.

Nevertheless, as always in these cases, we will be conducting our own due diligence on some of the issues that METRO faced, and we will incorporate those in our planning as relevant.

(12:06:04 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: There is concern that the construction of a train washing and maintenance facility on Harrisburg will create a commercial "dead zone" in that area. Could this problem be solved by including some retail space for lease on the Harrisburg side of the facility?

A: METRO is presently progressing our conceptual plans for this area, and we have committed to continue to work with the community as we understand their concerns.

 The location of the facility was chosen to avoid the East End development plan and we believe that this facility can be appropriately incorporated. From my personal experience of this type of facility in other cities, compatible development can, and will occur in the area.

 Large parts of the East End are beginning a regeneration process, and we believe that the LRT will play its part in this positive process. Our planners will look into your suggestion. Thank you.

Q: From past web chats, it is clear that Metro has no plan to improve local bus service on the Westheimer routes. I understand that rail will come to the west side via Richmond. How will that impact the Westheimer corridor? Can that light rail line help me get to work on time?

A: To the contrary, although it is outside my responsibilities, I believe METRO does have plans to upgrade bus service along Westheimer.

 The LRT is designed to be a backbone of the transit system in this area, and we will be using bus routes as feeder services into the LRT.

 Last month, METRO divided Route 82 on Westheimer into two routes to better serve the current market as part of our on-going service improvement programs.

(12:10:23 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Is there a plan to bring light rail/commuter rail to the Woodlands?

A: There are no immediate plans for light-rail commuter rail directly to this area, although the North area does have some new lines coming that will benefit Woodlands commuters. As we begin work on METRO Solutions Phase 3 in the future, we'll be looking at serving more of the outlying areas.

 (12:13:04 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Thanks for this opportunity to ask these questions. Can you give me a current status on the Intermodal terminal and connections to this facility?

A: METRO is presently focusing its efforts on the five LRT corridors, including the North Corridor which will pass immediately through the Intermodal Terminal area.

We are also planning an addition to the road system in this area. However, LRT is the key to the regeneration of the Hardy Yards area which is why the LRT system is the focus of our present activities.

(12:14:04 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: METRO has not secured a contract with Parsons, and they reportedly tried to get the FTA to front the first two lines 100%, AGAIN! The Do-Nothing Democrat Congress allowed the Highway Trust Fund to be depleted, so where is the money to come from?

A: I do not believe your facts are correct.

(12:17:03 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Why can't we use the airport trains as a general concept on how to build a train that can be above or below grade. IAH has some decent basic examples of both a subway (inter-terminal train) and a monorail (elevated -Terminal link)

Then just make the appropriate engineering designs that would be effective to make the system work. and sadly BOTH go faster than the METRORail. 

A : While it is true that the monorail concept is very useful in airport terminals, our own experience in Houston shows that the LRT system as built, and as planned, for the extensions is the most efficient way of providing a downtown, on-street service.

The Red Line is the most successful LRT system in the country when viewed on a per mile, per vehicle basis. The cost of monorail and its general inaccessibility in a downtown context, such as Houston, would not make it competitive for federal funding.

 (12:26:24 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: I have heard in the past of problems getting right-of-way for the Uptown line up to the NW Transit Center. Have those negotiations been concluded? Is it looking like the Uptown is going to move ahead?

A: You are correct that access to the Northwest Transit Center is constrained because of all of the road and other infrastructure development in that region. METRO staff and designers have been working for some time to resolve this challenge, and we have included all of the stakeholders to assist in resolution.

We believe that we have found a technical solution that works for METRO, which is acceptable to TxDOT, Uptown and other key stakeholders. Uptown is moving ahead as METRO originally scheduled.

(12:30:44 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Bryan, I don't get it. Much of the congestion on our freeways today is due to commuters clogging up the freeways from communities like the woodlands, Spring, Katy, Sugar Land, Kingwood, why aren't we building rail lines to these places. These may be a greater cost, but it will free up our freeways and provide for a greater quality of life. Do you agree or disagree with this, and please comment.

A: I answered this general question on the July Web chat. The first step in an expansion of a regional transit system is to have a downtown connector/circulator system. That is how the LRT system has been designed, and that is why it is the first step in implementation.

You may be aware that we are already planning a number of commuter rail lines and the intention here is that we bring these services in from the outlying areas and connect them into the downtown LRT and bus system.

 As we build up this multi-modal regionally connected system, we will be able to provide passengers with more options and therefore, it is most likely that people will decide to leave their cars at home, especially as it is likely that traffic congestion will continue to build.

 There is only so much that METRO can do on its own to resolve what is a regional transportation challenge.

 (12:34:46 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Will the adjacent vehicular traffic lane widths to LRT guideways be 10 or 11 feet?

A: When METRO was planning its approach to the LRT design, we held a large number of meetings with the community. Many of these meetings included local politicians and other key representatives of the community.

From those meetings, METRO realized that we had to work hard to find a balanced between the transit needs, the needs of road users and last, but not least, residents and businesses along the corridor.

 To do this, one of the aspects that we had to look closely at was the road lane widths. From this we have lane widths which vary from 10 to 11 feet and I believe in some places where we were able to do so without impact on residents or businesses, we have as much as 12 feet.

(12:38:16 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: The trees that are being removed due to guideway restrictions, will there be mitigation or replanting?

A: METRO has committed to leaving at least as many trees in each corridor after we have finished work as were there prior to commencement of the LRT construction.

 As we are completing the design of the LRT, our designers are planning the locations for the future tree locations. We have developed a mitigation plan, which is part of the process that we go through with the city for compliance. As the site work commences, we will have arborists involved.

(12:39:03 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: What is your plan on complying with the noise ordinance during construction?

A: The noise ordinance restrictions are included in our construction contract and our contractors will be required to comply.

(12:42:27 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Is METRO going to hold an architectural design competition for new stations?

A: METRO intends to use a similar design for the stations as the Red Line. We have learned some lessons from the original design in terms of maintainability, and we will be incorporating those in the corridor stations.

 The general feedback that we get from the public is that they like the modern, clean lines of the station.

We have had an art competition to provide an element of customization for the stations and the resulting art work has been shown to the public through the community outreach offices and other locations.

 (12:43:25 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: There are quite a few unique conditions in downtown where clay pavers are installed as crosswalks along Capitol and Rusk. What will happen to these pavers within the guideway?

A: To the extent that METRO's guideway construction affects the existing crosswalks, the existing pavers would be restored in kind.

(12:45:25 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Ok, fair enough, so you build a hub and spoke system. If the furthest extent (up 45) of the light rail is Northline mall area, and if you planned to add services to the suburbs that are north, do you already have the available land / easement rights to make this a possibility

A: We are going way beyond the scope of the five LRT corridors here. However, just to make a final point, as I mentioned earlier, the solution to the regional transportation problem would involve more than just METRO, and we will be working closely with other stakeholders in terms of available land and easements.

(12:48:10 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: 11. What has been the biggest hurdle, other than funding, you have faced in designing the new light-rail lines?

A: I touched on this issue in an earlier answer. To provide the best possible system one needs to go where the people are or where the people want to go.

This usually means that you end up building the system close to a lot of residences or businesses. The biggest challenge in any urban transit system is to work with the community to get the job finished as quickly as possible whilst working extremely hard to minimize the impact on the very people that we are going to serve.

(12:48:58 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: If the city is requiring minimums of 11 feet for lane widths, how will METRO address those areas that cannot fit the 11 feet lanes and keep the appropriate number of lanes?

A: The minimum lane width agreed with the city, and included in the Consent Agreement, is 10 feet.

(12:52:22 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Has METRO considered embedding some portions of the light rail tracks in grass? I have seen this used in numerous other cities and it is far more aesthetically pleasing than impervious concrete.

 In places like Richmond Ave where residents are concerned about the loss of trees, it could add back some green space and make it very clear where cars don't belong.

A: This is another very topical issue. You are absolutely right that adding greenery to an LRT system can help to "soften" the environment.

However, like everything else in life, there are trade-offs. And having grass close to an LRT system has long-term maintenance issues. Some people have suggested that we consider Astroturf to avoid these issues. We haven't made any final decisions yet.

 (12:57:05 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Could you tell us about all the places in the 2012 system that will have through routes at intersections, such as running the uptown line directly onto university and to downtown and all the way up the north line?

A: Interconnectivity of any rapid transit system is an extremely important issue as, if done properly, it can significantly increase ridership.

As part of the planning process, we have looked at a large number of alternative ways of interconnecting the system to provide "one-seat" rides. We are presently working with our private sector contractor on operability issues and expect to finish this process early next year.

 One of the obvious candidates for a one-seat ride is the connection of Uptown to the University Corridor. We are presently planning to connect Uptown to the University Corridor with one-seat rides both to the west and to the east.

 (12:58:49 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: How will METRO enforce the noise ordinance if it is not being met?

A: METRO will enforce the noise ordinance by providing active field oversight and the enforcement of the noise ordinance constraints spelled out in the contract provisions.

(1:01:25 PM) Bryan Pennington:

Q: Once we have the full 2012 system, do you think we might have some trains running later in the evening? At least on weekends?

A : My personal opinion is that as we connect more parts of the city together, bearing in mind that Houston is what the planners call a polycentric city, we will need to start running later in the evening, including weekends.

An operating railway always has to balance service to our customers with the need to take the vehicles back "home" for cleaning once a day.

(1:04:59 PM) Bryan Pennington:

We're out of time now. I enjoyed chatting with you as always. See you next time.