Search found 483 matches
- 25 Feb 2020 10:12
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: DFW Economy
- Replies: 462
- Views: 443685
Re: DFW Economy
A little off topic, but it's funny that a year or two ago, we were all talking about an economic slowdown. I suppose a slowdown is inevitable and anything can happen, but I'm honestly (pleasantly) surprised at how much construction we are still seeing to this day. People been talking about a slowdo...
- 02 Feb 2020 01:06
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Maybe the population growth in downtown neighborhoods will allow buses to become more functional. I mean, yeah, this is the biggest issue. Downtown Dallas needs another 300k employees working there. The lack of a critical mass of employment, and job sprawl more generally, really makes effective mas...
- 01 Feb 2020 20:18
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
^ A short comparison of farebox recovery ratios: https://metro.fandom.com/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio DART is an outlier on the low end at 13%. Keep in mind that is operating expenses only, not capital expenses. I've heard it said that the money DART gets from fares doesn't do much more than cover ...
- 01 Feb 2020 20:09
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
It seriously is one of the worst consumer experiences ever. Bumpy, LOUD, slow as molasses, obnoxiously meandering routes (okay, this is DART's fault), inconsistent connections, and completely unreliable. Sure some of that can be helped, but nearly all of it is because the bus is subject to vehicula...
- 13 Oct 2019 15:03
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: DFW Economy
- Replies: 462
- Views: 443685
Re: DFW Economy
The ACS may not be the best tool to use to skin this cat: https://onthemap.ces.census.gov Someone can select Fort Worth and then map what counties the city's workers are employed in, and see the top 100 counties in 2017. Then they can change the search and map what other Places (Cities and Census D...
- 12 Oct 2019 02:48
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: DFW Economy
- Replies: 462
- Views: 443685
Re: DFW Economy
The latest Census Bureau statistics, and the latest Ft. Worth Star Telegram article, confirm in fact that seems to have become reality. To wit: "But a large number of Fort Worth residents — nearly 192,000 people — still leaves the city for work, Census data shows. Between 2005-14, the percenta...
- 19 Mar 2019 10:24
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Hyperloop: Texas Triangle
- Replies: 36
- Views: 38425
Re: Hyperloop: Texas Triangle
Honestly, *nobody* has experience with operations that involve flying jets on magnetic rails inside of a vacuum-sealed tube. It's political willpower/obstruction and public perception that stalls our projects... not the ability to implement a technology. It's not a political willpower thing. We spe...
- 16 Mar 2019 11:07
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Hyperloop: Texas Triangle
- Replies: 36
- Views: 38425
Re: Hyperloop: Texas Triangle
The US is a backwater with respect to transportation infrastructure other than highway projects. We simply do not have the experience to engender any kind of confidence that this would be a successful project here. We can build 19th century technology (i.e. subway) only at a 5-10x cost premium to We...
- 16 Mar 2019 10:49
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: DFW Economy
- Replies: 462
- Views: 443685
Re: DFW Economy
I had heard that (at the height of the boom) DFW was adding ~300-400 residents a day, I just wasn't sure how consistent that number was. Although the boom cycle has been lasting a while, I just assumed whoever first released that number just took a snapshot of some of our best months and released t...
- 16 Mar 2019 10:23
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Uptown Dallas: (PWC) Park District Tower (316 FT | 20 ST) + Residences at Park District (385 FT | 32 ST)
- Replies: 184
- Views: 193800
Re: Uptown Dallas: (PWC) Park District Tower (316 FT | 20 ST) + Residences at Park District (385 FT | 32 ST)
From checking their website, it looks like the 1BRs start at $2400, while the 2BRs start at $4200. That makes more sense, though it's still quite a hefty price difference. And it's not my understanding that Dallas has been building a ton of 1BRs with few larger options, so that wouldn't explain it. ...
- 16 Mar 2019 10:16
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Uptown Dallas: (PWC) Park District Tower (316 FT | 20 ST) + Residences at Park District (385 FT | 32 ST)
- Replies: 184
- Views: 193800
Re: Uptown Dallas: (PWC) Park District Tower (316 FT | 20 ST) + Residences at Park District (385 FT | 32 ST)
A quick glance at the website indicates the approx. pricing for apartments... 1 Bedroom- $2500 / 2 Bedroom- $6000 / 3 Bedroom- $12,000 I'm assuming they can find enough gullible buyers to pay these prices. I mean don't get me wrong, the finish-outs are spectacular! I am extremely confused by these ...
- 10 Mar 2019 13:15
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Henderson Avenue Corridor
- Replies: 361
- Views: 299225
Re: Henderson Avenue Corridor
While I haven't seen the finalized plans, I saw the drafts and it's pretty comprehensive. Lane narrowing, addition of parallel parking, trees planted as buffers, decorative pavement, bumpouts, streetlights, neighborhood entry signage and some more complex work closer to 75 to clear up the congestio...
- 24 Dec 2018 01:16
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: North Dallas: Midtown
- Replies: 385
- Views: 840983
Re: North Dallas: Midtown
Driverless vehicles are being considered for the Midtown area, as well as a people-mover system being backed by NCTCOG. Sounds like a bit of cart-before-the-horse, but maybe I'll be wrong. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2018/12/22/transit-planners-using-valley-views-prolonged-demise...
- 23 Dec 2018 13:11
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Parking Garages
- Replies: 140
- Views: 122019
Re: Parking Garages
It'll come time in Dallas City Council to allow for development without too much parking, especially residential and hotel. I mean, why not allow it now. I highly doubt there would be any interest from developers in very low- or no-parking buildings at the moment, but why wait until after the marke...
- 23 Dec 2018 11:07
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Overall Construction Levels
- Replies: 35
- Views: 33025
Re: Overall Construction Levels
I've seen some talk of a potential slowdown on this forum, so I thought that now would be a good time to give some data updates. The graphs below are the number of residential units given building permits over the prior 12-month period. So the start of the graph is for Feb 2009-Jan 2010, and the las...
- 21 Dec 2018 14:40
- Forum: The Parks, Trails, + Miscellaneous Infrastructure
- Topic: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
- Replies: 169
- Views: 175693
Re: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
Yeah, the City's initial light touch approach of just requiring data sharing and waiting to see what issues arose before regulating was excellent. It was what allowed the service to grow here much more quickly and extensively than in other places, despite the poor fundamentals of bicycling in Dallas...
- 20 Dec 2018 14:23
- Forum: The Parks, Trails, + Miscellaneous Infrastructure
- Topic: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
- Replies: 169
- Views: 175693
Re: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
I’m unclear what “misconceptions” that is supposed to clear up. Dallas wanted to charge operators $275,000 per year in total, $18/bike.
The idea that the City needs to hire four new employees (two office staff and two enforcement officers) to work full-time monitoring the bikes is absurd.
The idea that the City needs to hire four new employees (two office staff and two enforcement officers) to work full-time monitoring the bikes is absurd.
- 18 Dec 2018 01:41
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Bus route times are notoriously variable, so even the best-timed connections can be messed up when a bus is held up in traffic. It's all connected. Buses shouldn't be held up in traffic because they should have their own lanes anywhere congestion might significantly impact service. Enforcement is a...
- 17 Dec 2018 10:55
- Forum: The Parks, Trails, + Miscellaneous Infrastructure
- Topic: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
- Replies: 169
- Views: 175693
Re: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
A large part of the reason dockless hasn't been as successful in the US is regulation and fees. Sure, Dallas' $21/bike was less than Seattle's $50/bike. But, spoiler alert, Seattle's program crashed and burned after that too. Saying that it's lower than another fee that helped kill a market doesn't ...
- 16 Dec 2018 16:48
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: The Plague of Pancake Development
- Replies: 13
- Views: 18534
Re: The Plague of Pancake Development
Late last week, D Magazine looked into the ugliness of the newer crop of apartments around the area. https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/12/were-still-trying-to-understand-why-new-apartments-are-so-ugly/ Basically all housing from all time periods is just a copy-paste job that contemporary a...
- 16 Dec 2018 15:59
- Forum: The Parks, Trails, + Miscellaneous Infrastructure
- Topic: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
- Replies: 169
- Views: 175693
Re: Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike
Who do they think they are fooling they will outlaw these as soon as a few taxpayers complain just like they did with the bikes. The scooters are only surviving right now because the city granted them a delay on taxing the scooter companies. As soon as city hall decides to start taxing Bird and Lim...
- 16 Dec 2018 15:46
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
I’m not against looking at how others solve real problems to find solutions to ours. But these solutions from elsewhere will need a local Texas twist to make them valid here. Texans are capable of finding their own solutions to our problems. Hughes Tool Company, Texas Instruments, and Southwest Air...
- 16 Dec 2018 15:21
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Real-talk though, the unwillingness of US transit operators to look overseas for best practices (real, operational best practices, not these kind of gimmicks) is a significant part of the reason why US transit provision is so bad. What operational practices should we import from overseas? One of th...
- 14 Dec 2018 01:11
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
- Replies: 519
- Views: 451830
Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
I am personally tired of reading transplanted non-native Texans proposing solutions from elsewhere to problems that do not exist here. Texans are not stupid, we have developed our own traditions and solutions to problems. We do not want Texas, and specifically Dallas and Fort Worth, to turn Into Ch...
- 14 Dec 2018 00:53
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Arts District: 1900 Pearl (362 FT | 25 ST)
- Replies: 203
- Views: 193397
Re: Arts District: 1900 Pearl (362 FT | 25 ST)
If you're quoting enough text to take up the entire screen, you're being annoying. Internet fighting is part of the deal, but we don't need to see the same wall of quoted text in post after post.
- 14 Dec 2018 00:45
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
- Replies: 1075
- Views: 913863
Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Seattle's bus system is actually useful, unlike Dallas' rail system. Number of miles or number of stations is irrelevant if you're not actually providing a competitive way to get from place to place. The way that Seattle makes their bus system useful is by prioritizing buses over cars with things li...
- 27 Nov 2018 10:12
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Knox District / Knox Park
- Replies: 814
- Views: 614059
Re: Knox / Henderson - Knox Street Side
Has this link been posted already? [url]Weirsplaza.com[/url] Don’t think I’ve seen this rendering from GFF site. I like the change to parallel parking on Travis, but they really need to reduce that curb radius at the Knox/Travis corner. They'll be rebuilding it anyway, so might as well do it right ...
- 24 Nov 2018 13:38
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Dallas Arts District: Hall Arts Hotel & Residences
- Replies: 318
- Views: 303573
Re: Arts District: Hall Arts Hotel & Residences
I noticed that too, but I like it. That's a big trend in NYC these days. I like it too, and I wouldn't mind a few more like that. I mean, it's just some quirky trend or anything, that's just what happens in high-demand areas when FAR is the binding zoning constraint. You have a given amount of squa...
- 14 Nov 2018 17:52
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
- Replies: 1075
- Views: 913863
Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
On another note, it does make me sort of laugh to think Amazon is just going to land whatever tech talent they want from these feeder institutions of higher education. As if every graduate is just going to go to work for Amazon once they graduate. They will face significantly greater competition fo...
- 13 Nov 2018 02:01
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
- Replies: 1075
- Views: 913863
Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
And that's not just some prestige game, either. There are tangible, rational reasons why ambitious young grads (or really ambitious people of any age) prefer to locate in a place like NYC. It offers a deep pool of cutting-edge companies and startups that you can switch to to advance your career or p...
- 13 Nov 2018 01:08
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
- Replies: 1075
- Views: 913863
Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
It drives me insane that every article talking about the lack of tech talent/higher education in Dallas ignores UT, A&M, and OU grads. I understand they aren't in the metro, but all three schools are huge, high quality, feeders to the Dallas job pool in addition to SMU, TCU, UTD, and UTA. I wou...
- 14 Oct 2018 15:49
- Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
- Topic: Columbia/Main Complete Streets
- Replies: 11
- Views: 16954
Re: Columbia/Main Complete Streets
We do 4>3 lane conversions (going from 2 through lanes in each direction to 1 in each direction plus a middle turn lane) on higher volume roadways than this without difficulty. In this case, I imagine they'd take it from 7 lanes to 5 (eliminating 1 through lane in each direction). That's still a ver...
- 14 Oct 2018 15:39
- Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
- Topic: Columbia/Main Complete Streets
- Replies: 11
- Views: 16954
Re: Columbia/Main Complete Streets
Converting neighborhood infrastructure to the benefit of neighborhood residents rather than non-residents improves cost/benefit of city living. Tam, sometimes I wonder if you're just trolling to get attention. I think you'll find very few thoroughfares in Dallas that are more dedicated to residents...
- 12 Oct 2018 09:37
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Oak Cliff Progressing
- Replies: 257
- Views: 209358
Re: Oak Cliff Progressing
Sadly developers will come in build up and be gone before the city even thinks about making the area urban/pedestrian oriented. The one decent outcome of our stupid development process out here in the Bay Area is that the city makes improving the adjacent pedestrian infrastructure a condition of ap...
- 29 Sep 2018 00:41
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Downtown Dallas: Courtyard by Marriott (12 St)
- Replies: 123
- Views: 120313
Re: Downtown Dallas: Courtyard by Marriott (12 St)
God this building looks so cheap and gross Doesn't look cheaper than a surface lot. Nobody is going to invest 200MM developing a building in a part of town that hasn't seen any construction activity in ages. This and the rennovation of the Belo will hopefully breathe new life in to an area that des...
- 24 Sep 2018 09:40
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: DTD: Farmer's Market 1.0
- Replies: 283
- Views: 252250
Re: DTD: Farmer's Market 1.0
I wish we could get a nice block of 8-10 mid rise buildings throughout this side of town. I’m fairly sure they have to under the Farmers Market PD No, they don't. Zoning basically never requires a minimum density, and this is no different. Developers could build large lot single family homes if the...
- 18 Sep 2018 13:13
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: New Census Population Estimates
- Replies: 307
- Views: 305448
Re: New Census Population Estimates
Also it's not that big a deal that the median home price is disconnected from the median income because the median earner rents, they don't own. Dallas will share that same distinction in the next decade or so. You have it backwards. Housing prices out of line of incomes doesn’t matter to current h...
- 18 Sep 2018 10:54
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: New Census Population Estimates
- Replies: 307
- Views: 305448
Re: New Census Population Estimates
It's amazing that people still flock to the west coast. The desire to be there is undeniable. Great place. Eh, except they don't really. Last year LA had net negative domestic migration of -110k, SJ of -26k, and SF of -24k. The only group of people with positive migration to California are college ...
- 18 Sep 2018 10:21
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: New Census Population Estimates
- Replies: 307
- Views: 305448
Re: New Census Population Estimates
LA's biggest issue for some time has been the disparity between income and housing prices. Sure, much of coastal CA is expensive, but nearly all of it makes up with it to a degree with higher incomes. This is not so much the case with Los Angeles, however. Yeah, median household income in LA and Da...
- 06 Sep 2018 23:48
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Preston Center
- Replies: 85
- Views: 55364
Re: Preston Center
While I'm happy to have construction go in there, it's lame that it'll be shorter than the surrounding buildings.
- 05 Sep 2018 10:25
- Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
- Topic: Lakewood-White Rock: Garland Rd./Grand/Gaston intersection
- Replies: 21
- Views: 24102
Re: Lakewood-White Rock: Garland Rd./Grand/Gaston intersection
I'd be okay with delays if they expanded the sidewalks ( or created them portions of Gaston don't even have sidewalks!) Or if they added bikelanes. But this isn't advocating anything. Yeah, the obvious actual solution to the issue those residents are identifying is a road diet on Gaston, like a sta...
- 05 Sep 2018 10:13
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: Silver Line
- Replies: 402
- Views: 458543
Re: the Cotton Belt line
^ I know you're trying to be funny, but it's not. Perhaps you should meet some of the folks who've been assaulted, raped and robbed in Deep Ellum. It's no joke...every other news story about these incidents ends with practically the same last sentence: "The suspects were last seen headed towar...
- 03 Sep 2018 16:39
- Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
- Topic: Lakewood-White Rock: Garland Rd./Grand/Gaston intersection
- Replies: 21
- Views: 24102
Re: Lakewood-White Rock: Garland Rd./Grand/Gaston intersection
Wow. Gaston gets twice the volume of Grand from Garland. And these people want to make the through movement go on Garland because maybe it'll trick drivers into taking the other route? lol Look at that vehicle delay! The 1,596 vehicles going from Garland to Gaston would see their average delay incre...
- 22 Aug 2018 00:26
- Forum: Urban Development
- Topic: Harwood District: Hotel Swexan (20 ST)
- Replies: 301
- Views: 378484
Re: Harwood Int'l District: No.12 Harwood Hotel (20 ST)
311 emailed me back one day and said they'd do something eventually about the whole cluster-f crosswalk from hell by Rolex. Meanwhile, there is actually basically a crossing-guard at the intersection of doom for the last year or so. > https://twitter.com/CTroyMathis/status/1000366084749393921 That'...
- 21 Aug 2018 00:30
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: DART D2 Subway
- Replies: 508
- Views: 427171
Re: DART D2 Subway
Just got this link to an update on DART projects today Buried in the description for the D2 subway is this: Although DART did not receive funding from the FTA, DART is currently reviewing potential funding sources to keep development of the D2 Subway on track. http://dartdallas.dart.org/2018/06/29/...
- 18 May 2018 21:54
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: DART D2 Subway
- Replies: 508
- Views: 427171
Re: DART D2 Subway
I've mentioned this a few times, but I want to describe a bit more why the CB ridership projections are likely to be overstated. Travel models work by looking at how everyone is currently traveling, developing formulas from that based on demographic characteristics (age, income) and travel character...
- 18 May 2018 20:34
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: DART D2 Subway
- Replies: 508
- Views: 427171
Re: DART D2 Subway
As a transit agency, it is DART's duty to move people in its service area. One of these lines moves more people than the other. Well, yeah. D2 moves way more people than CB.. Not only in terms of people using the stations, but there’s also the through-rides that CB doesn’t have. If what you’re talk...
- 18 May 2018 12:27
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: DART D2 Subway
- Replies: 508
- Views: 427171
Re: DART D2 Subway
The 2nd Avenue subway is a good example. The net new ridership is probably minimal (a few fewer taxi rides from Yorkville), with most of the ridership simply diverted from the 4/5/6. But the benefit is massive, with reduced crowding on the 4/5/6 (which helps with delays as well as comfort), reduced ...
- 18 May 2018 12:18
- Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
- Topic: DART D2 Subway
- Replies: 508
- Views: 427171
Re: DART D2 Subway
3. Regardless, new ridership isn't so much the point of D2, whereas it is the sole reason for CB. Resilience/redundancy, operational flexibility, decreased travel times for existing riders, increased potential capacity.. D2 is pretty good at improving what it's meant to improve, while CB (with new ...
- 18 May 2018 09:46
- Forum: City Issues/News
- Topic: Downtown Progress
- Replies: 359
- Views: 250151
Re: Downtown Progress
I wonder where all that empty acreage is in New York City. I have rarely ever seen an empty space there. Rochester, buffalo, Houston, Tampa, etc....less available space than nyc and Chicago. I have been to all theses cities, this report is highly questionable. The size of the “CBD” they’re using fo...