Search found 483 matches

by tanzoak
24 Mar 2018 01:14
Forum: City Issues/News
Topic: New Census Population Estimates
Replies: 307
Views: 286816

Re: New Census Population Estimates

So DFW crushed it last year. #1 for total population growth with 146k. No one else was close. Rounding out the top 5, you had Houston (94k), Atlanta (89k), Phoenix (89k), and Washington, DC (66k). Austin was #9 with 55k. #5 out of the 50 largest metros on a percentage basis at 2.0%, with #1 Austin b...
by tanzoak
24 Mar 2018 00:16
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

Yeah, it's a complete embarrassment that the strongest economy in the country managed a piddling 0.6% annual growth last year and had net negative domestic migration. We refuse to build housing, so all our economic gains just get funneled into housing prices. Good for 20+ year homeowners, bad for ev...
by tanzoak
23 Mar 2018 15:40
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Replies: 519
Views: 426339

Re: Dallas Area Rapid Transit

I wish we had a system like every other city I've been to with sophisticated mass transit where you just scan at a station and pay based on the distance you've traveled. That may be difficult to install logistically at this point. I can understand the difficulty given most of the stations are outsi...
by tanzoak
23 Mar 2018 09:53
Forum: City Issues/News
Topic: New Census Population Estimates
Replies: 307
Views: 286816

Re: New Census Population Estimates

Yeah, I would read exactly zero into that difference. While it's "statistically" significant (MOEs for these things are around 2,000), it's not a practically meaningful difference. DFW is continuing its steady growth, which averaged 1.97% annually between 2010 and 2016. Dallas County, by t...
by tanzoak
15 Mar 2018 23:59
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

Well of course the people pitching hyperloop said Amazon cared about hyperloop. That doesn't mean it's true. Sorry, but companies don't make headquarters location decisions based on the potential for a transportation project that one day may come to fruition but as of now is not even reached the poi...
by tanzoak
13 Mar 2018 11:13
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Henderson Avenue Corridor
Replies: 361
Views: 285349

Re: Henderson Avenue Corridor

Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Per the letter it seems they're trying to up-zone.


:D :D :D
by tanzoak
13 Mar 2018 10:20
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Henderson Avenue Corridor
Replies: 361
Views: 285349

Re: Henderson Avenue Corridor

Hopefully it’s not people trying to downzone.
by tanzoak
10 Mar 2018 17:53
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

The reasons it could go worse are pretty obvious. I'd really like to see some reasons it could go better. Basically, it comes down to the fact that there are a ton of different alternatives to using 345 (see above post) that involve shifting traffic to roadways that are less congested than 75, offe...
by tanzoak
10 Mar 2018 17:17
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

I love how this thread never dies... lol I get that it's very clunky in the way that it's designed... But up until KWP was built, this was actually the least obstructive side of the mix master. I35E and I30 are easily more detrimental than I345 is. If they can't do a cut/cap option, than I think th...
by tanzoak
09 Mar 2018 14:43
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

It's so handy when someone mentions the Embarcadero when discussing I-345. You know right away that they're just parroting stuff they've heard, and really don't know what they're talking about. I live in SF and work as a transportation engineer, so let’s hope that I have some sort of idea what I’m ...
by tanzoak
09 Mar 2018 11:08
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

As far as the pet Embarcadero analogy, I-345 handles 3 TIMES as much traffic as Embarcadero ever did: "Prior to the earthquake, the Embarcadero Freeway carried approximately 70,000 vehicles daily in the vicinity of the Ferry Building". Meanwhile, "The NCTCOG estimates there are more ...
by tanzoak
08 Mar 2018 21:39
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised by people who are engaged enough to visit/post on an urban affairs message board also claiming that it's basically impossible that this might work or that it will definitely cause a traffic nightmare. It's been done successfully in many places with freeways just as centra...
by tanzoak
08 Mar 2018 21:22
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

As for point 3, isn't like DFW number #1 I'm brain gain? While it's a good thing for the metro that we're bringing in even more than we produce, it's a negative factor for HQ2. It means that local demand *already* outstrips supply, never mind after adding your x number of additional positions to fi...
by tanzoak
08 Mar 2018 21:15
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

The ability to fulfill the labor force needs is a legitimate concern. Rising home prices could theoretically be a concern, but they're still very low compared to the coasts and the metro has demonstrated the willingness and ability to build housing in response to high demand.
by tanzoak
07 Mar 2018 01:31
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Uptown Dallas: Marriott Uptown
Replies: 83
Views: 76162

Re: Uptown Dallas: Marriott Uptown

Looks good to me! Is it just me, or have the number of projects slowed down recently? It seems like we are seeing more smaller projects in under-developed areas like East Dallas, West Dallas, Oak Cliff, and the Cedars, and the big projects in Uptown have slowed. I suppose it makes sense, since land...
by tanzoak
06 Mar 2018 22:17
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

Send me the link to the "Stemmons Project" that you are referring to where the Cloverleaf 1 lane ramp southbound is addressed. (Hint: Good Luck. If you answer "Lower Stemmons" you've answered incorrectly. Go to 0:33 of this youtube video to see that nothing is done with the inte...
by tanzoak
06 Mar 2018 10:37
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

Well let's see what the estimates are for redoing each component/option that will be required to replace part of the capacity. I lined them out in the previous post. For instance, if a plan/option doesn't include the cost of redoing Woodall and Stemmons, so that all of Central Expressway isn't redu...
by tanzoak
06 Mar 2018 01:34
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

Also, lol at the idea of these agencies and consulting firms being driven by some "Millenial Fantasy World." You do realize that the oldest millenials are like mid-30s, right? You really think that's who's PMing major projects like this? Newsflash, this is all dudes in their 50s and 60s. A...
by tanzoak
06 Mar 2018 01:21
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

Any study that doesn't line out how much it would take to construct new access to replace the loss of the I-345 isn't worth a flip. If you take out I-345, the only way from Central to I-45 going south would be to go Woodall Rogers, and take the 1 lane cloverleaf ramp onto Stemmons. The Horseshoe wa...
by tanzoak
05 Mar 2018 01:05
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

I wonder if the models provide any estimates on the number of people that would be killed by removing the highway? For those going "WTF???", here are some reasons... - Limited access highways are by far the safest roads. Move a couple hundred thousand cars a day onto surface streets and y...
by tanzoak
05 Mar 2018 00:09
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

We're not talking about historic buildings downtown. We're talking about random single-family neighborhoods that look like this: Gotcha. What I was actually talking about are the 1- and 2-story commercial buildings along Davis like the TyPo campus. If you replaced those with something like Douglas ...
by tanzoak
04 Mar 2018 23:40
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

As a side note, the Wilson is actually quite dense! At 5 FAR and 200 units/acre, that's the same as SkyHouse Dallas. That's what no set-backs, no step-backs, and a moderate amount of parking will get you. How does the typical Dallas Development compare the the Wilson in terms of density? What's the...
by tanzoak
03 Mar 2018 17:18
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

As a side note, the Wilson is actually quite dense! At 5 FAR and 200 units/acre, that's the same as SkyHouse Dallas. That's what no set-backs, no step-backs, and a moderate amount of parking will get you.
by tanzoak
03 Mar 2018 17:03
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

Ahh, my old friend "character of the neighborhood." We must protect/subsidize/trap in amber low-rise/low-density neighborhoods! Dallas still has plenty of places to grow, but embedding that kind of thinking in how people think about land use causes real problems down the line when the cit...
by tanzoak
03 Mar 2018 11:52
Forum: The Bus + Roads/Highways/Bridges
Topic: I-345
Replies: 431
Views: 309333

Re: I-345

So earlier in this thread, I said that a legitimate argument for skepticism of CityMAP findings is that the error ranges on these models can be quite large, but also that to the extent that the estimates are incorrect, a TxDOT study is more likely to produce estimates biased in favor needing more ro...
by tanzoak
03 Mar 2018 11:08
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

Yeah, I'm loving the scale of this. I'm just afraid all of these little developments will be too car-friendly. The apartments with ground floor retail sound promising, but it's not very appealing when you have surface parking in front of it. That's also my problem with the Sylvan Thirty development...
by tanzoak
03 Mar 2018 10:52
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts
Replies: 524
Views: 519644

Re: Oak Cliff: Bishop Arts

I think 5 stories might be ok for this part of Davis street, but a few blocks east near Tyler – where Davis Street Market is/was planned – 5 stories would definitely threaten the character of the neighborhood. Ahh, my old friend "character of the neighborhood." We must protect/subsidize/t...
by tanzoak
01 Mar 2018 10:12
Forum: City Issues/News
Topic: Uptown Dallas: Business Openings and Closings
Replies: 636
Views: 630050

Re: Uptown Dallas: Business Openings and Closings

Deep Ellum is just about at full capacity as it is, good luck finding parking there on any weekend night. Hopefully not many people are driving to go out to bars on the weekend... Thankfully, this seems to be the case less and less. "And, most dramatically, [San Diego] nightclub valets are see...
by tanzoak
01 Mar 2018 10:04
Forum: City Issues/News
Topic: Uptown Dallas: Business Openings and Closings
Replies: 636
Views: 630050

Re: Uptown Dallas: Business Openings and Closings

I'm curious, but do you have examples of this? Typically, bar scenes are in dense neighborhoods, while party scenes are in more industrial neighborhoods. NYC bar scene in the Lower East Side and party scene in Bushwick. SF bar scene in The Mission, party scene in western Soma and West Oakland. To h...
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 11:03
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

Totally... I lived in LA for much of my life. The rich are totally loaded... But it doesnt really tell the story for LA. From a per capita standpoint... Dallas and LA re neck and neck. When you consider the Cost of Living in LA, you quickly realize why its a hellish place to try to get by. Measure ...
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 10:50
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

When is the State going to start matching municipal or federal contribution to construction cost? TxDOT is covering all of the state and local portion of the Red and Blue Lines platform extensions. That's $60 million. They're also chipping in $46 million for TEXrail and $2 million for an El Paso BR...
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 10:45
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

Sure, it could technically fully fund one of the projects on its own if neither get financial help, but why would we want to? Doing so essentially locks down DARTs own capital funding for quite some time, which means getting ANY federal $ for other projects in the near future would be almost imposs...
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 10:01
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

Wow, just looked this up.. LA is paying $4.2 billion for its Purple Line extension, with no state funds.
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 09:52
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

When is the State going to start matching municipal or federal contribution to construction cost? TxDOT is covering all of the state and local portion of the Red and Blue Lines platform extensions. That's $60 million. They're also chipping in $46 million for TEXrail and $2 million for an El Paso BR...
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 09:45
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

tamtagon wrote:When is the State going to start matching municipal or federal contribution to construction cost?


TxDOT is covering all of the state and local portion of the Red and Blue Lines platform extensions.
by tanzoak
28 Feb 2018 09:34
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

If I recall correctly, DART said they are capable of funding their portion of both lines at the same time, assuming they get the federal help they need. That is why they are proceeding with the necessary steps on both, so they can meet those federal application benchmarks. Also, I beleive each proj...
by tanzoak
26 Feb 2018 10:23
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor
Replies: 160
Views: 148419

Re: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor

I would argue traffic counts matter more than both of those elements. It is why most people are confused about retail in general because you can have a beautiful spot next to AT&T HQ but many retailers will scoff at the location unless it has adequate numbers of cars passing by on the daily. Of...
by tanzoak
23 Feb 2018 22:03
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor
Replies: 160
Views: 148419

Re: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor

That EIFS may be a certain percent cheaper than brick on the initial project cost worksheet, but it is going to cost them money in the future when their buildings rent for less because they look like crap. Also, some of the EIFS buildings experience bad cracking and leaking problems which cost mone...
by tanzoak
23 Feb 2018 21:54
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor
Replies: 160
Views: 148419

Re: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor

I still stand by my statement good design doesn't cost more. One of the keys to good design is that costs can be balanced just as much as a profit first project but then again we can debate this all day and still never convince each other. I just wish more of these developers had more on their mind...
by tanzoak
22 Feb 2018 23:38
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor
Replies: 160
Views: 148419

Re: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor

It's pretty contradictory to say that a) it doesn't cost anything more (either in materials cost or time) to deliver higher-quality construction/design, while b) developers are just doing this to make a quick buck. Either higher-quality doesn't cost more and developers are just stupid, or higher-qua...
by tanzoak
21 Feb 2018 22:57
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor
Replies: 160
Views: 148419

Re: East Dallas: Ross Avenue Corridor

Plain beige EIFS stick built apartment in Dallas. Groundbreaking. Ross Ave isn't Uptown. To get high-end construction and design, you have to be able to fetch high-end prices, and you're just not going to get that here. It's either the unexciting midrise that will bring 600 more people and their vi...
by tanzoak
18 Feb 2018 20:06
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

Don’t get me wrong, its a good thing for the region that tech employment is outperforming locally-grown supply. But it’s a negative factor for a company competing in that space contemplating a relocation (or major expansion in this case).
by tanzoak
18 Feb 2018 20:01
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

Wow, that article has it exactly backwards. A place that has more tech grads than tech jobs is a benefit, not a detriment, and vice versa. The point is that you want a high-quality workforce without having to compete too hard for them. A net importing of entry-level tech workforce means that the sup...
by tanzoak
17 Feb 2018 12:44
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

I don't know why all of you are arguing about these designations. The higher ed situation in DFW puts us at a disadvantage compared to the other top-tier competition, regardless. That's not saying that our unis are worthless, but compared to Boston/DC/Philly/Chicago/NYC/etc, we are at a clear disadv...
by tanzoak
16 Feb 2018 11:08
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?
Replies: 1075
Views: 878251

Re: Could Dallas land Amazon HQ '2'?

Cute rant. The man who invented the microchip was one of those Dallasites you look down upon so much. So you might want to calm yourself. Yeah lol seriously. If someone hates Dallas so much, they should probably move rather than write up epic rants on the internets. They’ll be much happier. One of ...
by tanzoak
15 Feb 2018 01:44
Forum: Urban Development
Topic: Victory Park 3.0
Replies: 918
Views: 760956

Re: Victory Park 3.0

That's disappointing to hear about Skyhouse lowering rents, but I've always felt Victory Park has been overpriced for quite a while. It's not disappointing at all - it's great. The margins on apartment towers are not so tight that lowered rents will hold back development, and money in renters' pock...
by tanzoak
15 Feb 2018 01:32
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

The reason why I'm disappointed with the line as envisioned today is because it doesn't connect all the light rail corridor spokes in what would be DART's surrounding wheel. Ideally, if you're going to run a rail line along LBJ, it should follow LBJ all the way around Dallas, being the wheel to the...
by tanzoak
10 Feb 2018 23:39
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

DART to date has avoided routing light rail lines down the middle of expressways, preferring to route light rail lines down one side or under. Any light rail line near LBJ will probably be very expensive and routed under it, just like DART subway under US-75. Building a subway a couple of miles lon...
by tanzoak
10 Feb 2018 23:08
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

Tier 1 look promising, somewhat. Once D2 is finished, another light rail line west to Oak Cliff makes sense.:) The LBJ line makes sense between I-35E and US-75, but that's not where they are proposing to build it. It only needs to tie the Green Line with the Red Line, or at most to the Blue Line. T...
by tanzoak
10 Feb 2018 16:11
Forum: Rail + Guided Transit
Topic: DART: Expansion
Replies: 109
Views: 120702

Re: DART: Expansion

For reference, here's AM work trip destination density:
Image

And here's AM work trip origin density:
Image