I really need to credit Donna for this.
The WSJ ran an interesting article on the sprucing up of Houston (1/22/04). Of interest, buried within the story was this wonderful treasure on their light rail:
“But some of Houston’s newest amenities have their own problems. The sleek new (light-rail) trains were involved in minor accidents with automobiles five times during testing and once since the official opening at the start of the year. Local leaders were so eager to avoid accidents during SuperBowl weekend they coughed up $110,000 in public money for a barrier along four downtown blocks. They also intend to leave the trains idle downtown during the evening festivities.”
So, it doesn’t work well with crossing roads, it can’t be run when you have the highest densities and you have to subsidize blocking off existing streets to make it functional. Oh, and I guess seeing an idle train is a good tourist attraction.
