Open mouth, insert train

Remember City Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck's idea about running the University light rail line along the north side of the Southwest Freeway between Mandell or Dunlavy and Edloe? The one that would reportedly require the demolition of between 50 and 75 homes and part of Chew Park? Yeah, well, Clutterbuck says she's sorry for any confusion, but she didn't really mean she wanted to send the rail line through any neighborhoods — what she would like to see is a rail line cantilevered out over the lanes of the Southwest Freeway, line one she supposedly saw in Dallas. Ah, of course.

"I made a tremendous misstep in not mentioning this to my colleague, council member (Ada) Edwards," Clutterbuck said. Edwards' district includes some of the properties. About 100 people attended the public meeting at City Hall Annex, called by Edwards after she learned from Metro about the proposal.

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Clutterbuck explained that while driving on Dallas' North Central Expressway she had seen a light rail line suspended over the wall of the freeway and asked Metropolitan Transit Authority officials to consider a similar arrangement here.

"Metro showed me their plan and said 'you'd take all these houses,' but I said, 'You're not listening — that's not what I'm asking. You wouldn't have to take all those houses if it's cantilevered."

Which is all well and good, but as the Chronicle points out, there are no rail lines cantilevered over the Central Expressway: There are sections of feeder road that stick out over the depressed freeway a bit, but the DART line doesn't. Details, details. What's more interesting to us is how Clutterbuck proposes getting this cantilevered rail line past the arched "signature bridges" over 59 and the freeway entrance and exit ramps — especially the Kirby exit, which leapfrogs over the Shepherd/Greenbriar entrance. It seems to us there would be some serious elevation required to get the rail line over all that and the Kirby/59 intersection, where Clutterbuck said she doesn't want to see a grade crossing. At least people wouldn't be able to run into the train way up there — but then again, we know better than to put anything past Houston drivers.