The University Line short list

And so we have some final-ish alignment options for Metro's University light rail line: All of them would begin at MetroRail's Wheeler Station on Main Street and head west along Richmond Avenue for some distance, and all would avoid Afton Oaks, which has been a loudly squeaking wheel in the planning process. But that's pretty much where the similarities end:

• The first proposal would turn south on Montrose Boulevard, then west on an elevated structure above the Southwest Freeway to a point just east of Kirby, where it would jog south, then west along Westpark. It's the route U.S. Rep. John Culberson — who announced his opposition to a Richmond alignment this summer — asked Metro to look into, but there are problems with it: As Intermodality notes, it's the highest-priced proposal with the lowest potential ridership. What's more, it could take out a lane of one of the busiest freeways in town and would carry the rail line right past the homes of pro-rail, anti-Culberson voters. Payback is hell.

• Proposal No. 2 would continue along Richmond to Greenway Plaza, where (according to Houston Strategies) it would cut south to Westpark at Plaza Drive A, an internal Greenway street near Buffalo Speedway. This route would involve elevated structures and would miss some potential ridership west of Greenway.

• The third idea is to take the line west along Richmond to Cummins, just east of Weslayan, where it would turn south to Westpark. This proposal has the highest potential ridership: It not only would serve Montrose, the University of St. Thomas and Menil Collection, the Shepherd Plaza area, Kirby and Greenway Plaza, but would also come reasonably close to the cluster of dense development between Greenway Plaza and Weslayan. "Staying on Richmond just three extra blocks to add a second Greenway station adds almost a thousand daily riders — and lowers the cost by reducing elevated track," Christof at Intermodality writes.

The end of each proposal is the same: The line would head west along Westpark to the Hillcroft Transit Center. If the University Line were to go along Richmond to Sage, it would serve the southern Uptown area, provide an easier jog to the Galleria and (according to Intermodality) pick up another 1,600 riders. That would seem to make the most sense from a transit planning standpoint, but it seems the long-term transit benefits ship has long since sailed.

East of Main, the line could go three ways as well: along Wheeler and Alabama to a dead-end at Scott; along Wheeler to Ennis to Alabama to Scott; or along Wheeler to Ennis to Elgin and the Eastwood Transit Center. That third option is the costliest, Intermodality notes, but also picks up the most riders and allows for a future connection with the Harrisburg transit line and Galveston commuter rail. (The Chronicle has a map of these routes if you're unclear.)

Metro is planning to make a final decision on the route by May and begin construction in the summer of 2008.