Houstonist: The Curious Case of the Shorter Commute

Katharine Shilcutt Gleave

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:57:19 -0600

That's exactly why I wasn't a fan of the expansion to begin with. It really bothered me that we had existing rail lines running parallel to the Katy Freeway all the way into town, but that they were going to be torn up in favor of more pavement. A light rail line there would have been fantastic. I was so disappointed. You're right that we need to look beyond traditional vehicular transportation and more into public transit. I also wish that they'd institute some kind of moratorium on homebuilding out in Katy (and Sugar Land and Spring and Cypress...etc) and force people to use the existing housing and infrastructure that we have. It's entirely out of control right now. But that's a pipe dream at best... :D

dresden

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:10:34 -0600

That is, of course, the point of expanding a freeway. But given the Katy area's current growth rate, it's just a matter of time before the Katy Freeway gets congested again. Especially if (when?) the economy picks up. And what then? At some point, TxDOT needs a new game plan.

Katharine Shilcutt Gleave

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:44:48 -0600

I gotta tell ya, traffic lately has been light years better than it used to be. I attribute a lot of that to the expansion of the Katy Freeway, which I hated before and during construction. But now that they're done with it, I have to grudingly admit that they did a bang-up job.