Better skyline Houston or Dallas? (Austin, Atlanta: budget, waterfront, square)

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Good luck.

HA. we have three light rail lines under construction at the moment and unlike Dallas light rail lines, Houstons actually link MAJOR hubs which is why we have a higher ridership per mile. not to mention we have one of the best bus/HOV systems in the country. while our rail is behind, we have other modes of transportation that more than make up for it until we build our light rail system out to spec.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

While Houston hasn't had any "supertalls" since the 1980's, its had lots of 600, 500, 400, & 300 footers go up within the past decade. Most US cities would be lucky just to get one of those.

Well, Houston has had one 600+ footer go up in the last decade, as has Austin. Dallas hasn't had anything over 600 ft go up since the 80's, and in fact only had one building over 480 ft go up since 1988 (Museum Tower at 560').

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by TexasTallest

HA. we have three light rail lines under construction at the moment and unlike Dallas light rail lines, Houstons actually link MAJOR hubs which is why we have a higher ridership per mile. not to mention we have one of the best bus/HOV systems in the country. while our rail is behind, we have other modes of transportation that more than make up for it until we build our light rail system out to spec.

Let's see how the ridership will be when it's totally built out.

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Well, Houston has had one 600+ footer go up in the last decade, as has Austin. Dallas hasn't had anything over 600 ft go up since the 80's, and in fact only had one building over 480 ft go up since 1988 (Museum Tower at 560').

Ok, a lot of the new construction in Dallas are low rise buildings, which help densify the urban core. I would rather have ten 200 ft buildings than two 600 ft buildings.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by TexasTallest

HA. we have three light rail lines under construction at the moment and unlike Dallas light rail lines, Houstons actually link MAJOR hubs which is why we have a higher ridership per mile. not to mention we have one of the best bus/HOV systems in the country. while our rail is behind, we have other modes of transportation that more than make up for it until we build our light rail system out to spec.

I bet the escalators at The Galleria have higher ridership per mile than MetroRail, though.

Light rail is a bit of a boondoggle, if you ask me. It's a toy for city boosters to market to selection committees of conventions and events. That's fine, as long as you understand the game and aren't hoping for a true rapid transit solution.

The bigger the system gets, the worse the service becomes. And the second it runs on the surface, it becomes a slow, inefficient street car.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Let's see how the ridership will be when it's totally built out.

It should drop, but not sink like a rock like DART.

You have to understand hun, Dart is a completely new implementation while metrorail was superimposed and replaces successful bus routes.

The east line replaces about ten eastern bus routes. buses run every five to ten minutes in that area. That route may be just as popular as the red line.
The north line replace the 56 and others such as the 102, 14, 9 etc. the 56 rank among the westheimer buses in terms of passengers carried. The 56 during peak run every ten minutes. Three 102 runs every 15 during peak, and is ridiculously packed during that time.

The southeast line replaces the 52, 5, 60, etc. ridership on the 52 has grown like crazy. Iike the 56 it carries tons of people and run frequently.

You have to understand too that the core of Houston is filled with amenities and metrorail is limited to an urban rail system. Dallas has fewer amenities in its core and DART is urban rail mixed with commuter length distances. Houston will never have those useless miles because it is a city only system. Not even city, but core of The city. When the commuter rails go in, they willnot affect ridership because it well be a different type of system. Anyway, yes our ridership will most likely dip, but no where near as bad as DART. Dallas should have had commuter rail to the burbs and kept the light rail to the core

[slo1318]

Dallas has a much more interesting skyline with better building/architecture.
Houstons is slightly larger/taller but not significant to the average citizens eye.
In the grand scheme theyre about the same.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by slo1318

Dallas has a much more interesting skyline with better building/architecture.
Houstons is slightly larger/taller but not significant to the average citizens eye.
In the grand scheme theyre about the same.

im sorry, i thought you said Houstons skyline is SLIGHTLY larger/taller? i must have misread your post. 7 of the 10 tallest buildings in Texas are in Houston, and Houstons downtown has over twice as much square footage of office space as downtown Dallas.
while i agree many of the older buildings in Houston from the 70s-80s lack inspiration and Dallas has a few more stand out skyscrapers, thats partly due to the fact Dallas has about half as many skyscrapers to be competing with those pretty buildings. remove the bland skyscrapers in Houston and both cities would have much more comparable skylines in terms of size and stand out architecture.. then this would actually be a competition.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

Ok, a lot of the new construction in Dallas are low rise buildings, which help densify the urban core. I would rather have ten 200 ft buildings than two 600 ft buildings.

I bet you would, but that's not how it is in reality.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by slo1318

Dallas has a much more interesting skyline with better building/architecture.
Houstons is slightly larger/taller but not significant to the average citizens eye.
In the grand scheme theyre about the same.

Houston is a lot taller than Dallas. I noticed that my first time in Houston 13 years ago. I'll admit, its skyline even felt intimidating & overwhelming at first.