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Was reading this article over at the BLE and though it was rather interesting, seems the folks in Houston are having quite the time adjusting to their new light rail line. Here's the full article http://www.ble.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=10866 Here are some parts I thought were interesting..... [quote]QUOTE: Last year, when Houston finally got a rail line, the culture clash became physical. Since testing began in November, the silvery electric-powered train, which slides north and south along the street on a 7.5-mile route, has collided with more than 40 cars. [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: The accidents have marred what was to be a moment of rejuvenation for the city. The opening of the rail line was timed to coincide with a major spruce-up of downtown, complete with a fountain that flanks the tracks and sends water leaping high into the air each time a train approaches. ...........So far, 15 motorists have driven into the fountain. [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: Houston's accident rate is extraordinarily high. [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: The situation has quickly become part of Houston lore. At an annual sand castle competition this month, no fewer than 11 entries depicted trains and crashed cars, with titles like "Metrozilla" and "Weapons of Mass Destruction." [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: Officials of the transit agency, known as Metro, do not come right out and say so, but their explanations for the accidents boil down to this: Houstonians are bad drivers. All the collisions, they say, can be attributed to driver error: illegal turns, failure to yield and disregard of signals. There is plenty of support for that argument. The accident rate in greater Houston, train or no train, is well over double the national average, and it is particularly bad at the medical center. Last year the police issued 8,000 traffic citations along what has become the train's route. [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: "Unfortunately we lead the state in every conceivable type of crash," said Ned Levine, the transportation program coordinator for the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the region's planning group . [/quote] [quote]QUOTE: Maria Lewis-Sterling, a 46-year-old nurse, says her car was not even moving when its license plate was torn off by a passing train. Her car was protruding into the roadway, though, and she was charged $450 for damage to the train. Her accident was the first of six at one intersection, which has since been given two rail crossing signs. Ms. Lewis-Sterling said she had no hard feelings, and even rode the train to work this week. "Just give me my $450 back,'' she said, "and admit that you didn't do a perfect job.'' [/quote] It's nice to hear that Ms. Lewis-Sterling doesn't have any hard feelings. [:)] So what's going wrong down there in Huston[?]
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