On the Move

Heat already on AGUA?

In reader comments posted yesterday in response to the Express-News’ story about AGUA’s lawsuit to stop the US 281/Loop 1604 interchange, several posters were calling for boycotts of local businesses listed on AUGA’s “donors” page.  Today, that list of businesses is gone from AGUA’s site.  Reading between the lines, I think it’s pretty obvious that the heat is already on AGUA from their donors over their wildly unpopular and inane decision to sue.

What effect do you think this will have, if any?

So long Maggie!

Maggie and yours truly at her retirement shindig

You’ve probably seen Maggie Rios on the local news talking about road construction, lane closures, and the like, but you won’t see her on TV anymore– at least not as a TxDOT spokesperson.  That’s because after 30 years of toiling at the state’s highway agency, Maggie has decided it’s time to give up the limelight and retire.  Now she’s off to do what most pensioners look forward to doing: spending ample time with her grandkids and husband and just plain relaxing.

I’ve known Maggie for almost two decades now, going back to when she was an assistant to David Otwell, the agency’s local public information officer back in the late ’80s and early ’90s.  She is a wonderfully kind person and a consummate professional who always strove to be the best liaison and ombudsman possible between TxDOT’s San Antonio district office and John Q. Citizen, an often challenging proposition.  She has provided immeasurable assistance to me over the years in the form of numerous documents, answers to countless questions, and the fielding of a number of complaints and suggestions (yes, even I complain to TxDOT once and a while).  Along the way, she has become a good friend.

As such, it was an honor and privilege for me to be able to attend her retirement ceremony a few weeks ago, during which she received a proclamation from the Legislature thanking her for her many years of service, as well as a flag that had been flown over the state capitol in her honor.  Additionally, she received a nice plaque from TxDOT and a wonderful gift from her co-workers.  It was obvious that she will be greatly missed.

Enjoy your retirement Maggie!

Good things from the Union Pacific in San Antonio

UP at TTM

I am delighted to be able to be able to share a positive story about the Union Pacific railroad, an organization which rarely gets much in the way of good press in these parts.  Today the UP came to the rescue at the Texas Transportation Museum here in San Antonio like knights in shining armor. more »

Actually, they are all divas

I had small, jolly close to subtle, magnetic signs made for the Texas Transportation Museum’s 1924 Model T truck that simply say, “The Diva.”  This is because while the old girl runs pretty well on our unimproved roads and neighboring streets, it acts out badly during show time.  Oh well!

Here is a link to a set of snaps taken at the recent fourth annual Ford Model T Show here in San Antonio.  It is a joint project with the local Model T club, the “T Fords of Texas,“ and sponsored by the Red McCombs Automotive group.

http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/WE.htm

 It was during this event that I arrived at the surprisingly conclusion that all  Ts are divas.  That’s why they are still here.  Someone was just too crazy about each one to let it go.  So far this year I have had the pleasure of touring both Medina and Caldwell Counties in this persnickety old machines and I fully understand the devotion.  Now all I have to do is get the one I am looking after for future generations to run right!  Having said that she did come through in spades during the Flambeau Parade, so she makes all the effort worthwhile!

Goin’ round the Bend

Feeling the need to get away from it all, I just returned from a long Memorial Weekend in Big Bend.  I had the great good fortune to go with Anton Hajek, a local lawyer of some note but, more importantly, a man who has been visiting the area for many years, since, in fact, he was a teenager.  Since then not only has his led many scouts through the vast National Park, the biggest yet least visited in the lower forty-eight, he is a leading member of the “Friends of Big Bend” plus a Master naturalist to boot. more »

Where do bad driving habits come from?

I don’t have a good answer for this question but I do wonder where bad driving habits come from.  I was compelled to think about this after I was almost impelled over the side of the remarkably high bridge connecting IH10 and Loop 410 on Sunday morning by an oblivious young woman concentrating on texting, who may not even have noticed what happened. 

I suspect such insanity creeps up on you.  You try something once in a relatively safe environment and then the foolishness takes on a life of its own.  I dare say I am not a paragon of virtue, either.  Anyhoo, what kind of witless driving are you seeing and what do you think is going through the minds of the perpetrators?

Top-rated cars for working people

The New York International Auto Show has been offering up plenty of glam and muscle to hog the spotlight since last week.

2011 Audi R8

MSN has had fun giving us the show’s 10 most notable unveils, and the 10 sexiest rides — i.e., to your right is a glimpse of the Audi R8 Spyder (go ahead, click the glitz for a full view).

“Give us sports cars and make them sexy as hell,” MSN’s Matthew de Paula declared. “We want 10-mile-per-gallon Lamborghini Gallardos and 510-horsepower Aston Martins all the way.”

Closer to ground level, Consumer Reports plodded forward to give us the New York standouts. Cars.com patiently poked and prodded the show’s winners and losers.

It’s a lot to digest, sort of like trying to eat your way into a bargain at an all-you-can eat buffet.

I guess that’s why my thoughts keep drifting back to a more meat-and-potatoes Top Picks announced just before the noise revved up in New York. Using affordability, comfort and safety as criteria, AAA selected the best cars to commute to work in.

And topping AAA’s list is the …

more »

Schematics are back!

Snippet of schematic showing I-10 at Loop 410

A few years ago, I had schematics for most of the area’s freeways on my website.  They were rather crude, so a couple of years ago, I embarked on a project to upgrade them.  I got just one done (I-10 West) when I realized that the process of creating and maintaining them– especially given all the changes brought about by the massive amount of construction the past few years– just made them unwieldy and there was no way I would ever be able to get them all done.  So when I updated my site earlier this year, I dropped that lone schematic while I investigated a different method of doing them.  Finally, I think I have settled on a design that is substantially easier for me to put together and should be even easier to keep up-to-date, and one that is, frankly, easier to decipher and more informative than the old ones were.  Yesterday, I posted the first one, which also happens to be I-10 West.  Take a gander and let me know what you think.

• I-10 West Schematic

The only thing to look forward to is the past

Omnibus soaking its wheels in the SA river

With all the zippidy-doo-dah hoopla over the possibility of a return to streetcars, why not go the whole hog and bring back mule drawn omnibuses?  I mean, who else is doing that?  Let’s think outside the box and get out of Portland, Oregon’s shadow once and for all.  Think of the benefits.  No expensive overhead or the need to tear up streets for miles on end and tourists will love it.

Mule drawn streetcars were introduced in San Antonio in 1878 but omnibus service has that beat by seven years.  It cost 5 cents to go from Main Square to Alamo Plaza.  With all the money we’ll save by not installing staggeringly expensive streetcar systems and their unsightly overhead power lines, we could go back and charge the same fare in 2010 that it was in 1871.  I guess there is a flaw in my logic somewhere but, you know, I’ll be d****d if I know what it is.

Video added to TexasHighwayMan.com

A couple of days ago, I mentioned an “exciting” new addition that I was working on for my website.  Well, “exciting” might have been a bit of an overstatement, but it’s an addition I’ve wanted to make for a while now.  That addition is videos of all the area freeways.  I recently purchased a suction-cup camera mount for the windshield and, after some test runs, completed the first two videos (I-10 West inbound and outbound) earlier this week.  Within the next couple of months, I hope to have all the city’s freeways filmed and posted.  These will replace the so-called “driver’s view” pics that I had started to do.  Shooting, editing, and posting the videos is a lot easier than a plethora of photos, so hopefully it will be easier for me to get the initial batch completed and also to keep them updated than it was going the photo route.

In addition, I’m going to use the videos to update my exit lists (much easier to do from a video than trying to write them down at 65 mph <g>) and also to build the new lane schematics (see the previous parenthetical note).  I hope to get those done in conjunction with each video, although I haven’t done I-10’s yet.

To keep the clips within the YouTube guidelines (and to make them a little more interesting), the playback will be at double-speed (or even 4x for the longest ones.)  I opted not to put a soundtrack over them; everyone has their idea of perfect “driving music”, so crank-up whatever you like to listen to when viewing them!