AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[Riverranchdrone]

I really hope the MoKAN line doesnt get built. My home sits around 200 ft away from the corridor.

[Armybrat]

Not to be argumentative, but the nickname for the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad is "The Katy", not "Mokan". The latter was somehow started in the media several decades ago and for some odd reason it has stuck.

See Wikipedia for the history of the railroad.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

Not to be argumentative, but the nickname for the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad is "The Katy", not "Mokan". The latter was somehow started in the media several decades ago and for some odd reason it has stuck.

See Wikipedia for the history of the railroad.

"Mokan" became the local name for it because it was a similar name to that other transportation corridor called "Mopac."


Edit: Way back when an east side highway was first being discussed, it was referred to as the Mokan Expressway. It was later moved further east and became SH130.

[IluvATX]

I follow George Blume on Instagram and he seems like a jerk. I would suspect that is the Gensler account.

[freerover]

Originally Posted by Riverranchdrone

I really hope the MoKAN line doesnt get built. My home sits around 200 ft away from the corridor.

How bad would a commuter rail line be? Elevated Expressway? I hear ya there.

Looks like the most recent study of Mokan was approved in late 2017 and will last a year. Seems like you can trace studies of this area back decades by someone.

http://www.campotexas.org/wp-content...Nov27-2017.pdf

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

I follow George Blume on Instagram and he seems like a jerk..

How so? (for the lazy)

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by The ATX

"Mokan" became the local name for it because it was a similar name to that other transportation corridor called "Mopac."


Edit: Way back when an east side highway was first being discussed, it was referred to as the Mokan Expressway. It was later moved further east and became SH130.

I'm aware of the discussion in the '70s & '80s about the "Mokan" Expressway, but it was still an incorrect label then. I & some others pointed that out to a few folks around town at the time when discussing it, but the media persisted in its usage.

Oh well, just another local misnomer that makes no difference anyway.

"Guadaloop", "Manshack", et al....

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

I'm aware of the discussion in the '70s & '80s about the "Mokan" Expressway, but it was still an incorrect label then. I & some others pointed that out to a few folks around town at the time when discussing it, but the media persisted in its usage.

Oh well, just another local misnomer that makes no difference anyway.

"Guadaloop", "Manshack", et al....

It's funny how many locals say those names that way but I've always called Manchaca Manchaca and Guadalupe Guadalupe. I also say San Jacinto the way it is supposed to be pronounced as well.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

I follow George Blume on Instagram and he seems like a jerk. I would suspect that is the Gensler account.

In what way? He seems like a really nice guy.

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by Armybrat

I'm aware of the discussion in the '70s & '80s about the "Mokan" Expressway, but it was still an incorrect label then. I & some others pointed that out to a few folks around town at the time when discussing it, but the media persisted in its usage.

Oh well, just another local misnomer that makes no difference anyway.

"Guadaloop", "Manshack", et al....

I'll fight you over Manshack. That's a pet peeve of mine.

There's no proof Menchaca was ever in the area. The road is named after the town, which is named after the springs. The original spelling of the springs as far back as the 1840s was: Manchac Springs (no A on the end).

There are a couple of different "Manchac" places in Louisiana, one dating back to the 1700s.

The "Manshack" pronunciation would be closer to correct for Manchac.

[KevinFromTexas]

There's also Menchaca. lol Texas is crazy.

[IluvATX]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

In what way? He seems like a really nice guy.

Just arrogant. Maybe one can be that way in his position though.

[Maximusx1]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

I'll fight you over Manshack. That's a pet peeve of mine.

There's no proof Menchaca was ever in the area. The road is named after the town, which is named after the springs. The original spelling of the springs as far back as the 1840s was: Manchac Springs (no A on the end).

There are a couple of different "Manchac" places in Louisiana, one dating back to the 1700s.

The "Manshack" pronunciation would be closer to correct for Manchac.

Thank you for educating the masses I've been doing this chore for decades.

[lzppjb]

This is a major hot button issue for me. I grew up on and in Manchaca. I have yet to see them produce any real evidence that Menchaca was in southern Travis County, or that the springs were named after him. It's all lore.

The CC will likely go along with this b/c it's more PC garbage.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by IluvATX

Just arrogant. Maybe one can be that way in his position though.

Not sure how you're able to tell that from his Instagram account, but ok. He pretty only posts designs and construction updates.

[Armybrat]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

I'll fight you over Manshack. That's a pet peeve of mine.

There's no proof Menchaca was ever in the area. The road is named after the town, which is named after the springs. The original spelling of the springs as far back as the 1840s was: Manchac Springs (no A on the end).

There are a couple of different "Manchac" places in Louisiana, one dating back to the 1700s.

The "Manshack" pronunciation would be closer to correct for Manchac.

I've always pronounced it "Manchack" anyway but being a carpetbagger, what do I know?
Bit of nostalgia: in the early 1960s a couple of high school friends & I walked down the middle of Manchaca late one Saturday night firing off our shotguns just for the heck of it. there were no houses nearby and we saw only one vehicle approaching - so we crawled through a bobwire fence in to somebody's pasture to hide.

Katy ("Mokan") trivia: When the the railroad ceased ownership of that line's right of way through NE Travis County in the mid 1970s, my neighbor bought a few score of the wood utility poles along the track after it was taken up. I helped him dig out and haul them off to a property of his where he used them to build some pole barns. I got the smallest pole and set it in the ground next to my driveway to use as a basketball goal. After 40+ years it is still there last we looked a few months ago. It's right behind the current owner's SUV here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/11...!4d-97.6669979

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

This is a major hot button issue for me. I grew up on and in Manchaca. I have yet to see them produce any real evidence that Menchaca was in southern Travis County, or that the springs were named after him. It's all lore.

The CC will likely go along with this b/c it's more PC garbage.

Eh, in my opinion it's not a big deal.

We rename streets after people all the time, some with 0 connection to Austin. MLK, etc.


At least this would put the issue to rest. The street would be named Menchaca (named in 2018), after Menchaca, and presumably pronounced Menchaca (not that Austinites would stop whatever pronunciation they currently use).

[KevinFromTexas]

This was in the American-Statesman yesterday.

Manchaca vs. Menchaca: Step closer to renaming South Austin road

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...f0iIWNeXDny8H/

I've always called it Manshac, but then again I could never pronounce guacamole or Guadalupe as a kid either. It wasn't until I became an adult and realized where those names and words originated from that I started to make the switch. Still, honestly, I use Manshac and Manchaca almost universally.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

This was in the American-Statesman yesterday.

Manchaca vs. Menchaca: Step closer to renaming South Austin road

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...f0iIWNeXDny8H/

I've always called it Manshac, but then again I could never pronounce guacamole or Guadalupe as a kid either. It wasn't until I became an adult and realized where those names and words originated from that I started to make the switch. Still, honestly, I use Manshac and Manchaca almost universally.

What's puzzled me more than the pronunciation of Manchaca is the fact that Menchaca Elementary school is located at the start of Manchaca road. I've always thought that one was a corruption of the other but they're both named after the same person.

[lzppjb]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Eh, in my opinion it's not a big deal.

We rename streets after people all the time, some with 0 connection to Austin. MLK, etc.


At least this would put the issue to rest. The street would be named Menchaca (named in 2018), after Menchaca, and presumably pronounced Menchaca (not that Austinites would stop whatever pronunciation they currently use).

Nothing would be put to rest. Manchaca Road is not all within the city limits. Actually, it leaves the city twice. Going North to South, it would be:

Menchaca Road
Manchaca Road
Menchaca Road
Manchaca Road

Originally Posted by Sigaven

What's puzzled me more than the pronunciation of Manchaca is the fact that Menchaca Elementary school is located at the start of Manchaca road. I've always thought that one was a corruption of the other but they're both named after the same person.

They are not both named after the same person. Jose Antonio Menchaca was not the basis.

Menchaca Elementary WAS Manchaca Elementary. In the 70s, the school board changed it overnight with no vote from the citizens of Manchaca, TX. The elementary, like the road, was named for the community it was in. That community was named after Manchac Springs.