rechlin

8 hours ago, editor said:

 Those cities are sometimes — but not always — less humid.  Yes, 107° and 95% humidity is a thing out there.

That is impossible.  The highest dewpoint ever recorded in the US was 90 degrees F.  If that happened with a temperature of 107 F, the humidity would "only" be 60%, with a heat index of 157  F.  107 F with 95% humidity would mean a dewpoint of 105 F, which has never even been recorded in the world (highest dewpoint ever recorded, in Saudi Arabia, was 95 F).

They are removing the old awning:

On 10/19/2022 at 7:01 PM, dbigtex56 said:

I'm still unclear as to how this would work. In which direction are the cars angled? or does it switch from one block to the next? Unless these are one-way streets this could put a driver going the wrong way at a severe disadvantage.

Downtown Fort Collins, Colorado does this.  See Google Street View:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5879767,-105.0771343,3a,75y,158.63h,81.78t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1so9NMTPh1gSqGszM9Ynro7w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Do9NMTPh1gSqGszM9Ynro7w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D353.94254%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

Looks like there was an incident on this construction site today, with two people falling into a trench, one hospitalized:

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/hole-rescue-montrose/285-58bd893b-2385-4837-8b7b-ccb46b77b71e

On 10/8/2022 at 1:34 PM, BeerNut said:

Magnolia Transit Center for the East End is not in app map because it is being painted(art station).

I found it on Street View and took a selfie there per the sign, but I actually ended up later running into a BCycle employee at one of the stations and mentioned it to him, and he got it added back onto the map so others can find it.

I did some more long rides over the weekend (two ~25 mile loops plus some shorter rides to cover Memorial City and Lake Houston) and have now been to all 153 stations.  I got stranded again, at Lake Houston, on Saturday after a return failed to register and nobody was available on the phone, but at least the "walk of shame" wasn't too bad there.  Now my plan, where possible, is to go back to the 9 stations that had issues so I can get official checkins at those, as they become functional again, just so I have a written record of being to them, even though supposedly I still will get credit for them.  I'll hit up two of them tonight in Midtown that seem to be functional now.  I wonder if they will have the Magnolia Transit Center station finished by the end of the month; that one and Finnigan Park are the only two that I believe have never been functional this month.

On 10/8/2022 at 1:34 PM, BeerNut said:

I was off this past week so I figured I would do as many as I can until I'm back from work the last weekend of October. 

Too bad you'll not be around until then.  I have a similar problem, where I will be unable to ride for about 10 days later this month, so I had to get it done as early as possible.

On 10/8/2022 at 7:54 PM, Ross said:

Or even better, leave the Pierce there, carrying traffic and give up this foolish plan to bury multiple freeways. I know I am on the losing side of this battle, but that would be my preference if I was ever asked.

Unfortunately the Pierce Elevated is getting too old and will have to be replaced in the coming decades if NHHIP doesn't happen, so if motor vehicle traffic needs to continue there, it will need to be torn down and rebuilt anyway.  So it can't just be left there if it needs to continue to handle vehicles.  They already replaced the deck maybe 20-25 years ago, but the supports are still original I believe.

22 hours ago, BeerNut said:

My Bcycle sprint has come to a close. 

Why are you giving up so soon?

I'm almost 2/3 done with it so far, and I am still optimistic that I will be able to finish in another week or so.  Got stranded a couple times when stations didn't register my return and nobody at BCycle was answering the phone (thankfully Metro got me home).  Toughest one so far was a stop at TSU that is inside a gated apartment community (took a couple minutes of pleading to get someone to be willing to let me in).  There's also a station on the list but not in the app in the East End that I need to look into (as a result I missed it when I did my East End ride).  Made it to Mason Park for the first time and that was a pleasant surprise.  It's been fun so far, and I too have been dismayed by the ghost bikes at some intersections I had to cross.  Hopefully I will make some more good progress this weekend.  Tomorrow I will probably tackle the Heights and Near Northside, and then see where I get from there.

6 hours ago, BEES?! said:

Real talk, has anyone here ever been ticketed for cycling on the sidewalks? 🤨

If I had to choose between cycling in mixed traffic or cycling on sidewalks…it’s sidewalks for me, laws be damned. I’m sure a sympathetic HAIFer would be so kind as to help bail me out hahaha 😁

About 7-8 years ago, I was (slowly) riding my bike for about 300 feet on the sidewalk downtown, just trying to get from the front door of my office to the parking garage entrance so I could park my bike (taking the street would mean either going the wrong way on a one-way or going all the way around the block), and a bicycle cop, who amusingly was also riding on the sidewalk, told me I was not allowed to ride on the sidewalk.  At another time, maybe a couple years before that, I was riding my bike on Edloe Street through Greenway Plaza and a cop told me I should ride on the sidewalk instead, even though that would have been illegal since it was a business district.  So no, I haven't been ticketed, but I've experienced both hypocrisy and incompetence from HPD on the matter.  In my more than 2 decades of living as an adult in Houston, both HPD, and HFD as well for that matter, have both disappointed me immensely.

1 hour ago, samagon said:

actually, I thought you were right too (and you and I may have been right once upon a time, the ordinance was updated in 2021 specific for bicycles).

I think the ordinance update was only to reference motorized scooters as well.  I don't think anything changed for cyclists.  See my previous comment with details showing the law is still indeed what we thought it was.

That said, the law makes sense at a high level, because traditionally, riding a bike on a sidewalk is far more dangerous than riding on the street, because cars entering/exiting driveways are not expecting cyclists on the sidewalk.  Unfortunately, Houston drivers are so reckless that cycling on the street might actually be even more dangerous in our unusually awful situation -- we need the extra barrier of the curb to protect ourselves (and even that may not protect us from speeding cops who lose control and drive on the sidewalk).

14 hours ago, august948 said:

Actually, the city code says "No person shall ride a bicycle or motor assisted scooter upon a sidewalk within a business district. "

The only reference I've found so far to a business district is the Central Business District, otherwise known as downtown.

From § 45-2:

Quote

Business district means the territory contiguous to and including a roadway when, within any 600 feet along such roadway, there are buildings in use for business or industrial purposes which occupy 300 feet of frontage on one side or 300 feet collectively on both sides of the roadway.

So unfortunately the law is still what I described.

Bicycling on sidewalks is prohibited in Houston in any area considered to be a "commercial area", which basically means an area with a lot of businesses around.  So not just Downtown, but also much of Uptown, the TMC, Greenway Plaza, most of Westheimer, and any other street with a block or so of continuous businesses.  So cyclists are forced onto major roads in these areas where motorists often are none-too-happy to see a cyclist taking "their road".

In Houston, outside of residential neighborhoods, cyclists are generally required to be in the street, and when the lane is under 14 feet wide (which is most places, as standard lanes are 10 to 12 feet wide), they may (and honestly, for safety's sake, *should*) take the entire lane.

10 hours ago, editor said:

Houston is only 186 years old.  There's no way anyone could possibly anticipate that live oaks would push up sidewalks.

I don't think one follows the other.  In my neighborhood there are some absolutely enormous live oaks that were planted in the late 1930s.  Most people assume they are hundreds of years old but they are not.  So sidewalks have existed longer than many of the live oaks that are interfering with them.

Getting some color now:

11 hours ago, asubrt said:

Yeah, this is a very strange thing to fret about. No one is going to a Porsche dealership to get drunk. 

Maybe not on the sales side, but on the service side, after you get the repair bill you might change your mind.

The survey link is here (there was a QR code with this address on the video, and it's also linked from the main project site):

https://ridemetro.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4SJWbsekHAVTR9c

There are two houses on Bissonnet at the southeast corner of the intersection with Westchester that have been owned by St. Andrews Presbyterian Church for some time.  Apparently the church has been using them for child care services.

The church is currently requesting zoning relief to have reduced setbacks and more impervious area on the front yard for these lots.  I wonder if they are planning to tear down these two old houses and replace them with a purpose-built facility?

I wanted to like Finn Hall, I really did.  But their most interesting place (Mala Sichuan) quickly went downhill (switching to more American Chinese, which we don't need more of downtown) and then closed, and always the prices at all the vendors were too high, so I haven't eaten there in a long time now.  I'd rather spend $12 for lunch than $20.

3 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

aI Center.

I need a medic!

I've done the Air New Zealand flight from Houston in coach.  It's really not that bad, but I've been on some other long non-stops in coach too so maybe I'm used to it (Houston-Beijing, Houston-Dubai, Newark-Mumbai).  They had an unusual option where 2 people could buy 3 coach seats in select rows and basically get a lie-flat bed for two out of it, which I've not seen on any other airline.  I didn't do that (I was flying solo), but if I went again I'd probably take advantage of that for the 15 hour flight, if they are still doing it.

On 6/17/2022 at 12:40 PM, wilcal said:

How do you keep a rail in place if you are tunneling underneath it at this width?

Would they build a temporary bridge over the chasm to keep it going?

I just don't understand how they would keep it open if the first thing is to start removing utilities and dirt and the last thing is the build the new track, you know?

I've seen underpasses built under active rail lines before, with minimal service interruption.  I would assume (hope?) that TxDOT would do the same here.

Looks like they are doing some major exterior renovations here.  Scaffolding is up on the entire side facing Main.  Maybe replacing windows?