wilcal

'Van Life' + automated parking garage + AirBNB = .....??

Yeah, got bad news on that front. H-GAC basically laughed in their face. They applied last year and the project got ranked 91st http://www.h-gac.com/2018-call-for-projects/documents/2018-call-for-project-tpc-rankings.pdf Only the top 34 were funded, and it would only have been the top 15ish but TxDOT pulled their $175 million hempstead highway project on CoH request because it looks like HSR station is going to actually happen. They could apply again the next time H-GAC has an open call for projects, so that could be awhile.

HOUStreets is run by my btw Thanks for the follow. I would have posted the update here, but couldn't find the thread. A few interesting additional notes: Design work planned through 1q22, so 3ish years of construction for phase 1. That's pretty rough. So annoying to think that we won't see a completed phase I until 2025. Also, they specifically mention integration with the planned BRT. Metronext mentioned a BRT stop at Shepherd @ I-10, so will be interesting to see what they come up with. I still have no idea how they're gonna fund phase II of the plan I wish they had started with Phase II to be honest because that would have connected the White Oak Trail to the shopping center.

Daaaaaaamn. Alright, I guess this is happening again. Excited to see this one go up. Kind of wish there was some a ground floor coffee shop or tiny takeaway restaurant planned.

I did some digging to find out if the cars can be ticketed (after my numerous 311 requests have gone nowhere from the last several weeks). The TLDR is that this is in a gray area (aha!) and that new signage will need to be developed. Currently, parking in a bike lane is not explicitly illegal, which is why the city is using do not park signs along bike lanes so that cars can be ticketed. The Bicycle Advisory Committee is supposedly working on an ordinance so this won't be required. With cars technically being allowed to park here, albeit a lane over in the painted designate parking area, there is some new signage needed to address this. Bonus: it's not a "bike lane" until the construction has been completed and it's been turned over. Last I heard, it would be late spring before the special lights would be able to be delivered, so we'll likely be looking at months of "incompletion" even though everything will be painted.

Only partially funded. Grant was for $25 million and construction costs are estimated at $65-$70 😕

That is less clear since it is funded separately from Metro Next. If I had to guess, I'm going to say not separated. I've been beating this drum pretty hard. Nobody likes transfers and nobody would be backtracking, so why the hell not? It would provide a one transfer solution from IAH as well. Someone (on here?) was saying that the existing light rail stations in downtown could actually be integrated as BRT stops. It would be great if the Uptown BRT routing was Westpark -> Gallera -> NWTC -> the semi-random planned stop at Shepherd @ I-10 -> Preston LRT station -> Convention District LRT station and return. Do a similar thing with the IAH BRT line and have it stop at Preson/Convention as well. Edit: not sure what to do when high-speed rail launches, but it's pretty close to NWTC

I was at a public meeting with a senior Metro comms person last Wed and they said that they hadn't actually decided yet and that was the next step. Community involvement would help with priority. I asked same rep about electric buses. They said that the tech wasn't there for the distances they cover while also providing the level of A/C that they would need. They are becoming a little more prevalent outside of China though. Santiago just took a bunch of them. I was told by Metro that BRT would utilize same lanes as two-way HOV, at least on 45 to get to IAH. 1000% They made it sound like plans are very very very flexible going forward.

Well, the parking minimum restriction in midtown/eado has only be dropped for a few months. Inside the loop is certainly continuing to densify (8 townhomes going up in one lot next door to me in Montrose) and those are all being counted under home building I'm sure since none share a wall. I didn't catch that they put apts in the home building, so that's good to know. Development appears to be moving forward at a great pace, so I'm not too worried when comparing us to others.

Pretty sad I never grabbed either one of those. Especially Stavanger. There were fares in the $1500 RT (biz only plane) right before it ended and should have pulled the trigger

But we're still #3 in home building projects. *sigh* This is interesting:

For sure, but they won't even tell me that, you know? Not to mention, I'm interested in the development timeline as a whole and what changes may be in store and that's rather opaque as well.

It's very difficult to get spots in one of the CoH softball leagues, and I would like a heads up if they are just going to spring it on us if softball at Memorial will be cancelled for however long so I can have alternatives either within the CoH leagues or one of the third party leagues. There are going to be dozens of teams looking for a new home even if only 2 fields are closed temporarily.

The TLDR is that there are four larger softball/kickball fields: 2-5 4/5 are going away. They were going to combine 2-5 together into circular complex. Existing: Master plan: You can see how the entry road was going to completely change. Basically, I was asking if we were going to be completely field-less at some point while construction took place, but then they told me that 2 and 3 wouldn't be moving at all anymore. So who knows.

Would definitely be slower as BRT on I-10 is planned to run on elevated two-way HOV, with one stop at Shepherd. Also, I've definitely been a little frustrated with the Memorial Park people. They've changed the plans to replace all of the softball fields and will be keeping 2/3 in place now. Minor to the plan as a whole, but still, frustrating!