paul2834

Has there been any news on the Westheimer Signature Bus Service? It's similar to this line in that it'll also run on a highway (59) a good amount providing an express lane connecting Greenway/Upper Kirby and just a little further Uptown with the Museum District/Midtown and just a little further Downtown. But it's going to do this without being called a BRT and instead use the HOV lanes on 59. Does that mean there's very little stopping them from having this line now?

EDIT:

https://www.centralhouston.org/media/filer_public/48/85/48853c76-54cd-4cef-b37b-fd944f01b089/1232020_central_houston_inc_5_sm.pdf

^There were some people asking about the MetroRapid University, which is how it's referred to here. I believe the map on the second to last page of this Dec. 2020 presentation looks new. You can see where all of the stops will approximately be.

https://www.ridemetro.org/Pages/METRORapid-Inner-Katy.aspx

Quote

Will this line be an extension of the METRORapid Silver Line that runs in Uptown?

No. The METRORapid Inner Katy Project is a separate project being developed by METRO. It will be designed to connect with the METRORapid Silver Line at the Northwest Transit Center and enable you to connect between Downtown and Uptown without transferring.

OMG. They actually didn't f*** that part up. THANK YOU. This is huge allowing a rapid connection between uptown and downtown without any transfer. I was so worried they would make you get off at the Northwest TC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRobrIlwrr0

^ For those who want to see it in action, here's 40 minutes of it. I keep thinking of it as a train that's how good it looks on the outside and inside. Our BRT still just looks like a bus unfortunately.

EDIT: BTW, they even call it rail over there. The translation is Smart Rail.

The news about Uniqlo is really exciting! Even my no name, rock bottom-tier, Chinese hometown village that no one's ever heard of has a Uniqlo, so it's about time Texas joins the fray and I couldn't be happier that I can walk there like I could in my hometown.

3 hours ago, Trae said:

I really hope Metro goes back to the table after the holidays, looks at the margin this won by, and starts working on a referendum. 

I think this sounds possible. Imagine if the opposite had happened. People voting down the proposal because it didn't have enough rail, but Metro interpreting that as people not wanting to expand mass transit at all.  The numbers show people support mass transit and it's only going to keep moving that way. Perhaps they will take a second look at some of the routes that will be better off starting off as rail.

On 11/7/2019 at 4:21 PM, X.R. said:

 

*Cries* are you saying...I can go from downtown to...UPTOWN? MY GOD IS THIS REAL. I never thought I'd see the day I could take a timely, consistent, and frequent transit option from Downtown to the Galleria. This blows my mind.

I'm praying that NWTC is just a stop and will keep going instead of having to get off at NWTC so you can get on another BRT that takes you to Downtown or Uptown.

Quote

Owner Russel Masraff decided to move his restaurant for several reasons: The timing was right, as Masraff's lease will end April 30, 2020; construction along Post Oak Boulevard has been slowing customer traffic; and the uptick of restaurants in the Galleria area made competition fierce. Masraff believes that the area around his new location lacks high-end restaurants, and those that exist are primarily steakhouses. 

Probably the most interesting snippet from the article. They're relocating to southeast corner of I-10 and Bunker Hill and the restaurant will be about 20% smaller.

https://abc13.com/5578971/

^Rent has been paid and they'll be open again.

Yikes, this is all feels so sudden. Just a few months ago none of those places were closed on that side of the Galleria. I remember seeing someone post a similar notice for the Subway and they did eventually reopen. I wonder if the same thing will happen here. How is Memorial mall fairing compared to the Galleria? Are they also seeing a lot of closings?

Oh wow, so how is this supposed to work? I believe the BRT is going to be operational in March, but I doubt this is going to be finished by then. So people taking Park and Rides won't be able to get into Uptown via the BRT until it's finished? This is going to make ridership look so bad...

Fingers crossed Uptown gets direct non-transfer, non-local road connections to Downtown and Wheeler Station. It would complete connecting the three hubs with fast travel in between and make exploring the major destinations a lot easier for travelers.

1 hour ago, cspwal said:

Hopefully they will keep that open as an option on both ends - I could see having a route that goes just from Wheeler to NW transit Ctr  and back

That would be amazing and I don't see why it wouldn't be doable. No transfer and then hov on I-10 to quickly get between Downtown and Uptown. And there aren't really any fast options between Uptown and the Med center/museum district right now. This proposal would make it one transfer, hov-ing on 59 and then LRT. Add some metro police to Wheeler station and it's golden.

EDIT: Actually, the I-10 route should be it's own lane, not shared with HOV, right? So if they do this, then it's literally a traffic free option between Downtown and Uptown.

There's no reason it can't be both for people that live in the area and don't feel like driving. And it's not just a traffic free option for people in Katy that work in the Galleria. It's going to capture all the park and rides along 290, I-10, 59, and the westpark tollway, east and west of Uptown. Check out the maps at the bottom of the link: http://swamplot.com/uptowns-not-waiting-for-light-rail-planning-bus-system-along-post-oak-instead/2013-01-17/

15 minutes ago, X.R. said:

Wow at all those purple BRT lines. They better hope Uptown BRT isn't a dumpster fire of non-use (although, it has done ALOT of how pretty Post Oak is now). 

I see the Uptown BRT mainly succeeding as a work commuter option. Terminating at major park and ride stations on I-10 and 59, it provides a traffic free way to get in and out of Uptown, fixing one of the major complaints about the area.

12 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Eh, it sounds like the only real compromise is losing signal prioritization. That's not nothing, but to me the fact that it has dedicated lanes is a really big deal. Especially considering the fact that blocks are like a mile long and there are maybe 3 cross streets in Uptown. How many signals could there even be? 

Excellent point. Didn't think about when I see people complaining about the lack of signal prioritization, which of course isn't even a permanent decision and can be tweaked in the future if need be. I'm not sure if it's like this the whole way, but from what I saw, dedicated lanes with physical dividers should help a lot with keeping cars out of the lane and avoiding the situation where it seems like every other month there's a car accident involving light rail.

Why does it have to be one or the other? I think a great middle ground would be some tall building with the McDonald's at ground level, up against the street.

20 minutes ago, bobruss said:

I'm all for the Galleria uptown area  becoming more walkable, but one of it's main faults just like the city's, is that it's hard to overcome an area that was designed for the car and not pedestrians. Angostura said it very succinctly. The area just wasn't planned to become what it has become. Parking lots kill walks. You can only look at parked cars for so long before it gets monotonous. Once the trees mature it will help, and once that giant strip center on Post Oak and Westheimer gets turned into a mixed use multi tower development hopefully with residential, retail and office components maybe a movie theater or how about a nice park. That would help immensely.

Fortunately there is a movement to try and rectify this, but it won't be easy. It will still have acres of asphalt parking lots major thoroughfares with multi lane congestion, and it will take time for all of the trees to develop  a canopy that will help immensely and give more shade to those who will walk.

I agree it's getting better, but its just starting at such a disadvantage. It's impressive how much has been done in the Galleria to make it more livable and it will only get better. Remember not that long ago there were farms on much of this property. 

 I just like the closeness of the buildings and the grid of the streets downtown a little more. I also like the the blend of old and new in architecture. 

I wonder how much of that parking lot is going to disappear over where the Post Oak Poker Room used to be when Zadok Jewelers builds over it. I imagine Uptown will get more dense as it expands like with this hotel coming up at the southern end. I think B-cycles will help with the expansion of Uptown, but there are no stations there right now. Why is this? They're really putting in an effort to make the area more walkable and share-bikes would help. Is it really that dangerous to ride in this area? Memorial Park already has a couple of stations, so this would also help to connect Uptown and Memorial Park even more.

2 hours ago, gene said:

I will say that living and working in Uptown I walk (and ride a bike) to alot of places...including Mod Pizza on Richmond as well as 24Hr Fitness *when my friends make me pretend to work out...the galleria, uptown park, Moxies, Whole Foods and Ninfa's and even Target....AND River Oaks District as well! (YES the sidewalk on on the north side of Westheimer between the freeway and ROD can be improved and i bet that is coming soon enough...)

I would say the new Post Oak Blvd makes it all extremely walkable and more and more i see people walking everywhere around here...so while some may not think its as walkable as other parts of houston i will say that thanks to all the new condos, apartments, businesses and especially all the hotels, you will see people walking around quite a bit and believe it or not its a pleasurable experience haha! In fact I truly feel like i live in THE best part of all of Houston! 

I look forward to Post Oak BLVD project being completed and while i still agree this is just the craziest location for a Hard Rock Hotel...who knows, maybe it will work in the long run...(Sage sidewalks are actually pretty good btw!)

only time will tell. 

 

and in response to the convention center comment...i think The Post Oak Hotel has a large convention area...maybe Tillman could take over Post Oak Corner and do something along those lines there for something to expand on what he has already done?

 

Long-time lurker here and finally decided to sign up so I could quote this. People have been ****ting on Uptown for too long and I'm glad someone living there can say it like it is. I also own a unit just off of Westheimer and McCue and agree with everything Gene is saying. Yeah, things are more spread out compared to other places named, but in my book, uptown still beats those other places. Probably coming from an East Asian background makes the difference here. Over there, people prefer living in glitzy places with lots of lights and food options. You eat a lot and then you eat some more and then you digest and take a stroll in the city, the park, or along some body of water with the thousands of other people.

Many places in Houston are just too gritty looking and lack tall buildings even though things are closer together in some of those places. Downtown checks off the looks department but shuts down apart from working hours. Now, if I do want to make the infrequent trip, it's not bad at all and the BRT along with the BUTC will make it even easier in the near future. All the Asia-towns are in west Houston making Uptown pretty central for Asians. For my food and people watching options, I can check that off too. After getting downstairs and a three minute walk, I'm at the Galleria without having to fight traffic and search for parking and can get Chick-fil-a and eat at the Waterwall Park or I can spend more to dine-in at a fancy restaurant. No dip in people walking around due to the hot weather neither. For the rest of uptown, they're really making an effort to beautify it, like putting up more lights and trees, which leads to my next point....

1 hour ago, jmitch94 said:

 

I live off McCue right off Richmond and if I want to go to Chipotle or Mod with my friends they demand we drive, it can't even be a 1/4 mile. People in this city do not walk. 

People don't want to put up with the inconvenience of walking in summer heat if the walk isn't going to be enjoyable. Like if there's no other people walking, no nice tall buildings to see and to give shade. And the killer: having to walk next to an ugly, empty parking lot in a strip center.