Justin Welling

I think it has been permanently closed for over a year now.

Did they mean to misspell Asbury St on the website? Listed as "Ashbury Street"...

@BEES?! will travel with light rail trains in the same lane and share the same station. They will dedicate the lane for transit use only, so the current configuration with private automobiles driving on the light rail tracks would be prohibited.

Yesterday, there was a Capital & Strategic Committee Mtg and a big portion of it was on Inner-Katy. As of now, looks like staff will recommend 3 stations - Memorial Park, Shepherd/Durham, and Studemont. I think not having a fourth station at Yale/Heights will be a huge miss as Studemont will not really connect to the Heights. Again, these can possibly change as options still remain open, but seems like this is the stance METRO is taking with stations. Design should start after August 2022 and they mentioned a 2027 opening as well. Meeting will be linked below: https://ridemetro.granicus.com/player/clip/2263?view_id=5&redirect=true

Whole Foods was the one on Post Oak, the clubhouse and "apartments" appear to be at the new Holiday Inn/Staybridge Suites off 610 between Westheimer and San Felipe (kind of random imo).

I think it is a good idea. Looks like you put a lot of work into this. The circular route does hit all the major destinations within the Heights. Headways definitely would have to be frequent. Beyond the stops at the destinations, I think you would have to have stops every 3-4 blocks to be accessible to all of the homes. One suggestion I have is instead of having it run along IH10 frontage, extend south to reach Washington Ave on the portion between TC Jester and Shepherd/Durham. This would allow a connection to the 85 and the bars and restaurants along Washington. Another edit I can think of is instead of having it run along White Oak between Taylor and N Main (which the current 66 route already does). Have the route turn South on Taylor to hit Target and then East on Crockett all the way to N Main and then follow N Main to White Oak Music Hall. This would connect it with the Sawyer Heights Village Shopping Center and 6th Ward. I understand this could increase run time, but it would be able to break that IH10 barrier. I do love the idea of having service on W 19th Street - always felt like it was a miss for METRO having the 26 run on 20th. Circular routes are usually frowned upon in the modern transit planning world, but the Heights does seem like a good fit for something like this. Good news is that METRO is experimenting with circular routes now, with the addition of the 309 Gulfton route last year. Who knows, they could definitely be interested in something like this :).

Research shows that more lanes = more traffic. Katy Freeway has actually had worst travel times during peak am/pm rush hour than it did before the expansion. https://cityobservatory.org/reducing-congestion-katy-didnt/

Hot take, not every development needs parking....especially in Downtown, which is one of the most walkable and transit oriented parts of town. Even if a resident MUST have parking, there are plenty of available monthly rates at the neighboring lots and garages (around 100$). We all know parking drives up construction costs, which drives up housing costs. I believe this is a win for the neighborhood.

My apologies if this has already been mentioned, I try to follow this thread from time to time, but I miss things. I think everything that has been brought up is valid. Yes, the blocks between St Emanuel and Chartress definitely are struggling. Do we think Chartress currently acting as a 45mph frontage road can contribute to this? I personally would have to believe it is a factor for this lack of development here, including the development that is currently there being anti-pedestrian. My concern is this is what will happen to St Emanuel. If TXDOT is able to somehow make St Emanuel not feel like a 45mph frontage road, then I think I would be more open to the project. The eastern side of St Emanuel is a great pocket of bars, restaurants, and destinations and would be devastating to EaDo if we lost it.

The exact alignments for the extensions have not been announced (nor selected). There is still a good amount of things for planners and METRO to do before we will hear more. Plus, we still need to go through the public outreach portion.

@Brooklyn173 oooof thats awkward.

https://lionheart.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02oHQN9lC2TA6ge Midtown's Annual Survey on transportation and development for the area. Good portion of the survey mentions Caroline Streetscape Improvements. If you live, work, or visit midtown often, this survey might be for you :).

If we're on the topic of traffic signals, what really needs to happen is for the city to put a signal further west right before the railroad crossing. There are rumors of the city working with Union Pacific to coordinate a signal, but it is going to be costly and complicated. I would much rather have the city spend money to put a signal there instead of updating the wired signals with signal mast-arms.

http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/DevelopRegs/docs_pdfs/ch_42_ordinance_redline.pdf Around page 54 might provide some more information which does help support your case. It seems like you have a valid concern and your neighbors are in the wrong. 311 might help with your issue. If 311 is unable to provide a solution, I would suggest writing an email to your city council distinct member's office. You would have to check to see if you're in District C or H. Good luck with it all!