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HouTXRanger

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Everything posted by HouTXRanger

  1. HouTXRanger
    Quick fix: allow TOD to apply along the route of the most used bus routes in the city. Don't see it happening though. Bus stops can be moved way too easily, and that bus route (56) cuts through Montrose . . . not sure if they'd go for it, much less the folks in River Oaks for route 82.
  2. HouTXRanger
    Currently, a Primary TOD street is determined by objective criteria in the TOD manual, and applies within a certain range around a rail or BRT stop, depending on specifics. They automatically apply I assume as soon as the rail/BRT station is in operation. Secondary TOD streets are in a ring outside that, but they do not apply automatically, the majority of landholders on a secondary street must apply/approve for it to qualify.
  3. HouTXRanger
    With all due respect, it's attitudes like this which end up completely erasing historic neighborhoods in cities like Houston. There's so much of the city that's been bulldozed for no reason other than "it's not remarkable," replaced with something that absolutely contributes less to the community than whatever was there before. We'd be so much better off if we had kept more 1936 movie theaters instead of paving another parking lot. This individual building might not be remarkable anymore (though I disagree), it used to be part of an entire community of similar structures, and only now that it's all that's left from the period it looks out of place.
  4. HouTXRanger
    Well, it's currently being sued for trying to enforce what little ordinance it has . . . so we'll have to wait for that to pan out first 😁
  5. HouTXRanger
    That's a "be caureful what you wish for" 12 years in the making. For a self storage of all places . . .
  6. HouTXRanger
    Whatever ends up there, I just hope it doesn't end up as boring as Camden Midtown or the Travis . . . that's almost the worst case scenario for a redevelopment there.
  7. HouTXRanger
    It looks much better when it's broken up with that line of gray in between.
  8. HouTXRanger
    I'm not sure honestly . . . the white goes fantastically with the art deco decorations on the northeast side, it would look way worse with brown. Was it really brown originally?
  9. HouTXRanger
    I hadn't heard anything about it, I would have assumed it would have happened with the name change of Emancipation. I guess it just flew under the radar.
  10. HouTXRanger
    In the 1890s, or a few years ago?
  11. HouTXRanger
    It's an entirely different world for their clientele I guess. I was just looking out my window, and realized their penthouse must have the best views in the city, bar none right now. Skylines wherever you look.
  12. HouTXRanger
    It'll be on Wheeler to connect with the Wheeler transit center, but I expect that it'll turn north to use Alabama at some point before it crosses 288. There simply isn't enough ROW on Wheeler that far over, and even if there was, TSU pedestrianized over half of Wheeler street so they'd have to go north to Alabama at that point anyway. edit: just realized, that would make the BRT go right in front of Yates High School. How cool would it be to go to school on a BRT?
  13. HouTXRanger
    Would this take out the homeless service place there? That really sucks . . .
  14. HouTXRanger
    Honestly, I'm more excited that the BRT sharing stations with the green/purple lines might finally get the city to make those lanes dedicated transit instead of turn-only. Anything to improve the slog through all those lights for the train . . .
  15. HouTXRanger
    I'm assuming that pulling the renderings is a bad sign, right?
  16. HouTXRanger
    Although I'll never be able to afford it, damn is that a slick looking tower. I wonder if it'll be one of the city's "Historic" landmarks by 2100 . . .
  17. HouTXRanger
    In their meetings, they very much felt like they were approaching things from a "demand" point of view, and when people talked about how really they wanted to work with Ion not against them, it felt like a second thought. You're right in that the CBA has exactly zero leverage over the Ion, so I'm really not sure why they feel like they have such ground to stand on. Most of the motivation from the CBA group is that they see what happens to other cities when big tech gets in to a neighborhood (incredibly high gentrification), and they genuinely fear for what's going to happen to the 3rd ward if the Ion outgrows Rice's land . . . which it will. From what I heard at the Ion meeting, a land trust is already trying to get off the ground. I'm sure they need more money and buy-in though, and they're rapidly running out of time before land prices get out of their reach. All that's kept the place from exploding with townhomes is the "reputation" 3rd ward has. They're already encroaching in the northern corner . . . The only reason prices are that high is because of proximity to downtown, the med center, and the universities, right? Well . . . imagine how quickly the place is going to explode when there's also a rapid bus to TSU/UH, 10-20 minute rapid transit connection to Wheeler (and the red line), Greenway Plaza, the Galleria (and all the other connections at the Uptown transit center). I honestly think it's going to be one of the best connected neighborhoods in the city, and I think it'll make east downtown look like nothing.
  18. HouTXRanger
    I think the effect is going to be very severe in the 3rd ward once construction on the BRT starts. It'll be 5-10 minutes away on the line, and by far the cheapest area along the entire length. It's going to be targeted heavily for new apartment/condo construction for sure.
  19. HouTXRanger
    Great points. Also like how the parking lots are tucked away on the secondary street, and wow there are even bike spots? Is this walkable places compliant? Cuz the ordinance isn't anywhere on westheimer . . . neat.
  20. HouTXRanger
    Finally, that rail corridor is seeing some good work done. Imagine how much traffic a bike trail there would get, directly connecting Memorial Park to Westheimer and Richmond?
  21. HouTXRanger
    And they don't use parks? You're missing the key component: Cars use these streets and highways because they're designed around them. I liked the change because it would have made the streets more usable for bikers and pedestrians by removing unnecessary high speed intersections. Elgin/Westheimer could have evolved into a much more pedestrian friendly corridor (which it kinda has to, since there isn't any room for more lanes so car traffic's maxxed out). . . . I hate to burst your bubble, but I live here too and I also pay taxes. Most of us do. Thus, the Houston in Houstonarchitecture.com I call it a neighborhood street because there are single family houses who have their driveways directly on Bagby by that intersection. It also serves as a connection between many neighborhoods in Montrose to Elgin, the whole foods, and the rail. If it weren't such a dangerous intersection, people would walk through there much more often. But, cars aren't going away anytime soon and they also need corridors. Thing is, this bridge isn't about connecting Montrose to Midtown, or serving any of the people who actually live there. It's about funneling commuters in and out of downtown and on to 59. That's why it's completely appropriate in my opinion to funnel commuters down just two blocks, about 200ft, to use the other two ramps onto the spur at Smith or Milam. That's what's so silly about all this to me, and why I thought it seemed like a no-brainer. There are already two other ramps for this that are on better, wider streets, while that area desperately needs better multimodal infrastructure.
  22. HouTXRanger
    Anyone attend the affordable housing talk the Ion put on tonight? There just quite wasn't enough time for me to say all I wanted . . . but, there were some great ideas and thoughts passed around.
  23. HouTXRanger
    Yes, I do think that, because it's true. Roads and highways are massive money sinks. Look at how many billions of dollars we spend on highway interchange redos every decade! People absolutely take for granted how expensive modern streets are. Tons of concrete, rebar, and way, way more labor than people think. And I doubt the overpass had zero work done on it in 60 years. Even quick pothole fillings and asphalt patches cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour. Multiply that by 60 years, and that's a massive price tag considering the overpass generates zero income to cover that cost. That's not to mention all the small things it costs the city administratively, though that's small peanuts compared to the public works price tag. Comparatively, a park costs next to nothing to build or maintain. And, removing the bridge would have made one of the most important connections between Midtown and Montrose safe and pedestrian friendly. People used to and still do treat it like a highway on/off ramp instead of a neighborhood street.
  24. HouTXRanger
    In general, I'm not a fan of a single entity buying up so many acres and building a "community" like this from scratch, because I prefer more organic "fine grain" growth patterns. However, this seems pretty good all things considering. It's very mixed use (a no-brainer in Houston anyway), has no streets larger than two lanes, and at least at a surface level seems to prioritizes pedestrian and bike traffic. A personal highlight is how they're building a new place for the Houston Maritime Museum right on the banks, that's going to be a beautiful place to hang out if it all comes together. If I were to be nitpicky, I wonder if there are City of Houston regs/codes that are forcing the buildings to have such large setbacks, or if that's part of the style. Since it's 5 phases, maybe we'll see the effects of changing city codes all in this one development. It would also be great to see dedicated on or off street bike paths built in, or some better love shown to the bus route that goes by there. Maybe if the area continues to densify, we'll see a BRT line or something? The development def needs better transportation options than just the highway, it's a waste this close to the city center to force everyone to drive.
  25. HouTXRanger
    Hmm. This is pretty enlightening, although it sucks to hear this is why the project fell through. Considering how other projects/proposals have gone through Planning ect. with overwhelming positive feedback, I thought it was really weird how this specific project fell through when it seemed on the outset to be a slam dunk: take expensive infrastructure off the city's books, increase pedestrian safety, local homeowners get less traffic on their neighborhood streets. Considering how much it usually takes to get a city initiative cancelled in Houston, the opposition seemed very disproportionate to the response. Honestly kinda glad to know it was a cluster from the start, because it gives me more confidence in the current and upcoming city initiatives that I know are being done correctly.
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