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Arivechi

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Posts posted by Arivechi

  1. The best guy to ask about the bikeways is Dan Raine, the city's Bicycle Coordinator. I asked him and he says

    He quoted the same completion time for the Heights MUP being completed into downtown (currently it terminates just short of UHD a few hundred yards).

    Thanks for the update! appreciate it.

  2. I often ride up the White Oak Bayou bikepath. The other day when I did my usual U-turn on the grass at the north end of the dead-end (after the bridge to nowhere), I noticed a bunch of wooden stakes lined up in the grass possibly showing the planning of a northward extension of the trail. Anyone have more info on this bike path extension?

    I did see the article in the Chronicle yesterday about the general idea of expanding the city's bike trails but it didn't mention any trail specifically.

    http://www.chron.com...iz/7114095.html

  3. Some of you are asking what projects have been accomplished along Buffalo Bayou recently. Please refer to the following link to Buffalo Bayou Partnership's (BBP) most recent newsletter to update you on some projects taking place along the West Sector, from Sabine Street to Shepherd Drive.

    http://www.buffaloba...ummer2010-m.pdf

    Also, please continue to check-in on our website at buffalobayou.org (under Visionary Plans - Shepherd to Sabine Project) for updates of plans along this stretch of the bayou.

    In addition to this stretch of Buffalo Bayou, several projects in the East End are taking place - 4-miles of new hike and bike trails, 50 acres of land acquire, development of a 10-acre park - Buffalo Bend Nature Park, planning for a boat launch at North York.

    Please do feel free to contact me with any questions at tsmith@buffalobayou.org. Thank you for your interest in Buffalo Bayou, and as you know, this waterway is historic to Houston, and we strive to accomplish our mission of revitalizing and transforming Houston's most significant natural resource.

    Trudi Smith, Director of PR and Events at Buffalo Bayou Partnership

    Thanks so much for posting that link. I don't know that I would have stumbled on it on my own. I am really excited to see the in-progress and near-future bike/hike path projects.

  4. HINES’ HEADQUARTERS AWARDED LEED® GOLD

    Iconic Williams Tower Transformed into a Beacon of Green

    (HOUSTON) – The Houston office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that its iconic headquarters building, Williams Tower, has received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for Existing Buildings Rating System.

    I'm really excited to learn this. And to see that list of other LEED buildings - I didn't realize how many there were here.

    Great news.

  5. Eh, with this being earth day "week" and with future development leaning towards LEED certified GREEN building, why doesn't Houston take the lead with NOT lighting up buildings?

    We could make headlines for wanting to conserve energy in the energy capital of the world.

    And, how nice would it be to eliminate some of the light pollution that has driven starry nights away?

    I 2nd this one.

    I already get upset when I see how many lights are on in those buildings at night. I know they can't be 100% dark so no one flies into them but I'd rather that there be as few lights on as possible.

    I hate Las Vegas because of all the lights. It's distracting and overwhelming.

    Turn off the lights folks, don't turn more on. And I don't really care if they're red or blue or in some sort of interesting pattern.

    Sure, encourage more people to go downtown - open cool restaurants, clubs, have places to hangout, use the metro line. But I don't think that lighting up the skyline is going to make anyone go there. Install some safety street lights so people feel safe walking around.

  6. Maybe I'm just blind, but I ride by there about 3x a week on my bike, and I haven't seen it.

    what corner is it on?

    St Emanuel St between Walker and McKinney on the west side of the street in a little shopping center.

    It's fabulous, but during the lunch hour don't expect rapid service. You'll wait a good long while after ordering before the food arrives. Seems that they need a couple extra lunchtime kitchen helpers. But soooo delicious.

  7. or, THE DISCOVERY GREEN.

    Ample parking and I am sure the downtown restaurants, the Pavilions, and even the hotels would love to have the spillover business.

    I am not kidding you when I tell you that it took me 37 minutes to run around the park but almost one full hour to get out of the park when I was finished jogging. The traffic was terrible. I feel sorry for anyone who had a golf or tennis game lined up as I saw one guy carrying his clubs from the corner of the park near the railroad tracks!

    Memorial Park is a terrible venue for this festival. That said, it was nice to see so many people walking and enjoying the day (people were walking from Wescott, from the West Loop, from all over the park, etc...)

    I attended the BCAF last weekend and thought the park was a PERFECT place for it. I have been to the one in Downtown twice - it's ok but very urban feeling. I loved having all the booths essentially in a big circle so you didn't even have to plan a path through the event. The art seemed to be even more highlighted when it was surrounded by trees instead of being towered over by downtown skyrises.

    Attendees shouldn't have been trying to park at Memorial since there were free shuttles from off-site locations. We parked at the NW mall and hopped on a bus right to the ticket booth. It was simple and fast. no driving around for a far-away spot that was taking away from other non-BCAF-park-patrons' parking options.

    just my 2 cents.

  8. Perhaps they could have advertised a bit more? or participated in Heights First Saturday events to encourage foot traffic? Some sort of coffee drink special for First Saturdays or something. I had no idea what was there till I stopped by.

    The 1 time I did go in there I thought "what? why does it look so empty?" there's the coffee bar, a small fridge with cheese, a meat counter, deli counter and then the whole middle of the floor only had like 2 or 3 display shelves with nothing but fancy boutique jams, sauces, and brownie mixes. It didn't seem like an efficient/productive use of space when the goal is making money. I bought the box of brownie mix and then found out it was dollars less at Central Market even.

    Nothing on the outside even indicates that you can get a fresh made sandwich, regardless of the cost. I was expecting to see much more produce with that "go local" slogan.

    Hopefully they are just refocusing and will reopen soon. And they should consider a couple sandwich-boards that indicate what can be found inside.

  9. Gotta agree that there are plenty of things that could be done with the existing building. However, this is Houston and that is prime property (although there are empty blocks all around it). It is not seen as the "highest use" to save it so it will come down. It's the so-called free market at work.

    I realize that not every building can be saved. But there are some that should and we are running out of those in Houston. This is one of them.

    I'm just wondering if any of you have actually been IN the building. I have been going there to work-out for the last year and there are soooo many times when parts of the basement (weights and cardio area) are cordoned off because pipes are leaking, buckets or trashcans catch other drips, this last week the whole office area flooded and they had industrial fans down there. Light panels spark when water drips in them. The squash courts and basketball courts have crumbling paint and walls. We just always think that something will fall on us while we're there. But yes, at the same time it'd be ideal if some millionaire could throw $$$ at it for preservation. It's so nice to see a non-giant glass covered sky-rise that preserves some of the character of early Houston. But it would need to be completely gutted. The whole infrastructure would need updating or replacing. Down to the foundation probably.

    I think the YMCA deserves a new building. The new building would have spaces really built for their programs instead of trying to adapt an old building to new purposes.

  10. Growing up in LA we used L-A-X all the time so it seems natural to just say I-A-H. "Big airport" makes it sound like you just can't remember its name. But yes, I have heard plenty of news anchors and traffic and weather reporters refer to IAH as "the big airport". Like it's superior to Hobby? dunno.

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