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Kemah Boardwalk At 215 Kipp Ave.


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These are all great replies, but do you know the locals have been upset about the continuing developement for years now. The mayors were at each others throats for years and lawsuits here and there. :wacko:

They would love to get all of us and stuff us in a barrel and kick us off the boardwalk. I wouldn't mind being shot out of a cannon into the bay! Would be kind of far-out. Yippeee!

but I would swim back to join all my fellow Haifers that love me.

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As much as I hope Kemah will turn into a full fledged amusement park one day with all the frills and thrills of the best of them, I can really understand why the neighbors would pitch a fit. That area is going to be completely transformed as the Boardwalk becomes more popular. Noise, crowds, strange cars parking in front of your house. But who cares, Houston has no place to scream since Astroworld was killed and the Boardwalk can help to fill the local thrill void.

I have no doubt that as soon as the new coaster is operating, that area will be in total chaos. Parking was already difficult. Kemah Boardwalk is now going to start drawing some of the crowd that Astroworld once had. I don't see how they can handle it unless they add some parking areas and more infrastructure.

Maybe Tillman plans to buy up the whole town and by planting a noisy 96 ft tall roller coaster in the middle of a residential area he plans to drive out the neighbors so he can expand (bless his twisted soul). I hope so. The bay is such a great backdrop to an amusement park. Those ugly houses next door aren't doing anything for the community. But at least a well-run amusement park can provide a lot of happiness to many people -specially the kiddies and the ones like me who still love roller coasters.

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As much as I hope Kemah will turn into a full fledged amusement park one day with all the frills and thrills of the best of them, I can really understand why the neighbors would pitch a fit. That area is going to be completely transformed as the Boardwalk becomes more popular. Noise, crowds, strange cars parking in front of your house. But who cares, Houston has no place to scream since Astroworld was killed and the Boardwalk can help to fill the local thrill void.

I have no doubt that as soon as the new coaster is operating, that area will be in total chaos. Parking was already difficult. Kemah Boardwalk is now going to start drawing some of the crowd that Astroworld once had. I don't see how they can handle it unless they add some parking areas and more infrastructure.

I completely agree. Since Astroworld is gone, people from all around Southeast Texas will be flocking there. I know I'll be one them!

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Parking was already difficult.

Actually the garage they built is adequate, just getting to it is a pain, and once in there, the spaces are tight even for a small SUV like mine, as are the driveways.

It will only get worse when this ride opens, I agree.

Kemah is a place to play not live.

Forgive me, the expert has spoken. :rolleyes:

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I don't see how they can handle it unless they add some parking areas and more infrastructure.

maybe they can extend their little train to the Bay Area P&R.

is the coaster on schedule? when is it supposed to be open?

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Who would have thought Kemah was in the middle of Texas. :lol:

Fixed!

maybe they can extend their little train to the Bay Area P&R.

is the coaster on schedule? when is it supposed to be open?

Very vague, summer 2007 from the website.

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That's true since Astroworld hit the Crater section we havent anything much for the Kiddie Troopers left. I can only imagine what a child is thinking when they see the coaster in construction phases. I know I would be in total angst and be bugging my parents until the grand day! It will be a kiddie stampede can ya blame em? I want to be the 1st one on it. I may push kids aside to get on 1st! Can you just see what the bridge will look like once the chaos kicks in! They need to get on the ball adding moooooore parking garages now.

What we need now is one of the fantastic double Ferris wheels! Cool!

nupike6.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

The tranquil view of Galveston Bay that Tim and Hahn Tran enjoy from their front porch is the perfect antidote to the ups and downs of life. But there's apparently not much they can do about the roller coaster in their backyard.

Only 200 feet from their back door, nine stories high when completed, is the Boardwalk Bullet. And there are only a couple of weeks left before the Bullet comes to life with thundering cars and screaming riders.

Building the roller coaster did not require any special permits from the city of Kemah, City Administrator Bill Kerber said. Since all setback requirements were met and the city has no zoning, a building permit for the coaster was issued without any variances. No public hearing was required to inform area residents.

full article

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I was wondering if the people who live in those houses were going to complain. As excited as I am to see the coaster being built, I would be really angry if I had to live next to it. They can always sell their house... but are people going to want to buy a house right next to a coaster like that?

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Maybe Tillman thought he could buy that house for future boardwalk expansion at a reduced price if he built a loud, obnoxious (yet beautiful and much needed) roller coaster inches away from it. I hope they keep the coaster running 24 hours a day! I want to see more rides on the boardwalk next year.

go man go!

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Maybe Tillman thought he could buy that house for future boardwalk expansion at a reduced price if he built a loud, obnoxious (yet beautiful and much needed) roller coaster inches away from it. I hope they keep the coaster running 24 hours a day! I want to see more rides on the boardwalk next year.

go man go!

I'd like to see them expand, too... I just feel bad for the people who may end up having to sell their homes... especially if they have lived their for a long time. Maybe Tillman can give them a price they won't be able to turn down and they won't mind.

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Until recently, my friend lived on Kip Street which is one lot over (East) from the home referenced in this article. The neighborhood, although small, is wonderfully convenient to all that the boardwalk has to offer, and yet quiet enough to enjoy a day cooking out and watching the water. Yes you would hear the train when it whistled, but it was charming, and certainly wasn't loud enough to be anoying. All in all it's a really neat place to live. Unfortunately, when This coaster begins operation the neighborhood will be ruined.

I can't imagine what it's going to be like for the permanent residents of this charming little area, all I can say is Fertitta sucks.

By the way, the reason my friend left Kemah, is because the doctor who owned the home recently sold it (appx 1/2 acre) to fertitta. No word on what he'll do with it, but the buzz in the neighborhood is, that he's (fertitta) trying to drive them out.

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So, Fertitta is trying to make the Kemah Boardwalk some full-fledged amusement park? Like Pac Park in Santa Monica, but better?

I'm not sure about that, but wouldn't doubt it. As I said the concensus in the neighborhood is that, he's little by little trying to drive them out.

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I think Landry's is looking for a lot of favorable buzz when this opens later this year. How can you get cynical about a good old fashioned roller coaster?

I stand corrected. Maybe the Kemah residents can get ahold of the Afton Oaks NIMBY handbook. The one that shows how a couple thousand people can use fear, irrationality, and just plain selfishness to try to block something that would benefit the community as a whole.

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Except the Kemah people are too late. The coaster should be finished and running within a few weeks. Plus, Tillman didn't break any laws. I feel bad for some of the people who will forced to deal with the noise and crowds that the Boardwalk will bring, but this amusement park and especially the roller coaster will bring a lot of joy to millions of people over the years. There's only a few dozen families that will be negitively effected by Boardwalk. An amusement park on the bay serves the greater good of the community. I may not being saying this if AstroWorld were still open or there were a whole lot of choices of places to go in the Houston area for this type of entertainment.

With the new theme park planned in New Caney, the possibility of coasters at Splashtown, talk of amusement rides coming to parts of Galveston, and maybe even that crazy fake snow mountain thingy (Grand Texas River Walk), things may be looking up in the family fun business in Houston. The Kemah Boardwalk may or may not be able to compete in the future. But those other parks are years away if they happen at all. Today, the Boardwalk is the only game in town.

I can't wait to give my money to Tillman for building this coaster. And if he builds another one next year, I'll be giving him even more of my money.

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Except the Kemah people are too late. The coaster should be finished and running within a few weeks. Plus, Tillman didn't break any laws. I feel bad for some of the people who will forced to deal with the noise and crowds that the Boardwalk will bring, but this amusement park and especially the roller coaster will bring a lot of joy to millions of people over the years.

the traffic alone makes it miserable down there.

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I admit, it's going to be chaotic. It's hard to imagine how this place will evolve. It's going to be a big mess. But I think if I were the owner of a half acre plot of land near the boardwalk, I would try to figure out a way to make some money off the proximity to the park. People could turn their land into pay parking lots, taco stands, freak shows, or even buy a couple of cheap carnival rides and have their OWN tiny amusement park feeding off the crowds that the boardwalk will be bringing in. Thats what happened at Coney Island back in the 1920s. The whole area became an amusement park district with several different parks - all with different owners, all feeding off the crowds that the other parks brought near them.

By figuring out a way to sponge off the crowds the Boardwalk was bringing to your land, you would have a nice source of income to build yourself a bigger, nicer house further down the bay, away from the crowd, and probably with a nicer view.

If you can't beat them, join them! ...or at least suck off of them. Even with chaotic traffic, the Boardwalk will be fun. Crazy traffic problems never stopped the Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA from functioning over the last 100 years. You have to see that place to believe it. It's total hell getting to it, but if you like that kind of stuff (like me) it's worth it.

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Better access is essential for growth. If people can't get there except by boat (hmm, that's an idea...), that's a problem.

The Nasa Rd Bypass off I45 is a great start, but what about after that? You still have to stop at a whole bunch of lights to get there, and congestion can get bad.

Eventually the preferred route from Houston may be via the planned Fairmont Pkwy/Red Bluff Tollway off of Beltway 8 East, leading right into the upgraded 146 Freeway, providing direct freeway access. They should get started on those improvements sooner rather than later, if at all possible.

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Better access is essential for growth. If people can't get there except by boat (hmm, that's an idea...), that's a problem.

The Nasa Rd Bypass off I45 is a great start, but what about after that? You still have to stop at a whole bunch of lights to get there, and congestion can get bad.

the nasa bypass will supposedly get you east of el camino with no lights. that alone is a plus.

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That freeway couldn't come soon enough.

Yeah, can't you just envision how all that beautiful concrete would look. Especially through that sparsely populated, heavily wooded stretch of Red Bluff where those "service roads" have been for years.

Freeways don't have to be ugly and they don't have to ruin property values. Look at the one (610) that passes through Bellaire. Especially since they've rebuilt the freeway.

It's all about mobility, baby!

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Sould this be merged with other Clear Lake/Kemah related topics? They also speak of recent roller coaster boardwalk events.

The Chron had a good story last week and there were many great responses.

There was a couple griping about noise, etc and they just bought this house 2 years ago? Come on how naive can people not be? They new damn well what they were getting in to. All that was and is on their mind is $$$. That simple. Now they will probably sue for noise impairment/ear damage. :wacko:

PS, this venue could never pare to Santa Monica Pier's amusement park nor Santa Cruz's. Never. :lol:

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Yeah, can't you just envision how all that beautiful concrete would look. Especially through that sparsely populated, heavily wooded stretch of Red Bluff where those "service roads" have been for years.

Freeways don't have to be ugly and they don't have to ruin property values. Look at the one (610) that passes through Bellaire. Especially since they've rebuilt the freeway.

It's all about mobility, baby!

I would rather a commuter line out that way than a new freeway. It is growing around Red Bluff though.

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Musicman stole my thunder. Traffic and parking are getting worse. I was just down at the Boardwalk this Saturday at about 9:00 PM and there wasn't any place close to park. You basically had to park a good four or five blocks away (no big deal for me but for others...?). Anyway, it's a nice boom to the area but Kemah's always been set up to be a sleepy little coastal community, with modest residential development with some retail mixed in.

That's long gone out the window. I can see the residential landscape of the neighborhood changing just in the way the areas on the western end of Clear Lake are starting to change, with high rises and multi-unit dwellings with choice views of the surrounding scenery.

Tillman's going to have to expand the grounds to accomodate more parking in the long term. I just don't see any other way around it.

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Musicman stole my thunder. Traffic and parking are getting worse. I was just down at the Boardwalk this Saturday at about 9:00 PM and there wasn't any place close to park. You basically had to park a good four or five blocks away (no big deal for me but for others...?). Anyway, it's a nice boom to the area but Kemah's always been set up to be a sleepy little coastal community, with modest residential development with some retail mixed in.

That's long gone out the window. I can see the residential landscape of the neighborhood changing just in the way the areas on the western end of Clear Lake are starting to change, with high rises and multi-unit dwellings with choice views of the surrounding scenery.

Tillman's going to have to expand the grounds to accomodate more parking in the long term. I just don't see any other way around it.

Exactly! If there is any way someone can find photos from Hurricane Alicia in early 80's. This will make you wonder why they even continue building. Take plenty of photos now. Wish I could be more positive but its just a reality of being so (too) close to the shore in Texas. Prozac time! :D

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I wish I could find some photos of San Francisco after the 1906 quake, it makes me wonder why they have continued to build there for the last 101 years also.

How many years have those old buildings in Kemah been standing? How long have those old buildings been standing in Galveston? 100 years or longer?

Yeah, Tillman should just close down the boardwalk right now. Doesn't he see that the Texas coastline is filled with nothing but thousands upon thousands of ruins of structures that have been constantly battered by hurricanes year after year. One's probably on the way right now! I wish I could be more negitive, I'm sure life on the coast would be much more enjoyable.

But seriously, Tillman's probably not worried about doomsday senerios because, like all his neighbors and everyone else who builds near the water, he's paying out the wazoo for insurance. Besides, that coaster will pay for itself in a year - if we can make it through just ONE year without another major disaster on the west Galveston Bay shoreline.

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How many years have those old buildings in Kemah been standing? How long have those old buildings been standing in Galveston? 100 years or longer?

My buddies house (actually the Dr's house) that I mentioned above is 69 years old, and it sits 150' from the water. In fact the home was built to take on water believe it or not. It had small closets that were about 7' from the floor for dry storage of important objects. The framing of the house was unbelieveable as well, and had door jams that were litterally 6 inches wide to avoid warping after taking on water.

It was a very well built house.

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