How Would You Change: Montrose

[editor]

Pretend you're a fairly powerful urban planner. Not exactly Sim City, but still given the latitude and budget to do what you see is fit. How would you change Montrose? What parts would you keep? What about infrastructure? Social services?

Let you imagination run.

[roadrunner]

Pretend you're a fairly powerful urban planner. Not exactly Sim City, but still given the latitude and budget to do what you see is fit. How would you change Montrose? What parts would you keep? What about infrastructure? Social services?

Let you imagination run.

The only thing that comes to mind is that abandoned strip center at Westheimer and Montrose. That intersection is pretty much the center of the city, and it looks like crap. I don't know what would go well there....maybe a boutique hotel with ground level retail, but anything would be better than what's there now.

[20thStDad]

So many side roads need resurfacing.

With infinite funds, I would implement burial of utilities, or at least a switch to rear servitudes to improve street-scape. I know, that was a long thread we've already discussed somewhere...I said infinite funds.

Then street cars/trolleys. I just feel like it would fit with the area. On rails, street or median or whatever, a la St Charles in NO or like SF.

Then I would make them have the Greek festival every month, because it is wicked fun.

[Dan the Man]

1. Put the esplanade back on Montrose Blvd, and install a light rail line that connects the Heights with Hermann Park.

2. Enact legislation to prevent the construction of any more townhomes.

3. Declare Wilshire Village a protected landmark, then have it restored as a home for artists.

3. Re-pave the streets around the Menil Collection.

[crunchtastic]

One thing I would do, after demolishing the strip enter on the SW corner of Montrose and Westheimer,

is rebuild it with street level retail mixed with office space to house 'retail' staff spaces for all the major support organizations for the GLBT community. That corner would be a perfect spot to consolidate social services. Some may disagree, but I say celebrate the roots of the neighborhood as the political and cultural center of gay life, back when activists had a seriously uphill battle.

[trymahjong]

what would i do with "infinite" funds? Murals on large blank building walls---a lovely bike trail that connects Herman Park with Allen Parkway--perhaps tall palm trees from westheimer down montrose to Binz--a walkable gravel path beside it--a few wooden park benches--some whimisical public art-- that makes music when the wind blows thru it--- start small-"pocket parks on all those vacant lots---perhaps "memory" gardens---fix all the broken up sidewalks and help the huge trees whose roots have broken up the sidewalks-- i was a little heartsick that a huge oak tree was cut down at Lovett & Roseland--and this after all Lovett-Street talk about "rejuvenating" their esplanade---i'm hoping all that new wood mulch didn't come from that great old tree-------

[Subdude]

Dedicate one lane on Westheimer in each direction to parking instead of traffic, from Elgin to Shepherd, so there would only be one lane for vehicles. Restore the neon on the Tower Theater/Hollywood Video. Restore the strip center at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose to its original appearance and get Barnes & Noble to move there instead of River Oaks. Repave the side streets in the area. Build a decent bike lane down Montrose.

[bachanon]

http://www.montroseblvd.org/index.html

start by redeveloping the montrose corridor between allen parkway & hermann park. create an architectural committee to curtail unsympathetic and banal townhome construction in the area. give tax incentives to upgrade aging apartment complexes that offer low "artist/student" rates. bring back the unruly, semi-anarchistic westheimer street fest and have the city subsidize it. have numbers nightclub recognized as the progressive music institution that it is. have the city or convention bureau create an ad campaign that invites you to "brunch in the montrose".

and, last but not least, fix the sidewalks.

[dbigtex56]

Pretend you're a fairly powerful urban planner. Not exactly Sim City, but still given the latitude and budget to do what you see is fit. How would you change Montrose? What parts would you keep? What about infrastructure? Social services?

Let you imagination run.

Given the above conditions, and assuming that I'm not running for election:

I'll recognize that certain areas are already of a commercial or entertainment bent. Pacific St., Fairview, Lower Westheimer, Richmond Ave, W. Gray, Montrose Blvd. (among others) will not be subject to the same noise and parking restrictions as adjoining residential streets. Too many local institutions have been run out of business by people who don't 'get' the neighborhood. Montrose will continue to be a place where bars and restaurants and art and music attract residents (and visitors) who value such things. Other existing businesses will enjoy a 'grandfather' status as well. The corner grocery, locksmith or auto repair shop will not disappear.

Public transportation will be extensive, frequent, convenient, consistant and inexpensive. Free parking will be minimized. ("You don't own that parking space? Then it ain't yours!") Sidewalks will be improved to be 100% wheelchair accessable. Pedestrian crossing and signals will be improved. Bicycle lanes will be established and maintained.

New single-family dwellings will be heavily taxed, especially if they're significantly larger than nearby structures (a "McMansion" tax), and subject to strict architectural review. Height restrictions may apply if they negatively affect existing views or access to sunlight. Sidewalks shall be preserved. Trees and open spaces will be legally protected.

Exisiting affordable housing will enjoy tax breaks, as will buildings which contribute to Montrose's history. Inexpensive, modest housing will continue to be available in the Montrose. Social service agencies will be varied, plentiful and encouraged.

There shall be an appropriate amount of sensible law enforcement.

Unimproved lots will enjoy tax relief if donated for use as community gardens.

(Some people won't care for these ideas. If they desire a more conventional residential model, there are several hundred other square miles of Houston, and various neighborhoods from which to choose.)

This is just off the top of my head.

I've been a resident of the Montrose since 1981; many marriages don't last that long. Montrose may never again be the place I initially fell in love with, but I hope that it will never entirely lose the qualities which first attracted me.

[plumber2]

What bugs me about the way this neighborhood has changed, and others like it, is the influx of tightly built townhomes. These "single family" houses are built in groups, on lots designed for smaller density.

I remember going to visit relatives or friends who lived in this area. We would either park in the driveway, or in front of their house. (There was always room for one or more cars to park in front of each individual house.

Now, all availbale street parking has been eliminated by the continuos curb cuts for the driveways of these newer town homes. What few original homes are left afford the occasional visitor a street parking spot or more often the newer residents a place to park their extra vehicles.

Once the street has been completely rebuilt with new townhomes, as has happened on some blocks, there is no on street parking avaiable at all. Even the the older apartment complexes that were squeezed into these neighborhoods in the middle 60's allowed for sufficeint tenant parking.

These tall, close to the street, block out the sky type townhomes make me cringe. I'll just stay out in the "boonies" and enjoy myself.

[memebag]

I'd re-open The Pot Pie. That would fix everything.

[HtownWxBoy]

I'd make it gayer!

[TheNiche]

I'd make it gayer!

How so? Would you displace gays from their current neighborhoods and relocate them to Montrose, like the Nazis did the Jews? Or would you prosthletize existing residents and try to convert them gay, like lockmat to non-Christians?

[HtownWxBoy]

How so? Would you displace gays from their current neighborhoods and relocate them to Montrose, like the Nazis did the Jews? Or would you prosthletize existing residents and try to convert them gay, like lockmat to non-Christians?

CONVERT, CONVERT, CONVERT!! ha ha ha ha

[memebag]

How so? Would you displace gays from their current neighborhoods and relocate them to Montrose, like the Nazis did the Jews? Or would you prosthletize existing residents and try to convert them gay, like lockmat to non-Christians?

While Nazi-style mass relocations are pretty gay, all you really need to make anything gayer are the right accessories. I'm thinking scarves.

[Pumapayam]

make sure all new developments includes wide tree lined sidewalks and rear parking and/or streetside parking.

I'd make it gayer!

It's at full capacity. You can't get anymore flaming that it already is.

[Vertigo58]

Build some of the biggest most innovative dinner/techno-dance clubs the city has ever seen and for all people like Rich's but about 10 times larger. Have them built away from the main streets that surround this area. Give them that Studio 54 reputation & zeal. Make the floors accomodate from 800-1000 party goers at a time like the clubs in NYC & LA. Make multi-leveled with balconies and provide outdoor seating as well. Fountains, valet, a definitely a variety of themes. Think about scenes from Bladerunner... el perfecto!

May cost millions but well worth it.

[TheNiche]

Pretend you're a fairly powerful urban planner. Not exactly Sim City, but still given the latitude and budget to do what you see is fit. How would you change Montrose? What parts would you keep? What about infrastructure? Social services?

Let you imagination run.

The first thing I would do is orchestrate an aggregious accounting error, making it appear that I have an extra $1.1 billion in funds...just like TXDoT.

Then I'd rapidly overcommit to transportation improvements of the sort that have a regional benefit...because I don't live or shop in or near Montrose and don't care about the people that do, per se, so much as I care about getting through it quickly. For instance:

1) I'd rebuild 59 at Spur 527 to fix what TXDoT intentionally broke. The bottleneck there is horrible.

2) Then I'd start tunneling. For north/south thoroughfares, I'd bury the main lanes of Montrose Blvd., Shepherd, and Kirby from US 59 to where River Oaks starts (because I don't mind a little traffic if I get to look at multi-million-dollar mansions with well-maintained yards. Traffic lights on Allen Parkway would be bypassed with new grade seperations. Dunlavy would get buried from US 59 up to Haddon St., and then up Waugh to the Buffalo Bayou; this has the advantage of being continued up Waugh and under Heights Blvd., but also down towards and perhaps underneath Rice University, connecting with N. MacGregor at S. Main, which will soon continue across Braes Bayou as Cambridge (towards my condo).

3) For east-west routes, my stated goal would be to patch together a less interrupted grid. Richmond and Westheimer are the continuous no-brainers. But Alabama needs to be joined together across the West Loop and the W. Gray tunnel would need to curve to transition over to San Felipe. Dallas St. would be undisturbed because it has a sweet downtown view. Because there would be so much roadway underground, surface lanes could actually be removed or narrowed, making way for expansive sidewalks, plenty of trees and other landscaping, esplanades, and more on-street parking. And with much lighter traffic and significantly improved pedestrian infrastructure, at-grade light rail might actually make sense (whereas right now, I would argue that it causes about as much congestion as it prevents).

4) All these new east-west tunnels would spit traffic onto Milam and Travis in Midtown; between these streets, everything would get bought out and demolished, making room for a linear park corridor extending from the Spur all the way into downtown at Leeland. Most of these buildings are low-rise. Some have historic character...but so will the park in 100 years. The park stops at Leeland because that's where it encounters the first highrise (aside from Central Square) of consequence...it also is a street that becomes a major arterial leading to Eastwood, where I own property.

5) The same linear park tactic as above would be implemented between Waugh and Commonwealth in the area south of W. Gray and north of Westheimer.

6) Anywhere I might possibly drive on the surface streets, overhead utilities would be buried. They can remain present in the neighborhoods.

7) Buffalo Bayou linear park system would get substantial upgrades, especially to trails and landscaping, but also to address the amount of trash from upstream.

[BryanS]

Build some of the biggest most innovative dinner/techno-dance clubs the city has ever seen and for all people like Rich's but about 10 times larger. Have them built away from the main streets that surround this area. Give them that Studio 54 reputation & zeal. Make the floors accomodate from 800-1000 party goers at a time like the clubs in NYC & LA. Make multi-leveled with balconies and provide outdoor seating as well. Fountains, valet, a definitely a variety of themes. Think about scenes from Bladerunner... el perfecto!

May cost millions but well worth it.

You'd end up with a GIGANTIC, empty dance club. The Internet (and to a limited extent the invasion of straight people) has killed places like Rich's, gay book stores, gay businesses, Montrose in general. Who needs physical places to meet, when you can now just do it all on-line? Don't need to all live together/around each other any more. Techno dance music? That's what XM and Sirius are for! Who needs the club? - You have it right there in your car. Don't get me wrong, there will always be people who like to go out... but it's not like what it was before...

[dachmation]

After reading over the some of the changes--bike lanes--Westheimer road--I'm thinking back to hearing Sue Lovell speak on the possibility that once the Richmond rail is started--"most likely" Alabama will be made one way and Westheimer the other way--

What changes that brings Montrose I'm not sure--

and I remember viewing the impromptude parade of "Night of a Thousand Brittany"s" from a balcony with a drink in hand, surrounded by friends and merriment and thinking--how could it get better than this?

[rsb320]

Run off all of the hustlers and low-lifes.

Completely re-do lower Westheimer to make it more of a gateway to Montrose and Midtown.

I like the trolley idea on a middle esplanade on Montrose. It would hook up to the Red Line at the Museum or Rice stations.

...and, fix the sidewalks already!

[skyphen]

Great suggestions.

I'd add more public space, an urban park along the lines of Discovery Green. Someplace that would contribute to and nurture the identity of the area because it's getting lost. A place for people in the neighborhood and beyond to congregate. There'd be regularly scheduled festivals, live music, book fairs, farmers markets, neighborhood block parties, and other events. I'd wipe out that whole block at Montrose and Westheimer anchored by Half Price Books and plop it down right there. Maybe that block beside it with the Hollywood Video, too, or the Disco Kroger. It could move across the street where Walgreens is. There's a CVS right up the street anyway. I'd maybe call it Montrose Square Park. It would bring Montrose back to life and add some much-need vibrancy to this city. This is what is missing from Montrose and other Houston city neighborhoods. This is what Austin and other cities are doing right and Houston is doing wrong.

[mattjamesreynolds]

trees trees and more trees! make the montrose crossing of buffalo bayou more "fabulous". make the empty lot by bel air a sculpture cool arty fountain park. the westheimer and montrose intersection needs something - more edgy cool gay, less dirty. more tall palms down montrose. pave the side roads. more oneways and traffic control. restoration and preservation. bicycle lanes.

[Jax]

The sidewalks definitely need a lot of work all over Montrose, especially Westheimer between Shepherd and Montrose. It's weird that one of the areas of Houston where I see the most people walking has some of the worst sidewalks (at least it has sidewalks I guess, unlike some neighborhoods).

I would also offer an incentive to have the empty lots of Montrose developed with something other than more gas stations. I'd demolish the strip center at Westheimer and Montrose and build something similar to West Ave. I'd like to prevent more strip centers from being built in Montrose, but I'm not sure how that would be accomplished.

Also, some form of rail connecting the red line to Montrose would be awesome, although less likely than my other suggestions.

[CoolBuddy06]

So many side roads need resurfacing.

While we're at it, let's have the sidewalks redone too.

[CoolBuddy06]

http://www.montroseblvd.org/index.html

start by redeveloping the montrose corridor between allen parkway & hermann park. create an architectural committee to curtail unsympathetic and banal townhome construction in the area. give tax incentives to upgrade aging apartment complexes that offer low "artist/student" rates. bring back the unruly, semi-anarchistic westheimer street fest and have the city subsidize it. have numbers nightclub recognized as the progressive music institution that it is. have the city or convention bureau create an ad campaign that invites you to "brunch in the montrose".

and, last but not least, fix the sidewalks.

You don't need the city subsidizing anything, you have infinite money remember?

All I can say is that people here have big ideas, if the basic stuff like repaving roads and sidewalks and clearing out junk buildings get done, Montrose'd be revived, developers will swarm in.

[memebag]

All I can say is that people here have big ideas, if the basic stuff like repaving roads and sidewalks and clearing out junk buildings get done, Montrose'd be revived, developers will swarm in.

... and promptly ruin Montrose. Just re-open The Pot Pie. That's all it needs.

[Vertigo58]

Build some of the biggest most innovative dinner/techno-dance clubs the city has ever seen and for all people like Rich's but about 10 times larger. Have them built away from the main streets that surround this area. Give them that Studio 54 reputation & zeal. Make the floors accomodate from 800-1000 party goers at a time like the clubs in NYC & LA. Make multi-leveled with balconies and provide outdoor seating as well. Fountains, valet, a definitely a variety of themes. Think about scenes from Bladerunner... el perfecto!

May cost millions but well worth it.

Then I will build my state of the art dinner/dance club in another part of the city.

This would be a multi-use facility ie; double as a place to have dinner, after work professional mixers, weddings, bar mitzfahs, quincinera's (15 year old parties), Annual Gala's,basically for everyone, not just single people. Would be at least 3-6 stories high with revolving rooms, floors, interchangable walls, projected images for backdrops, extremely high dramatic sealings, bring in some of the best West/East Coast designers to add their ideas. Would also hire people in film industry to come in and create sets to move around. One month the place has a 1940's look, next a 1920's, the Silent film era, and just keep it changing! I would refer to all the staff as The Cast and make wear costume of the era. The ideas never stop. $ is no object! Skies the limit! People still and always will want to mingle in person & dance, dance, dance! There are plenty of ideas and inspiration out there. Let's build it!

My revolving dance floor. They did it then we can do now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgJ8HLzSUbA

[Subdude]

I'm thinking back to hearing Sue Lovell speak on the possibility that once the Richmond rail is started--"most likely" Alabama will be made one way and Westheimer the other way--

What?! They can't be serious.

[jayshoota]

1. I have to agree with other posters that the stripmall at Westheimer and Montrose has to go. This intersection is at the heart of Montrose and deserves something better. It isn't just the stripmall that makes it look bad. The gas station and the lame-excuse-even-for-a-Taco Cabanna really bring that corner down. The old Ming's building being empty doesn't help much either. (Man I miss that place...)

2. Burial of the utility lines.

3. I am on the fence about the townhomes. Depends on where they are and what they are replacing. At least in Montrose a lot of the townhomes are not as cookie cutter and can be pleasing to look at.

4. Since we have a lot of flexibility with this I would move all the bars and place them on Montrose. Kinda like Cedar Springs in Dallas. I really like the layout with everything all together. That being said though, Montrose has a lot more traffic than Cedar Springs does so that would be a mess.

5. Tear down the adult bookstore on Westhiemer and redo Numbers next to it.

6. Do something with the lot Wendy's is on in front of the Tremont.

7. Getting around: bke paths, new sidewalks and I liked somebody else's idea of a trolly.

8. Redo the Hollywood video in a historically safe way and open back up the front part as an entrance instead of letting it be home to a bum.