How would you change: Galveston Island

[editor]

Continuing our series where HAIFers get to play urban planner...

There's been some talk lately about Trump and the island and casino gambling and the island, so it seems natural to be our next "How would you change?" target.

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 Galveston Island? Not just the city of Galveston, but the whole island. You could probably incorporate Bolivar Peninsula if that suits your needs. What parts would you keep? What parts would you get rid of? What would you add?

Let you imagination run.

[TexasVines]

tear down all the public housing and stop offering section 8 vouchers

bring in a few more cruise ships

impliment a total beach restoration project for the entire length of the island with 100+ feet of beach added the entire length and large underwater rabble barriers to help keep the restored sand in place possibly in 2 or 3 tiers

other than the pockets of ghetto trash I see nothing wrong with Galveston and I have no desire to make it a casino resort or any other "destination" that it will never really be

[Daniepwils]

Turn the entire island into a marine life sanctuary (and a natural barrier for the Texas coast)

[plumber2]

I concur with TexasVines. Get rid of the public and section 8 housing, then the problems will fix themselves.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Enforce the Texas Open Beaches Act.

That goes for the entire Texas coast, not just Galveston Island.

Also...stop throwing away money on beach "replenishment" that sometimes lasts no more than a year. You're not going to solve the sand-loss problem by throwing more sand on the beach. The gulf currents are taking more sand than they're leaving...and pumping sand from offshore is just taking sand away from the supply that would naturally be replenishing the beach.

Other than that...no changes to the city itself.

[Jeebus]

Figure out a way to make the water clear and blue, and the beach sand white. All the other problems will fix themselves after that.

[TexasVines]

without beach replenishment Galveston would be gone......what needs to stop is the bandaids on an open wound and they need to actually spend the big money to replenish the beaches properly and put the structures in place off shore and under water to keep the sand there

as for the open beaches act I have not seen anyplace in Texas where private developers have limited access it is usually the government that limits it to try and keep large groups of 16-22 year olds out and from congregating in large groups....Texas probably enforces the open beaches better than anyplace in the USA that has that rule up to and including taking houses off the beach that have had the vegetation line move behind them...I am hard pressed to think of any place on Galveston, Corpus, or South Padre where I have ever seen private entities try and limit beach access, but I can think of many where the public entities have

[Reefmonkey]

Continuing our series where HAIFers get to play urban planner...

There's been some talk lately about Trump and the island and casino gambling and the island, so it seems natural to be our next "How would you change?" target.

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 Galveston Island? Not just the city of Galveston, but the whole island. You could probably incorporate Bolivar Peninsula if that suits your needs. What parts would you keep? What parts would you get rid of? What would you add?

Let you imagination run.

Great question, editor. My answer is biased by my enthusiasm for boating, but I think Galveston needs to focus on making itself a decent private boating destination. When you go into the port of Galveston, there is pretty much nowhere that a visiting boater can come in and tie up and have lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, or walk over to the Strand or whatever. It sucks. There is the Galveston Yacht Basin, which isn't reasonable walking distance to the historic district and I don't think has much in the way for people to dock for any length of time other than to quickly get gas and ice. There is a small dock over by Harbor House, but I think you have to be a guest of harbor house to use it. There ought to be a public dock near the Elissa area that charges a reasonable hourly fee.

Offat's Bayou would also be a great boating destination, and it is a little better than downtown in terms of places to tie up. It just needs more decent restaurants and bars to make people want to go there. I think Moody Gardens may have day-slips, which is good. Then the rest of West Bay needs to become a day cruising area. There are maybe three marinas past 71st street, I think - One on Sportsman's Road, One in Lake Como at Pirate's Cove, and one in Sea Isle. The Jamaica Beach marina of course has been gone for at least 25 years. Of these marinas, only Pirate's cove has a decent restaurant and bar where you'd want to tie up and have lunch and a drink. The one at Sea Isle has always been lousy. Problem is, Waterman's at Pirate's Cove is too high-end, which makes it hard for them to survive, especially in winter months What the West End needs is a series of low-key "beach-bar" type places that you can motor up to, with drinks and simple, good food like burgers, crab cakes, fish sandwiches, to make it a place worth sailing to. They need to be low-key enough and have low enough overhead that they wouldn't hurt so much in the winter time - could even be run as seasonal businesses. When I was visiting friends on the space coast in florida, we went boating on the Indian River, which is really more a long bay system, and they had places like this. Here is a standout example:

http://www.hirams.com/

Another thing is food on Galveston Island. We need to offer something else in the way of a style of cooking seafood besides either the battered fried baskets or overseasoned, oversauced "cajun" style. Texas needs to come up with it's own unique coastal food that is lighter, more healthy, and brings out the flavor of the seafood rather than overpowering it, much in the way that the Floribbean style came about. Then that food needs to be served in decent restaurants on the seawall and the bayfront. People want to sit and eat quality local seafood on the water, and there is no place to do that in Galveston. Fisherman's Wharf used to be that, but Landry's bought it and quality and originality took a nosedive. While Hill's Pier 19 was mostly fried stuff, at least it was unique - now it's a Joe's Crab Shack, serving the same food you can get in a restaurant sited in a mall parking lot anywhere in the US now. Seawall would be a great place for restaurants that weren't chains and served good local seafood on the water - but again, what do we provide people? Chain restaurants (Mostly Fertita Brands) that one could get in any nondescript suburb. We SQUANDER good real estate in Galveston - why does Walmart need a view of the Gulf? Why does there need to be a HOOTER'S out over the Gulf? Why does a FUDDRUCKER'S need to occupy a historic building in the Strand district - one that used to house the wonderful Strand Street Brewery?

The other thing is, someone here said we need to attract more cruise ships - wrong, that is the last thing we need to do. People who come to Galveston to get on cruise ships are coming to Galveston not to see Galveston, but for the purposes of going somewhere else, places in the Caribbean with much prettier water and more exotic food and atmosphere. They aren't geared up to appreciate the nuances that make Galveston a great place. That will always degrade Galveston's value as a destination, not improve it. Look what it has done to the Strand. In the 90s, the Strand was up and coming, with interesting new boutiques selling quality stuff, but since the advent of the cruises, especially the Carnival cruises, the Strand has seen the opening of more and more junky souvenier shops, selling the same tacky "Licensed Bikini Inspector" t-shirts that people will be sold in junky souvenier shops when their ship hits Cancun. I imagine that a lot of the people who come for the cruise ships spend less money than people who would otherwise visit Galveston, because they are saving their spending money for the Caribbean.

[TexasVines]

I disagree many cruisers spend at least one night in a hotel before the cruise and often after as well and that is more business for those hotels and restaurants

they also buy fuel for their cars and or utilize Bush International or Hobby and local transportation services

the cruise ships themselves also utilize local services and provision providers which is what really helps an economy

someone I know off of a wine snob website went on a cruise out of Galveston and specifically ask about local places to eat and ended up taking the Gaidos recommendation and enjoyed it a great deal much to my surprise and even liked the views (this is a guy that is quite the restaurant and wine snob so I figured nothing on the island would please him and his wife as he has eaten at most of the leading restaurants in the US)....he is planning on taking another cruise out of Galveston in the future as he and his wife felt it was very hassle free

so while more crusie ships will not make it all better it is an incremental step to more business

I like your idea as well, but I don't think just one or two things will change Galveston it will need to be a combination of things that all add up to more overall business for the existing businesses

[Reefmonkey]

I disagree many cruisers spend at least one night in a hotel before the cruise and often after as well and that is more business for those hotels and restaurants

I think it is a matter of quantity versus quality. I'm not saying that cruise ships don't bring in revenue, but are they contributing to the quality of Galveston as a destination in its own right? I don't think they are. Not only do I think they are encouraging new businesses that junk up the strand, they also aren't encouraging visiting Galveston in its own right. Do you think that a guy up in Oklahoma or Idaho comes back from a trip out of Galveston and tells his buddy, "yeah, Jamaica, well, it was okay, but man, Galveston was AWESOME. Skip the cruise and just stay in Galveston"? Not happening. I am not disputing that the cruises bring in revenue, but I got from editor's prompt that he was interested in our ideas of how we would plan Galveston as a whole, not just make it a revenue generator. Making Galveston the port of embarkation for a caribbean cruise does nothing to improve the quality of galveston as a first class destination in its own right.

And yes, there is hotel business brought to the island for one night at the beginning of the cruise, one night at the end, but it has been my understanding that it has mostly been budget places, like the two La Quintas on seawall who have benefited, not places like the Galvez or the San Luis that could be destinations in their own right, which have individual atmosphere. Those have really been going for business conference money, which I think is the way to go. Get some guy from Duluth to come down to Galveston for a business conference or company retreat, and he'll think, "hey, this might be a good place to bring my kids."

someone I know off of a wine snob website went on a cruise out of Galveston and specifically ask about local places to eat and ended up taking the Gaidos recommendation and enjoyed it a great deal much to my surprise and even liked the views (this is a guy that is quite the restaurant and wine snob so I figured nothing on the island would please him and his wife as he has eaten at most of the leading restaurants in the US)....he is planning on taking another cruise out of Galveston in the future as he and his wife felt it was very hassle free

My family has had a house on Galveston for over 25 years, and had not been to Gaido's in almost that long. I had just dismissed it as being past its prime, living on an old reputation and not worth the long waits. One winter sunday evening a couple of years ago, my wife, who had never been, convinced we to give it a try on our way home to houston. Since it was a sunday in winter there was no line, and I was shocked by how good the food was. Of course, Gaido's is like 100 years old, unfortunately the new seawall restaurants have all gone Fertita.

I like your idea as well, but I don't think just one or two things will change Galveston it will need to be a combination of things that all add up to more overall business for the existing businesses

Agreed. My post was not a definitive answer to what Galveston "needs", it's just some of the stuff I personally would like to see.

[TheNiche]

Great question, editor. My answer is biased by my enthusiasm for boating, but I think Galveston needs to focus on making itself a decent private boating destination. When you go into the port of Galveston, there is pretty much nowhere that a visiting boater can come in and tie up and have lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, or walk over to the Strand or whatever. It sucks. There is the Galveston Yacht Basin, which isn't reasonable walking distance to the historic district and I don't think has much in the way for people to dock for any length of time other than to quickly get gas and ice. There is a small dock over by Harbor House, but I think you have to be a guest of harbor house to use it. There ought to be a public dock near the Elissa area that charges a reasonable hourly fee.

You can tie off at Fisherman's Wharf and eat there. I've done it.

But I agree that it would help if there were either a public day-use marina there or very close nearby with a small-scale water-taxi operation to get people around the port.

Offat's Bayou would also be a great boating destination, and it is a little better than downtown in terms of places to tie up. It just needs more decent restaurants and bars to make people want to go there. I think Moody Gardens may have day-slips, which is good. Then the rest of West Bay needs to become a day cruising area. There are maybe three marinas past 71st street, I think - One on Sportsman's Road, One in Lake Como at Pirate's Cove, and one in Sea Isle. The Jamaica Beach marina of course has been gone for at least 25 years. Of these marinas, only Pirate's cove has a decent restaurant and bar where you'd want to tie up and have lunch and a drink. The one at Sea Isle has always been lousy. Problem is, Waterman's at Pirate's Cove is too high-end, which makes it hard for them to survive, especially in winter months What the West End needs is a series of low-key "beach-bar" type places that you can motor up to, with drinks and simple, good food like burgers, crab cakes, fish sandwiches, to make it a place worth sailing to. They need to be low-key enough and have low enough overhead that they wouldn't hurt so much in the winter time - could even be run as seasonal businesses. When I was visiting friends on the space coast in florida, we went boating on the Indian River, which is really more a long bay system, and they had places like this. Here is a standout example:

http://www.hirams.com/

That's what they need to do with the tip end of the Texas City Dike! Also would be nice at Port Bolivar and Smith Point, just like San Leon had at Topwater Grill (up until Ike destroyed it). Clary's on Offat's Bayou is another good example, but I'm not sure that it made it through the storm. There was even a winery in Oak Island where you could pull up in a small craft and patronize the establishment.

One way or the other, I think that projects like these could be immensely beneficial to promoting not only Galveston but the whole Galveston Bay system.

Another thing is food on Galveston Island. We need to offer something else in the way of a style of cooking seafood besides either the battered fried baskets or overseasoned, oversauced "cajun" style. Texas needs to come up with it's own unique coastal food that is lighter, more healthy, and brings out the flavor of the seafood rather than overpowering it, much in the way that the Floribbean style came about.

Texas is all about fried food! So what if it's not unique? It's authentic.

Then that food needs to be served in decent restaurants on the seawall and the bayfront. People want to sit and eat quality local seafood on the water, and there is no place to do that in Galveston. Fisherman's Wharf used to be that, but Landry's bought it and quality and originality took a nosedive. While Hill's Pier 19 was mostly fried stuff, at least it was unique - now it's a Joe's Crab Shack, serving the same food you can get in a restaurant sited in a mall parking lot anywhere in the US now. Seawall would be a great place for restaurants that weren't chains and served good local seafood on the water - but again, what do we provide people? Chain restaurants (Mostly Fertita Brands) that one could get in any nondescript suburb. We SQUANDER good real estate in Galveston - why does Walmart need a view of the Gulf? Why does there need to be a HOOTER'S out over the Gulf? Why does a FUDDRUCKER'S need to occupy a historic building in the Strand district - one that used to house the wonderful Strand Street Brewery?

Because they're more profitable and/or nobody else could afford that real estate. I know that's not a popular answer, but it is a realistic answer. Galveston's economy just doesn't support the critical mass of upper class places. And right now, the jobs situation on the island looks kind of bleak, so its going to be a while.

So it really doesn't matter how much clout an urban planner has, that kind of stuff is going to be there.

The other thing is, someone here said we need to attract more cruise ships - wrong, that is the last thing we need to do. People who come to Galveston to get on cruise ships are coming to Galveston not to see Galveston, but for the purposes of going somewhere else, places in the Caribbean with much prettier water and more exotic food and atmosphere. They aren't geared up to appreciate the nuances that make Galveston a great place. That will always degrade Galveston's value as a destination, not improve it. Look what it has done to the Strand. In the 90s, the Strand was up and coming, with interesting new boutiques selling quality stuff, but since the advent of the cruises, especially the Carnival cruises, the Strand has seen the opening of more and more junky souvenier shops, selling the same tacky "Licensed Bikini Inspector" t-shirts that people will be sold in junky souvenier shops when their ship hits Cancun. I imagine that a lot of the people who come for the cruise ships spend less money than people who would otherwise visit Galveston, because they are saving their spending money for the Caribbean.

I have to disagree with you on this. I don't think that the cruise industry is responsible for tacky souvenier shops. Tourists are responsible for tacky souvenier shops. And some of those tourists have good taste while others do not. One way or the other, reducing the number of tourists isn't going to help Galveston. What will help is to market more intensively to the tasteful tourists. But you have to allow for the fact that the La Marque weekender crowd isn't going away.

[VicMan]

I would do the following:

* Relocate most Section 8 people (especially families) to La Marque, Hitchcock, and Texas City - maybe at most one family and senior complex can be kept. Much of Galveston's Section 8 should be ONLY for seniors.

* Extend Island transit to La Marque, Hitchcock and Texas City - find a way to get the cities to accept Island Transit

* Promote Ball High School as a magnet school for out of district students and have GISD provide transportation for out of district students - so the best and brightest of La Marque, Hitchcock, and Texas City can go to Galveston for high school, if they want to. GISD should be able to do this with an increasing tax base and a decreasing student body. Also change the dress code so it matches the typical American school dress code style and allows T-shirts with printed logos.

* Establish a bridge between Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula - But the ferry can be kept for historic reasons.

* Help establish a commuter rail service between Houston and Galveston

* Galveston and/or Jamaica Beach could establish a small library branch for West-Enders if the development of western Galveston warrants additional libraries. While I foresee schools closing, Galveston could get more libraries.

[IronTiger]

* Reopen the H-E-B Pantry!

* Actually build proper things to keep the beach from eroding.

* Get the homeless bums out of the street.

* Add a real mall or something. The Mall of the Mainland is screwed either way, put something new and nice and enclosed in Galveston.

* Don't rebuild the Hooters on the gulf.

* Don't let millionaires build houses right on the coast, and if they do, don't let them collect hurricane insurance after a hurricane.

* Abandon the Bolivar peninsula road and rebuild it, as it would be too expensive to clear out the rubble.

* Let the Strand come back to life with real stuff.

that's all for now...

[VicMan]

Or make sure the millionaires construct their houses so that they can withstand a Cat 4.

* Reopen the H-E-B Pantry!

* Actually build proper things to keep the beach from eroding.

* Get the homeless bums out of the street.

* Add a real mall or something. The Mall of the Mainland is screwed either way, put something new and nice and enclosed in Galveston.

* Don't rebuild the Hooters on the gulf.

* Don't let millionaires build houses right on the coast, and if they do, don't let them collect hurricane insurance after a hurricane.

* Abandon the Bolivar peninsula road and rebuild it, as it would be too expensive to clear out the rubble.

* Let the Strand come back to life with real stuff.

that's all for now...

[IronTiger]

Or make sure the millionaires construct their houses so that they can withstand a Cat 4.

Which will never happen.

[TexasVines]

Which will never happen.

actually if you look at the photos you will see that a great deal of the new construction stood up well....but one issue still is for some of it when the vegetation line moves inland the house goes even if it is in 100% perfect shape because the state owns the beach....there is no building code that one individual home owner can follow that will prevent that other than building on the other side of the highway and if Texas does not act properly soon even that will not help

[TheNiche]

actually if you look at the photos you will see that a great deal of the new construction stood up well....but one issue still is for some of it when the vegetation line moves inland the house goes even if it is in 100% perfect shape because the state owns the beach....there is no building code that one individual home owner can follow that will prevent that other than building on the other side of the highway and if Texas does not act properly soon even that will not help

You're right. I've driven the length of Galveston, and there are basically two factors that determined how well a home stood up to the storm. Age and price.

Older and inexpensive homes took it on the chin. Many of the very expensive homes are in pristine condition. You wouldn't know that a hurricane had struck were it not for the piles of sandy garbage lining all of the roads.

[Reefmonkey]

You can tie off at Fisherman's Wharf and eat there. I've done it.

But I agree that it would help if there were either a public day-use marina there or very close nearby with a small-scale water-taxi operation to get people around the port.

Yeah, I have circled in the harbor for 30 minutes or more waiting for a space to tie up at Fisherman's wharf to eat there for lunch on a summer saturday afternoon, and that was in a 19' grady white. For a larger cruising sailboat, at popular times there just isn't space. For years we used to tie up at the floating dock just west of Fisherman's Wharf, but about 6 years ago they started chasing people off that.

Texas is all about fried food! So what if it's not unique? It's authentic.

Just my desire to taste fish, not fried batter.

Because they're more profitable and/or nobody else could afford that real estate. I know that's not a popular answer, but it is a realistic answer. Galveston's economy just doesn't support the critical mass of upper class places. And right now, the jobs situation on the island looks kind of bleak, so its going to be a while.

So it really doesn't matter how much clout an urban planner has, that kind of stuff is going to be there.

True enough

I have to disagree with you on this. I don't think that the cruise industry is responsible for tacky souvenier shops. Tourists are responsible for tacky souvenier shops. And some of those tourists have good taste while others do not. One way or the other, reducing the number of tourists isn't going to help Galveston. What will help is to market more intensively to the tasteful tourists. But you have to allow for the fact that the La Marque weekender crowd isn't going away.

I think we actually are in agreement on this. It's not even all cruise ship patrons who attract these stores - it is the prominence of the Carnival Cruises in Galveston. I may be wrong, but it seems that they have more sailings out of Galveston than any of the other lines. Having made the mistake of going on one a few years ago, I recognize that they really cater to the NASCAR crowd. It's that crowd that keeps the tacky tourist shops open. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I'm not going to be PC if it leaves the issue unsaid. It's ruining the strand. Hopefully the will continue to stay there, and not start venturing to Post Office.

My family has had a house on Galveston since 1983. We were there during the bust of the mid-late 80s when it seemed almost like we had the entire island to ourselves, even in summer. The Strand area had Peanut Butter Warehouse, La King's, the Emporium, Waterwall, Occidental Trading Company/Christmas Store, the Wentletrap, and pretty much nothing else.

Then in the 90s, as Houston and the rest of the country recovered, so did Galveston and the Strand. Great new stores and restaurants moved in, the Strand revitalized, and all this occured BEFORE the cruise ships arrived. Not to get into a chicken-egg argument, but it seems to me that the revitalization brought the cruise ships, not vice versa. Since the cruise ships came, the quality of the stores on the Strand has gone downhill. I don't think attracting shear masses of tourists is sustainable if it brings down the quality of the area, and locals and frequent Houston-area weekenders start avoiding the area.

This brings to mind another issue I have that is strand-related - the street festival on the strand during Mardi Gras. I remember going every year in the 80s as a little kid, and it was a family event. Now the Girls-Gone-Wild mentality has infected it, and there are breasts-galore being flashed, cutthroat antics to get cheap plastic beads at all costs, basically people trying to create what they think New Orleans mardi gras is like in Galveston. The lewdness has got out of hand, and has been on a trajectory to be as bad as Kappa Beach Weekend.

It comes down to the question of what Galveston wants for itself - indiscriminate tourist dollars in the short term, which will ultimate result in burnout, I think, as families, business conventions, etc. start to stay away from the lewdness? Or a more tasteful level of tourism, that would ultimately put the Island on par with Charleston or Savannah, bringing with it customers who will be willing to pay more per head for lodging, food, etc, enabling businesses to charge more. I think this would turn Galveston from a mostly regional destination to a national one, which would bring the numbers as well, but this time each paying more.

[TheNiche]

Yeah, I have circled in the harbor for 30 minutes or more waiting for a space to tie up at Fisherman's wharf to eat there for lunch on a summer saturday afternoon, and that was in a 19' grady white. For a larger cruising sailboat, at popular times there just isn't space. For years we used to tie up at the floating dock just west of Fisherman's Wharf, but about 6 years ago they started chasing people off that.

A Saturday afternoon in the summer? Jeez, man. Even if you had been able to tie off, what's the point with the wait times there?

Just my desire to taste fish, not fried batter.

If you can't taste the fish, it hasn't been fried properly.

This brings to mind another issue I have that is strand-related - the street festival on the strand during Mardi Gras. I remember going every year in the 80s as a little kid, and it was a family event. Now the Girls-Gone-Wild mentality has infected it, and there are breasts-galore being flashed, cutthroat antics to get cheap plastic beads at all costs, basically people trying to create what they think New Orleans mardi gras is like in Galveston. The lewdness has got out of hand, and has been on a trajectory to be as bad as Kappa Beach Weekend.

This was very very different from my experience there earlier this year. It was billed as a family event and that's what it looked like to me.

I know that there are particular bars that are known for sexualized antics, but it wasn't out there on the streets.

[Vertigo58]

It just cracks me up that Galveston ended up on Crater Houston section

How would I change it?

Dye the water a turqouise blue color and add huge wave machines so it would be like Hawaii for surfers.

[J.A.S.O.N.]

1. Advisory committee of Dutch engineers to help us "solve" our flooding problems.

2. Get rid of public housing completely (some just for elderly), but keep section 8 vouchers.

3. Annex, then grade raise and seawall off Bolivar peninsula for future development

4. Develop 600 acres of the east end flats for middle income housing & UTMB expansion

5. Create a real 24hr entertainment district downtown. Maybe turn Ships Mechanic Row into some sort of Beal Street w/ live bands at every bar.

6. My Galveston would also have first rate Casinos

7. Return most of the west end to natural habitat for wildlife.

8. Pelican Island developed into a sort of all things marine manufacturing/Port of Galveston entity.

[beachwatcher]

FIRST - fire the entire brutal and corrupt police department. Without corrupt cops, other corruption would be stemmed. Crime would cease to be much of a problem, property values would go up, the rest would take care of itself.