new bike paths around town

[samagon]

As the bike plan gets adopted and starts gaining steam, it will be good to have a place where we can note what streets have legitimate bike paths (some sort of buffer between car paths and bicycle paths). Even without the bike plan in effect, there are new bike paths being added all the time.

 

 

There's an extension of the Columbia Tap Trail on Walker from Dowling to Hutchins. Both directions of cycling are on the same side of the road.

 

On Calhoun from OST to Brayes bayou there's a lane on each side of the road for cyclists.

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by samagon

[cspwal]

There's a pretty legit bike path down Holly Hall from 288 to NRG.  It's separated from the road by about 6 feet of grass

[Lara]

It certainly will be helpful to know the routes available as not wanting to get caught in normal traffic is a major reason for not taking the bike out more often.

[Triton]

I can't seem to find the downtown bike path thread. Looks like they are finally connection to the Buffalo Bayou park:

 

New bike lane by Marc longoria, on Flickr

[j_cuevas713]

What street is this?

[skwatra]

This is the west end of Lamar St downtown. the dedicated street bike lane used to end at Bagby and there was a small section where it doesn't connect to the larger path that takes you to the bayou, they closed that gap.

[j_cuevas713]

Ahh ok I figured it might be Lamar. That's awesome the city made a solid connection like this. Really like the direction Houston is going. 

[j_cuevas713]

https://bikehouston.org/2017/06/01/heights-blvd-bayou-connection/

[Visitor]

Looks like they are making process on connecting the bayou trail to heights bike trail at UH downtown. Retaining walls are in under the bridge.

[UtterlyUrban]

This is great news!  Now we need a few more bike lanes downtown!  The lane on Lamar is routinely used.  Build it and they will come.

[samagon]

I didn't take photos, but on Polk from ADLA to St Emanuel they have removed a westbound traffic lane, and are marking for a painted bike lane.

 

Now they need to provide a way to get from Lamar bike lane to this new bike lane.

[UtterlyUrban]

20 hours ago, samagon said:

I didn't take photos, but on Polk from ADLA to St Emanuel they have removed a westbound traffic lane, and are marking for a painted bike lane.

 

Now they need to provide a way to get from Lamar bike lane to this new bike lane.

This is great!  If they can now connect to the trails already in EaDo (yes, I typed it) then someone could ride from (for instance) Shepherd drive to Herman park all on bike trails, correct? Or, Herman to the heights?

[HoustonMidtown]

Polk St by GRB from BikeHouston twitter:

 

[Visitor]

http://swamplot.com/the-great-heights-buffalo-bayou-bike-trail-hookup-is-almost-ready/2017-11-15/

 

Almost there...

[j_cuevas713]

Looks like the move to make Houston a gold level bike city is happening faster than what most critics assumed. 

[samagon]

indeed, with the polk street bike path they will double the amount of on street comfort bike paths this city has! 

 

[j_cuevas713]

2 hours ago, samagon said:

indeed, with the polk street bike path they will double the amount of on street comfort bike paths this city has! 

 

I get the sarcasm. I'm talking about the trail connections as well. I think things are starting to pick up steam with Houstonians using their bikes to get around. It's becoming common place inside the loop. 

[BeerNut]

I finally got around to taking this bike bath.  The path from Heritage park to Buffalo Bayou could be "easier" but is better than nothing.

[samagon]

I took my bike with big tires out this past weekend, and decided instead of taking the columbia tap all the way around to the soccer stadium and around the north side of the GRB to get through downtown that I would turn on polk and take the new bike lane into town. 

 

I'm glad I decided to do it on my 29er rather than my road bike, or my fixed. While slapping down a coat of paint, and having the lane separators in place is a step up from what it was. this is all they did, east of 59 the westbound lane was a sad state. I weep for anyone attempting to use this 'comfort bike lane' with skinny tires.

 

I guess they didn't want to spend that much money considering if 45 is realigned to this side of downtown, polk won't even be there as a freeway cross street. so this bike path is planned as a short term kind of thing.

 

once you get past 59 though, there is a complete solution for getting safely from one side of downtown to the other on a bike. great start.

Edited March 12, 2018 by samagon

[j_cuevas713]

I didn't want to make a new topic. The county commissioner, the mayor, Metro, Houston Parks and Rec and a few other groups announced today that in the next 12 months, starting today the city will add 50 miles of high comfort bike lanes on city streets. 50 MILES!!!

[BeerNut]

 

4 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I didn't want to make a new topic. The county commissioner, the mayor, Metro, Houston Parks and Rec and a few other groups announced today that in the next 12 months, starting today the city will add 50 miles of high comfort bike lanes on city streets. 50 MILES!!!

Do you have any links or a map of these proposed bike lanes?

[j_cuevas713]

41 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

 

Do you have any links or a map of these proposed bike lanes?

No sorry, it was just an announcement today I watched on Facebook so I don't have any further details. BUT the county commissioner was very clear that they are going to work, and I quote, "feverishly" to get this done in a year and it will all be done by independent contractors. I was impressed by the commissioner because he practices what he preaches. He rides his bike everywhere. What I found a bit ironic, is with all the naysayers regarding the approved bike plan a few months back, they are using that as a guide for this. Those critics questioned everything about the plan, mostly funding but they can't say a damn thing now.

Edited April 16, 2018 by j_cuevas713

[Texasota]

Yeah I never understood the criticisms of the Plan. They *would* have been totally valid had the city never followed up on anything, but that's not what appears to be happening.

[Urbannizer]

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2018/04/16/279564/houston-wants-to-build-50-miles-of-new-bike-lanes/

 

The City of Houston plans to add 50 miles of bike lanes over the next year.

Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner made the announcement on Monday, next to the Lamar Street bike lane close to City Hall.

 

Ellis is pledging $10 million of Precinct 1 funds to be used by the City for the project within one year. That is in addition to $5.5 million from the City itself.

 Houston has to compete with cities like New York and San Francisco, Ellis said.

 

 “Great cities more and more defined by the ability to have multi-modal means of transportation,” he said. “And that includes walking and riding bikes.”

 

The offer is “use it or lose it” – that is, if the Houston City Council doesn’t move forward on the projects within the next 12 months, the money will be used for other purposes.

 

Houston planning director Patrick Walsh said the hope is to get additional partners on board to expand the project beyond Harris County Precinct 1.

Ellis also recently teamed up with the City to improve streets near the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.

[j_cuevas713]

I posted about this in the walkable neighborhoods post. This is exciting news for Houston!

[tigereye]

8 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2018/04/16/279564/houston-wants-to-build-50-miles-of-new-bike-lanes/

 

 

 

 

I’ve always thought the entire stretch of Main, from Buffalo Bayou to Wheeler, should be a pedestrian thoroughfare. As ongoing development has shown, there’s a lot of potential along this corridor. Linking all of this together, from the bars of 300 block all the way to Mid Main and the upcoming Innovation District could further stimulate this area, especially with the multifamily developments occurring in South Downtown & Midtown. And furthermore, while there’s an East-West bike lane on Lamar, there’s an absence of a North-South bike lane through Downtown Houston. Option A could be the best way to fulfill that need. 

 

 

[gmac]

Main as a pedestrian/jogger/biker path, exclusively? Ooooooookay. Only 30 or so cross streets to navigate. That's gonna be one helluva joggus interruptus.

[Texasota]

so, in the bike plan, the total cost of "short-term opportunities" is estimated at $27-51 million, and "Key connections" are projected at $73-119 million. $15.5 million is a very nice start on the short-term opportunities. 

[tigereye]

19 hours ago, gmac said:

Main as a pedestrian/jogger/biker path, exclusively? Ooooooookay. Only 30 or so cross streets to navigate. That's gonna be one helluva joggus interruptus.

 

You mean, like it is for drivers now? And  it’s not like the Lamar bike lane doesn’t have to deal with Downtown cross streets either. The roadway lanes on Main are barely being used for vehicular traffic. With all the multifamily developments going up along the corridor, repurposing Main as a pedestrian/bike route might make more sense and better serve the area than what’s currently there. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by tigereye

[gmac]

2 hours ago, tigereye said:

 

You mean, like it is for drivers now? And  it’s not like the Lamar bike lane doesn’t have to deal with Downtown cross streets either. The roadway lanes on Main are barely being used for vehicular traffic. With all the multifamily developments going up along the corridor, repurposing Main as a pedestrian/bike route might make more sense and better serve the area than what’s currently there. 

 

You seem to be unclear on the whole "jogging" concept. Most runners I know (hundreds) really prefer to have long, uninterrupted stretches to run on. Stopping every hundred yards kind of defeats the purpose. But hey, whatever kills downtown, I'm all for it.

[j_cuevas713]

4 hours ago, gmac said:

 

You seem to be unclear on the whole "jogging" concept. Most runners I know (hundreds) really prefer to have long, uninterrupted stretches to run on. Stopping every hundred yards kind of defeats the purpose. But hey, whatever kills downtown, I'm all for it.

Downtown is thriving so...

[Texasota]

8 hours ago, gmac said:

 

You seem to be unclear on the whole "jogging" concept. Most runners I know (hundreds) really prefer to have long, uninterrupted stretches to run on. Stopping every hundred yards kind of defeats the purpose. But hey, whatever kills downtown, I'm all for it.

 

This is just confusing. Of course joggers prefer uninterrupted stretches, but that doesn't stop them from running on Heights Boulevard, or on city streets in every densely populated city in the world. Beyond that, this really seems like it's intended as an expanded sidewalk/ pedestrian promenade first and a potential jogging path second. It will be more convenient if you live nearby than going down to Rice or up to the bayou, though those are both better in terms of uninterrupted stretches.

 

As for your last sentence, I have no idea what's going on there.

[j_cuevas713]

3 hours ago, Texasota said:

 

This is just confusing. Of course joggers prefer uninterrupted stretches, but that doesn't stop them from running on Heights Boulevard, or on city streets in every densely populated city in the world. Beyond that, this really seems like it's intended as an expanded sidewalk/ pedestrian promenade first and a potential jogging path second. It will be more convenient if you live nearby than going down to Rice or up to the bayou, though those are both better in terms of uninterrupted stretches.

 

As for your last sentence, I have no idea what's going on there.

And that's also why a city has parks. They're intended to supply all residents with an area for full uninterrupted recreation. Idk how this would kill downtown at all. If anything developers would build all along it. This would make Main St Houston's premiere avenue. 

[samagon]

the joggers that run through downtown already have to stop at every light, so what's the difference?

 

the idea behind a pedestrian corridor is not to satisfy fun runners, it's to make an area more pedestrian friendly, so it seems to be a bit of a weird discussion?

[cspwal]

Also main street in midtown has long stretches without lights

[BeerNut]

2 hours ago, cspwal said:

Also main street in midtown has long stretches without lights

I'm still waiting for them to turn on all the new lighting.

[gmac]

22 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Downtown is thriving so...

 

Take away the tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, and it likely wouldn't be.

 

You guys all seem to have hard-ons for downtown to be Manhattan Southwest. I would like to see it fade away into being just another part of Houston.

 

We will never agree, so I will leave it at that.

[j_cuevas713]

17 minutes ago, gmac said:

 

Take away the tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, and it likely wouldn't be.

 

You guys all seem to have hard-ons for downtown to be Manhattan Southwest. I would like to see it fade away into being just another part of Houston.

 

We will never agree, so I will leave it at that.

Umm duh it's called investing. You think NY just came to be? Fade away how? The neighborhood was dead for almost 30 years. That wasn't enough for you? If this is such a downer for you then why the hell are you in a forum dedicated to seeing Houston grow? I never call people names but you sir are a moron 

[cspwal]

The neighborhood wasn't entirely dead - it had the most office square footage of any neighborhood.  Toyota Center, Minute Maid, and the DLI are all public subsidy programs that helped revitalize it, but there's been a lot of normal public projects in it (improving parks, streets, and transportation) as well as a lot of private investments.  Now we are seeing the start of non-subsidized residential downtown (the apartments north of MMP that were just proposed are almost for sure not part of the DLI), as well as places opening more throughout downtown.  You could argue that spending so much on downtown is bad, but it is the center of the city, and has been since 1837.  Makes sense that if you're going to invest some public money, put it where it's accessible by a lot of people and improves the core of the city.

[gmac]

10 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Umm duh it's called investing. You think NY just came to be? Fade away how? The neighborhood was dead for almost 30 years. That wasn't enough for you? If this is such a downer for you then why the hell are you in a forum dedicated to seeing Houston grow? I never call people names but you sir are a moron 

 

You're a liar, apparently, since you did just call me a name.

 

Look, I know you probably are deeply in love with your idea of a perfect "downtown" filled with soaring skyscrapers, etc. It's also possible for others, i.e. me, to prefer development to go in another direction. Architecture isn't just about BIG buildings. I find great joy in a perfectly designed farmhouse and well-thought-out neighborhood of affordable homes.

 

I wish the city government had spent as much money on revitalizing areas where poor people could still afford to live, but that's never going to happen when developers are the ones keeping the politicians' pockets lined with cash.

[samagon]

hopefully all the money that has been earmarked for bike lanes isn't just used downtown.

[Texasota]

They said 50 miles of bike lanes, so that seems fair to assume.

[j_cuevas713]

On 4/20/2018 at 10:53 AM, gmac said:

 

You're a liar, apparently, since you did just call me a name.

 

Look, I know you probably are deeply in love with your idea of a perfect "downtown" filled with soaring skyscrapers, etc. It's also possible for others, i.e. me, to prefer development to go in another direction. Architecture isn't just about BIG buildings. I find great joy in a perfectly designed farmhouse and well-thought-out neighborhood of affordable homes.

 

I wish the city government had spent as much money on revitalizing areas where poor people could still afford to live, but that's never going to happen when developers are the ones keeping the politicians' pockets lined with cash.

Good job keeping up with the times. That kind of stuff has been going on for a while now all over the globe. If you want to protest, do it outside this forum.

[jgriff]

On 4/20/2018 at 10:53 AM, gmac said:

 

You're a liar, apparently, since you did just call me a name.

 

Look, I know you probably are deeply in love with your idea of a perfect "downtown" filled with soaring skyscrapers, etc. It's also possible for others, i.e. me, to prefer development to go in another direction. Architecture isn't just about BIG buildings. I find great joy in a perfectly designed farmhouse and well-thought-out neighborhood of affordable homes.

 

I wish the city government had spent as much money on revitalizing areas where poor people could still afford to live, but that's never going to happen when developers are the ones keeping the politicians' pockets lined with cash.

 

He’s right. I’m rich and live near downtown. I sure appreciate all the tax money making my property worth more. All those incentives go to rich developers who build luxury apartments

for the non-poor people. If we can get more rich people living downtown the property values will

go up more. It’s a win-win for rich people.

 

Rich people pay almost all the tax though so we deserve to reap more benefits.

[gmac]

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Good job keeping up with the times. That kind of stuff has been going on for a while now all over the globe. If you want to protest, do it outside this forum.

 

Who is protesting? I'm just disagreeing with you, because I think you're wrong.

[j_cuevas713]

Does anyone have any more info on the 50 miles of bike lanes being built in the city? As of now I only see info for Near Northside, Acres Homes abd 3rd Ward. Are there other neighborhoods being considered?

[wilcal]

I made a post in the downtown master development thread about Babgy being redeveloped with off-street two-way dedicated bike lanes. This is a part of the Houston Bike Plan. Construction start summer 2019 completion Summer 2021. : https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/32179-theater-district-master-plan/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-582387

 

I also made a post about a new bikeway that will be created on Patterson running from Buffalo Bayou to White Oak Bayou via Patterson Street. Combination of sharrows/on-street un-protected and on-street protected. Construction start 1Q19 completion 3Q19. Funding source is CIP Funds.  https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/44494-new-bikeway-to-be-created-on-patterson-in-rice-military/?tab=comments#comment-582095

 

Lyons avenue near Saint Arnold brewery currently having on-street painted bike lanes updated. New curbs in sections. Will head into downtown from there. 

 

 

 

[j_cuevas713]

I find it funny how before the bike plan was approved, many opponents of the plan used the argument about funding and to see the city dedicate funds to see this bike plan happen is really great.

[wilcal]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I find it funny how before the bike plan was approved, many opponents of the plan used the argument about funding and to see the city dedicate funds to see this bike plan happen is really great.

 

Honestly, it's been a drop in the bucket. The Patterson project is the first project to my knowledge that will actually use the $1.1 million in annual CIP funds that the city has allocated (in 2 years I guess?). Bagby project is mostly TIRZ funds I believe. 

 

The $10 million from the county and then forcing the city to start the associated projects by April has been genius. God bless Rodney Ellis. With that being said, it sounds like planning is having a hard time of getting it done even in that timeline. 

 

Real change will take time, but our urban core needs some radical redevelopment. 

 

[j_cuevas713]

13 minutes ago, wilcal said:

 

Honestly, it's been a drop in the bucket. The Patterson project is the first project to my knowledge that will actually use the $1.1 million in annual CIP funds that the city has allocated (in 2 years I guess?). Bagby project is mostly TIRZ funds I believe. 

 

The $10 million from the county and then forcing the city to start the associated projects by April has been genius. God bless Rodney Ellis. With that being said, it sounds like planning is having a hard time of getting it done even in that timeline. 

 

Real change will take time, but our urban core needs some radical redevelopment. 

 

Oh really? Do you have info on what issues the city is facing?