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Discovery Green Park At 1500 McKinney St.


c4smok

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Why don't they build a smaller version of Herman Park? A large outdoor theatre, state-of-the-art playgrounds, and a central fountain in the middle. Also have the park well lit and encourage the city to hang out and lounge there at night, and boost security to ensure that crime there stays minimal.

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a constant on foot (or bicycle) police presence would be nice. ditto dj v lawrence's last post. guests at the hilton americas and people visiting the grb should be drawn to and feel safe in this space, even after 10PM.

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So if that's the route we are headed, how about adding a restaurant? Something like at Rockefeller Center or the setup under Saatchi Gallery.

They should connect the land from Toyo to MMP. Do we really need those cross streets that dead end under 59?

Then we would have room for a giant bier garden to hang out in before the games.

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JT, the park is 12 acres, not 1200. I don't think a jogging trail is going to do much good.

OK, I may have been a little harsh yesterday, but I still feel too much money is going to be pumped into this little patch that could be better served elswhere. It's not like we have a bottomless pot of gold to spend on parks in HTown. Half our parks are neglected, and park funding seems to get smaller every budget.

I do remember times I spent there, I remember a Bob Marley fest or two, and some other events. I think to make this park shine, "less-is-more" should be the operating word. Lots of green space, less concrete, not too much shrubery, a gazebo, some park benches, with a few tables. basically, we need to hire MidtownCoog for the design.

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Oh, you know what I just thought of?  In the next decade, we're supposed to be getting a new central library.  Why not have it next to this, maybe on the side opposite the Hilton?

I've thought about that but I'm not sure how preservationists would react if we move the new library away from the old building (not the "newer" one but the historical one).

Nevertheless, I like the idea. The convention center, the park, the Juice Box, Toyota Center... all in one relatively compact area. A couple of museums wouldn't hurt either.

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JT, the park is 12 acres, not 1200. I don't think a jogging trail is going to do much good.

OK, I may have been a little harsh yesterday, but I still feel too much money is going to be pumped into this little patch that could be better served elswhere. It's not like we have a bottomless pot of gold to spend on parks in HTown. Half our parks are neglected, and park funding seems to get smaller every budget.

I do remember times I spent there, I remember a Bob Marley fest or two, and some other events. I think to make this park shine, "less-is-more" should be the operating word. Lots of green space, less concrete, not too much shrubery, a gazebo, some park benches, with a few tables. basically, we need to hire MidtownCoog for the design.

They won't spend a fortune like it's Millenium Park, but it's good to see people taking the time to get input to make the park something special. For once in Houston I'd like to see something other than a second-rate design. We should set our expectations for public design higher, not lower.

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midtown coog's suggestion for initial greenspace would be cost conscious and smart.

phase one: establish a lawn and perimeter elements (preserving existing vegetation and elements). see how people use it, what paths (if any) do they take, etc? do events come up in which organizations or festivals desire to use the space?

phase two: use information from usage patterns to build a better park/public space.

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  • 2 months later...

news.1.gif

A stare-down from a fat rat

news.2.gif

Ron Guidry wants the park cleared of rats and the homeless.

They Walk Among Us

A closer look at a spiffy downtown park reveals it's crawling with rats

By Todd Spivak

Published: Thursday, August 4, 2005

Guidry has a grab bag of horror stories regarding the park. He tells one particularly bizarre tale that involves a penis, a groundskeeper and a shovel.

It's midday a couple of weeks ago, the story goes. Guidry steps outside his building for a break. He watches as a groundskeeper pushes a lawn mower past a homeless man who's asleep on a bench. Apparently angered by the intrusion, the homeless man "all of a sudden pulls out his penis and chases the groundskeeper over the hill." The groundskeeper's supervisor fast approaches holding a shovel over his head and cussing out the homeless man, who yells right back.

"Here it is," Guidry says, "three in the afternoon, and this guy is standing in the middle of the park, for like two minutes, shouting and holding out his penis and shaking it."

Read More...

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news.1.gif

A stare-down from a fat rat

news.2.gif

Ron Guidry wants the park cleared of rats and the homeless.

They Walk Among Us

A closer look at a spiffy downtown park reveals it's crawling with rats

By Todd Spivak

Published: Thursday, August 4, 2005

Guidry has a grab bag of horror stories regarding the park. He tells one particularly bizarre tale that involves a penis, a groundskeeper and a shovel.

It's midday a couple of weeks ago, the story goes. Guidry steps outside his building for a break. He watches as a groundskeeper pushes a lawn mower past a homeless man who's asleep on a bench. Apparently angered by the intrusion, the homeless man "all of a sudden pulls out his penis and chases the groundskeeper over the hill." The groundskeeper's supervisor fast approaches holding a shovel over his head and cussing out the homeless man, who yells right back.

"Here it is," Guidry says, "three in the afternoon, and this guy is standing in the middle of the park, for like two minutes, shouting and holding out his penis and shaking it."

Read More...

It is the same way around the family law building. HUGE rats are there too.

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I read the same article, thought it was kind of disgusting to hear how the city of Houston had let the park rundown in such a short time. Its not really a good sign if they plan to use the same type management whenever they get moving with the new downtown park. I have to say, I actually like how the Houston Press is always not afraid to put articles like this out there. Not sure if always helps, but does "put the word out on the street"

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One cannot tell for sure which section of the park he's really talking about, which makes me smell some dishonesty on the writer's part. He does say that the westernmost block is not owned by the city and is clearly the worst-maintained. But then he never says which parts he does his "investigative" work in. Does he ever actually set foot in the portions that are owned by the city? He never tells us. From the totality of the article it really sounds like he's talking almost completely about the portion not owned by the city. It would have been helpful had he been more clear about this, but the Press prefers all negative, all screaming headlines, all the time. No nuance allowed.

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No, it's rats and homeless downtown. And you see why I don't attempt to go downtown.

Yeah because every other major city has managed to completely eliminate the homeless and rats. Manhattan is spotless, and people in DC give new condos to people so there is no homeless. In Philly, its almost clinical its so clean there. No rats at all.

I think the point of the article is to point at that there are places where efforts could be improved. Find me a downtown with no homeless and I'm pretty sure you are using the word downtown loosely.

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Yeah because every other major city has managed to completely eliminate the homeless and rats.  Manhattan is spotless, and people in DC give new condos to people so there is no homeless.  In Philly, its almost clinical its so clean there.  No rats at all.

:lol:

This is so untrue, it is laughable. It is impossible to get rid of all the rats, especially in 200 and 300 year old cities. And the homeless are in every large city, though some of them provide more assistance to them than Houston.

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Here's a nice little story about rat-free New York...1998 estimate was 28 MILLION rats.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n06/wils07_.html

Here's a blurb about the city of Philly's attempts to control rats with poison, killing every animal in the park. "By any standard, the rat population has spiralled out of control."

http://www.philly1.com/index050504.html

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Yeah because every other major city has managed to completely eliminate the homeless and rats.  Manhattan is spotless, and people in DC give new condos to people so there is no homeless.  In Philly, its almost clinical its so clean there.  No rats at all.

I think the point of the article is to point at that there are places where efforts could be improved.  Find me a downtown with no homeless and I'm pretty sure you are using the word downtown loosely.

Don't forget San Fransisco. You could eat off the sidewalks in San Fransisco.

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Red Scare, you realize we are all being sarcastic about no other major city having homeless or rats right? I was merely responding to semipro saying the homeless and rats were the main reason he doesn't go downtown. If that were the case, it would pretty much mean avoiding most major cities in the US.

The point is that its unreasonable to ever expect a major downtown area to be spotless. Just look at the New York subways. I remember reading a book about fun different things to do in new york. It said one of the thing was to go all the way to the back of the trains and watch the tracks as the rats scurried after the trains went by. That wasn't my idea of fun, but you get the point...

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Red Scare, you realize we are all being sarcastic about no other major city having homeless or rats right?  I was merely responding to semipro saying the homeless and rats were the main reason he doesn't go downtown.  If that were the case, it would pretty much mean avoiding most major cities in the US.

The point is that its unreasonable to ever expect a major downtown area to be spotless.  Just look at the New York subways.  I remember reading a book about fun different things to do in new york.  It said one of the thing was to go all the way to the back of the trains and watch the tracks as the rats scurried after the trains went by.  That wasn't my idea of fun, but you get the point...

hokieone, upon rereading your post, it looks to be clearly sarcastic. I completely missed that one. :huh:

Sorry 'bout that.

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