TheNiche Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 The government isn't *forcing* you to not shoot the guy who cut you off in traffic. They simply created a series of consequences that cause most people to decide that it just isn't worth it. If you wanted to really do it, you could. But you won't.And the government doesn't *force* you to pay income taxes, either...but if you don't, the IRS can and will raid your house, point fully-automatic rifles at you and your family, and demand your physical capitulation. If you really wanted to say "no" to the intruders on your property, you could. But you won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Niche, I posted the photos you requested. Maybe I should post them again, since this thread was hijacked by someone who I've never even seen before right after I posted them and it changed the discussion altogether.Sorry for becoming distracted. The photos look like decent retail centers, nothing special...certainly not comparable to Wimberly. They look pretty typical for centers trying to cater to the upper-income market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Judah Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 And the government doesn't *force* you to pay income taxes, either...but if you don't, the IRS can and will raid your house, point fully-automatic rifles at you and your family, and demand your physical capitulation. If you really wanted to say "no" to the intruders on your property, you could. But you won't.Correct, in my case. But if my "individual preference" were to make a principled stand of some sort - if that made me happy - then I would say "No." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethanra Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 I'm not sure how we get hooked into having to explain this all of the time...but here goes:Sure all of these things are available in the city (save for the clean air)...but at what price? I'll tell you that a new 3,000 sq. ft home with a 10,000 sq. ft lot and nice mature trees in an area with good schools and low crime in the city will cost you at least $600,000, whereas you can find something like this in the suburbs for less than half that. Realities. Most young families cannot afford a half million dollar home the first time out. Hell, most people cannot afford a quarter million dollar home the first time out either. You tend to get more for you money in the suburbs, they're designed to appeal to families.I.I agree with you on this, but you forgot to add up the extra cost of living in the burbs. What is that truck cost driving to the city every day? How much is parking every month? What is your 15 hours a week sitting in traffic worth? When I get home at 5PM and my son ask "daddy, can we go to the dinosaur museum" or " daddy, can we feed the ducks at herman park?" we can walk or take the bus or rail. Buying a smaller house (cost less electricty and our wifes need to buy less crap to fill it up) and becoming more conservative with money to buy that home in the "crime infested city with nothing but illegals" is worth a great quality of life with my family. I almost feel bad for the poor slob still sitting in traffic a 7PM who live out in Cypresss. Don't insult a city by calling it a dump before you see the whole picture. This weekend I think I'll play some golf at Memorial Park and/or enjoy a Rockets pre-season game.Have fun going to Walmart or the catfish farm off of 290.It doesn't cost at least $600,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 I'm just going to assume you're retarded. I would bet that significantly less than half of the professionals living in Cypress commute all the way to Downtown on a daily basis anyhow. Most people I know either work around here, HP area, the Energy Corridor, Greenspoint, the Beltway or The Woodlands. Secondly...I would bet that a good number of those people fishing at the 'Catfish Farm' you refer to are coming from the City. What's with your stupid either/or rationalization of city vs. suburb life? This weekend I think I'll play some golf at Memorial Park and/or enjoy a Rockets pre-season game. Whoopity-doo. I'm not sure why you feel you have to be so defensive? Nobody gives a rats ass what you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Key word: ones that you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Trae, I guess I'm used to you microanalyzing every statement and following with something negative. Perhaps its your personality, I've no idea why you do it. Regardless, here's some info regarding commuters and commute times to help you out (scroll down):http://www.vintageparkhouston.com/demographics.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Trae, I guess I'm used to you microanalyzing every statement and following with something negative. Perhaps its your personality, I've no idea why you do it. Regardless, here's some info regarding commuters and commute times to help you out (scroll down):http://www.vintageparkhouston.com/demographics.pdf I think its your personality to think that what you like is the greatest and to look down on lower income people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Correct, in my case. But if my "individual preference" were to make a principled stand of some sort - if that made me happy - then I would say "No."Yeah, good luck with that...Trae, I guess I'm used to you microanalyzing every statement and following with something negative. Perhaps its your personality, I've no idea why you do it. Regardless, here's some info regarding commuters and commute times to help you out (scroll down):http://www.vintageparkhouston.com/demographics.pdfYou're mostly correct (certainly more correct than Ethanra), but not entirely. Most suburban areas have an average commute time that isn't all that different from inner city neighborhoods. This is because Houston's employment base is so incredibly decentralized and because we have a fair number of reverse commuters, myself included. There is certainly a positive correlation between distance from the CBD and commute time, but it really isn't very drastic except in a few neighborhoods. The far northwestern suburbs and parts of the far southeast (esp. Seabrook, Texas City, and La Marque) have the worst commute times in the region...but even then, the averages aren't nearly as horriffic as Ethanra implies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Don't forget that the name of the Topic is Metro's Town Center. It is a park and ride and future commuter rail stop. So, obivously there are alot of people in Cypress that commute to Downtown, Uptown, or the TMC. I ride the bus to Uptown and catch the bus from downtown at the Norwest Transit center. Between 5:00 and 6:30 there is usually a long line waiting to jump on the bus from downtown even though they come by every couple of minutes. I just want them to finish this park and ride. I just wish they would setup a temp park and ride until this is done. I figure once the BRT (hopefully they make it LRT) is running in Uptown and this park n ride (nicer if/when they make it commuter rail) it will take around 40 minutes to be home in Cypress. Now I have spent more time then that driving and not getting more than 5 miles out of the uptown area.As far as Metro making this a Town Center and using a parking garage, I think that is better then just making the whole area one big flat parking lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 Amen, agreed. Does anyone know what their timetable is for the Commuter Rail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Amen, agreed. Does anyone know what their timetable is for the Commuter Rail?I know that TxDOT is in the planning stages of reworking 290. This would add manged lanes where Hempstead Rd is and then make 290 10 lanes by taking the HOV lane out of the middle. The managed lanes has space reserved for the rail lines. So not sure if they would wait until after this is done or not. I think I read where the Hempstead managed lanes would not start until I-10 was done. So that is like early 2009. Also the intermodal Metro station is not done until 2010 and that would have to be done before otherwise there would be no place for it to go. Everywhere I look they never have a date so that is a concern but Metro looks to be designing the Phase 2 expansion with the assumption that this will be in place. (For instance they have the Uptown line going the the Northwest Mall so that it can connect to the commuter rail line.)One thing that I am trying to figure out (and to tie this back to the topic) is the Town Center is on the wrong side of 290 for a rail stop. The rail and the future Managed lanes runs down the other side of 290. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 Yes, it's funny like that. They've got the Metro Town Center on the North side of 290, yet it appears the rail lines will run along the South side of 290. Even moreso, the Caldwell Watson Town Center for Towne Lake will be on the South side of 290. I imagine they're working together on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallerzoo Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 I must say this thread got quite interesting. But on the topic - has anyone heard if Metro might ever consider a direct route from this new Cypress park and ride to the Med Center without having to change buses? I know there are lots of commuters coming from our side of town to the Med Center and it can be a hassle to switch. And just to throw in my two cents, I and many of my neighbors commute to the city from Waller every day. There's nothing wrong with that - it's just a lifestyle choice. In my case it's hard to have horses in the big city... But I do welcome any improvements that will help ease terrible 290 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 I must say this thread got quite interesting. But on the topic - has anyone heard if Metro might ever consider a direct route from this new Cypress park and ride to the Med Center without having to change buses? I know there are lots of commuters coming from our side of town to the Med Center and it can be a hassle to switch.And just to throw in my two cents, I and many of my neighbors commute to the city from Waller every day. There's nothing wrong with that - it's just a lifestyle choice. In my case it's hard to have horses in the big city... But I do welcome any improvements that will help ease terrible 290 That is the ONLY reason we won't move out that way. Hubby works for MD Anderson. You know, you'd think a little more consideration would be given by this city to the top employer in the state, the Texas Medical Center. There are only THREE directly linking park-n-rides and that is a bit of a crime, IMHO. He hates taking the train and then a bus, and he is certainly not the only one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2obuff Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Billions of dollars spent on freeways that I don't remember voting for (+ billion dollar overages that no one seems to mind)...plus development policies that hinder anything that's not a typical strip center with a larger parking lot....there are other ways, too, but those are the most relevant to houston transportation and visual cityscape.Still, this does not define how everything is subsidized? Maybe you need to rephrase it and/or use a dictionary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2obuff Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 There is absolutely nothign special here! None of these have special planning, special design, any true, unique features. All they have are new/different facades. These are no different than any other strip center in teh city. Why did they make the Cinemark so small? It has only 12 theaters. For the population there, I though there would be more. The Cinemark was designed to be further expanded in the future when there is the demand for it. I beleive it can go up to either 16 or 18. The same goes for the new Target across te street. The building was designed so that a true grocery section can be added and the store could turn into a Super Target. These types of designs allow the stores to get to market quicker with less demand necessary upfront, with room for expansion, very smart moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2obuff Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I think the only reason I like Houston is because I have acquired a taste for it that requires one to grow up in this city. If I was 25 years old and seeing Houston for the first time after having previously lived in San Diego or Portland, I'd think Houston looked like a puzzle where the pieces are completely out of order.Have you ever been to these cities, lived in these cities, or any other major city? I doubt it! Zoning or no zoning, there is no perfect city. There are forums just like this one in those cities and others complaining about the same exact things - traffic, densities, old vs. new, etc.San Diego is really a small city, surrounded by lots of small towns/developments. Its traffic and/or planning is no better. Same with Portland to a degree. When those guys do come to town however, one thing that they will see that really matters is the low cost of living and an abundance of well paying jobs!Apparently, Niche, the Olympics committee didn't seem too keen on your "market dynamics" when they said "no" to Houston as a host city. Even George W. Bush said "there ought to be limits to freedom". Surely he was referring to urban land development.This is one hell of an presumption from a statement. How in the world can you logically infer any reference to "urban land development" from this one line, especially when taken so out of context as it is! This currently the most ludicrous statement ever seen on these boards and I am disappointed nobody has yet pointed this out!I think the Chronicle ran a point-counterpoint story about Houston sprawl, where one writer expressed MrFootball's sentiments and the other saw things similarly to the TheNiche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpringTX Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I just found this thread. This has to have some of the best comedy writing I've seen on HAIF in a while. And I didn't realize TheNiche was a libertarian. He may start earning the nickname "Lyndon LaNiche" on this board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 And I didn't realize TheNiche was a libertarian.I'm not. I went out with a rabid Libertarian for a short while last year. I can't compare to her and her friends. They were talking about completely eliminating the military in favor of mercenary services, complete privatization of road building without any allowable use of eminent domain, and the complete elimination of antitrust laws. It was fun and all, but the unyeilding extremists within their party are what prevents them from being a viable contender to the other two. And IMO we need a viable contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Sorry to get this back on topic, but I just read on the Metro web site that they are currently negotiating with the old HP/Compaq owners to use that as a temporary park n ride until the new one is completed in May/August. The HP building is next to where they are building the park n ride. They show it as January 2007. That would be nice since the NW park n ride is pain to get to from Cypress and is overcrowded.http://www.ridemetro.org/pdf/FY2007BudgetBook.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transit Nut Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 Great news! METRO just announced they are starting the 217 Cypress service from the old HP parking lot! It starts Jan. 22 (next Monday)!http://www.ridemetro.org/217.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 One thing that this line will show is that they need to either extend the HOV/Diamond lane on 290 out to Skinner or Barker Cypress or fix the mess at 290 and Hwy6/1960. I am not hopeful, since they will probably wait for the Hempstead Tollway instead of doing anything with the HOV since it will be removed when the tollway is completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 Are they planning on doing anything 'nice' with the proposed retail that's going in there? I've heard they contracted with NewQuest to develop that property. Knowing the shoddiness and haphazard-look of other NewQuest properties sure doesn't instill much confidence in me that this will be all that remarkable. I was hoping for something like a Town Center/Lifestyle development and not another one of those sprawling fusterclucks that NewQuest has become synonomous for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Are they planning on doing anything 'nice' with the proposed retail that's going in there? I've heard they contracted with NewQuest to develop that property. Knowing the shoddiness and haphazard-look of other NewQuest properties sure doesn't instill much confidence in me that this will be all that remarkable. I was hoping for something like a Town Center/Lifestyle development and not another one of those sprawling fusterclucks that NewQuest has become synonomous for.Here are the details from the Metro web site : http://metrosolutions.org/go/doc/1068/116856/Looks like a mix of retail and housing. I guess this will become the Cypress "urban core" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheelNut Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 The Metro website says the HOV lane will be extended to FM 2920. It's already been TxDoT approved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Great news! METRO just announced they are starting the 217 Cypress service from the old HP parking lot! It starts Jan. 22 (next Monday)!http://www.ridemetro.org/217.pdfI drove past it at 6:30 this morning and there were a ton of cars in the parking lot. Hopefully this is a sign of a successful service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakester Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 The Metro website says the HOV lane will be extended to FM 2920. It's already been TxDoT approved.They are talking about the Hempstead tollway. It will not get started until at least 2010. They need to either extend the HOV as diamond lanes to Barker-Cypress or fix the 290/1960 interchange. The latter is the real cause of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 I don't know if there is enough room, but 290/1960 needs to at least be a cloverleaf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 I don't know if there is enough room, but 290/1960 needs to at least be a cloverleaf. Cloverleafs = bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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