nolaboy

Year after 7-Eleven announced return to Houston, here's why you don't see any http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Year-after-7-Eleven-announced-return-to-Houston-5169302.php?cmpid=hpfc "One reason it's taking a while to switch the new stores to 7-Elevens, Chabris said, is that the company, which is America's largest convenience store chain, is working through a long list of recent acquisitions. From 2011 through 2013, 7-Eleven bought "hundreds and hundreds" of existing properties, mostly in the eastern half of the United States, including Texas, Chabris said." I didn't know Texas was in the eastern half of the US.

Thanks for fixing it.

Wrong thread. Thats Energy Tower IV. But great pics and thanks for the update.

I drove by the area last week and noticed that just about the entire plot from the Palladium to W Belfort had been cleared. There are rumors of a Target going in that area per a builder I was talking to in the new neighborhoods behind the theater.

Screenshot... Which side is this from?

I had some time to kill this afternoon so I took I-10 WB to 99 NB and turned back around at Clay Rd. I was surprised to see no U-turn lanes at this intersection. All of the crossings on 99 between I-10 and 1093 have u-turn lanes. Is segment E not supposed to have any or will they come as the surrounding areas develop? I'm not a long time Houstonian so I dont know the history of existing highways when they were originally developed in new areas. Does anyone know if U-turns historically were added after the area develops? Also I noticed that on the 99 SB side the I-10 WB signs on the Franz Rd exit have been cleared. I'm not sure when it happened but the 99 SB to I-10 WB direct connector is now open. The mainlanes of 99 SB has a single I-10 east/west BGS with control cities of Houston and San Antonio consigned. Each is on a separate sign near the top of the exit ramp as the lanes split to go their respective ways.

Thats interesting. I see the updated imagery now as well on my PC. It must have updated shortly after my post.

It's odd that neither Google Maps website or Google Earth have the updated imagery that the Android app version has been showing for almost two weeks now.

Imagery is now live on the Google maps mobile app. It is not updated on the website yet. ExxonMobil's campus looks great in the updates. You can see the surrounding areas clearing ground. You can also see ground clearance for Grand Pkwy Segment F2.

I was looking at Google Maps at the area around the Palladium Theater and along Grand Parkway and noticed that when I am zoomed in sufficiently on "map" mode, the thumbnail for "earth" mode (which is satellite imagery) on the bottom left corner of my screen shows a more updated satellite imagery than whats shown when I actually click the "earth" button. Both Google Earth and Google Maps with Satellite Imagery show imagery dated October 2012 for most of this area. Looking at the imagery in the thumbnail, it looks to be from October 2013 (or so I assume based on various developments not being quite December 2013 developed). Here are some items that I see in the thumbnail, which are not currently shown in Google Earth or Google Maps Satellite view: -- The new Long Meadow Farms development behind the Palladium and south of Beechnut. -- Grand Mission Estates shows houses in the sections south of Mason/Bellaire (2012 imagery shows just roads and dirt in place of where houses now stand). -- Grand Parkway overpasses are shown nearly complete at Belfort, Mason, Harlem, 1464/90, New Territory -- Grand Parkway overpass at Riverpark now has concrete surface leading up to and away from the overpass that was built last year. 2012 imagery has the asphault(?) base without the concrete overlay. -- New Belfort extension from Waterview Estates to Harlem -- Extended S Mason Rd between (just south of) Grand Parkway, through Long Meadow Farms, up to FM 359 is now shown as either completed or with ground cleared (previously it was just a 2 lane road or just grass). -- Neighborhood streets in new sections in various parts of the maps. There is a jagged north-south seam (dark vs light) in the thumbnail shot for what seems to be a difference in imagery between Oct 2013/2012 at around Peek Rd, and I followed it north as far as the Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress and south to southwest freeway. It continues well past in both directions but I didn't care to continue further. I could not tell how far east the new imagery lasted, but I briefly looked at some areas I know of recent development on West Sam Houston Tollway, and I didn't see anything updated. -- due to this "seam", only a portion of Grand Pkwy Segment E is shown, which is just north of Clay Rd, and through the parts that coincide with Stockdick School road up to approximately FM 529. As the road veers slightly west, it is no longer on the new side of the seam, and so the 99/290 interchange is not visible (according to Google Earth, this imagery is dated April 2012 so there is very very little development shown here). --Additionally it looks like some of the on/off ramps at Clay Rd and FM 529 are starting to be drawn in on the maps view. So maybe the editors have activated the new imagery so it can be traced to show the Segment E that just opened?? I have attached the following, with various 2013 thumbnails superimposed over the 2012 screenshots. The thumbnails are very small and so you have to look very closely for the differences. Also, the zoom levels vary between all of the screenshots and thumbnails, so nothing is to scale, nor is it intended to be. I just threw this together to quickly share what I have seen. 1. A Google Earth screenshot of the 77407 zip code area with the October 2012 dates circled. Google Maps Satellite imagery is the same as this. 2. Google Maps Satellite screenshot of the Grand Pkwy / US 90 alternate area. 3. Grand Parkway Segment E between Clay Rd and FM 529. I'd like to point out that the thumbnail near Clay Rd only shows the north part of the overpass as completed, because this overpass is right on the seam between 2012/2013 imagery and it blends together very nicely, making it seem as if this overpass is incomplete. Look at this one carefully, its kind of cool. 4. A zoomed out thumbnail to show the jagged boundary between 2012/2013 imagery. I assume that this is just a first pass of loading the new imagery, and Google is working on blending this imagery with the old imagery to make it look as seamless as the rest of the maps. Or maybe they are still loading imagery to the west, as there has been alot of development with the rest of Grand Pkwy, as well as the west side of Katy up to Fulshear. I also assume that the "updated" imagery will be loaded soon when Google finishes blending the images together, and will also be used to trace over to show new roads. I don't know how long any of this will be continue to be shown, but I have created the attachements to show what it looks like right now. All of this can either go away back to the *** Also note that I am using the "new" Google Maps website that was released in recent months. The "old" version didn't show a thumbnail of the Earth/Satellite view, as far as I am aware. So if you do not see what I am looking at, you probably are using the old version, which is the default***

Here is a picture of the north end of Segment E, possibly taken about a month ago. Source: http://coveringkaty.com/2013/12/21/grand-parkway-extension-open-real-estate-boom-expected/

It was 70 for the whole stretch when I drove it but articles I read said it was to be 80 as well. Why do you say "hopefully" no additional feeders? Just curious.

I dont believe they extend north of Franz and I dont think they are planned to be built on any of the new segments.

I drove this segment north bound early yesterday and you are forced to take the direct connector to 290 east or west. This is very similar to how 99 northbound used to force traffic to the I-10 east direct connector (except you don't get forced onto the feeder to go west). I believe all four direct connectors are open to access to/from segment E and both sides of 290. Land has started to be cleared for the continuation north of 290. I also finally drove I-45 in Spring/Woodlands and saw that the columns for the overpasses at Grand Pkwy have already been built. They are moving very fast in that area!

Here are some pictures of some of the signs on Segment E, from what I assume a participant of the 1K/5K last Saturday took. The originals were too huge so I posted thumbnails. If you care to view full size, you can go to the source link below and click each picture. Source

"SH 99/ Grand Parkway Segment E: A Time to Stop and Celebrate Success" I'm doing this from my phone so I don't know how do embed.

I wasn't aware that the JP Morgan Chase name was dropped. When did this happen?

I asked about this a few weeks ago when I noticed it in the FBC Mobility Projects map. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/29004-fort-bend-county-mobility-projects/ Do you have any additional info on the Sam's Club? Construction start/finish dates?

Metrodome will soon be torn down and replaced. Falcons will soon build a new stadium next to the GA Dome and I assume they will eventually have a similar dilemma as Houston with the Astrodome. The Superdome went through several major renovations to keep it competitive and to prevent building a replacement stadium. Note that after Katrina there were plenty of opportunity and good reason to demolish and rebuild the damaged stadium. Not to mention the constant relocation threats by Tom Benson if a new stadium weren't built. Personally (being a Saints fan born and raised in NOLA) I'm proud of the Superdome and I understand the sentiment for the redeveloping the Astrodome. I wish the Astrodome had the opportunity to get refurbished. Comparing to the pre-1970s stadiums still being used in the NFL....Lambeau and Soldier Field have gone through several renovations throughout their times. Arrowhead has recently gone through a major renovation. Buffalo has not had a major renovation and there were threats to relocate. However they recently extended their lease with a clause for a $200M renovation or a new downtown stadium. Chargers don't seem to have a renovation plan and therefore are on the verge of relocating. Oakland Colosium was renovated 20 years ago but are still in a similar boat as the Chargers. I guess what I'm trying to say is that as much as it sucks to tear down such a classic stadium as the Astrodome, it doesnt make sense unless it has a major regular tenent such as the NFL to bring in enough revenue to justify the renovation costs. So unless Houston is able to score another pro team (NHL??) to call the Astrodome home, it just seems inevitable to tear it down. However, "The Dome" plans looked really cool and would definitey liven up the area and convention space is nice but are we hurting for more convention space? Sadly it seems as though Reliant Stadium is the blame for the Astrodome's demise. At least Reliant is a beautiful stadium that is still improving (video boards) to keep up with newer stadiums. Just as the Astrodome was the first domed stadium in the NFL, Reliant was the first with the retractable roof. There are many reasons to look forward and to be proud of.

Erik, are you still planning to complete the 10 year retrospective this year? Will it be in a similar format as the 5 year retrospective was, or will it be more similar to the Feb 2013 updates? Keep up the great work! Thanks!

Haha nice! Thanks for the correction.

Correct but just to clarify, ConocoPhillips split into Conoco (upstream) and Phillips66 (downstream) last year. ChevronPhillips (CP Chem) is a joint venture between Chevron's and Phillips' chemical divisions and has been around for over a decade (a few years before Conoco and Phillips originally merged).

I received a newsletter in the mail today from Fort Bend County Commissioner's office regarding the Nov 5th vote for the Mobility Bond Proposition. Included is a map with various road projects and I noticed a "Future Sam's Club" shown at Bellaire and Grand Pkwy on the east side of the intersection. Does anyone have additional info on this Sam's Club and how realistic it is? I'll try to scan and post my map tomorrow

I just received this issue of Time magazine (Dated 10/28/13), I haven't had a chance to read through it yet but it looks like it will be a good read. Theres a blurb towards the front of the magazine that talks about how the coverpage artist developed the graphic. She had a map of the US laser cut into puzzle pieces, which she spent hours trying to assemble into the shape of Texas. I'm not sure if each state is scaled the same, as Alaska is significantly smaller than Texas (I believe it should have twice the area of Texas in reality). Regardless, I think its a really cool cover. Link to the Time article (subscription required to read full article)

Does anyone know about the development on Peek Rd between 1093 and Bellaire? A quick Google search showed some plans for "The District" at Parkway Lakes, but the website looks dated so I'm not sure if this is even the same development. Is this project still alive? This website shows plans for various tracts in the area (the one I am asking about is tract #12): http://www.parkwaylakes.com/Available_Sites.html