I recently visited Minneapolis/St. Paul and they have bike stations, bike racks, and scooter designated parking on the streets.    Are there any areas in Houston with this?   It's like the COH is encouraging bike use on sidewalks or that the streets aren't safe for biking.   I know we're not at the bike friendly level that MSP is but I think we should start moving in this direction as more bike lanes get built.

The conversation about bike lanes taking parking is a touchy subject on Nextdoor.  Three parking permits is absurd, I could possibly get on-board with one for now. Hopefully these permits have a cost associated with them as the city is giving them permanent parking that public tax dollars maintain.  

I would support a plan to incrementally increase parking exempt areas from the current area and transit corridors that increases at 5-10 year intervals.  

On 8/19/2019 at 12:58 PM, MarathonMan said:

I agree.  It looks nice.  But I still think the light brick on bottom doesn’t go with the red brick above.  A larger, smooth limestone brick would have been better.

Hopefully they keep it clean.

So there will be less retail in this area...

3 hours ago, MarathonMan said:

I apologize because we’re getting off topic here.  But I will add in just this one comment on what is an important side topic.  I have traveled to Japan — most recently in late ‘18 — and see a very different picture.  I have been all over that city and beyond.  All kinds of neighborhoods.  Rich, poor, touristy and local.  I don’t remember seeing ANY homeless people.  The sidewalks are clean.  Their streets are safe (so safe, in fact, that people park their bikes on the sidewalk and don’t lock them).  I’m guessing that Japan has its share of poor, mentally ill people.  What are they doing differently to help these people so that they don’t live in filth on the streets, turn to drugs and resort to petty theft for money?  Maybe the answer to the homeless problem at home has already been answered. Maybe we just need to study and adopt best-practices from others.  Just a thought.  

I spent 2 weeks in Japan back in '17.  The homeless people were super low key and off beaten paths.  The ones I saw had all their stuff with them and didn't setup till after last train.

13 hours ago, Ross said:

Darn, it would be so much more fun to start at Noon on a Friday, and run until 3pm on the following Monday.😂

Just add a hurricane headed toward Houston to take it to the next level.

29 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Basically they are worried that the Ion will displace the huge homeless population in that area and instead they want the Ion to house the homeless, provide them public restrooms, and give jobs to the people of the area.

 

So are they protesting the I45 realignment?  I'm sure that will displace more homeless than The Ion.  

H-GAC Mobility Studies

This is the group that is supposed to be working on a regional mobility plan.  They've already spent money on commuter rail feasibility studies.

5 minutes ago, gene said:

Since I personally had no idea a Boulevard Project topic existed in a Trains section...i will post this info here too in case others didn't and want to see the new timeline for it:

 

https://communityimpact.com/houston/bellaire-meyerland-west-university/transportation/2019/08/12/transportation-updates-uptown-boulevard-project-brt-and-bellaire-street-projects/

 

Uptown Boulevard Project and bus rapid-transit line

Construction is making headway on the city’s first bus rapid-transit line, the Uptown BRT, as part of the Uptown Management District’s Boulevard Project. According to the district, new traffic signals are up and running in the north segment and will be operational along all of Post Oak Boulevard by the end of September. In addition, transit stations are under construction along Post Oak, with completion by Nov. 1.The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County expects to launch METRORapid, the name for the BRT service, in March 2020.

The new Uptown/Westpark Transit Center, south of Westpark and just outside I-610, is also under construction. The Texas Department of Transportation is building an elevated segment of bus lanes from Post Oak to North Post Oak Road along I-610, connecting to the Northwest Transit Center, which is being upgraded by METRO.

Timeline: February 2017-December 2019
Cost: $130 million
Funding source: Uptown Management District

 

 

I wonder if the Uptown Lighting will still take place this year or will they change it to 2020?

 

I hate to be that guy but this already has a post.  Mod please remove  @Triton  @Urbannizer

I'm not sure what plan they will go with but several months back they put white markings on Hutchins between Elgin and Tuam near Emancipation Park.  

It kinda resembles the "Proposed" picture below but looks incomplete.  I'll be sure to post a picture when I get a chance.

https://www.houstonendowment.org/feature/riverside-general-hospital/

Quote

Under the leadership of Judge Lina Hidalgo and Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the County is now leading the planning for the future of the Riverside facility based on evidence-based best practices, healthcare access and service needs. Informed by the findings of Rice University health policy scholar Dr. Quianta Moore, who conducted a needs assessment of Third Ward residents with a grant from Houston Endowment, future services will extend beyond healthcare to help holistically address the other social determinants of health inequalities impacting Houston’s Third Ward community.

This was in my mailbox.

9 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

 

Well if there are a lot of concessions throughout the market, it still shows strong relative demand for all of the new units downtown.  People could choose to live somewhere else, after all.

Exactly.  My gf works in the apartment industry and Houston is considered one of the toughest markets for pricing projections because of all the concessions and new developments.

Yeah this horrible.  I normally exit 45NB to Emancipation and there is always traffic before my exit.  I used to bypass all this traffic on the old exit to Emancipation.

Lots of lease concessions in the Houston market.  

Judge urges voters to show support for Grand Parkway ahead of hearing to discuss completion plans

Quote

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry released a statement to his residents that said it would be "damaging" to scrap plans.

His statement said in part: 

Grand Parkway segments B and C would connect I-45 in League City to IH-69 in Fort Bend County … Construction of these segments will create a critical hurricane evacuation route for our county, provide an additional corridor to improve mobility in the region, reduce daily traffic congestion, and increase economic development and growth in the region. If delayed or sidelined, the impacts on Galveston County and surrounding areas would be damaging. Our county is at greater risk than other counties in the region during an evacuation due to our main evacuation route being I-45 and being at the mercy of Harris County in giving us an opportunity to evacuate first. There are more than 4 million people located just north of the county line and if an evacuation order is ever issued, our existing evacuation routes could easily become overwhelmed, trapping much of our residents trying to evacuate. A fully constructed Grand Parkway would provide and additional and crucial lifesaving hurricane evacuation route for all Galveston County residents. For this reason alone, we need TxDOT to reconsider removing this project from their plans.

1 hour ago, dbigtex56 said:

That explains the dearth of washaterias (laundromats). Dry cleaning (so far as I know) is still done off-site. 

Dry cleaning isn't used as much.  Company dress code has become more casual and fabric blends are better.   My gf tries to avoid buying "dry cleaning only" clothing because of cost and chemicals.  

Cinema Chain iPic Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Enter Netflix, Apple Or Amazon?

Quote

In a move that surprised many in the movie industry, luxury cinema chain iPic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning and announced it is pursuing either a financial reorganization or a possible sale of the circuit.

7 hours ago, MarathonMan said:

Yes, I thing the 570 and 600 ft towers are next, but I don’t think they start construction until early next year.  Prep work is beginning on the sites, though.  No renderings on their website, but i’d Imagine they’ll be released shortly before construction begins.  They probably want to keep the focus on Drewery Place right now to get it leased as quickly as possible.

Yeah they'd probably want to lease up before they start all the construction noise.

Is this the right forum for this topic since it's not going to be a train?

2 hours ago, bobruss said:

So in the future will people evolve with no legs? What do mean walkability is out. I thought you were spot on until you got to the walkability part.

Now open.  

Nice find. 

Senator says Grand Parkway funding will not be cut

Quote

Sen. Larry Taylor is optimistic that is not the case.

Taylor posted on Facebook, in part, “I am proud to report I am working with the Texas Transportation Commission and I am confident that segment B&C of the Grand Parkway with remain in the 2020 UTP.”