MaxConcrete

Not at the moment. I managed to land some contract work in Dallas in April after 18 months of high-tech bust (12 months of it writing the book). I make trips to Houston monthly and should be back around the end of the year.

Yup, I'm the book author. Thanks to Pineda for posting the most favorable review! :-) I'm down to the last few copies of available books and I hope to have it out of print this month. I have a full preview online at the book web site www.HoustonFreeways.com as well as lots of fun stuff like the freeway historical challenge and aerial challenge. For those wondering why I wrote the book, there are several reasons. First, growing up in Houston (Sharpstown to be precise) I had an interest in the subject since childhood. I always wanted to know the history behind each freeway, but it wasn't documented anywhere. In the early 1980s I came across the L.A. Freeway book, and I thought to myself "someone needs to do this for Houston." The idea lingered in my mind. In 2000 I started TexasFreeway.com, which included historical and modern freeway photos from around Texas. Response was good, suggesting that there was somewhat of a market for a book. When the high tech bust hit in 2001 it became clear that I would be out of work for a long time, so the time had come for me to write the book. It is only the second book focusing on a city's freeway system, and far more extensive than L.A. Freeway. In fact, it's probably safe to say that no other city will get something comparable due to the effort required and (unfavorable) economics. So Houston is in a class of its own!

Yes, I agree. The Asian presence helped keep Sharptown viable, particularly the western area near Chinatown where I grew up. But Asians are less interested in Sharpstown now. With greater financial strength, they are moving to areas like First Colony and Sugar Land. It seems like Alief, with its even lower home prices, is the first stop for new immigrants. Then they move on to areas like Sugar Land. I'm not sure what is driving Asians away from Sharpstown but I would guess it is the glut of low income apartments.

As a Sharpstown native (SHS class of '85) and frequent visitor (parents still live there), I can say that the situation in Sharpstown is still grim. The demolition of the Gilman auto dealership at Sharpstown Mall is indicative of a trend that has been going on for years - retail industry flight. Even Toys R Us closed fairly recently, in spite of (who knows, maybe because of) the large Hispanic population in the area. The area is so saturated with dollar stores that one recently closed down. On the north side of Sharpstown, Chinatown seems to be going strong, but the rest of Sharpstown continues to get hollowed out. The only good news is that most of derelict retail facilities are finding alternate uses. Memorial hospital is using the Toys R Us parking lot, the old K-mart is now the Spanish-speaking Carnaval night club (totally packed on Saturday night), the old Sams Club has been an HISD alternative school for many years. Sharpstown Mall is the big question mark. Will it survive? The last time I visited it was still viable, although there was plenty of empty retail space. I'm surprised Foley's is still open. If Foley's closes, it could mean trouble, or possibly opportunity if Wal-mart moves in. I get the impression that housing prices have dropped about $15-20K per home in the last 12-18 months (say from $140K for 4-bedroom to $120K). Houses just aren't selling. The rental property next to my parents has been vacant for over a year. I know of another rental property that was vacant for a year. If landlords don't want section 8 tenants, they face a big challenge. I agree, Sharpstown is well-situated, about 3-4 miles from the Galleria (quick access now with the tollway) and about 10 miles from downtown. Still, with the glut of very low income apartments in the area, a renaissance just isn't going to happen.

Glad you like it. I hope Williamson has seen it. The web site is not against the Grand Parkway. In fact, I'm for it. The web site is focused on toll road conversions and the Trans-Texas Corridor. I don't want to see Texas become the toll road capital of the world just so Perry can finance the unneeded Trans-Texas corridor.

I'm working a contract in the I-35 corridor and I will attend a meeting and provide a report. My understanding is that these meetings will be "open house" style with only written public comment. I'm working with others to establish a statewide opposition movement. See my web site http://www.fireRicWilliamson.com which has links to other opposition sites, including two in Houston. http://www.firericwilliamson.com/links.htm This is a very serious matter, in my opinion. We could see steep tolls on many or most of our existing freeways/interstates to finance the Trans-Texas boondoggle.

Check out this link http://www.hctra.com/engineering/pdf/westpark_map.pdf Driving the currently-open facility you will hit two toll plazas that charge $1.00 and one toll plaza that charges $0.25. That's $2.25. I've verified this myself- the map is correct.

Here's the official word from the HCTRA web site. This appears to be a fairly recent update 7. Beltway 8 East from US90 to US59

Several months ago I saw an item on the Harris County Commissioners Court agenda for a contract to a consulting firm for preparation of final plans for the segment from US 59 to US 90. This suggests to me that the project could be moving to construction sooner than anticipated, maybe sooner than 2009. A final decision on moving forward with the tollway is probably contingent on expected traffic count and the cashflow coming into HCTRA's account from other tollways.

I'm not aware of any plans to extend it further westward. Any decision to extend it would surely be contingent on the traffic count. My expectation is that traffic counts west of SH 6 will remain low for an indefinite period of time, so any effort for a westward extension would not happen soon. Another factor is toll cost. Driving the full 12-mile length right now costs $2.25 - 19 cents per mile. VERY EXPENSIVE. I haven't heard anything about toll rates west of SH 6, but you're probably looking at around $4.00 to drive the full length. That will keep patronage low. In the long run, my guess is that FM 1093 as a 6-lane arterial will provide sufficient capacity west of the Grand Parkway, so I don't expect a westward extension of the tollway.

Of course, Houston isn't for everyone. Neither is Brooklyn. I think most people will vote for Houston-like cities, as evidenced by the ongoing growth of Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, any Florida city, etc., etc., etc. Freeways do provide access to new housing (where he lived), which keeps housing costs affordable. Freeways allow people to conveniently go where they want in their private automobiles. Don't most Houstonians want this, as evidenced by the recent report that Houstonians have the nation's highest car payments? (Have nice car, will drive) Who knows what inspired the writer to submit his letter, but the truth is that he'll find comparable or worse traffic in most major cities. I hope he needs to do sales work in the DC area. Then he'll get a taste of some even worse traffic. And he won't be able to blame the traffic on lack of rail!

The Grand Parkway will be a crucial transportation artery in the future. Sections of it are needed today, and just about all of it will be needed in the future as outlying areas become urbanized. The efforts to get it built (assuming success) will be much appreciated in the future. Cities like Atlanta and Washington DC will look to use with envy, since they will sprawl just as much (or more) and they won't be able to get around as easily as we will. Second, developers donated around 80% of the land for the existing section West Houston, and around 60% of the land for the section in Baytown under construction. It looks like all remaining sections will be tolled. So future sections will use minimal taxpayer funds. I expect TxDOT to try to toll the existing free section near Cinco Ranch. Rick Perry and his henchmen on the transportation commission are trying to turn Texas into the toll road capital of the world, and the west section is an ideal candidate for conversion.