woody_hawkeye

Yeah, I see your point. It has not changed much here. You get info and then think you have a handle on the subject but then something happens and everything changes. I am guided somewhat by what one of my readers told me lately about the home she bought a year or so ago. She got carbon monoxide poisoning, is totally upset about the noise and blames the real estate woman for her problems. Although I am not "sold" on her story, I do worry a little about what is said and what is withheld when selling a house here. I know my real estate agent did an excellent job in priming me for the purchase. I felt well informed and there were no surprises except for a gasoline station that was built here about two years after I moved in. Just keep the expectations aligned within reality and the buyer will be OK. No one likes surprises with such a large investment.

Not me personally but someone told me that there was little done. Maybe I can go out when I am that way in the next two weeks. It could be an economic stimulus to the community, so I would hope that the person who told me that looked in the wrong place. We need all we can get now to liven up the economy.

Sorry 1978 was a typo. It is 2978. This is information I bring to you directly from the development company about three months ago. About two months ago, the commissioner told me that it could come forward in time but that is speculation. He thinks it probably is needed. But right now? Nothing planned. I am a resident of The Woodlands, directly involved in its activities and publish a blog on much of what I hear and research. What you say is certainly a lingering possibility, but the date is more like 10 years in the future, virtually non-existent for us now. I would be careful about selling any properties with the extension as a given, imminent or even good possibility near term unless there is factual information to the contrary. I would also like to add that the Chronicle is sometimes incorrect. I asked for a correction in their last published e-article on related road widening plans. I hope they fixed it before the article hit the physical paper.

I am in agreement. A doubtful project for near term. It certainly has not seen the light this year as we originally envisioned!

Bachanon- I am with you on your sentiments. I hope all development projects keep the trees and the concept of forest. They all won't have the creek issues we have here, so in my opinion, those communities can have better and more preservation than the developer here. Ultimately, The Woodlands could be one of the lesser green quality developments as a result. I would hope so.

A little something is missing in conclusions here. Bankruptcy by one of the partners does not necessarily translate to a failure by the development operating company here. The operating partnership in financially independent and self sustaining as long as it provides the contractual revenue payment which it can and will through 2009. The 50% partnership of course could be up for sale if there is a bankruptcy. Under chapter 11, the asset has value that could be used to help pay off debts. It would be up to the corporate office to determine how to pay off debts, but it also determined by agreement with the chapter 11 process. It would not be the first time an interest in a development has been sold. ... bad timing relative to the economy and the difficulty finding loanable cash.

So did you get the info you wanted? The answer to the original question should have been "there are no plans in the near future to connect Research to 1978". As far as I can tell, that is a dead issue and cast in concrete.

Has anyone been on Rayford Road since Montgomery County resurfaced it? You can actually hear the car's radio without having the volume turned up high. What a pleasant experience and noticable difference in sound. I had not thought about the vehicle passengers and the quality of traveling until I went out there, paying attention to the surface noise. I considered the inside of my truck quiet for the first time in a very long time.

I am wondering if the Japanese gardens is open yet. It was supposed to open about now.

Our neighborhood is circa 94. Would that help if I could find one among my neighbors?

I have a perception not as a seller but as a tax paying individual who has to deal with comps every year with the county. We are in a housing demand scenario here. I have not seen a low comp lately as a result of nearby sales at subsidized quick sale values. That remonds me, I missed my appointment this year since I was on vacation. Need to call them.

This is interesting. South county is growing at a rapid pace and the outflow has begun to take effect as South County fills up. North Harris County is also seeing heavy growth but relative to the size of Houston, we don't see it proportionally in such statistics. The jobs are here while the population growth is partially there. I wonder what effect the new theme park will have.

I am hoping the segments to 290 from the east are approved soon. We need it for the traffic in the area of Gosling and the new village, as well as Kuykendahl. Right now, traffic heading for Houston has to be diverted to The Woodlands and shipped over to I45 or taken south on Kuykendahl or Gosling. Those two routes are not generally very fast. We are getting too much traffic for the Woodlands Parkway and the new village has only begun! Area continues to boom.

If you have no business traffic you can conduct business from your home - writers, computer based work, telephone based work, etc. This is strictly enforced. My advice is to meet your clients elsewhere. If you say nothing, you may get away with it, but any neighbor can file a complaint and they will if they even suspect you are doing business in the home. This is a uniform agreement for all homeowners by deed restriction. It should have been part of the rental contract, to conform to deed restrictions. If you want to get an exception, you need to go to the association's covenants enforcement group. You can do that by going to the service request option on the front page. It will be a process and take some time.

There is definitely a plan to widen the road from the east to Kuykendahl. The road has already been surveyed and staked. I am running a survey, if anyone is interested, on the automation of issuing citations to help move traffic and provide better safety. The survey includes both traffic light and speed violations. The survey will be open for three months. I also have a related article on the subject with pros and cons and am seeking input via comments in the blog or here. I prefer people take the survey who use the roads in The Woodlands or Montgomery County, but have placed no restrictions. I value everyone's input. Survey WoodlandsCommentary.com Article Using Cameras for traffic Law Enforcement

Yeah, $1500 value is easily within the cost of a mature pine (30-50 years old). I thought the number for a felony was much higher. Illegal logging is certainly a different way of looking at cutting a tree. I like that idea. What I would like to know is how much insurance or the IRS considers to be the loss value of a tree. Anyone know the answer to this?

Not sure the article is correct. If it is, there is more to it than meets the eye. Cutting the tree is not the issue if it is a felony. That would be destruction of property. Looks to me like the law officer went for bodily harm. The kids knew more what they were doing then the article says. A 17 year-old is not that dumb. Looks to me that The Chronicle has missed something or printed misinformation, but not sure what that would be. "Something is rotten in Denmark".

I have not heard a firm date. My understanding has been that the development company would like to get it done before 2010 but that sounds totally unreasonable to me. I see maybe 2014. There is only one other new development for The Woodlands, which is on 2978 where the Magnolia ISD will be the school system. That opens in 2009. That one will probably finish before Creekside Park Village but it may be a race. I am trying to think of its name but it isn't like the one you have stated. I will be looking for better answers to yoru questions. I have an article to write on the subject soon.

That is very good. About 45 minutes to downtown if you leave at 5:45.

Isn't that the truth. I have been disappointed but they told me that the streets must be higher and the homes higher than that and many of the trees will simply die with the added dirt on their roots. The development company is supposed to plant additional trees. They have a policy not to cut the big ones down unless necessary.

It may have been on "trigger only" mode. No one monitors these lights at night. Let's all watch and see how they act at night. I have never run across this situation before. The rectangular box has its limitations. I wish sometimes it would trigger much further out and not so close to the signal light.

I have been working on some interesting topics lately. This topic I found particularly interesting on the traffic management system of Montgomery County, so I wrote an article on it. It came out of an interview I had with the county commissioner here, Ed Chance and a show and tell presentation by his staff. This system is crucial to mobility in south Montgomery County. http://www.woodlandscommentary.com/2008/07...signals-in.html

I am thinking that this would be a good addition to the mobility thread.

If we think "native" trees and bushes in our landscaping, there is a lot that can be done to provide a beautiful yard almost all year long, from red berries to fully blooming trees. We do not need our gardens "made in in China". We have an abundance in our homes. Water consumption should also be a criteria. I will invest some time into researching and interviewing some key people people for water conservation in landscaping design during the next couple of months. I do not know where the Tallow will fit into that yet, but it will not impact my view of its impact on the rest of the environment.

Extension of Gosling near Flintridge and widening of Flintridge at the traffic light is now in the construction phase. Lights on Lake Woodlands will be activated any day now. Traffic is being studied on Lake Woodlands for the appropriate speed limit (40 is the expected). Woodlands Parkway was being surveyed this past week for the widening project which includes additional turn lanes as well as an additional lane going each way from Panther Creek to Kuykendahl.