LBC2HTX
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Posts posted by LBC2HTX
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51 minutes ago, cspwal said:
However, you could still tax by mileage - when your car gets its inspection done, the difference in previous and current odometer reading could be used to assess a "mileage tax" that you'd have to pay when you renew your registration. If you drove 12,000 miles a year, that would come out to ~$80 you'd have to pay when you renew your registration.
This would only accomplish reducing the tax burden on less fuel efficient vehicles. Meanwhile, you've made tax collection more difficult and likely reduced the amount of tax revenue. At the end of the day, those driving are paying the tax, who cares if its a fuel tax or "mileage tax".
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1 hour ago, MikeRichardson said:
I live off Westheimer and the Beltway.
Actually before I go into that, let me clarify real quick the names and ownership of the roads, for people that don't know.
The actual toll lanes, are called Sam Houston Tollway. "HCTRA" owns these roads, except HCTRA is not an actual separate entity, it is really just a brand name and an "enterprise fund". So, Harris County owns these roads. It is important to note that these toll lanes are NOT one continuous road! Immediately before I-45 heading East, until somewhere after the airport, is a free road owned by the state. Also, several of the stacks are actually owned by the state, which is why where is a free entrance right before the ramps.
The free lanes (the feeders), are called Sam Houston Parkway. They are owned by the State of Texas, and because of this, they have a numeric designation from the state: Beltway 8.
If you look at the address for any business on the Beltway - let's look at the West Road Kroger, that address is 9125 W Sam Houston Pkwy N. You will never see an address for a business on the Tollway directly.
I will also clarify here that no private entity has any ownership interest in any HCTRA toll road. This is one of the few "right/correct/good" things about the HCTRA system. If you want to see an example of what happens when a private entity is involved look at the Chicago Skyway. Their tolls are atrocious, some of the highest in the country.
Now, like I said I live off Westheimer and the Beltway. About every weekend I drive up to see my mom, she lives off 249 and Grant Road.
I used to take the tollway, and now I don't. On the weekend, the parkway/Beltway 8 is not that much slower. It costs $4.50 in tolls one way. Compared to the free lanes, and the way I drive, I would be surprised if the toll lanes save 9 minutes. One way to look at that is that I'd need to earn at least $30 an hour just to break even.
Also, after I-10 was rebuilt, they very thoughtfully installed an overpass for Beltway 8, saving at least 5 minutes. Sadly, they did not do this at 290.
My experience says nothing of a Monday-Friday commuter though, unfortunately that is the type of person who is proably getting soaked in monthly tolls.
Taking the SHT from Westheimer/BW8 to 249 is 16.5 miles and takes 17 minutes.
Avoiding tolls and taking SHP is the same distance, but takes 31 minutes. So a 14 minute difference, each way or about 30 minutes longer, roundtrip.
With a round trip toll cost of $9, you'd have to make $18/hour to "break-even". Add in the fact that you save AT LEAST $1.00 in gas each way (by not having to stop at any of the 18 stop lights along the way) by taking the tollroad vs the feeder your net cost is closer to $7 - making your "break-even" wage $14/hour.
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Just now, swtsig said:
how can you sell mexican food and not booze??? that's bad for business. i know a lot of office buildings try to limit alcohol sales on premises but this is a bad idea.
Probably has to do with the fact that they're opening a cocktail bar, and want people to get drinks from there.
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1 hour ago, s3mh said:
City Centre has lots of free parking. The pay lot is just for people who do not want to mix with the rabble looking for a space in the garages. And Rice and City Centre are exponentially larger developments. People will park and spend all afternoon shopping and dining or going to the movies, etc. People are not going to pay $5-10 to park to go to places like Barnaby's, Pho Binh and Christian's. Anyone looking to drink a lot will get an Uber. Everyone else will either find a space on the street or drive a mile or two to another restaurant or bar where they can find free parking. Unless the developers can seriously up the offerings on White Oak, the parking garage will be a money loser.
Yet many people still choose to pay for parking, as evidenced by the metered spots being filled and the lines to pay the garage meters. Being a larger development doesn't mean anything - the Galleria is a larger development than RV and CC combined and yet all the parking is free.
What matters is that its a destination and that parking is at a premium, which is exactly the case on White Oak.
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48 minutes ago, s3mh said:
I think this Easy Park company is getting ahead of itself in Houston. Its concept is based on maximizing space in dense urban areas by building vertical automated parking garages. That is a great idea in areas like Philly, NY and DC where people expect to pay for parking when visiting dense parts of the city. But in Houston, no one is expecting to pay for parking outside of downtown, the med center and some office buildings. The garage at Highland Village is the only place I can think of that people will pay for parking at a retail development in Houston. But that is a very high end shopping destination with a clientele that is not going to care about paying a few bucks to park. Unless White Oak is going to be redeveloped into something completely different, I do not see very many people being interested in paid parking to go get $2 tacos or to get beers at an ice house.
I disagree. White Oak already has a shortage of parking, especially when the nearby residents feel entitled to b*tch at people parking on the residential streets.
Also, Rice Village and City Centre both charge for parking.
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3 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:
I am very surprised that Hines spent all that money on paving this lot, what?, six months ago? Only to dig it up now. It seems that something important must have popped to change the speed of this development. Perhaps they got a great loan, or a specific tenant commitment, or they were concerned about interest rates or.... or..... or...... but, to me, something happened to jump start this project.
Well, yeah.. they got Vinson and Elkins to sign on as an anchor tenant (+200,000 sqft of 1 million) and their current lease is up in 2021.
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1) They’re all adjacent to the newest luxury shopping destination in Houston.
2) likely easier/cheaper than developing on the other side of 610
3) The land was previously underutilized and the surrounding neighborhood was already being redeveloped with luxury townhomes and condos (e.g Briarglen condos and highland tower condos).
Its for the same reason that all the older homes in the area have been slowly being torn-down and rebuilt with million dollar homes.
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A Rejuvenation store will be opening in Uptown Park.
https://www.rejuvenation.com/stores?
It’s a Willams-Sonoma brand, specializing in light fixtures.
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Does anyone know what the booms were doing at steak48.
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I counted ~44
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The Mattress store has closed... could this mean development is in motion??
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Noticed this today.I always suspected they’d develop this plot and pointed out as much when people would grouse over the Arabella’s parking podium.
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1 hour ago, jmitch94 said:
Nice job completely ignoring my other point. To add to this, outside of our little HAIF bubble a lot of people really don't like having to work downtown, in fact I know a lot of people that would would much rather work on a larger suburban corporate campus than deal with downtown everyday.
Yeah, that’s most likely because said people prefer to live in the suburbs and not have to commute, rather than living ITL or living in the suburbs and commuting.
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I agree 100% with your sentiment, however there’s no way in hell that RO residents will allow a rail line down Kirby. Shepherd would be more feasible, politically, though idk how feasible it is engineering-wise. Montrose blvd makes sense but we don’t really need two lines to the museum district. Also, Washington, W Dallas or W Gray would be alternatives to Allen (my vote is Washington).
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Only if it's a W, Ritz-Carlton or SLS/Delano/Mondrain, please. Add a cool day-club and Houston will be rockin.
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50 minutes ago, ekdrm2d1 said:
Off topic. Apple just hit a trillion dollar market cap but Amazon is still the most valuable company?
Forbes is indicating Amazon has more “Enterprise Value” rather than cash on hand that Apple has.
Enterprise Value is a function of market cap, company debt and cash.
Enterprise Value = market value of common stock + market value of preferred equity + market value of debt + minority interest - cash and investments.
The trillion dollar market cap is just input of Enterprise Value.
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20 minutes ago, htownbro said:
I find it strange that Houston doesn't have the tallest residential tower in Texas. Nice design of this building though!
The Austonian is ridiculous.
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Beautiful building that will really increase the gravity of market square (along with the new office building). Only things left are the chase bank lot, the parking lot/BOA ATM at 800 Franklin, and more efficient use of the half lot of parking for Hotel Icon/Islamic Center.
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2 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:
There is not much point spending time discussing the theoretical speed at which light rail trains would run on their way to Bush Airport. There is very little likelihood of a scenario unfolding that would provide light rail to Bush Airport in this planning period (through 2040).
Which is exactly why they should've at least expended their visionary efforts on rail lines that actually makes $s and sense.
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Uptown Park: Shopping Center At 1121 Uptown Park Blvd.
in Uptown and Galleria Area
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After closing the West Elm in Highland Village, I'm really hoping they open a West Elm in Uptown Park. I can see it happening given that a sister store, Rejuvenation, is opening there.
One store that would do great here, or in Highland Village, would be a Nike store (not a factory or outlet). I'm baffled that Houston doesn't have one. River Oaks District could use it to draw in more foot traffic, but IDK if a Nike store goes with the rest of the development.