desirous

Both ramps to 59S stink. The one from 610S to 59S is infinitely worse -- arguably, it is the most congested and poorly designed ramp in all of Houston. They should have made the West Alabama entrance ramp go only to 59S. The scant traffic wanting to head north should be made to detour via either Richmond or San Felipe. Right now, those few people merging leftward are what make the 610 mainlanes back up past I-10.

I own the book. New York evolved from a dense urban foundation, a density almost unique among American cities. Here, we already have deserted streetscapes, and (tunnels notwithstanding) architects never seem to get tired of building more.

Yes, that is quite admirable. My rant was based on the fact that design choices are made independently of such considerations. That is, with or without skywalks and tunnels, we would've gotten the same ol' desolate plazas. Houston has coped well against those shortcomings.

That's where my qualm kicks in - that such as important issue as whether a street-front is useful or not, gets reduced to such a grossly arbitrary, philosophical term as design. It feels too much like an armchair-general version of urban planning. The Stalinists did a great job of upholding their design philosophy; according to speculative theory, it was beautiful and functional. In the end, it was neither. No offense meant. My assertion is simply that we need to kick the elitist, "schools-of-art" attitude (where obscene pencil sketches can be "inspirational") out of the construction of our urban spaces, and use judgments that actually matter for potential residents and merchants. I sit here, looking out my window at the (Dallas) Bank One Tower plaza, sheathed in granite, graced with trees and fountains... and ultimately, besting the best of Pyongyang in bleakness. The only retail is a newspaper stand at an unshaded bus stop. People wouldn't have anything to do with this entire block, even if they got paid for it - that's what it boils down to.

moo, supertalls rarely do much practical good at the street level anyhow. For some reason, many architects have something up their rears dictating that streetscapes should be barren. How many buildings are surrounded by deserted, landscaped pseudo-parks/squares that add nothing to the urban fabric? I recently visited China, and was appalled at how their modern construction replaced lively street-walls with desolate plazas. What is this all about? Is it a classic case of completely arbitrary artistic principles standing in the way of, well, everything else?

The Galleria has no business staying open for 24 hours. However, I strong believe it should stay open later than regular malls do, being what it is to many Houstonians. 10PM on weekdays and 12AM on weekends would be wise.

Have any of you been to Urban Market in Dallas? They need an equivalent in downtown Houston. It's a real jewel to have two blocks from my (current) residence. Having to drive to Randall's (or worse, much further to a less overpriced store) is a pity.

Everything but the guardrails. For starters, how 288 SB gets squeezed to one side and down to two through lanes, and how the 610 EB to 288 NB connector is merged from two lanes to one. That must be expanded if the Fort Bend TW reaches S Post Oak. How about a straighter road with improved line-of-sight and geometries to speed up traffic, as well as reconfigured exits to reduce weaving. In other words, something like the 610/10 interchange, minus the rails.

I hear ya, I hear ya. For 288, and for 288 alone, it shouldn't be a problem... the ROW is absolutely titanic. There's enough space in the median to fit 8-10 more lanes. The segment inside 610 will need to be expanded too though, if the Fort Bend Tollway is ever extended to S Post Oak. Most inbound traffic would prefer 288 over the constipated US59 interchange.

That's what I meant. Merging down to two lanes means one in each direction. Both the NB and SB exits are actually built as two-lane connectors, but the Pierce Elevated is not wide enough to handle that capacity. If I-45 is widened by one lane in each direction, the backups on 288 NB will be reduced. As for the flyovers, that can be fixed... just build them, like Coit @ US75 in Dallas.

The interchange with I-45 is just fine. It's I-45 itself that needs help, as well as the downtown section of US59. The interchange backs up because I-45 backs up; four lanes of NB capacity is more than enough, if only they don't merge down to two in the end. 288 inside the Loop is adequate; they need to modernize the South Loop interchange, as well as widen it all the way out to Pearland.

People in the city tend to prefer shorter distances; exurb residents are accustomed to their 45-minute drives. I hear a large proportion of crimes in the Greenspoint area are vehicle-related. At least that makes one feel a bit safer, biologically.

How old is this announcement? That aerial is ancient - look at the Westpark Tollway being dug!

This will probably fail. The reason is not people are unwilling to drive long distances; if that was the case, anything downtown would be out of business. There is just too much competition from the Woodlands (Mall, Market Square, Pavilion, etc.) on 45, Deerbrook Mall on 59, and Willowbrook Mall on 249. Inside the Belt people are not rich enough to support an upscale development.

The idea is only astonishing here in Texas. People raise perfectly normal children in San Francisco or Seattle or New York, where much of the city resembles central Houston. Honestly, I believe an urban environment to be conducive to development; there is high risk, but the potential reward is street-smart, cosmopolitan youth. Suburbanite children can be pretty hopeless if parents do not put in the effort to expose them.

Are transfers to Lamar HS permitted? I usually hear of private school enrollment in this case, eg to St Thomas.

If you want one, get one asap. Downtown rents will continue to increase; when I was there last May, the 485ft units were only $785. By the way, you get to paint one of the walls - whatever you want on it. Very fun when bored. =)

Allison? I remember. Surprised the power was still on.

If every building did this, soon enough there will be no surface parking whatsoever. What a great vision.