hmmm, i'm guessing when they were planning on repairing the mkt bridge that caught on fire, they realized they could also do some of the prep work for this 850 ft segment.  i really hope the planning for this work was the reason it took so long to get started on the bridge.

On 8/19/2020 at 11:30 AM, cspwal said:

Photo from the KHOU article

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/pedestrian-bridge-catches-fire-along-white-oak-bayou-near-i-10/285-c1fac60b-bbc6-4d4b-b52a-1d3114b54da7

Me one year ago: Surely this will take less than 1 year to fix...

From the Sawyer Yards website.  They're calling this the South Yard.  I personally have thought of "Sawyer Yards" as what is depicted as the Main Yard, but they are clearly stretching the brand to all of their properties in the First Ward/Sixth Ward/Washington Ave Arts District etc...

typically you get very small amounts of the odorant dripped into a flowing natural gas stream to odorize the gas.  if you have a leak of the concentrated stuff, i can definitely imagine it wafting into the atmosphere and hitting you at 100's times higher concentration than what you would normally smell from your oven.  this stuff will definitely make you feel sick if you're exposed to high concentrations.  here's a link to a safety data sheet if you want to read more about it:

https://www.cpchem.com/sites/default/files/2020-06/01564347.pdf

sounds like the cause was a mercaptan leak from a rail car at the lubrizol plant.   this is the stuff that the gas companies add into natural gas to make leaks detectable by smell.  @arche_757 did it smell like natural gas?  i wonder if centerpoint received a big spike of leak calls last night/this morning.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/08/16/shelter-in-place-issued-for-la-porte-officials-say/

brick walls going up.  surprisingly tall based on the height of the scaffolding.

i guess they figured if they're going to keep this bridge closed for an entire year, they should probably get a photo with some industrial equipment to make it look like they actually did something out here.  i still can't believe it's taken an entire year for them to reopen this bridge--especially since this year was when so many houstonians relied on the parks and trails in this city for recreation.  

for centerpoint to spend millions of dollars on a relocation or beautification project like this, the cost would ultimately be approved by the texas public utilities commission and end up on all of our electricity bills.  i will generalize and say we tend to get the ugly/cheap option in texas compared to more progressive locales.   

I've been mulling over the idea of adding a garage+garage apartment on our corner lot and stumbled across this interesting thread.  Does anyone have any recent experience with builders/contractors, estimates or lessons learned they could share?

24 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Isn't this corner store going to have a nice restaurant space? Let's hold off and see what the final design looks like. While it won't be an architectural achievement, I do think this is important for the immediate neighborhood. 

You're right (although I generally don't get excited about restaurants inside of gas station, there is a 0.000000001% chance it could be a Hruskas).

And speaking of unexciting restaurants, anybody know why the KFC/Taco Bell in Sawyer Heights got demolished and what will be replacing it?

Yeah, Oscar's Food Mart is 2 blocks north of here.  

As someone that lives in the neighborhood, I have to say that a gas station on this corner feels like a small scale version of the Home Depot going in at Lower Heights District.  On a practical level, I know I'll be able to use both of these, but I can't help feeling disappointed that we've now squandered two opportunities to have a transformational impact on this area.

the entire lot has been cleared, including the concrete on the front half and all of the trees from the back half.  does anyone have any more details on what's going in and when?  

the warehouse on the 10,000 sq ft adjacent lot north of this property is under contract.  i'm wondering if these two are at all related to each other?

https://www.har.com/homedetail/1820-houston-ave-houston-tx-77007/2949096

16 hours ago, wilcal said:

Just got an email that everything is clear and construction will start at any time. Estimated repairs will take 60-90 days. 

Here's the full email for anyone that's curious.  90 days out of June 4 is September 2nd.  I'm taking the over on that but will be great to have that bridge opened up again.

Houston Parks Board has great news to share. As you know, the MKT hike-and-bike bridge has been closed due to damages sustained by a fire in August 2020.

Since then, at the request of the City, we have been working diligently on shepherding the repair plans through the permitting process.

We are pleased to share those plans have been approved, and repair activities on the site could start as early as this Friday, June 4.

Repairs include the replacement of damaged bridge piles, the abutment backwall, and deck expansion joint. The estimated time frame is 60-90 days, weather permitting.

Houston Parks Board appreciates the patience of surrounding community members and those who have been utilizing the detour for several months. The detour will remain in place during construction.

We understand the MKT bridge is an important connection for the Heights Hike and Bike Trail and White Oak Bayou Greenway, and we look forward to seeing you back out there soon!

Please let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this information with others in your community.

Thank you,

Lisa Kasianowitz
Outreach Manager
Houston Parks Board
300 North Post Oak Lane
Houston, TX 77024
lisa@houstonparksboard.org
T 713.942.8500 x14

Wow, I'm amazed that the market will support another apartment complex in this area.  This is great for density, and I'm sure the future residents will be excited that they can walk to a Home Depot.

Just found this on the Gulf Coast Commercial Group website.  They've clearly made significant changes to original site plan.

https://www.gulfcoastcg.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/LowerHeightsDistricts-Marketing-Package-04.26.21.pdf

On 2/9/2021 at 12:24 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

I emailed the BAC yesterday about the issues on W Cavalcade, Houston Ave, and Polk St. They responded pretty fast. So hopefully these issues get resolved asap. I think continued community input puts more pressure on the city because they realize this isn't just for show anymore. People want bike lanes. 

I saw city workers with shovels, brooms and leaf blowers finally cleaning the bike lanes on Houston Ave bridge over I-10 last week.  Only took them 3 months since the wave of 311 calls and emails to the BAC.  Hope they have some sort of regular maintenance plan going forward.  If it takes 3 months to clean a bike lane, I'm scared to guess how long it will take to reopen the fire-damaged MKT bridge over White Oak Bayou...

Unrelated sidebar: I used to wait tables there 15 years ago when it was called Nick's Pasta Place.  What a mess that place was.  Anyway, some of the regulars would tell me about how the building used to be car dealership and a hot dog stand before Nick bought it and turned it into an Italian restaurant.

Here they are in the ground

On 5/14/2020 at 2:17 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah prob right. I've just noticed some small areas that could be patched up or cleaned up recently. I'd hate to have all these new bike lanes neglected over the years. 

@j_cuevas713 or anyone else for that matter, any luck on getting 311 to clean up the bike lanes?  Crossing White Oak Bayou and I-10 on Houston Ave, the bike lanes were so full of trash, glass and gravel that I ended up jumping on the road both ways.  Kind of defeats the purpose of having those bike lanes if you can't use them.

I called the parks board and asked for an update on when this bridge will be opening back up.  I was shocked to learn that it has sustained major structural damage and will need to be replaced.  On top of that, there's no funding for a new bridge, so it's not opening back up for a long, long time.  If you're wondering what you can do about this, contact your councilperson and ask for discretionary funds to be diverted to this project.

Cars driving onto the "bike path" is also a problem across Sawyer St in the shopping center.  And it always seems like drivers only look one way as they pull up to the intersection.  Maybe painting a green stripe on the road where the bike path crosses those intersecting lanes may help the drivers be more aware that they are driving onto the bike path?  I personally find it's safer to just bike on the road in that shopping center.

I agree that the apartments are better than the warehouses.  I'm glad they planted the trees there and I hope that the higher population density brings more improvements to the area.

On our evening walk last night, noticed this business had moved and nearby neighbor said this warehouse has been sold.  Does anyone know what's going on here?

First Ward warehouses went on the market.  This is located on the Heights Bike Trail, two blocks west of Spring St Beer Garden on Houston Ave, and one block east of Winter Street Studios and Sabine Street Studios.

1611Ovid-0HoustonAve_Sale.pdf