j.33

Floating bus stops along Heights in Houston removed (houstonchronicle.com)

Quote from the article:

"The aim was to “improve traffic flow,” Metro spokewoman Tracy Jackson said.

“Upon completion, Metro’s chief safety officer determined the design did not provide the safest environment for bus passengers or others on the road,” she said.

Drivers and Heights area residents also teed off on the platforms, calling them dangerous because drivers were not prepared to cruise by the raised yellow curb.

“Whoever put those there clearly drives a sub-compact (car),” said Michael Reese, who drops his daughter at school each morning by driving north on Heights, then south to his downtown job. “The first time I came up to it, I didn’t think I would fit.”

The lane was plenty wide, even for buses and commercial trucks, but the perception dominated the reaction, and the black marks along the yellow painted curb showed some drivers could not keep from bumping the platform.

That feedback, both to Metro and the city, also led to the change, officials said. Metro is paying to redo the street, after the city paid for the initial changes as part of the 11th Street redesign. Metro, as of Friday, could not confirm the total cost of the redesign.

“The safety hazards could not be ignored, and safety will always dictate how we move forward,” Jackson said."

This is a response I got from METRO when I asked why the bus stop signs weren't in place on the new floating bus platforms: 

"Thank you for contacting Metro. METRO does not approve of the design for the floating bus stops, for now stops will remain near side."

Honestly if this is the only change that comes from 11th St, then it is fine. For a while I was worried they would eliminate more of the safety features. Now that the community is used to it and recognizes the changes are for the greater good, I hope to see more roadways undergo changes like this :). In the future, lets hope the City and METRO can agree on the floating island design. 

@Amlaham I believe it is at the final stage, which means it needs to be adopted by city council. Timeline on that is unclear (can't seem to find any announcements about it). The last major action item was the public hearing back in June, which was also a little bit of a bummer with Mayor Turner completely removing market based parking from the recommendation. 

Map showing all of the projects part of the Pct 4 grant: 2023 Call for Projects - Harris County Precinct 4 (hcp4.net)

Video Press Conference here with Houston Parks Board speaking about the project: 

55 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

I'm trying to locate this.  Did you mean something other than Holcombe Blvd?

The Shell station in the bottom photo is at South Loop and Almeda Rd. Must've been a typo. 

Was in the replat section of the 8/24 planning commission. 4 townhomes and the replat was approved. 

This is the site of the model for the old Orion. 

And right by the future METRO Rapid University Corridor. Lets hope its not a car wash!

Although it is unfortunate the lot is not being redeveloped into a tower or apartment block, at least the property did not remain vacant for long. With all the new affordable housing going up in Midtown, it might actually be needed in the area. Most of these dollar stores do have a decent sized food/grocery section. Also, important to note, when looking at Google Maps, there is a dollar tree at W Gray and Dunlavy. If Dollar Tree is able to be in that part of Montrose without any problems, then this location might not seem too out of the ordinary. Again, totally agree that the lot couldve been used for a tower or something better, but just trying to look on the brighter side here. Wouldve much rather have a multi-story building with Dollar Tree being ground floor retail. 

Where is it confusing?  It is literally a right turn only lane. No one would think this is a thru lane 

@Amlaham The early renderings, although they were not set in stone, did show it as a mixed-use development - similar to the HEB on Washington Ave. I believe Midway was behind the development and I do wonder if the recent Midway and Parkway merger has anything to do with the change. 

53 minutes ago, phillip_white said:

Seems like a bad spot for a light pole. Does this mean the street is being closed to cars?

I believe it will be a TOUCAN (or I could be totally wrong), but if I am right, It'll look like this:

So the intersection will only allow right turns for cars (not straight or left) but allow pedestrians and bikes to cross safely to the Columbia Tap Trail. 

12 hours ago, 004n063 said:

Are they still blocking the bike lane, or have they fixed that?

There is a well signed bike detour that isnt terrible. Could be a lot worse. I also think they painted a crosswalk at W Clay to make crossing easier/safer.

Still a shame that the bike lane is blocked, but at least they have made efforts to not make it terrible (sad to think that even though it is bare minimum, it's better than what most developers would do). 

2 hours ago, 004n063 said:

I noticed them yesterday on Woodhead at Richmond and on Hawthorne at Montrose.

 

Except...they were fully synced with the car light. So I think I'll be sticking to the car lanes there. 

311 the traffic signals to tell them to make the bike signals lead. I think it is up to the city to do that, and they need the public to push them to do it. Rode it the past two weekends, and the bike signals synched with the GP signals are not safe for riders. 

On 7/14/2023 at 11:14 AM, editor said:

Maybe I keep averting my eyes because I'm in mourning for the coffee shop with good fare and no seating.

campesino coffee house #2 on Prairie a few blocks over is really good. Sad about Minuti coffee (at least the Midtown location is still open). 

Hope Mamajuana Cafe does well! I'll support anything that will bring night and weekend visitors to DT!

100% agree @Naviguessor although it is better than a bunch of townhomes who would try to shut down all the bars like what is going on along Washington in Rice Military and 20th St in the Heights. 

From the Planning Commission Meeting today. I have not gotten a chance to watch it but here are additional images/drawings. Once the meeting is posted tomorrow, I'll respond with what the public said in the public hearing and what planning staff had to say. 

@hindesky you beat me to it, but also important in the article is this quote.

"So far, though, the landowner, which appears to be an affiliate of Pinto Realty Partners, hasn't announced plans for the site. The owners had considered building an apartment complex known as the Modera Houston Avenue on the property, but that deal fell through, said Ernie Cockrell, founder of Pinto Realty, in an email. He did not respond to follow-up questions about what could be in store for the site after Montalbano Lumber vacates."

I do wonder if they'll have it face the freeway or W Dallas. Whatever it is, hopefully it'll mask some of the light and noise pollution that the bar across the street creates. I do agree with all the comments, yeah a gas stations does suck...but better than an empty parking lot and the area could benefit from a small corner store or something. 

On 6/23/2023 at 10:45 AM, Amlaham said:

Jeez, why is the Houston Planning Commission being this aggressive with the parking when the parking mandates are eventually going to be lessened according to them???

They would grant the variance if there was not a lot of push back from the community. The past 2 meetings when this was brought up, there have been over 20+ speakers. The first meeting was mostly residents in the townhomes worried their narrow streets would be filled with parking since Summer St is already crowded, and then the second meeting has mostly volunteers from the Olivewood Cemetery talking about Summer St overcrowding and people parking in their small surface lot. What I dont understand is no one has brought up the idea of putting metered parking along Summer Street. That would then help solve the parking frustration that the community members and volunteers are bringing up. Looks like a lot of the parking it taken up by residents in the apartment buildings who are not using their garage that has more than enough parking spaces.

The next hurdle the gym will have to overcome is to make sure that their site does not have any human remains from the cemetery (which apparently could be likely). It will be interesting to see what happens next. 

It has been wild hearing the public comments during the planning meetings and the most recent city council meeting. One man literally said "I went to the Hamptons last weekend and a child was run over by a car...it wasnt in a shared driveway, but I think it would happen way more in a shared driveway situation." 

I think the changes and updates to Ch 42 are great and wish people would understand that it really is less about restricting and more about allowing for more housing types to be built. The only thing it really is restricting is front loading driveways on certain lot dimensions.  

I think the photo that @Urbannizerposted is from like 2007 

17 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

And for the record, I hate that dumb "pedestrian buffer." All it does is create more maintenance and cuts pedestrians off from accessing the sidewalk easier. I'm all for grated trees though.  

Totally agree! And with this portion of W Gray always full of cars parked on the street, there really isnt a need for the pedestrian buffer. 

4 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

Hopefully this plan falls through :) The highway is legit in great condition; I often drive on here. 

Keep your eye out for the public comment period and send your comments to TXDOT. I'll do the same as well as I totally agree with you!! 

Heard from someone who is familiar with the project that there might be some community pushback with this project. Did anyone attend the meeting or get the vibe that the community does not want this? 

2 hours ago, 004n063 said:

New(ish?) armadillos up on Heights Boulevard from Center St. to the Katy Freeway Service Road.

When combined with the 10ft path that runs along the east side of S. Heights from Willia to Center St., this is a tolerable connection from Spotts Park to the wide (albeit mainly just painted) bike lanes on Heights Blvd north of I-10.

Yes, they are new :). Kinda stumped why they didnt work with METRO on that bus stop because the armadillos are blocking the bus stop and now the bus cannot make it all the way to the curb.