N Judah
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Posts posted by N Judah
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Your right. I was driving down Highway 6, south of the Katy, and I saw about 3 different California license plates.
Yeah - I grew up in Jersey Village, but my parents just moved out to Katy...I went to visit them and was astounded by (1) all of the out of state license plates and (2) the absolutely disgusting amount of road rage. And I have a feeling the two are related...
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That first picture is of a heavy rail subway line with its own dedicated right of way, without cars crossing its path, etc.
Houston's only got a light rail line that runs at grade (as many light rail systems do). Compare it to other LRT systems and it's actually about the same size -- 3 or 4 cars to a train.
Such as:
http://www.lightrail.com/photos/sanfrancis...francisco04.jpg
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I can't really see anyone but the absolute richest of the rich in Houston supporting this super high-end retail.
Perhaps Houston's overall style is more accommodating of the somewhat less elegant, urban-type boutiques. You know, something like this -->
http://www.stylemaven.com/store_sanfrancis...rocerystore.htm
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I've been to LA and I really didn't think the girls there were that attractive or cosmopolitan. Sure, there are some good looking people there, but on average it's nothing to write home about.
And I really wouldn't feel like Houston is missing anything by not having its own Real World or awards show. Out of all of the cities whose names have been thrown around on this site, Los Angeles is the last one Houston should aspire to become like.
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What's the point of downtown being 24X7? Is this some kind of romantic notion? What real purpoe would it serve?
And considering how many other parts of Houston have things to do and round the clock activity, can we really support two?
This is Texas, not California. We have a lot less handouts in these parts, and that's a good thing.
Highways are handouts. Never forget that. Pure, unadulterated welfare for real estate developers and rural land owners.
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In total honesty, I see both sides of your points in regards to streets being "clogged" with traffic and "No cars" in downtown.
I believe that Main and adjacent blocks will eventually be heavily residential, to that end, I think it would be best if main would be closed off to most vehicles unless it's a delivery or emergency vehicle.
To that, I would also suggest that a couple of the streets be closed off and made into dead ends. I'm not proposing ALOT of them, perhaps only two streets or 3 streets. This would allow for a 3 car train and thereby, allowing to increase capacity in the future while at the same time allowing the owners of buildings nearby not to worry about leaving or entering their buildings and getting themselves killed in traffic.
It would also allow kids to be able to have a place to play/hang out in the evenings.
Ricco
Well, maybe as Main gets developed more and more, cars will begin to avoid it anyway.
It's already kind of unpleasant to drive, not only because the train runs right down the middle of it, making it one lane in each direction, but also because of that pedestrian fountain thingie that makes it a less than desirable thoroughfare for someone looking to zip across downtown.
I don't think anything should be closed off until the area gets built up -- which I'm guessing is at least 15 years down the line. Get some pedestrian activity in there first, and *then* start worrying about the safety of the pedestrians. That's how I feel about it.
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Good point WGG about Market in SF. San Francisco's Market St. has got to be one of the most efficient corridors for moving people of any major city street in the nation, with heavy pedestrian traffic, two levels of subway tunnels (BART and Muni), lots of bus service (both diesel and electric trolley buses) and streetcar service running in dedicated lanes, and regular traffic lanes for cars. And amazingly, it always keeps moving and I've never seen huge traffic jams unless there was an accident.
I dunno. Whole books have been written about what a bad street Market has become over the past 50 years or so. It's really pedestrian-unfriendly compared to other streets, the sidewalks are too wide, and most people only use it to go somewhere else.
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how does New York City manage to be the most vibrant city in the world while having wide streets PACKED with cars.
I think you just answered your own question.
They key word is *PACKED*. Cars and a welcoming downtown center are not mutually eliminative. But a fast-paced flow of cars *is* prohibitive to a welcoming downtown center.
Because the downtown Houston streets, as they are now, basically exist as a mechanism for getting the suburbanites in and out of the area as quickly as possible, it is not a welcoming downtown center.
If I had it my way, downtown houston would not have any one-way streets. However, this will never happen. Doing such a thing would increase the average sugarland commuter's travel time by an extra ten minutes, and the outrage would be incredible in this super-impatient, immediate-gratification city.
And, having said that, removing cars from the certain streets would not necessarily be detrimental to downtown houston, but I think you would have to do it is only once the pedestrian and bicycle/bus/whatever traffic got heavy enough to justify it.
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So midtown should go from a slum to Williamsburg overnight? Some people seem to have instant gratification problems . . .
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Looks like pineda mentioned more than just one thing...
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Houston Sucks?
in General Houston Discussions
Posted
I don't understand your point about Mkt St. 99% of people use Market as a way to get somewhere else. For those of you who haven't seen it, imagine a giant, open-air bus/transit terminal that just happens to have a few nice shops and an indoor shopping mall at one particular intersection. It's not green, it is not park like in the least, and after 9 pm is completely deserted (like Houston parks? well, no, I know for a fact people are jogging around memorial park, even that late at night).