004n063

4 hours ago, aachor said:

I'm hoping the increased density will encourage more investment in vertical parking. There are some really cool businesses in Rice Village, but I'm often dissuaded by how challenging it often is to get in and out of parking. It feels like half the traffic in the evenings or weekends are drivers orbiting the block looking for a free space.

Interesting - when I still had a car, I never had trouble finding a spot in the central garage.

9 hours ago, TXK said:

Dollar for dollar, the potential economic activity generated from an infrastructure project surely must be significantly higher in denser areas where you have so many more businesses and residents, right? It feels like low hanging fruit to improve connectivity in the busiest areas so that in the long term you're set up for healthy businesses and communities, but it really feels like there's no coherent long term vision for the city from the mayor's office.

Yes. And the TIRZ system incentivizes districts to create economically productive urban cores. 

7 hours ago, Ross said:

Did Whitmire actually say Deer Park? Deer park is not in Houston, it's a completely separate city.

5 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

No.  Pretty sure he said Denver Harbor.

My bad. Gist stands, though. Unless his plan is to actually install ADA-minimum sidewalks absolutely everywhere, it's just phony virtue signaling.

9 hours ago, hbg.50 said:

If you look at the two big projects he's stopped they are both TIRZ-driven. My sense is this mayor is anti-TIRZ.  Maybe he views them as inequitable?

I do think he is anti-TIRZ, and I do think he views them as inequitable. And in a simplistic sense, they are. 

The problem with that view is that it ignores the fact that they are wealth-generating engines for the city in addition to their local communities. And given the geographic scope and longstanding traditions of antiurban land use even in denser areas of the city, the whole "no sidewalk improvements on Washington until all the streets in Deer Park have sidewalks" line of thinking is absurd on its face. There is no resiliant future for Houston that isn't nodal.

11 hours ago, __nevii said:

Did Whitmire run on anti-urbanism/road diets? Reviewing past articles, media coverage during the election, I did not see any indication that he would be this hostile to urbanism: mostly just focused on firefighters, even talked about traffic safety and whatever.

I'm just perplexed at what is going on. I did not vote for him, but I expected him to be more like Turner's pragmatism.

I was worried because he had made negative comments about Washington Ave getting 8-foot sidewalks when Deer Park doesn't have 3-foot sidewalks. But even I didn't expect him to be this much of a steamroller. 

12 hours ago, monarch said:

^^^ need i say more...?

...maybe it's just me, but...maybe yes? I have no idea what this is supposed to mean .

Edit because can't delete

[I responded to the comment before reading the responses already there. No need to pile on.]

Hmmph

10 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

My visit to TMCHP this weekend.

There is pedestrian activity! There was an event with food and merchandise.  This is a very good thing that people are starting to notice this amazing park. The park is kind of hidden. Hoping that the 30 to 40 story hotel tower will make TMC3 stand out from afar.   

There is actually all sorts of activities that go on here. Check out the official website for a weekly schedule!

https://www.helixpark.com/

My only issue is that it's still very awkward to get to. Any chance of a connection to the Brays Bayou trail? Or a better connection to the red line?

A 10-foot sidewalk isn't even particularly wide, especially if it is where bicycles are expected to go. The sidewalks on Main Street downtown are generally 16-20 feet and they still feel narrow in places.

18 hours ago, BeerNut said:

I organized a 3.5 mile walk from Graffiti Park to Post zigzagging through downtown Houston with locals and out of towners this past weekend.  It was fun seeing all the murals.  I wouldn't do it during summer though ..   This is the general route we took.  

I did something similar with my students back in the fall. For an almost-free field trip, it was pretty awesome. Looking forward to doing it again next year, if public education still exists.

7 hours ago, Stephen. said:

These lights are awesome. Much nicer crossing Washington now. Only problem is the sensors don’t register me as a cyclists so won’t cycle green. I have to wait for a car to stop too and then the lights will cycle green. Anyone else noticed this?

Try leaning your bike over. That's how I get sensor gates to open.

10 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Rent starts at $1200. That’s less than a mediocre garage apartment in the neighborhood.

That's for a room in a shared apartment, though, isn't it?

1 hour ago, editor said:

The mayor's been legit in office for a legit few months.  I legit don't believe he's had enough time to legit replace all the roach sidewalks. 

How about we legit stick to the topic at hand, and leave the roach politics for the politics section.

Isn't the topic at hand the fact that the mayor is inserting himself into TIRZ plans to throw out a planned sidewalk improvement?

It's pretty explicitly not for people like me, but if it's built right, it could be 50 years from now. Unfortunately that's generally how new construction goes. Hopefully the Concept Neighborhood stuff is a little more accessible, but it'd be silly to expect anything in River Oaks to be for anybody but the 1%.

The benefits are still universal, though. When the most agressively densifying mixed-use developments are concentrated in wealthy areas, the downsides of gentrification elsewhere are mitigated.

All that said, getting rid of minimum parking requirements, minimum setback / maximum lot coverage requirements, etc. would go a long way toward making it easier to build smaller, lower-tab suites. 

Likewise, we could work making it easier to open food stalls in parks. Mexico City has an amazing park food culture that feels like something we could emulate in places like Discovery Green, Hermann Park, Buffalo Bayou / Eleanor Tinsley Park, Emancipation Park, Elizabeth Baldwin Park, and even Autry Park. 

Just so we're clear: we're talking about two already-ultra-massive highways that cut right through city centers. And we'll probably have the same conversation 30 years after they're done with these projects.

14 hours ago, Triton said:

Kind of an interesting aside....

Was in Austin this past weekend for the eclipse and it donned on me that the massive I-35 rebuild will start in Austin along the same timeline that the Houston I-45 rebuild will start. It's sort of wild to think two major cities not that far apart will have complete makeovers at the same time. 

Also driving through Austin, it is wild to see just have fast that city is transforming. So many new skyscrapers under construction.

Austin has the highest multifamily construction pace in the country by quite a wide margin.

Absolutely insane that they're widening the moat between downtown and the east side, but that's TXDoT for you.

12 hours ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

Not new, but I liked this picture of the bridge over the bayou and surrounding area at Mason Park, circa 2022.

From the Chronicle's home page today

I could've sworn there was a thread with photos of the construction here but can't find it.

Mason Park Bridge - SWA Group

G2LD - gandy squared lighting design

Mason Park Bridge Projects - Stiver Engineering

One of my absolute favorite examples of (basically) brutalism. Really beautiful up close.

3 hours ago, j.33 said:

The article then brings up the people opposed: "But lawyers representing the owners of a block of land nearby have protested that the variance would make the area less pedestrian-friendly, which is the purpose of the city rule limiting how close buildings can be to property lines. The permission could also curb the possibilities for any potential park that could take the place of the bordering Pierce Elevated, which is slated to be removed as part of the Interstate 45 expansion, they said."

Personally, from the renderings above, I dont really see how it would be negative for the pedestrian experience. This actually would provide more eyes on the street and I think it would actually make that area of Midtown feel safer because there will be a development with windows and lights and not an empty grass patch near an underpass. 

They're getting creative, but the impetus for opposition is obviously concerns about having too many formerly homeless people around.

9 hours ago, nicsamalo said:

This particular location has been in dire need of a convenience shop for a significant duration.

 

I...well I agree. 

On 8/17/2023 at 6:11 PM, 004n063 said:

This corner has desperately needed a convenience store for a long time.

Say it with me: Allen's freakin Landing. Most indefensible missing link

Getting closer. This is a great project, but I would love to see more of the promenade (and that last mixed-traffic bit of Bastrop between Bell and Leeland) activated. The part between McKinney and Polk would be a great place for low-rent stalls (think European Christmas market, or even the Navigation esplanade), the east side of the Leeland-Bell stretch of Bastrop deserves a new build, and the building at the corner of Bell and Hutchins would be worth transforming, I think.

Iirc, there is already something planned for the awkwardly trapezoidal lot between this and Emancipation.

Those poor Southamptonites. Such a downtrodden bunch.