102IAHexpress

This group does very good work. They are a very good bridge between being on the street and re-entering society. I think the trend is that we will see more of these facilities in downtown and midtown. That's where the population is concentrated. A long time ago we had huge public mental health hospitals that absorbed the burden for society, but after wwII public perception about these hospitals shifted once people started to realize the conditions in there. So we transitioned away from huge public mental health hospitals to more of a community based approach. It's been mostly for the better, but the homeless fell through the cracks and so law enforcement stepped in. One of my friends works for MHMRA of Harris County and she sees the first hand every day because she is assigned to Harris County Jail. But this can't be a long term solution. It's just a cycle of arrest for the homeless. So groups like Healthcare for the Homeless step in. Where else but downtown and midtown would you build outreach facilities to the homeless? Just wondering.

Interesting. So a business in downtown can't submit an on-premise sign permit application with the CoH like every other business in the city and county can? I didn't know that. I thought if they wanted to put one up they just needed a permit.

Yes Burger King. In a way Burger King and Subway had it easier. They have instant brand recognition. Don't have to worry about alcohol and TABC, etc. Don't have huge Comcast/Direct TV bills each month. Have a proven business model that is profitable. Proven system, that litterly 16 year olds can execute. Resources of huge corporations. etc,... Yet, still failed at that location. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is insane. So yes under that logic it may be better to use that space as something else. Maybe not a parking lot but some other industry besides retail. Nothing wrong with that.

cspwal said it perfectally. The bar is kind of on a island compared to the other main street bars. Saturday night pub crawlers on the main street north/south pub crawl have to make a major diversion to get there. It's essentially by the courthouse. On weekdays there is no diversion because travelers are naturally walking east/west to or from the courthouse. Thus the importance of catering to daytime lunch time crowds. Does anyone remember if burger king and subway who both shared that same location closed in the evenings and weekends? I can't remember. Did they only cater to weekday lunch crowds?

I went by there about an hour ago. I had plans at Hotel Icon but decided to swing by and take a look. UT vs Cal game was on, so i was expecting a large crowd. Nope. Yes some people were there, but not like the other bars on Main Street and Congress. Patio was open but empty. All in all...ehhh. Signage is going to be a must if this bar is going to survive. Edit. Pic attached this time.

that's a big question mark. I hope you're right. But what's more likely is we have another One Park Place. Expensive rents that attract corporate apartments and or renters that keep an apartment in downtown, but don't actually live there. Not exactly people who are making that part of downtown a more vibrant neighborhood.

Just because their other locations have done well doesn't mean that this location will definitely 100% do well too. Burger King did well in other locations but failed there. Subway did well in other locations but failed there too. just saying...

They must have updated that page. I looked at the visitor information page before i emailed the ballet a couple of days ago. Instead, this webpage, which advertises Manon and where you click to purchase tickets still says nothing about what the age recomendation for Manon is... http://www.houstonballet.org/Ticketing-Schedule/Season-Calendar/Manon/ edit: i'm still a little worried even after looking at the updated page. In the judgment of the houston ballet, a rape and oral sex scene is only a 13 years + age recomendation? So when do they use the 17 years+ age recomendation?

Yup. I tried that. The night of the performance i googled manon ballet. NOTHING popped up about a rape scene. Trust me i would have noticed something like that. Now that I know there is a rape scene, that is different. If you google Manon ballet rape, then yes, there will be articles about the rape scene. But who goolges "rape" in their plot snyopsis searches of ballets? I call BS on anyone who says they do. Note that the rape scene is not in all the productions. In fact that's why there are articles about it, there are competing views on the story. So how would i know if the houston ballet was producing the rape scene version or not? Point is you have to be super ballet nerd to know all this. The averge patron does not have this information, which is why there were so many children in the theatre. I'm not trying to censor the Houston ballet. They can produce what ever they want, but they have to give warnings if there is explicit sexual content. Heck, a rape scene in a motion picture could push its rating beyond an R rating into NC-17 territority.

I had no idea. So how would I get warned that this production has a rape scene? What warning system does Houston Ballet have in place to warn patrons that this ballet or other ballets are intended for mature audiences only? Don't they have a duty to warn?

Does our ballet have a rating system? R, PG-13 etc? I watched Houston Ballet's production of Manon on Saturday. I had never heard of Manon so I did not know what to expect. In the third act there is an oral sex scene. I was a little shocked. There were a lot of children in the theatre, it was just very awkward. If there was a warning, I guess I missed it.

Fair point. And like I said I think it looks promising. I also like cspwal's idea of better signage.

No, you're right. All the business turnover in that part of downtown is something I just imagined it in my head. My bad.

I knew someone was going to post this. I've seen a variation of this written in the downtown forum once or twice before. (insert new business name) will do great in downtown because the (insert failed business name) that was nearby was horrible, etc.. This time it will be different... Like I said I want it to be successful, this is my neighborhood. But I also can't ignore the observations in my neighborhood either. Just off the top of my head that exact same location has been a burger king, subway, what else? Last time I checked those are pretty big corporations with lots of resources and businesses experience. The sports bar a block away is undergoing its what, 3rd? re-launch.

All true. But how well did Live sports bar do in downtown with all those sports nights?

True. College football is another 12 Saturdays a year. Like I said I think it's promising but I think sports bars in downtown need to attract lunch crowds. There's no sports on tv during weekday lunch. Good, inexpensive, reliable lunch food would be a big plus. Then anything they get in the evening is gravy. I'm going to check them out for lunch one of these days. It's raining today so maybe not today.

I checked out Christian's Tailgate last night. Looks promising. Tried getting a bite to eat, but it was actually full at the bar. Place had a strange smell though. Anyways, the fact that it is busy is a good thing I think. I hope it works out, but sports bars have not done that well in the past in downtown. NFL games are only 20 or so Sundays a year maybe a few more games sprinkled in on weeknights? What's the sports going to do the rest of the year? Live had trouble with lunch time crowds. But I won't be a Debbie downer. Like I said it looks promising. Big huge windows on congress (live was like a cave) nice patio, feels like part of the neighborhood. What's the food like? I heard they have good burgers.

That is true now. But if I remember correctly in the early days of TxTag there were a lot of fines being dished out to TXTag users on EZTag lanes. The issue was with license plates. Back then TxTag did not require license plate info during enrollment. Sometimes when you go through an EZTag toll the reader does not read your tag. There are lots of reasons for this and it actually happens a lot. What EZTag does when this happens is they go back to the photo taken and they match up your license plate with your account. So no problem. But if you had a TXTag and you didn't have your license plate info on file (because it was not a requirement back then) and the EZTag lane did not read your tag then when the EZtag officer looked at the photo, they would not be able to match up your plate. so you would get a fine in the mail even though you did everything right on your end. Like I said I don't think that's an issue anymore because I think TXTag now requires license plate info.

Taylor Swift is in town and some parking spots around Minute Maid are going for $80. Crazy. I wonder if there will be any more riders on the new light rail tonight or if people will just pay more for parking? I think a combination of both.

Yeah I've noticed that on the new line, it does look risky. But there are intersections just like that on Fannin street on the red line in-between wheeler and museum district stations (fannin and Binz). I'm not sure if cars are legally allowed to turn left on the lane next to the line on fannin, but regardless I see cars turn left all the time.

Which is perfect for Houston. Houston is dynamic and always changing. Routes need to be dynamic as well. Unless we enact zoning and start doing some major city central planning, BRT is the best compromise.

Not these people. You can see the new rail line in operation from that corner.

I agree with that to a certain extent. But I would conclude that not everyone has that general bias but instead only people who don't ride much of either will probably prefer a picture of a train versus a picture of a bus, which is what a lot of those studies are based on. Also the preference/bias depends on location. Perhaps the bus has a shameful stigma in Los Angeles but in Europe there's no shame at all. I would conclude that people who actually have used both would not have the same negative reaction towards the bus. I think people will ultimately favor transit that is speedy, comfortable and reliable regardless of mode. I don't know how to post hyperlinks on here but there's a article from the Atlantic City Lab on The Myth That Everyone Naturally Prefers Trains to Buses. Regardless I am in favor of BRT. BRT is what Houston needs.

I agree about the frequency. But what's interesting is there was a unique opportunity to observe which mode people prefer train or bus. For a short period of a few months the 50 bus temporarily ran down Texas ave. Up until the new bus rollout I could exit the back of JP Morgan Chase and ride it to Annunciation Catholic Church in front of minute maid. Sometimes it wasn't there when I was exiting so I would just walk to church. What's interesting is the number of people who waited for that bus even though they could have taken the new green/purple line out to the east side. they were preferring to wait for the bus versus riding the new rail.

An elitist that rides the bus and train? LOL Do you even know what the word means? I'm not anti-homeless. If I was I wouldn't live in downtown. I get bummed everyday. If it bothered me I would move. What part of town do you live in? Are you really surprised that well off people generally do not want to ride our light rail for more than a few stations if at all? Seriously? are you really surprised? I get that yall want trains because trains are cool and other cool cities have them. I get that you want Houston to be elite like those other cities "world class" even. But I instead care about people and want a system that moves the most amount of people, safely, cleanly, and efficiently. Buses are the best option for a city like Houston. I get angry watching an almost empty green line train that cost millions while I see people wait in the heat or rain waiting on the #50 bus. It's the elite who don't actually use public transportation who live out in the burbs that try to divert precious public dollars onto trains when the people that rely on buses are getting less and less reliable bus service. It's not right. It's not fair. Come live in the city and see what I'm talking about.