noodlemonger

Does anybody have an updated info on this? When and where will this Park & Ride open? Thanks.

Yep, saw this.

Now we are on pins and needles until they announce WHERE the park & ride will be built.

Two tidbits from Chron.com may signal some much needed improvements in the Pearland traffic situation . . .

1. Bus service between Pearland and Texas Medical Center.

"A local commuter shuttle service between Pearland and the Texas Medical Center could start this fall" More here.

2. More lanes on 518 near 288.

"The plan is to convert right-turn lanes into additional traffic lanes on a 1 1/2-mile section of FM 518 from the Texas 288 overpass to east of CR 90. That would make for three lanes of traffic in each direction." More here.

Please please PLEASE let this happen!

The city responded to our request for speed limit signs on Southern Trails drive. There are now 30mph speed limit signs posted at the entrance to Southern Trails Drive at 518, and at the entrance to it from County Rd. 48.

Thanks for spearheading this effort. If there were others involved, thanks to them as well. Nice to see that our voices can actually get things done around here.

My wife and I both grew up eating lots of Chinese food (me here in Houston and she in NJ). Up until 2 years ago we would eat at Bellaire Chinatown every week. Now it's too hard to go that often with a baby.

We tried Pei Wei yesterday for lunch. We both had rice dishes with beef. It was pretty good, actually. Better than we expected. We'll be back.

We tried Pearl Dynasty a few weeks ago and were not impressed.

We'll have to try the place by Kroger's next.

For what it's worth I tried the new chinese food place, Imperial China Diner, next to Krogers. To me the food was pretty good and the also offer brown rice. I am no chinese food connoisseur so maybe someone else can give their opinion. It won't hurt to check them out.

Note, that the new signal at Business Center Drive/SC Parkway will suffice. You can turn north onto the portion of Business Center Drive that goes along side of Bucees. Follow that road (don't go all the way until it ends or you will end up behind the strip mall where the delivery trucks service the store) and take a right and go behind Bucees and it will take you right into the Kroger Shopping Center by the Kroger gas station. No problems. They have a lot of in/egress points. I haven't had any problems accessing Kroger or SC Parkway leaving Kroger.

As an aside I am happy that we have options on this side of 288.

Thanks for the tip.

The lack of a traffic signal at the entrance to Kroger is a deal-killer for me. Making left turns from or onto ShadowCreek Parkway is a risky venture.

You have no idea how much you just made my day!

Looks like we're getting a Lowe's.......

http://docs.newquest.com/brochures/kirbcross.pdf

Yes, I hope you're right about those poles.

My question is whether or not we'll have to wait for the whole north side of the road to be completed before any section is opened for traffic.

A pile of metal poles has been delivered to the intersection of Half Moon Bay/Southern Trails Drive and 518. This looks suspiciously like the materials for the stop light we were told would be put in at that intersection.

I hope this is what it is, because those stop signs are dangerous.

We tried out Red Robin last night. The mushroom burger was great. The fries are so-so, but the basket is "bottomless" - as in, free refills. Needless to say, it would easy to gain ten pounds pretty quickly just by eating there once in awhile! All in all, a good experience.

So far, in my opinion: Red Robins > BJ's > Fish City Grill, in terms of food.

I don't think you will be disappointed with Red Robin. It is my regular stop before or after movies when I go to the MarqE center.

Royal Red Robin Burger.Yum.

Were they selling many homes at the previous prices? With the housing market suffering, I'm surprised Ashton Woods would do this. I heard just a while ago that they were offering deep discounts on upgrades on their inventory homes.

Ashton Woods recently raised the start-up contract prices of all their home plans at ST. The increases don't seem to be a set percentage; they seem to vary between 5K-20K per plan.

I'm not sure if the other builders in ST have also raised prices, but it seems likely.

Thanks for the info.

Read this article for an update on the Grand Opening festivities planned for the towncenter. Looks like these events will stretch over several days.

my husband uses vanpool to the galleria(from Pearland).

http://ridepro.ridemetro.org/ridepro/Servi...n=VanpoolFinder

i'm certain there are many that depart from pearland. in fact i think they depart from the Target parking lot if i'm not mistaken.

best wishes

Thanks. I've started looking into this, but it seems those rides are full now. I might start my own if I can get enough people interested.

What I find odd is someone who lives in the burbs just doesn't ask the neighbors, or, a representative from one of the many yard crews stopped at any given Houston-area Valero between 9 and 3 every day of the week.

I have asked neighbors. I'm just trying to find a service who will do the lawn every other week rather than mandate a weekly minimum.

I'm sorry to report that the letter from the HOA about parking along Southern Trails Drive in front of the rec center has had little effect in curbing the problem. The last two weekends there have been many cars parked there, for various picnic and birthday functions. At one point last Saturday I counted 10 cars parked there. Some were even parked on both sides of the street, causing an extra danger for people trying to drive past on the street. I emailed PCMI to report the problem; no reply yet.

Yep, I noticed that too. I think a sign would work better. It could be gently yet directly worded . . . such as "Please park in the parking lot."

We just moved into Southern Trails and I'm quickly discovering that I underestimated the time and energy required to keep up a good lawn. I spent a few hours yesterday watering it and some more time today mowing, and I probably didn't even do a good job. Anyway, I'm thinking about hiring a lawn service to do it every other week, with me filling in on the other weeks.

Can anybody recommend a good lawn service who can provide an every-other-week service, rather than a minimum weekly frequency?

Thanks!

Anybody in this forum have those crazy ants in their house or yard?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, see this article:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5781180.html

Thanks!

We're about to buy a new home in Southern Trails. Our mortgage company is requiring windstorm and hail insurance coverage, beyond the standard homeowner's insurance and optional flood insurance. State Farm is quoting windstorm and hail coverage at $1700/yr with a $7000 deductible.

Anybody else in Pearland have experience with windstorm/hail insurance? Do all mortgage companies require it for Pearland? Is this price reasonable?

Thanks.

Do any of you participate in a vanpool or carpool from Pearland to the Texas Medical Center? We'll be moving down to Southern Trails soon and I work in the medical center. My hours are variable so on some days I can go in super early, but I'd still consider a vanpool or carpool if anybody has anything set up. Thanks.

The delivery was a flat $89 (regardless of how many pieces are delivered). The delivery truck arrived on time (they gave a courtesy call beforehand, too). The furniture seems to be as-promised. So far we are satisfied.

My neighbor bought a couple of pieces from this new store too. He didn't pay for their delivery; he went to their warehouse in Sugarland and picked up the furniture himself. This is a good option for those ambitious folks with access to a vehicle with enough cargo space.

You'd think that Ashley would look to capitalize on all the new people moving in to SCR and ST by luring them in with free delivery. Then again, maybe they feel like they don't need to offer it, assuming that everyone will check out Ashley simply because they're so close.

Yeah, I saw that. I can understand those folks living on the west side of our lake driving over, but I can't fathom why they won't park in the parking lot. Also, I see many families coming to play on the playground are parking along the street. At least Southern Trails Drive is wide!

I've noticed the exact same thing. As if walking the extra few feet from the parking lot would tax them beyond recovery. I wonder if there's a difference in parking habits between those who use the exercise equipment vs those who use the grill. Maybe the developers would consider posting a few signs along the streets to gently remind people to park in the parking lot.

What I'm **really** hoping for is some way to get from Southern Trails to the Pearland TC without having to drive on 518. I've seen a map showing that a future section of Southern Trails will have a road leading out to Kirby. At the very least, there should be a sidewalk between Southern Trails and the TC when the 518 is widened.

Tim,

Thanks for the update. I've been down to Southern Trails a few times in the past few weeks, but I didn't notice the poles and the pipes. It's going to be so much better when the road is finally widened.

Also it seems that the Pearland Town Center is coming along nicely. Who knows if it really will open July.

Have you moved into your place yet? How do you like it?

(We may close on a house there within a months).

Any updates on this? Will there be a Metro bus line between Pearland and the med center? If so, when? If not, what other alternatives are under consideration? Thanks.

As George mentioned upthread, Pearland didn't want to be solely responsible for paying for a facility that residents of surrounding cities would take advantage of. I think they were looking for alternatives. Maybe shared funding?

I think there will be sidewalks on the widened 518. That's just my guess, though.

If you are looking in the Sage Meadows section of ST, there is the stub of a street heading eastward directly towards the Towncenter. I've asked and there is no difinitive answer on what that street will be used for, but since it will run off the current property bondary of ST, it could eventually extend all the way to Kirby. If that happens, there will be a 'back street' access to the Towncenter from this section of ST.

I just talked to one of the Ashton Woods agents down in ST. She thinks that eastward street will hit Kirby, but is not quite sure yet. She hopes to get an answer by Monday. I'll keep everybody updated.

Thanks for the replies.

On another note, we really are impressed by the recreation center at ST. The shaded picnic areas even have cieling fans! We were there about 11am today. Nobody was in the pool area or fitness center. I wonder if it's open yet.