skwatra

Something I noticed on the bike lane these last few weeks I've taken it several times:

If you are biking 'west' on Lamar in the direction of car travel, the bike light turns green ~5 seconds before the traffic light for the vehicular traffic, only for cross streets that are one way 'south' (eg Fannin, Milam, Smith). This allows bikes to get up and moving before the cars turning left in to them. For the 'north bound' intersections (Travis, Louisiana) the bike light and vehicle light turn green at the same time since there is no risk from cars turning in to the bike lane.

Just a little smart thing I noticed that is helpful - not sure if it was like that since the lane opened. Of course the bigger risk is when you are traveling faster through a light that is already green, and this feature doesn't help for that scenario.

roads are terrible

if that is a sign of a bad part of town, i guess everything inside the loop is a bad part of town!

I noticed the tower cranes for this construction have the same blue led lighting on the booms as the completed buildings around it. Too funny...

The construction barriers make me think of a race track...

yup. i think of it as a race track every morning. which is not safe, since people can now turn on to the main lanes from Gillette. The posted speed limit is 30 but everyone is still treating like they did before (40-45). Yes i'm guilty too... but its just too fun!

Last Friday (2/12) the new eastbound main lanes were open. Completely done and clean from Taft to downtown, between Montrose and Taft there is still some construction on those new lanes. They are working on the new median and future westbound lanes now.

As far as the 45S connector, haven't seen any signs of construction. But there is a lot of stuff going on at their staging area on Heiner street, so I may have missed signs of activity.

You would be surprised. 

1. It doesn't take much to deter petty crime, especially when it comes to youngsters and novices.

2. If people even feel a little safer and do more walking and create a better street presence, the neighborhood will get safer over time

The new east bound lanes (former frontage) from Taft to downtown are paved and painted. They have also started to put up the traffic light infrastructure at Gillette. Looks like they are working on the new median now. I assume they will be routing traffic on those new lanes soon so they can work on the new west bound lanes.

This morning there was a lot of work on the former (future east bound main lanes) frontage from Montrose to Taft, this section is a little behind relative to east of Taft.

I dropped off an old TV at Westpark last year, the guys helped me get it out of the car. No ID or signature asked for when i went.

Westpark consumer recycling says it accepts TVs in general. Doesn't specify if they'll take CRTs... May be worth a shot.

http://www.houstontx.gov/solidwaste/westpark.html

Some rep on NPR this morning said it would be 191 units, ready for fall semester 2017. Major excavation starting next week.

No mention of a grocery story anchor but the story was focusing on the housing.

I like the style, but the color choices are poor. The plain backsplash and white cabinet doors blend in to the walls too much. The lower cabinet doors appear to be the same color as the flooring. No contrast at all. I'm hoping that the photo was taken with very low exposure and its really not that bleak lighting wise. It really reminds me of a condo I owned that was built in 2008 which I loved, and had much better color choices IMO:

Karbach rep at Specs told me that BBH #4 should be out in a few weeks, and will have a chocolate component. I'm wondering if they are releasing these too often now? Guess they are limiting the batches, selling out quick, and getting good press (in beer circles) so probably a good plan for now...

Thanks guys, very helpful resources. This is much less comprehensive but a reference i use for downtown:

http://downtownhouston.org/development/

Larry good work, I'll be referencing your map!

Has there ever been consideration to have a 'sticky' post that is on the top of each page for topics in the going up thread? It could remain mostly static with the latest  formal rendering and summary of the project?

We have a lot of topics that have 30+ pages of posts and even as a somewhat regular reader I can't keep up with all the projects going on and it can be hard to go find a rendering or even info on commercial/residential/retail components when looking through the thread.

Of course this would require the moderators to maintain the sticky post, and assumes HAIF has that capability in the first place.

Thoughts?

Karbach released their latest Bourbon Barreled Hellfighter (#3). Its available at HEB if you can find it. I also saw it at Kroger on Studemont which has a very good beer department. I haven't tried it yet, sitting in my fridge waiting for the right night. But wanted to put it out there since it is a limited release.

Oh haha thanks. wasn't even thinking about the interview. nevermind my post, was totally lost!

Hashtag: WHO ARE YOU ???????

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Houstonian, UH (grad school) alum, general sports fan. Just posting information related to the Coach Hermann situation and sport radio I thought people may be interested in that are relevant to this thread. Who are you?

I at ate Burger Theory last Friday. Ended up getting takeout (originally planned to get pizza at My Pie but the line was out the door a block long due to their opening $3.14 promotion, oh and it was hailing). Manager was there making sure everyone was taken care of paying close attention to service quality. Menu has other items but we focused on the burgers. Lots of options for toppings, as well as turkey or veggie patty options. The burger was pretty good, I'd put the meat up there with Hubcap or Bernies. Toppings were good but nothing spectacular. Fries could use some more seasoning for my taste, the onion rings were pretty good. They also had a full bar with 12 beers on tap, mostly craft and many local. At around $10 for just a burger it was a bit pricey, but considering its a hotel restaurant downtown, that's expected. That said, it is a Holiday Inn, and it is Houston so not sure how many people it'll attract that aren't staying close by.

There were 4-5 people eating and drinking at the bar, who appeared to be alone so may have been guests of the hotel. Several tables of people as well, place was a little under half full at 7:30 on a Friday in really bad weather.

I was out on the bayou Saturday (walking and picnic) and Sunday (biking). Both days there were a lot of people out- walkers, runners, bikers, skaters (inline and board), people reading, in hammocks, photo shoots - all ages, races, different kinds of people - heard 4 languages that were not english or spanish in a one hour timeframe. This is such a great asset for our city, and definitely being fully utilized. One good way to distinguish the transplants and locals: when you see non-runners in t-shirts next then others like my wife wearing their heaviest winter coat and hat - when it was 50F out.

There were several people each time I went waiting out the traffic and crossing at Allen Pkwy and Taft. A light and pedestrian crossing will be important there - I just hope the city puts some smarts behind it to minimize backups on Allen during rush hour.

Passed by burger theory this afternoon 1ish nice size crowd.. beats last week were it was dead. Think being a adjacent to the hotel will really help this place

Friday (1/8) was the first day they were officially open. Soft opening was 1/7.

Pretty good burger, a little expensive at $10 but good quality. Price isn't that bad actually taking in to account its a hotel restaurant/bar downtown. But it is a Holiday Inn...

Went to My Pie at Skyhouse and the line was out the door and a block long. Was going to be an hour we guessed and with a pregnant wife at home waiting decided against it. At Burger Theory (in Holiday Inn, opened today) now. Yelp reviews are limited obviously but positive. $10 burgers so we'll see.

The place has a bar with 12 beers on tap, mostly craft.

Will report back on the Holiday Inn thread.

If anyone is interested in Coach Hermann on 97.5 The Blitz the next day after the whole Nick and Lopez fiasco here is the podcast (civil interview discussing what happened on 610 and UH in general):

https://audioboom.com/boos/4035257-01-07-2016-the-blitz-hour-2?t=0

background story of what happened on 610 if anyone is interested:

http://www.houstonpress.com/news/uhs-tom-herman-clashes-with-radio-hosts-on-air-8051364

So, I feel like I've heard about a number of new bars and restos coming to Midtown, but clearly Mrs. Joke and I are in a rut

Does your wife know you call her Mrs. Joke??