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Triton

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Posts posted by Triton

    I-45 Rebuild (North Houston Highway Improvement Project)

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    16 hours ago, samagon said:

    I think a lot of people did what they could. saying that they did it the wrong way, or they didn't do enough, I don't think that's a fair statement. sure you saw what happened at the meetings you were at, but how many people contacted officials, or took other steps?

    time is the one constant, but everyone has different amounts of it to dedicate to things. some people literally cannot afford to spend the time being an activist, or even attend meetings. which means the best they can do is contact the people who were elected to represent them.

    it seems like the elected representatives made a stand when it became public and their jobs were threatened the people they represent weren't being heard, so they 'tried' to take it a step back so everyone could have a seat at the table to decide how our city moves forward. some call it kabuki theater, I call it a dog and pony show, but it achieves the same end, they look good to their constituents that real change was made, but the greater interests of the people paying for their campaign funds through donations aren't affected.

    but I'm a cynical person when it comes to politics.

    I can agree with you there. 

    I-45 Rebuild (North Houston Highway Improvement Project)

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    16 hours ago, JClark54 said:

    Despite what Triton says, the neighborhoods were engaged the moment the downtown letter requesting Polk's closure was made public. Quite a few made the flaws known. I know because I was there. Not in the Stop 45 manner, but to save Polk, the only crossing of the West Belt on that side of the Galveston Sub.

    Let me rephrase what I am saying because now I am unsure if we are saying the samething or not. I draw a distinction between activists who wanted considerable change thus got politicians to block this project and the nearby neighborhoods affected by this project.

    Let's start off, the neighborhoods were active from the start. There's no question there and my earlier comment even said I was active from the start (should have made clear I was representing a Northside neighborhood). These neighborhoods became especially active once the first real schematics were made available to the general public. Our area, the Woodlands Heights and Near Northside, were notified that TXDOT planned to demolish the North St bridge and not replace it with a newer one. So much for trying to build connectivity!

    So as soon as we were made aware of this, the neighborhoods tried working with TXDOT in more of a guidance sort of role. We knew these were preliminary designs so we didn't go to the media... It was nothing too pushy but we made it very clear that we were concerned about TXDOT's plan to remove the bridge and we wanted to know how they would mitigate it since Travis Elementary's school zone goes from the Woodland Heights over I-45 to Near Northside. After much discussion, TXDOT and the city said they would expedite a hike and bike trail running along Little White Oak Bayou once the newer bridge for I-45 is in place. Now, this still didn't make many families happy so we pushed more to Super Neighborhood 51 to get them active. We began pushing hard for some sort of elevated bridge that would still allow vehicular traffic, especially for parents who need to get in a car and drop their kids off at school.

    After much back and forth, the best we got was that they were going to try to improve N Main's connectivity (bike lanes and wider sidewalks) to keep some sort of connectivity. TXDOT said that the newer I-45 design prevented the North St bridge from ever being there. So that's where we ended up landing. Not sure I can call it compromise but it was better than nothing.

    Now, in all that time... in all that back and forth... this being a couple of years, there was no yelling about how this disproportionately affected minorities. I barely even heard anyone talk about mass transit in the early schematics... no BRT nor light rail, again except for people on this forum. If grand visionaries were attending any of these TXDOT meetings in the beginning, they must have kept quiet because most of the discussions centered around people concerned for their own blocks. I think if anyone wanted substantial change to this project, they should have been vocal loudly from the very start. I don't mean a street connection missing here or a bike lane missing there.... I mean, substantial change. You know, the reason this project was blocked in the first place. I'm talking groups like the Stop 45 Coalition. But that never happened. Those voices came too late to the show and by then it was clear that the city already liked what they saw because most of their own utopia designs built around what TXDOT planned to do (edit: with a few exceptions like reconnecting Runnels St.!)

    My whole point was, I just hope this is a learning experience for when the next major highway project is incoming. Unfortunately, loudness is now key from the start.

    • Like 4

    I-45 Rebuild (North Houston Highway Improvement Project)

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    On 3/10/2023 at 4:44 PM, JClark54 said:

    I'm not saying stop the project. But to say activists weren't engaged until the end is not based in reality in any measurable way. We can disagree on topics, and I accept that, but the above comment is horrible and beneath a moderator. 

    Beneath a moderator?

    I attended every single TXDOT meeting on this project. I can't even count how many times I ran into Dug Begley from the Chron and if they hosted the same information but at different locations, I still attended them all because nobody was listening to the arguments the Northside neighborhoods were trying to present. I wasn't an activist. I was just a regular person who had my concerns. 

    There was barely anyone talking about the serious flaws (except for perhaps us on HAIF and I believe MaxConcrete?) until, I remember quite vividly, a heated exchange happened between TXDOT officials and activists at the Irvington Blvd meet up at Harris County Department of Education building. Mattress Mac was there and he spoke out against it too. But at this point, we were nearing the final decision. The last schematics had been out there for months. 

    And boy, was I excited when the city presented their own designs. I went over those schematics for hours because I was impressed by the major changes they wanted to incorporate. They showed all these beautiful concepts of rerouting roads and connecting communities. But by then, yet again, we were only so far away from TXDOT making a final decision. 

    I was and still am a part of the Stop 45 Coalition on Facebook in order to hear their thoughts and engage on common ground (though obviously, none of them wanted this project, hence the name). But in all that time I joined them and attended the meetings, there was barely anyone from that team engaging TXDOT from the first designs they released and it didn't start growing, again, until closer to the time that the final decision was about to be made. See a pattern? 

    A few random politicians would show up at these TXDOT meetings like Karla Cisneros but they would talk for two minutes and then be out of there.

    Look, you can hate that I'm saying this and say it's not based in reality, whatever, but either way, this has to be a learning experience for all. 

    They need to be going to the media as soon as the very first schematics are released and presenting alternative plans. 

    • Like 3

    I-45 Rebuild (North Houston Highway Improvement Project)

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    6 hours ago, 004n063 said:

    I mean, it's a 62-page thread, and I joined HAIF in late 2021...LET ME HAVE THIS TRITON

    Haha, sure thing. 

    I guess what I was saying really wasn't aimed at you. It's more about the hilarity of the situation we find ourselves in... Especially when someone notices a preceived change in the design that may just be different wording now. 

    All these politicians are patting each other on the back now that the midterms are over (something some of us could see a mile away) and yet there's no change  except for a now fully delayed project and one that has a much higher price tag. 

    Each article you read about this, you just have to laugh. 

     

    Edit: the upsetting part is the payback now. You know TXDOT could still begin this project this year but you know they're delaying it for retribution and a sign for other cities that want to block their work. 

    I hope the activists learn from this incident. Instead of coming at the very end of this process, they should have been fully active when major changes were still being considered.. Not near the final decision making. They could have actually made a meaningful impact. 

    And we also need to start talking changing the culture within TXDOT itself. It needs to stop being against integrating mass transit into their projects. 

    • Like 3

    Lumen: Apartments At 2400 West Dallas St.

    in Going Up!

    Posted

    On 2/5/2023 at 2:28 PM, hindesky said:


    b2loxnn.jpg

    I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems pretty obvious they envision a second phase where more units would wrap around the rest of this parking garage, thus making this garage central to the entire complex. 

    But I don't know, maybe that will never happen.

    Hardy Toll Road Extension

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    Wow... wow...

    So we're willing to spend billions on highways by taking people's homes, demolishing massive multi-family complexes like Lofts at the Ballpark, and tearing down businesses but as soon as you mention rail, we can't do it guys! There's just no way!

    I'm telling you now, 40 years later, we'll be wishing we had made these investments now. The city is only growing denser by the month because people don't want to have to drive out an hour to their homes. And there comes a time where we can't have 30 lane highways coming into the city.... we will have needed to build commuter rail projects where suburban folk can park at a parking garage and hop on the train into the city. This is already done in other American cities and eventually we will have to do it here too.

    • Like 7
    • Thanks 1

    Hardy Toll Road Extension

    in Traffic and Transportation

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Naviguessor said:

    ^^ It would be a good/slick link between Downtown and IAH.  Using it would avoid the S#hitshow gateways of I-45 & 59.   

    I've said this before and I'll say it again in this thread. 

    The good slick link should be commuter rail from IAH into Post HTX. The rail line already exists and you would have to just build the connecting line west of IAH and then have it go underground approaching the runways and taxiways. It's what Denver does. It's something that we can do too. 

    • Like 4

    Bori South Korean Steakhouse At 501 Lovett Blvd.

    in Montrose

    Posted

     

    11 hours ago, Avossos said:

    They should have demolished this house. Why bother keeping it?

     

    I am in the middle on zoning, but if you want to be a proponent, Lovett St is the perfect example of why zoning is a good thing... just one block south is the protected single family street of Courtland Place. That street is full of significant mansions on beautiful lots near the city center. Lovett was the same... Now its a mixture of few remaining mansions, townhome farms, commercial shops, and parking lots. It could have been 'Embassy Row' and had the mansions converted into businesses that aren't destroying the original beauty.

    Last thought - This could be considered a form of 'gentrification'; the bad kind that slowly destroys the original fabric of the area. This hasn't been a wealthy area in a long time but managed to keep its character. I am still bitter about the townhome farm on the corner of Taft and Lovett that took down the Carrier Mansion.

    I can agree with you there.

    Either way, I'll enjoy this place with my family. Been out in Asia for several months and we are already craving Korean BBQ again. lol

    Bori South Korean Steakhouse At 501 Lovett Blvd.

    in Montrose

    Posted

    It's hilarious how much this forum hates this development but I will say, so many within the Asian community are talking about this place in a positive light. Bori is quite famous in Spring Branch, so to be able to attend a major event in the city and then come here afterwards or beforehand is something that a lot of foodies and people who know the Bori name are excited for.

    • Like 1

    White Oak Music Hall At 2915 N. Main St.

    in Going Up!

    Posted

    17 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     




    Are you guys for certain 313 E Woodland St and 3209 N Main St are part of the overall White Oak Music Hall development?

    Is that portion north of White Oak Music Hall and E Woodland St still associated with the development?

    W2 Development Partners is no longer involved with White Oak Music Hall, Raven Tower, and the other related properties. Last year,  W2 Development Partners sold White Oak Music Hall and Raven Tower, including the properties to AJ Capital Partners. I don't recall any of the local news outlets reporting on the new ownership, but it was reported in passing by other out-of-state publications.

    In addition to the aforementioned properties, W2 Development Partners also sold other properties. One of those properties was the former site of Sideout Vollebar at 2623 Keene St, as discussed in previous posts in the topic and the one for White Oak Apartments. 

    The only properties W2 Development Partners didn't sell are 316 Woodland St and 318 Woodland St.

    North of White Oak Music Hall and E Woodland St - the block bounded by Maniford St and N Main as shown in the Woodland Square plat several posts up - are the following properties being developed by W2 Development Partners:
     

    • 313 E Woodland St (owned by W2 Development Partners)
       
    • 315 E Woodland St (Heights Partners)
       
    • 317 E Woodland St (Heights Partners)
       
    • 3203 N Main St (White Oak W2 Investments)
       
    • 3207 N Main St (Heights Partners)
       
    • 3209 N Main St (Heights Partners)
       
    • 3211 N Main St (W2 N Main Commercial)
       


    Is it possible those properties - which were replatted into the Woodland Square plat - are for an entirely different project not associated with White Oak Music Hall? I'm asking because I saw something related to the buildout of Sideout's new space. I wasn't sure to post it here or in a new topic in the Near Northside forum.

     

    Not sure. I would say just post it here and if it's something else, we can just create a new thread for it.

    • Like 1
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