musicman

i was going to say thank you marcus welby but thought that might be before your time and then thought dr quinn would be more apropos for you. LOL

concur!

and look at its fate.

tory's a good guy in person. like any issue, there are always good and bad aspects. voice your concerns on his site and he'll definitely have a response for you. because we do lack zoning, houston has been a developer's dream in many ways but for you it might be a nightmare.

thank you dr quinn.

it might be just as easy as adjusting the slope to eliminate your puddling situation. once it stays drier, hopefully the grass will grow back. you might also add something to your gutter downspouts so that the water drains away from the areas that puddle. just make sure that if you do change the slope that you don't create problems that you didn't have.

You better talk to the Mayor. He was just on the news this past weekend and mentioned Alabama specifically as the "future" of urban Houston. he mentioned repeatedly how it keeps traffic moving. i personally hate it because left turns are a challenge during rush hr. as for neighborhood parking, i'm all for parking in the street. on major thoroughfares, that is another story particularly if they weren't designed for that. when the parking from a business on a major thoroughfare starts affecting parking in the neighborhood, i am against that. i have a friend who lives by the glass wall and she describes it as a nightmare at times.

lame is right. i know several cities who've had these since the 90's and are having quite a bit of problems maintenance-wise now. even some of the cotswald project's pavers are already sinking big time. i think long term, cities are going to end up going back to concrete.

Well the area was never designed for on street parking. that is the problem with many areas where some high density developments are going up. the new townhomes and increased population has resulted in a noticeable increase in traffic. unfortunately the city is now trying to "plan" after the fact. adding street parking at the expense of a lane of traffic in a busy area is poor planning. of course if the city bans parking, then the businesses will be upset. if they don't then traffic is a nightmare. in the end, what benefits the most should prevail, and IMO that will be to ban parking.l

they can get it ........or you can but supposedly you have to be doing the work, not a contractor. the city will charge the concrete company more for the permit which in turn will reflect in a higher price from the concrete company for the job overall. the driveway itself can shed the water in the right direction if it is installed properly. any pics of the area?

not sure if it would require a french drain but that is an option. are you able to add/change the slope the area fairly easy by just adding/removing dirt? i hope your ac unit isn't sitting in the water. i would consider raising it if it is.

so what are the positive changes? the news has only been reporting on the negative ones as does this article.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...;scene=10479529

i'm not sure if the lights helped the situation there either. the portion on the eastside of the freeway is still horrible.

concur on the townhomes in the interior. definitely takes away from the neighborhood atmosphere. westheimer won't be closed in our lifetime. one thing that could help the traffic situation is to ban parking on westheimer so that both lanes can be utilized. i know the westheimer/dunlavy interesection can be nightmarish during peak traffic times.

not sure how well the infrastructure would support lining montrose/westheimer with midrises. the traffic situation on westheimer in the area is pushing it as it is and more traffic would start spilling into the nearby hoods which wouldn't be good for quality of life.

his whereabouts were mentioned in another thread.

very good point danax. i guess i never thought about it like that. once a group is "accepted" then what keeps them together is no longer predominant.

IMO it is the driver who is too cautious that causes the majority of the problems. and with no lights, sometimes you end up waiting too long because some drivers want to make sure the circle is clear before proceeding.

In a city known for suburban sprawl, competing developers are testing a different concept: master-planned, high-density projects combining residential, retail, offices and hotels. While these trendy developments, where people can walk from their homes to shops, restaurants and even their workplaces, have taken root in other parts of the country, they've been slow to show up here. That's about to change. In the Houston area, at least nine of these projects are planned or under construction. Most of the sites are in the heart of town. Land is just now being cleared for some of them, while others in the suburbs are further along. The trend is driven by affluent young professionals and empty nesters tired of long commutes. Rising land costs also factor in by requiring developers to build more on smaller spaces. One project will feature Houston's only flagship Whole Foods Market, while another will span 37 acres and include a movie theater and upscale fitness center. Another factor fueling this development shift is the explosion of wealth in the U.S., said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting and investment banking firm in New York. Luxury retail, hotel and residential markets are "on fire," and those sectors are perfect fits for mixed use, he said. But some observers wonder if all these projects, three of which are just a few miles from each other, will end up as they're envisioned or be turned into something less ambitious. They question whether there are enough high-end tenants to go around and if they can turn a profit on projects that can cost a half-billion dollars. article The article has a legend with 9 specific projects but aren't found online. 1)Oaks District (westheimer @ westcreek) 350k retail, 300 luxury apartments, 200k of office, 2 hotels; completion spring 2010 2) city centre (i-10 @ beltway 8) 400k retail, 140k fitness center, 500k offices, 665 residential units, 217 room hotel;early 2009 3)regent square (allen pkwy @ dunlavy), 1740 rental and condo units,hotel,60k office space, 330, retail, early 2010 4)high street (former centralford dealership on westheimer) 100k retail, 200-400 residential units, 2009 5) blvd place (post oak@san felipe), 175k office, 525k retail with whole foods, ~900 hi rise residential, 250 room hotel 2009 6) west avenue(kirby @ westheimer) phase 1 has 180k retail, 380 apartments, late 2008 or 2009 7)sonoma(rice village) 100k retail, 50k office, 230 condos, spring 2009 8) la centerra at cinco ranch (cinco ranch @ grand parkway) phase 1 has 170k retail 90k office phase 2 has 160k retail, 230 residential units march 2007 phase 1 and fall 2008 phase 2 9) pearland town center(288@518) 710 retail with 90 speciality retailers, offices, apartments and courtyard by marriott. fall 2008

quite a few of the "cool" residents of montrose i know/knew left in the last 2 or 3 yrs. I can think of several who lived on Avondale, who said the neighborhood isn't the same anymore. too many children at restaurants, etc. They told me that they felt that it is less of a community than it was in the 90's because of the new residents. i know the restaurant patrons sure have changed in the places i frequent.

concur. it is scary to give the city or the apartment complexes the task of doing background checks. as the average citizen, i just don't think they can perform the job adequately.

the developer said your name specifically to the civic club president, who was quite surprised.

don't forget that satellite dish, latest hdtv and latest cell phone.

before you know it we'll be seeing you on wayne dolcefino's latest expose'.