musicman

ANYONE is better than Brown. I remember in the 90's and even 80's, the traffic lights downtown were synch'd and were like that...until Lee Brown's administration. All they did was set the timing so that the lights changed at the same time. Much of that OLD hardware was doing the job. Currently the lights are on 20 sec cycles (east/west) and 30sec(north/south) or are supposed to be. There was an article in a recent Chronicle where citizens were complaining that the sync'd signals are no longer in synch. City Council asked all of us to call 311. I felt really bad for mr. white when he started pushing the safe clear program. People were asking him repeatedly if the drivers had background checks to which he responded yes. Maybe he was misinformed. However to say yes repeatedly and then the fiasco that resulted (drivers on probation, assault convictions, etc) made him look Brown-esque. I personally just wish we'd stick with the basics instead of creating new programs. Let's fix the potholes!

Eventually it will go from gulf freeway (south of nasa road one near the fry's), head east towards nasa. go over old galveston and then merge with nasa rd 1 between old galveston and el camino (near the mamacita's restaurant). massive construction is underway. BUT money has NOT been allotted to create entry/exit ramps to the gulf freeway. therefore southbound 45 traffic will have to go to 518 and u turn. This is phase 2. That's TXDOT for ya.

You are correct. It is a great place to visit. I go at least 3x/yr. However living in the Quarter (or nearby can be difficult). Many long term residents that I know are moving from the quarter. The comment about walking on the side of the street where the cars aren't parked is true. I went on a garden district tour 4-5 yrs ago and i remember the guide told the ladies "please clutch your purses as you walk through the intersection." I asked why? and she said that the kids come by on their bikes and while the ladies are crossing the intersection, they grab their purses. The architecture is wonderful as i have befriended numerous residents who now invite me to stay with them while i'm there. Some of them consider me a native there. I know to say buGUNdy not BURgandy, etc The people are nice there just like Houston. Yes the town is economically blighted for most, however the Quarter area is a wonderful place to visit for adults. Kind of like Houston, there are MANY hidden gems. If you say off the beaten path, you will like it. As for that spare liver, head to Warren's Inn downtown on Travis, I'm sure there are a few there to spare.

We put a businessman in charge and look what we have. He quite frankly hasn't been too successful in implementing his "fixes" Traffic is still horrible, bond ratings going down..... My most recent favorite was that he was installing basketball courts in the park near Toyota center to attract children. The only people that are there now are homeless people and he church food carts that feed them meals. How many children LIVE in the vicinity of Toyota Center???? RIDICULOUS

It is extremely boring in clear lake. Traffic is horrible as i commute from Houston daily. Even their Cafe Express has a reduced menu. I will say point blank there are only two restraurants that are good. The rest are basic chains. Try heading down to Kemah on the weekend....you'll NEVER return cause traffic is absolutely horrible. And all you're doing is going to a Joe's crab shack!

Lindale's location is what is holding retail back. To the south and east you have a warzone. The north is transitional. To the west you have the transitional cavalcade area (Whitney Houston crack central). To the east there is PLENTY of empty space, however the empty warehouses, trains, unkept lots, old plants (sandblasting, creosote,etc) just are not condusive to retail development. It's kind of reminscent of Eastwood. They have NO retail there and are begging for it. They had a new HEB pantry, however that closed. Developers are looking further north, yes further north to the Navigation area.

In many ways it has been a benefit and in many it hasn't. When you have businesses encroaching in a neighborhood, zoning would have prevented this. I know that at least our old deed restrictions prohibit this. There are too many fly-by-night businesses in neighborhoods that quite frankly do lower quality of life standards. But the last time Houston tried to enact zoning, the developers went ballistic. We average citizens don't have much say cause money talks.

This also brings to mind Kiddie Wonderland.

Must be a realtor...........trying ot make a sale.

I thought the Katy Freeway construction would convince you....... I know I stay clear.

You COULD look further however when you'll see it, you'll say that the craftsmanship is poor. The plugs were cockeyed, the front columns looked as if they were hurriedly crafted, even the wood floors looked mediocre. Nearby some of the neighborhood has big yards but this one was small but they did put in a new driveway. No this isn't Eastwood but is VERY close. I will add that several of the houses were just as stately as Eastwood. They would just need some TLC. I agree with your comment about paying homage to the original style. TOO many homes have been butchered on the east side. Make shift addons with flat roofs, replacing a classic front door with something tacky, etc. I know my back porch is a bad addon, however i like sitting there when the rain is coming down. My house was originally shiplapped with wallpaper over it. When they put up sheetrock, a lot of the original moulding was removed. But luckily Montalbano lumber had the match to the original. The children of the original owner can't believe it's the same house. My bathroom was HORRIBLE. I did keep the original tub and toilet but i found a matching pedestal sink which works well. It's simple but i'm happy. I put a tiled floor with a cultured marble tub surround. I decided to use the marble cause I've noticed too many of these old houses where the bathrooms are ruined cause of water damage around the tub. Since the pier and beam houses shift so much...tile is always compromised. When i saw the nob and tube mess in my attic, i decided to redo ALL the electrical for safety's sake. As a result i also decided to splurge on fixtures. I actually did use Rejuvenation in my dining room cause i found that i liked the 1930's design. My bathroom one is really modern but people think it goes well with the rest of the room. The smartest thing i did was hire out the floors. I've received many compliments on the job. The original owner had some great classic plants, gardenia, amaryllis, roses, etc. I just need to get that all together. I had several landscape people come over but all they bring is decorative grasses, bushes and hacked crepe myrtles which i can't stand. I prefer the classic plants. I will say that i don't have it all together yet, but it is at least liveable now. Just wish i had MORE wall space so i can hang all my favorite artwork and collections.

i went to school with several of the grandchildren and YES this was an amazing house. i believe their son still lives on dover. Check out DeLeon, Dover, Santa Elena, Glencrest, etc. Section 1 of Glenbrook has some amazing structures. Really innovative for the 50's. When the apartments on Broadway got bad, many of the old residents moved to clear lake. I have a good friend whose parents live on Glencrest. Their house was designed by an engineer at nasa. The cabinets are suspended on metal rods from the vaulted ceiling. Another nice amenity, they have a nice pool in back. They have two hall accessible bathrooms that faced the back. You could enter the bathrooms from the hall and outside as he put doors on the outside walls. Another nice feature were the terrazo tile floors in the public areas. There was a shopping center at the corner of Bellfort and Broadway where the FIRST Soundwaves opened believe it or not.

Our illustrious Mayor has pushed a program where home builders can pay their own inspectors to inspect a house instead of using city inspectors. Developers are saying that the city is too slow to inspect, therefore this program was implemented. What do you think this is going to do for quality?? I know many people are having problems with the fake stucco people are using. Seems the material does not allow a house to breathe so humidity control inside is important. One you see a crack in the material....the cracked MUST be fixed otherwise water will leak behind the wall and cause mold. This material is being used everywhere now cause it is so cheap. One horror story. I know a rich couple in midtown who bought two townhomes cause they didn't know what corner they wanted to be on. Once they decided, they gutted one of the homes to make it like they wanted. They put the other one back on the market. It was NEVER lived in and passed inspection. They had it inspected for sale and the inspector stated that the roof supports were undersized. They had to spend over 3000 to fix the problems. I believe they ended up suing the builder who settled out of court.

An update on this. I met with several METRO board members regarding the east side line. It seems the developers are now pushing for the line to be on Navigation instead of Harrisburg. They want to develop the area north of Navigation for homes...get this, with boat slips. We'll see what happens in the future with this.

I only said average sale price went down 10% per HCAD sales data not that they are selling them for 10% less than they are worth. The Chronicle does their yearly summary which should be out soon. On another note, I was biking nearer to downtown and UrbanLiving had a "new" looking house on Bryan street, right off of Sherman. It really was surprising see this structure in the middle of all the old houses. I looked inside and saw new sheetrock, etc. However, the light fixtures were HORRIBLE. Right out of home depot. After researching on HAR, it said the house was restored. The ones i were with also thought it was a bad restoration. And the price......177k.

hey next saturday they are having the Tour de Houston. It is a 20 or 40 mile (depending on route) trek through houston. begins at 7:30 for 20 mile and 7:45 for 40 mile. It begins and ends in front of city hall. registration is $25 priot to and $35 the day of the event. the flyer i got said to look at www.houstonspecialevents.org Remember now on Saturdays they charge money to park so the slower you ride, the more money the city makes!! They'll stick it to you one way or another!