samagon

cool, I don't live in Midtown, but forwarded to friends that do, I'll probably be there!

I like this kind of shoot from the hip analysis, but it would be beneficial to have something to compare against. I think it would be interesting to see a 6 year analysis of a bus route of similar distance and number of stops, just as a comparative, as the comparison would likely not be in the same area, and economic conditions, it won't be that scientific, but it would still be interesting to see. Something else that would be interesting, since a lot of people have brought it up in passing, what about a 6 year analysis on a freeway widening project? Personally, I think 6 years just isn't enough time to realize any tangible benefits of changes in current transit options, either by introducing a bus route, replacing a bus route with LTR, or widening a freeway (or even a street). After watching the ridership numbers of the LTR, I think it takes years for people to see the benefit of using this form of transit (especially in a place like Houston where LTR is still a foreign idea), once that is realized, is it not inconceivable that businesses will see that they have an audience that may just look out the windows and see something they like, and decided to hop off and go there? I mean, isn't that why Westheimer has higher rents than some other streets, cause there are more people that travel down westheimer? What about differences that aren't measurable? What about the potential increase of numbers of people that can take advantage of that corridor? What about the actual increase of numbers of people who take that corridor? What about the positive and negative economic impact to surrounding businesses of expanding the freeway, building LTR, reinforcing the street for the increased weight of bus traffic?

Whether walmart, or that article calls it urban won't make it so. it may serve some urban areas of town, if people are willing to drive to it, but urban it won't be.

Trashy? Sorry if I offended you, I imagine the only person that would be offended by that would be the author of the article. I should give you a neg because you gave me a neg, but then where would it end? The article was very obviously biased and misleading, doesn't matter who wrote it. A .) Washington avenue may be closer to middle density than most areas of town, but it is absolutely not the 'urban core' that the article makes it out to be. Heights is not urban in any way, in fact, as the first suburb of Houston, I'd say it is downright suburban despite the close proximity to downtown. if you want to argue that, I suggest going back a few pages and find notes from others regarding the population density of the area vs other areas of town. B .) While I can say I would not join the second group, is it possible that others that read the article were genuinely interested in joining the second group to have positive input? While I may have been somewhat sarcastic in suggesting that I wanted to join the group, it is a very fair statement to say that others may be interested, and that the article doesn't afford the same contact information for the second group as it does for the first, one has very limited means from that article to make contact. If you're trying to say that the RDA is the second group, that is a really hard dot to connect based on the article itself, and I don't doubt I'm the only one who is very confused. edited to change B .) from a smiley back to a B...

such as the obvious bias displayed by the writer? Calling the area the 'urban core' of the city is hardly accurate. in the article they call the walmart development the 'washington heights development' and it is represented above. So right away, by making it seem like that area is the urban core, it makes the reader feel like the area is high density living, walkable, and very urban, and that this development will bring it a step back towards suburbia. Anyone that knows the area knows that it is suburban (especially the area that houses the loudest opponents to the development). They want high density, mixed use, lets knock down some of those houses at heights and 11th and build a nice midrise with ground level retail, in fact, lets do that in multiple places in that area. so long as the facade looks like it is victorian, and it isn't walmart, it'll be alright, amirite? 'between several neighborhoods' heh, downtown is technically 'between several neighborhoods' as well. So's the target that was recently built a few years ago, just down the street. 'it serves as the primary thoroughfare' yale is hardly used as a primary thoroughfare, except maybe by 300 people a day. quiet residents and to the west and light industry, what about the railroad track directly to the south, and the businesses to the east? Finally, the piece references there are 2 camps of people that want to have input (one by asking them to go somewhere else, and the other asking for input). There is a link to the FB page of the stop heights walmart, and a written link to the .org page, as well as an outline of the purpose of the page. Where's the same for the second group? All that's said is that the group consists of 'activists and design professionals' what's the name of the group, how can I contact them? There's plenty of contact notes for the first group, and nothing for the second? what if I want to become an active participant? You'll show me how to fight it directly, but not how to work with it? I'm sure I have better ideas of better fitting in with that area than 'vertical parking'! From that point on, it seems to focus in on the fact that for a specific visionary site plan they didn't spend time accurately representing the surrounding area (like anyone wants to have railroad tracks and old industrial complexes in their renderings). Anyway, I certainly wasn't ignoring the issues brought up by the article, I just had a hard time seeing through the obvious propaganda to see the issues that are presented.

yeah, this really angers me they have done torn up scott, and also a portion of the rails to trails trail that will be overlayed by the rail system.

first, you should probably update your outlook, as it isn't if it will be built, it will be built. also, this may have already been covered, and you may have missed it... but to the south, there is a walmart at belfort and post oak, this services the areas bounded by 610/59 and 288, the journey is approx 15 minutes max from almost any location in that area. the new walmart that will be built at yale near washington will make the trip shorter for some, and a better option. to the southeast, there is a walmart at almeda and 45, for areas bounded by 610/288 and i-10 it can be up to about 20 minutes to get there. for most of the areas that would be more than 15 minutes from this walmart, they will be less than 15 from the one that will be built at the yale location near washington. this location is as central as any, and by putting it in an area that is more upscale than the other current location (and other planned locations) they stand to gain shoppers from higher income levels. that seems pretty obvious. so people from the area that could be serviced by both the locations I mentioned (but don't shop at those current locations due to their current location) could potentially shop at this one. Seems pretty straightforward, and I would say almost obvious.

But if there were LR on Richmond, it would be more reliable than buses, thanks to ROW. And as you mention, people that travel by car would have multiple options if Richmond traffic got worse with LR than it is currently with buses.

try putting up outdoor lights on your property that are motion and light sensitive? not sure if it's an option, but change the carport into a garage (unless you already have a garage and it is filled with stuff that belongs in a yard sale too!). you could possibly build some lockable bins at the back of your carport that are immobile, couple of sheets of plywood, some hinges, and a lock for securing stuff that you find too valuable to leave outdoors for the pickers, but not valuable enough to keep inside.

Hahahaha I'm also trying to figure out what that guy in the suit is doing on the opposite platform, is he yawning or cheering?

yeah it is! their crust is great!

I miss the reference :-(

I'm sure you may already know that 45 around downtown is very congested in both the morning and evening rush. Mornings will be easier to deal with than afternoon, and honestly, if you take I-10 to 59 to 45, rather than I-10 to 45, to me at least, it always feels like I save some time going that way. Country Club is a great area, Idylwood is amazing, but prices are probably equivalent to Heights, or a tad lower. That's about right for crime in the area, my house was broken into while I was home (see thread broadmoor break-in) at the beginning of the year, called 911 and 3 patrol units were at my doorstep in less than a minute of giving my address. Neighbors were shocked that there was a break-in. I was shocked that the response was that quick, I remember my parents house was broken into when I was there and it took them over 15 minutes to respond. heh, I remember hanging up with 911, then I called them back and was like, look, it's been like 5 minutes, someone is seriously already in, or trying to breakin, and I don't want to have to go all barry bonds with this baseball bat (I whispered as I was hunkered down in my closet), and they still took 10 minutes to show, but I stayed on the phone so the operator could listen to me bleed to death if the perp found me. heh, different story though. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that crime rates are about the same as you describe, my experience with the police in the area is exemplary. they get an A+.

I live in Broadmoor and have been here for 2 years. Elliott street specifically, and it is great. Very friendly neighbors, houses are cheaper than Eastwood proper, but Eastwood proper is a bit closer to downtown, so it is to be expected. Leeland/Telephone for getting to and from 45 is a breeze, unless, as Crunch mentions, there's a train, but there's lots of access to 45 no matter what side of the tracks you are on. Broadmoor is great cause there's an entrance to the neighborhood directly from the feeder, and it's about 10 seconds from the feeder to my garage, and then about 30 seconds from my garage down Telephone to the feeder, and you only have to sit at the light at Telephone/45. Lots of great older houses to choose from, regardless of whether you want to fix, or just move in. Great access for cycling on Leeland as it is very underutilized as a street, and you can get to the rails to trails path and get in to town easily by bicycle. At least around me, there's lots of UH students who enjoyed the area as students and are deciding to put down roots in the area. As Crunch also mentions there are a fair number of renters who don't care, as they are in a place for a month or two before moving on, and HPD and other patrols are johnny on the spot. There's a Kroger at Cullen/Polk, but I've only been in it once and decided not to return, there's a Randalls in Midtown that isn't that far, and a HEB at gulfgate that's about the same distance, it has more options, but it's always extremely busy. The Kroger is affectionately known to UH students as The Kombat Kroger, or Battle Kroger. I have a feeling it will be a better place to shop in a few years, and that there will be more options for us within a similar time-frame. Oh yeah, and as Crunch mentions, stray cats/dogs are a large population. One of my neighbors keeps throwing out a statistic that our zip code has the highest population of stray animals in Harris. Strays aren't really nuisances for me though, just keep them out from under your house so the fleas don't get in your house. Edit: I haven't seen Vertigo58 post on here in a long time, but Vertigo has lived in the area for a very long time, and had some really great experiences to share.

I remember in the late 80s and early 90s having to go to the old Boy Scouts Sam Houston Area Council office that was in midtown, the landscape has changed so much down there. What always stood out in my mind were the huge old trees that were in the yards of those old worn out houses. There's still a few of the big old trees still there, but most have been razzed along with the old houses that they shared lots with.

I disagree, if I lived in the galleria area, I would do all of my grocery shopping at Dylan's Candy Store. Not to mention, I could go to Gifts of Texas for my home decorating needs.

I'm not gonna put words in his mouth, but I bet he was saying that very few people hold the two organizations to the same standards. whatever the reasons. I suspect because people drive and like to drive unfettered by the bonds of traffic, so any organization that is willing to make freeways 3 football fields wide in order to accommodate them can't do any wrong, but since they'd never ever ride public transportation...

Your story changes more than my hypercolor shirt did in 1987. Enjoy living next to walmart, I'll enjoy shopping there.

I don't disagree. Outside of this forum when I talk to people about local politics, light rail generally comes up. If they say they are against it, and I ask why. More than half give the reasons I stated. I'm not saying that isn't fine too, it is what it is. I hate broccoli, I don't like it because it's green and has a weird texture. I don't know where I was going with that, but it's not really doing anything for me so I'm going to stop. But generally, I wish people on the whole would be more involved, if they were more involved, we likely wouldn't have the problems we are in right now, with holes in our streets and nothing happening. You know? If people spent time learning about this stuff (I can't say I'm an expert, but I try to learn a bit) they'd understand the benefits of certain systems over others, they'd be more active in the projects, and we'd overall have better projects that more people could stand behind, and we'd likely have a rail system that works good for the majority of people. As it is though, the reality is that METRO is always going to suck, buses are always going to suck, I spend more time sitting behind buses: taking up 2 lanes; executing illegal turns; getting into the far left lane on the freeway then going 55mph (after you pass them they speed up and tailgate you); and doing normal stops (in order of my time wasted on their behalf) than I do waiting for light rail on main. At least with light rail, they have to stay in their own lane (unless a bus that isn't paying attention runs a red and knocks it off the track). edited for semicolons, not enough of those being used in the world.

I was going to say dry cleaners replacing laundromats, but I just realized that is when a neighborhood is being gentrified and is irrelevant to this discussion. But chain brand dry cleaners is another good indication of the neighborhood 'going places'.

I can tell you for a fact that this is the sentiment of a fair number of anit-light rail folks. Maybe not you, but if you did a poll on why people are against rail, the vast majority would check the box: I won't use it, so why should I pay for it. The fact is, that it could be the best system in the world, but if people don't foresee themselves using it, they don't care about cost benefit analysis, they don't care about where the cars will come from, they just don't care. All they look at is: A. does it cost me money B. will it benefit me at all if the answer to A is yes, and the answer to B is no, their eyes will glaze over when you start talking numbers to them. It is sad that people just don't care enough, but it is true.

oh man, thinking about it, I remember many summer evenings playing in that landfill between cook and kirkwood, not to mention having b.b.gun wars across the drainage ditch that eventually filters in to braes bayou. do either of those things these days you'd be going to some juvenile detention or something. Aside from losing an eye in the b.b.gun fights (which I grew back because of the toxic stuff in the landfil) I think it was a positive experience overall.

so the roads that are all tore up right now are just going to sit there as is? great.

is the midichorian count of the ocean floor that high?

being that I was a kid in the 80s, my view's a bit skewed... 8. roller skating rink at bellaire and kirkwood. 7. keemah before the boardwalk. 6. NASA visitor stuff before they disneyfied it. I may have been a little kid, but I certainly enjoyed seeing the real stuff over seeing props and playing on a computer simulation. 5. fame city (bowling, puttputt, rollerskating all in one?) 4. season pass to astroworld, and watching the fireworks display every saturday night, it never got old! (I wonder if it got old for my parents? I remember after the display, all 4 of us, mom, dad, sister and me would run back to the greezed lightning, or over to the cyclone for some no line action after the fireworks) 3. sesquicentenial celebration, jean michel jarre laser show. 2. miller outdoor theater the friday and saturday nights we weren't at astroworld, we were sitting on the hill. 1. moonlight bicycle ramble okay, so that's all I got.