samagon

there's nothing politically motivated in any of the things you suggest that would be reasons for putting a bike lane on one street vs another. you've been watching either CNN, or Fox News way too much. just unplug for a minute and stop presuming that everything is politically motivated.

parking minimums are a lot more complex than just living somewhere within walking distance of a restaurant, bar, retail, or coffee shop. many people who frequent those places (most specifically the restaurants, bars, and retail) are coming in from a place that makes the destination not walkable. now, when they arrive, maybe walking from a restaurant to a bar (or vice versa), or walking from shop to shop, in which case a nice parking garage should be considered, rather than forcing the tourists to park on neighborhood streets, or offer better public transit.

even still, the probability of anyone in the Heights choosing to walk to any specific destination (depending on time of year and time of day) is probably restricted to .5 miles. maybe more on a nice March morning like today, but probably a lot less on an August afternoon.

anyway, you're assuming that the bicycle rider is only interested in destinations on 11th street. and even if the destination is something on 11th, most people who use a bicycle as their preferred transportation are very used to, if there is even infrastructure for bicycles, we are used to having to do the last portion of whatever journey without even having a bicycle lane.

a completely different subject, but regarding the parking, whatever TIRZ collects taxes from businesses in the area should consider building a parking garage near 19th street, 11th street, and then also on White Oak, or maybe some big parking garage somewhere with a circulator bus that hits stops at major retail/restaurant hubs. not sure they can do a circulator though, I know a TIRZ can build parking structures though.

17 minutes ago, steve1363 said:

  Is this really for Spring and the Woodlands commuters?

it absolutely feels like this is a commuter tool to bypass i45 traffic. 

17 minutes ago, steve1363 said:

 I think all of north Houston benefits and especially downtown.

unless you're talking about reducing congestion on other highways, if the access to the tollway is inconvenient, or non-existent then it doesn't benefit.

while it does benefit business offices downtown by offering a quick way in, it also hinders the growth of anything other than business offices in downtown by offering a quick way out, which doesn't really help downtown.

considering the volume of office jobs that are remote and going remote, doing things to make commuting easier isn't really a long term win. 

18 hours ago, Triton said:

I don't agree with that at all. I know some opposed to it who are ideologically liberal (example provided below). I think there were some just practically concerned people when it came to congestion. I know the majority in the biking community support the 11th St bike lanes but some would have rather seen it go to a less congested road running in parallel to 11th such as 14th St. Although it would have angered some residents to loose their on street parking (see how the bike lanes end at Pecore on 11th... because of on-street parking backlash)... however, it would have been far less controversial on 14th and still would have provided an east-west connection through the Heights, along with the MKT trail.

Prime example... the N Main bike lanes around White Oak Music Hall. Most of the people in the area are not conservative (not a telltale sign but most people here had Beto/Biden signs the past few elections), yet they voiced numerous opposition to the city and Bike Houston during their community outreach because they were genuinely concerned that shrinking N Main down to 2 lanes would exacerbate the already insane traffic when WOMH is hosting live events, plus now the events at Htown Brewing and Woodland Social. Hence now, the N Main bike lanes are up for review again under Whitmire.

Last point.... and, as a bicyclist, this is the part that really makes me upset with the city. On Sunday, I biked the route pictured below. The east side bike lanes (think Polk St) were a complete mess.... either full of water from Friday's rains.... or covered in dirt... or rocks... or trash. There was even a part of Waugh Dr in Montrose that I was biking back on and it looked like a lake in the bike lane! I had to hop into the vehicle lanes until the water cleared. If the city is going to invest in bike lanes, then it also needs to take on the responsibility of cleaning them up. 

I fully agree with your assessment to the motivation of opposition, I'd suggest that there are probably some that fit the mold of having politics as the motivating factor, but they are the marginal fringe and can be ignored. which is hard because they are usually loud. the bottom line, they can be ignored.

the streets chosen for bike lanes seems silly in a lot of instances. 11th vs 14th for instance. going from Hermann to downtown, they should have used Caroline to minimize the sharrows they had to implement on Austin, and all the turning.

as far as all of the stuff the mayor seems to be able to do, how do I keep reading articles about budget shortfalls for meeting his other campaign promises in Houston, and then he is affording to do this stuff? 

I have to keep telling myself that the alternative was far worse, but this isn't turning out to be much better. let's hope we get a contender in the next cycle that is going to be a better candidate. 

17 hours ago, mollusk said:

Even in a car, getting in and out of most businesses on 11th is now easier and safer, since traffic no longer busts the 30 mph speed limit by 10 - 20 mph.  Beyond that, it's not at all unusual to drive down the length of one of the side streets without encountering another car.  Taking the logic of some to its conclusion, we therefore don't need those streets.

that's a bit silly, because of the way the city is designed, people need to access their homes with cars. 

I'd submit that thoughtfully using one way streets (for cars) in areas that are predominantly residential, along with adding features that make drivers feel like 20mph is a safe speed would go a long way towards slowing people down on streets that are primarily residential, and thereby increasing safety, it would also discourage through traffic.

21 hours ago, steve1363 said:

The fundamental pain point is the opposition’s voice was ignored and hence why we’re still discussing this 6 months later.

the opposition didn't have a valid argument. all of the doom and gloom that was presented as reasoning for why 11th shouldn't be redone in this manner has not come to pass. businesses have not shut down, kids are not being mowed down on primarily residential streets, emergency vehicles have not been forced to take other routes because they can't fit on the street.

were there other reasons that the opposition presented for why this shouldn't have been done?

and more to the point, now that it has been done, should it be undone because the opposition feels as if they weren't heard, or that their suggestions weren't taken into account?

should there be a lesson learned by people who do these to better prepare and work with everyone in the community to ensure everyone has a chance to provide fact driven feedback, or that good ideas for compromise should be considered?

at the end of the day, traffic studies showed that the number of lanes far exceeded the needs of vehicular traffic, the road was redesigned to meet demand. so many people cheer when a road is widened to accommodate growing vehicular needs (while ignoring the safety of others), why are so many upset when the same thing happens in reverse?

25 minutes ago, s3mh said:

I am calling these people out because they are not coming at this in good faith ....  

you're calling them names while calling them out, you want to talk good faith? there's nothing good faith about that, and you can start there.

and besides, you can say they aren't coming to the conversation in good faith, and that your concern for everyone's safety gives you the moral high ground, because that's kind of worthless, they say you aren't coming to the conversation in good faith, and that the freedom of everyone to move freely is the moral high ground.

so yeah, explaining why you're calling them names, and not accepting their behavior and opinion, even if you don't agree with it, that's not really getting you there. but you do you, I don't need an explanation for your actions. and don't expect me to cheer you on.

@s3mh a lot of people have a lot of wild opinions on where life is headed, and what we are doing.

as a liberal myself (and don't mistake me, I'm not a democrat calling myself part of the liberal party), like, a true liberal (you can look up the word if you need to), I am very willing to accept and respect the opinion and behavior of people with whom I personally disagree with. I don't like the idea of calling people names (conspiracy theorists, right wing nut jobs, whatever), but hey, I still respect your opinion and beliefs about those people, and I accept you calling them names, even if I don't think it's the best way to be.

can we get back to focusing on what's important, which is that the point of these things is improved safety.

18 hours ago, steve1363 said:

I guess you guys tell yourself that to make yourselves feel self-righteous about your position.  Guess what…the opposition also argues that the safety of their children is their number one concern.  Why can’t you acknowledge that creating congestion on a neighborhood’s main thoroughfare will increase traffic on interior neighborhood streets?   Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they are selfish and take pleasure in pedestrian deaths.  That’s simplistic thinking.  Try looking at both sides.

no one is creating congestion.

traffic studies were done. the results of those studies determined that the amount of lanes for vehicles was more than necessary for the volume of vehicles. so they used the surplus ROW to safely accommodate other forms of transportation.

if drivers feel entitled to then get off that road and take to side streets then you don't throw away the safety improvements on the initial street, you make other streets safer too.

the problem isn't making streets safer, the problem is people who feel they are entitled to drive unsafely, not just on streets like 11th, but then going out of their way to do the same on streets that are completely residential.

maybe this mayor should follow through on his campaign promise to put more officers on the streets, or supplement the traffic cops with state troopers, and then the bulk of those officers could go stop the people from speeding on the residential streets.

15 hours ago, Ross said:

No, no, no, no. You have one leg for the gas pedal and one for the brake pedal in a car, where God intended people to travel. 🤣🤣🤣

as I used to say in my briefing at the gokart track:

gas on the right, brake on the left, no bumping.

39 minutes ago, wilcal said:

I think that there was a thread here about Fairview/Tuam @ Genesee and people are still just blowing through the intersection.

decades of driving that Fairview/Tuam curve with no stop sign, and then there's a stop sign. when I first encountered the stop sign, it was obscured by overgrown oleander. there were no cones, traffic barrels, or other things noting that the traffic pattern had changed. it was just 'surprise stop sign!'. and I was indeed surprised. they didn't even have the flags on the stop sign to help gain attention (not that I'd have seen them through the oleander).

I blew through it once, immediately after it was put in, and saw the stop sign when I was too far into the intersection to stop. they seem to have cut back the oleander and I can see it far enough away, but I doubt I'll ever forget that they changed the configuration to have a stop there.

39 minutes ago, wilcal said:

 

 

This is kind of the crux of the issue in terms of fire especially. We have to design streets so that they fit XXXXL vehicles like fire trucks and METRO buses, but that appears to result in big tradeoffs. Roads that people feel more comfortable speeding on, the reduction in the size of sidewalks (because lane widths need to be wider. yes this happens), and corners with radii that make it easier for large vehicles to turn... but smaller vehicles can turn faster in.

if we're redesigning that intersection, just kill that little stub, and make a left turn from Memorial onto Lubbock to accommodate that traffic.

or if they want to maintain that section of street for METRO and fire/EMS, but close it to regular traffic and put the left turn from Memorial to Lubbock.

long term it shouldn't matter because with the I45 rebuild there's some serious rebuilding of roads on that side anyway.

On 3/20/2024 at 9:09 AM, steve1363 said:

Whitmire must feel that Vision Zero has gone overboard with road diets and bike lanes.  It doesn’t help that the bike lanes are seldom used.  It’s not improving the quality of life for the majority of residents and he’s hearing the complaints of his constituents.

there are a few points to consider.

1. many of the bikes lanes do not connect together, which makes them roads to nowhere. I can safely cycle down Lawndale from Telephone road to Forest Hill drive, but without any real connections from there, I have to then navigate shared spaces with cars, and that's not healthy for my ability to live a long healthy life. and sure, I can drop into the bayou path on Brays, but that hardly gets me anywhere I want to go, unless I want to go to a park.

2. the amount of money spent on bike infrastructure compared to vehicle infrastructure is pretty similar to use of vehicles compared to bikes.

3. the negative impact for vehicles on roads like 11th, or Lawndale with safe alternatives to vehicles provided is seconds in their overall commute.

4. you aren't using the term road diet because you came up with it, you are using the term because someone else used it, and you haven't been told differently. it isn't a road diet. traffic engineers did studies to see the volume of cars using the road and determined that the amount of ROW being dedicated to vehicles was higher than necessary, so they aren't reducing lanes in an effort to reduce the vehicular travel on those streets (what you would commonly associate with the term diet), they sized the vehicle lanes appropriately for the current volume of cars. in turn, they used the surplus ROW to accommodate safely allowing for other forms of travel. so no, road diet isn't an appropriate term at all. right sizing the vehicular lanes for the volume of cars, and providing safety improvements for other road users is very much more appropriate, or if you just want to write something shorter, maybe just say safety improvements.

what people who are against these changes are effectively saying is that the safety of others isn't worth the 15 seconds they have to sacrifice to accommodate them, and that the 1627 crashes with pedestrians and 209 deaths in those collisions is acceptable trade for your convenience. is that who you want to be?

they should at least keep the name, vision zero could mean, zero options, unless it's a car?

right, the terrorists are going to target Houston Ave because taking out that street is going to cripple our entire infrastructure. 

honestly, they should just close Houston Ave. entirely it seems a bit like wearing the band shirt to the concert to name a street after the town you live in.

On 3/10/2024 at 10:46 AM, editor said:

Thinking about it further, I think the only reason I discovered C&D is because I was traveling more slowly on 11th Street, instead of blowing past it without noticing, as I had the previous few years.

That said, the 11th Street bike lane project isn't perfect.  Someone should have come up with a way for people to make left turns at the Heights Boulevard intersection.  I think that's one of the biggest factors sending unwanted traffic roaming through the neighborhood.

I don't understand needing to go through neighborhood streets though. I can easily go up to the next intersection, do a u-turn, and then go right on 11th

there should be a solution for a left turn though.

I have to wonder if there might be enough room for a roundabout? well, I'm sure with this mayor that won't happen, but maybe for the next mayor they can at least go measure the dimensions to see if it would fit TXDoT recommended specs.

On 3/14/2024 at 9:38 PM, freundb said:

So now we need to water our streets too!?

when water isn't present in the ground, it has less volume, and settles. so if there's a roadway on top of that settled ground, it too will settle. this doesn't happen uniformly.

this is very important around your house, so while it sounds silly, you may need to water your foundation.

On 3/11/2024 at 11:32 AM, trymahjong said:

That brand new  asphalt used on Waugh and. commonwealth looks like crapolla after 2 years- guess this will be more of the same.

no matter what they would have done, this would be the thing. the drought last year kicked a lot of streets in the butt.

last spring they scraped and redid the asphalt on MLK going into UH campus, drive it today and you'd have no idea it's been less than a year.

On 3/9/2024 at 2:37 AM, editor said:

I took the democratic way out, and voted for someone else.

so passive aggressive!

if the end result is the bus drivers not straddling lanes, I can't wait for this to be completed.

On 3/4/2024 at 11:35 PM, august948 said:

Well, that's one.  I think currently all three spaces between Domoshi and The Nook are empty.  Was surprised when I saw that this semester.

Notice the aerial pic above still shows Chinese Star on the now empty lot next door.  I miss that place.

Bullritos was having major issues for a while, a new owner came in and was hardly ever open, that lasted a semester.

every semester Pinks seemed to have fewer people. 

I was shocked about Jimmy Johns, there always seemed to be deliveries happening, or customer.

I'm glad to see someone is coming in.

and this too.

Dollar General Bill White though.

I mean, I will say that every time I drove on this stretch, 1/4 of the cars didn't pay attention to the lane directions anyway.

a gas line broken, and a water line broken, it's as if some omnipotent being is telling us that the pedestrian improvements should have been kept.

all we need now is for the company doing the work to go bankrupt in the middle of the project for my bingo card to be filled.

how long do the neighbors keep their signs in their yards?

On 1/29/2024 at 6:22 PM, Stew said:

So now we know.

https://x.com/TheDailyCougar/status/1752108421497712905?s=20

https://thedailycougar.com/2024/01/29/new-dining-facility-delayed-name-changed/

yep, anything that opens this spring will be 'soft' and come with no fanfare. 

hopefully they can keep doing this good work and remove any medians from Westheimer as well, all the way from 610 to Highway 6.

that's sarcastic by the way.

On 1/31/2024 at 2:57 PM, Amlaham said:

Westheimer watching all these streets get rebuilt while being one of the worst major streets in Houston. 

alternatively, that's the guy stuck behind the metro bus that is straddling both lanes and only going 15 MPH.