zaphod

You really think they are going to remodel the inside of the existing store/future merchandise side? I've been in Walmarts in Temple and Stafford, TX that keep the drop ceilings and decor of a classic store but then have a modern grocery end tacked on. But maybe this is new format?

Anyways, I'd have no idea if the one in CS was "brown" or not, was that part of making the slightly larger format stand above the small town type locations, with their porch-style front and single entryway vestibule? I've seen ghost signs that say "discount city" at some locations?

From a practical perspective, this would allow a new streamlined border crossing for those walking across to be built away from the existing facility that must handle cars, and then transport people right into the middle of town past the congested urban centers.

This of course is under the assumption the place is overcrowded-I haven't been to Juarez since I was 9 years old...I do remember there being old railroad tracks in the middle of the road when you go into the center where's a big parking lot, I think that's what they must be using in this proposal?

I think what this would do is effectively move the border crossing/screening process away from the current facility by the actual border. You'd be able to expand the crossing for workers and casual tourists just walking across, move 'em through quickly in a new inspection hall just for this purpose.

This of course is under the assumption the place is overcrowded-I haven't been to Juarez since I was 9 years old. Though I do remember riding in the nasty taxis, so compared to that a train would rock.

I imagine Houston's event will be civilized.

San Francisco, Portland, and other west coast cities-that's a whole different story. Much larger groups as in several thousand that created gridlock, bikers intimidating drivers in stopped cars, police having to watch out in case of a riot, etc. Hopefully its not allowed anywhere in Texas.

I ride my bike every once in a while, drive as well, walk. I do it all, so I have sympathies for everyone. I don't know though, nobody is entitled to be above the law and that includes the rules of the road.

Cool. Maybe it will be split level nah, I guess they'll grade it.

Anyways I read somewhere that many new Walmarts will have pharmacies towards the store center, thus that makes sense

I agree. They can do whatever they want with the land. Even put in an ultra-modern Jack In The Box at the top of a 900 foot observation deck build on that land.

except that would be rad

I was thinking about Downtown Vancouver, BC. The west end is a strange mix of towers and little victorian apartment buildings and houses. That's definetely not a cheap or blighted area, I doubt high rises are hurting it.

They should open a theatre that sells beer, I always thought that would bring people in.

I heard that the old sign made a terrible squeaking noise that could be heard for blocks when someone tried to turn it on a couple years ago, was that true?

there's gonna be an IHOP? sweet. So now BCS is going to have two of them. I saw some new-style IHOPs in San Antonio, they borrow the classic A-Frame but with a modern touch.

Even though its really short, new Best Western looks kind of tall from the bypass, as tall as the wells fargo building.

I know, that looks cool. I imagine the views from the tower itself down to the bayou will be stunning as well. I'm ignorant here, but can you canoe/kayak on the bayou? there are gators in though, right?

Don't care for the color though, looks like something in Miami.

so, what, its like Cotton Patch, right?

I lifted this from myBCS forums btw

pdf file of plan

So Walmart appears to be moving ahead on its plans to super-ize the existing small store. I can't tell what becomes of the vacant alberstons in the plans, but it must be either getting torn down or redone because the new food part of the supersized walmart is going on top of the eastern half of it.

I think its awesome the company decided to "recycle" its building and take out a ugly vacant structure in the process(Albertsons).

I'm a student at Blinn College, campus has been shut down.

Lots of traffic in some areas, I could see the smoke and for a while it was bright orange in color, pretty wild

there was a train track on campus! what a cool mystery!

I dunno, did the physical plant ever run on coal or something?

Exactly and they don't necessarily have to be directly on campus anyways.

That could be a solution for the old Albertson's. After all it's right across the street. How cool would that be. You'd punch through the E-W streets that currently end there and sort of integrate with everything else. That and perhaps all along the area take the parking lane from University and replace it with a wider sidewalk with trees.

Since this new area would also servce the function of the old married student housing across college main that barracks stuff could be demolished and that land could be assembled with the other tract as one gigantic plot of empty, buildable land right in the middle of town.

Well back to the original post, the proposal was really just a people mover between campus and parking facilities.

When you think about it the whole idea is ridiculous because you are spending a fortune to only feed the problem, that is too many people driving.

For a fraction of the cost of a tram+garage structures, expand the bus system so that people don't need to park on campus in the first place.

I think a couple of public(not TAMU) bus routes that use bigger buses that carry bikes and go around bi-directional loop routes on the major streets would work great here. A few of the stops the big roads could use little pull-off areas for the buses to stop and there would be covered bus shelters and adequate signage.

I've seen this in Boulder near the CU campus. Though they have the advantage of being part of Denver's transit system and don't have to worry about funding....

eh, you know what's funny though is in Madison, WI and Boulder CO they have both made serious proposals for trains at points in the past but it never made sense. Trying to think of other precedents as well.

Had College Station built denser like those cities with a student neighborhood like west campus in Austin, and if perhaps Bryan had a bigger more business-like downtown, and if everything from the hospitals to the mall had clustered more in a central area, then who knows. I agree this area punches below it's weight in terms of the urban environment, we have no tall buildings, but then again houses here don't cost $482,000 like they do in other college towns.

To be realistic though it would even in that case make more sense to go with some kind of rail-like BRT that they have in Eugene and are building in Fort Collins, where sleek electric/hybrid buses run on a guideway of sorts inside the landscaped median and stop at covered stations.

Of course then also my dad always joked that in the 1970's they could've built a airport-style people mover.Maybe we could go raid Las Colinas and steal their crazy little monorail thing in the middle of the night and bring it here. All we need is a giant helicopter.

I guess because one would expect to see something like a more serious public bus system beyond the TAMU shuttles before you would propose something like that. If there really is a need for capacity you could use those bendy buses or simply run more regular ones.

Oh well, I had a crazy dream once where Bryan had a light rail, and a downtown with smallish high rises like they have in Lubbock.

sorry, fugtastic...

For the last few weeks I have been watching a 5 story(4 floors plus a lobby or tuck under parking?) building rise next to the Traditions building the street that curves away from College Main(2nd Street?)

Does anyone know what it's going to be called or how many units it will have? I've never gotten very close to it because the construction guys always take over the whole the street and felt weird just walking up to the work site.

Well I remember going there as a child, and I think I remember it being a Big Lots towards the mid 90's or so, so I'll go with 1993.

Actually it was MacFrugal's, right?

So all the stuff they have built in TW looks lovely, but tell me why they persist in building each little development as a pod attached to 4-lane divided roads that are a pain to navigate? You have to get in your car, circle around the block, find another parking spot, just to go from one "walkable" development to another.

"Master Planned" my ass. Those "master planners" should have taken a field trip to Bethesda, Maryland or White Plains, NY to learn how a REAL satellite urban center should look and feel on the street.

Cool, I have a recent one of those (2007) plus one I found in my dad's old crap dating to 1986. It's way cool seeing the names of developments in that era, including a lot of sites platted for malls that were never built. Williamsburg and Tang City malls? huh?

I was thinking as an alternative to the Texas T-Bone would be a line up the 6 corridor through College Station and meeting the 35 corridor at Waco. This would make the Houston-DFW trip shorter.

A third component, a line from Houston to Austin/San Antonio, might branch off at Brenham or Magnolia(depends on how west the 6 line sits) and go to San Marcos, then trains going to either city would branch off.

Unexpected...

I think it would have been better in the North Gate area, to make that more like College Station's downtown.

But that would have made too much sense...

I agree, this thing sitting out just by itself you could call it a strip mall with some expensive apartments on top.