Texasota

Good point. The northern boundary should be White Oak Bayou.

Yeah... 10, 45, bayou, 610. Though I could see an argument for taking it all the way down to W Dallas as the southern border.

Washington Corridor really should have been its own forum. There's enough development, it contains multiple neighborhoods, and it really isn't the Heights. Even the sliver along Heights Boulevard that historically was part of the Heights isn't really anymore.

Narrator: It did not, in fact, look like Chicago.

As someone who lives on an 18' wide lot ... they're *still* single family lots. There's just room for a lot more of them.

Waiting on federal funds isn't really the right way to put it - they've been working with DOT/FRA on the University Line but won't have anything final until the actual design is final. No real doubt about whether they'll get said funding, at least under the current administration.

No, one life saved because of this road diet would make it worth it. We need to stop behaving as though car throughput is more important than human safety.

It's too late to prioritize the light rail extension over the Inner Katy line -it's funded and entering final design. It's happening. That said, I agree that speeding up the light rail extension to Hobby would be worth doing. Maybe just the Purple Line. ...and then give some time to decide to continue the Green Line all the way down Broadway rather than weirdly jerking to the side when it hits Glenbrook Valley.

Given how drastically Wheeler narrows east of Main Street already, I don't see any issue in bringing it down to 2 car lanes back to the spur.

That would be the cornice.

I don't really agree with that, but, for the sake of a productive conversation: As I said, Montrose is really more than one neighborhood, and Montrose Boulevard itself functions as somewhat of a barrier. East of Montrose Boulevard/ North of Westheimer (Avondale): Lankford's Grocery & Market (burgers) La Boheme (bar, one of the best patios in the city) Cuchara (pretty good moderate-highish end Mexican) Still a good variety of gay bars and clubs (JR's, Ripcord, South Beach is apparently coming back, etc) Numbers (club/music venue. no one is ever allowed to take this away) Kamalan (new bakery - Taiwanese?) Fletcher Bike Studio (higher end, but great stuff and great staff. Got some nice wheels for super cheap because they made a slightly weird noise) Vinoteca Poscol (one of the best italian restaurants in the city) Uchi (despite originating in Austin one of the best sushi places in town) Baba Yega (ancient vegetarian restaurant with massive portions) Lola's (you want old Montrose?) Anderson Fair (Folk music, inexplicably continues to exist) Texas Art Supply (yes it's just an art supply store, but its an important part of the neighborhood) East of Montrose Boulevard/ South of Westheimer (Audubon Place & First Montrose Commons): Korny Vibes (Awful name, excellent vegan food) Mercantile (good coffee shop, often has a food truck) Siphon Coffee Avant Garden (bar in a cool old house with a solid patio) Soundwaves (Music and surfboards) Chapultapec Lupita (just a solid old-school tex mex place) W Gray Corridor: Cecil's Pub (even Google calls it "venerable") Pizaro's Pizza (just excellent pizza) Christy's Donuts (kolaches. cheap and delicious) River Oaks Theater (thank god this is surviving. And yes, this counts) Marfreless (also counts. bar) West of Montrose/ North of Westheimer: Blacksmith (Still a very good coffee shop) Catbirds (again, old Montrose) Anvil (genuinely as good as its reputation) Hugo's (excellent high end Mexican) Rosie Cannonball (restaurant, newer but really impressed) Camerata (wine bar with rotating selection of interesting wines) Paulie's (sandwiches) Southland Hardware (worst service in the city. but in a good way) Kau Ba (newer, but interesting and delicious Vietnamese. Not very veg friendly) La Guadalupana (cafe. I love their migas so much) The Guild Shop (old resale shop with weird hours. Can occasionally score some amazing finds) Rudyard's (pub/music venue) The Flat (bar. great DJs and back yard) Hot Bagel (real bagels, though those are starting to be easier to find) West of Montrose/ South of Westheimer: The Menil (one of the best gallery spaces in the world) Poison Girl (bar, great back yard) Pavement (thrifted clothes, used to be Taxi Taxi) Brasil (the food is not very good, but the mix of indoor and outdoor spaces is fantastic) Mala Sichuan Bistro Light Years (natural wine) Tacos Tierra Caliente (truck) West Alabama Ice House El Pueblito (patio) Black Hole Coffee House 93 Til (this has been a number of different bars/restaurants over the years but each one has been decent at worst) Michael's Outpost (gay piano bar. Always a good time)

Nooooo...not cisneros. Please dont Bottle Blonde it.

The death of Montrose continues to be overstated, but You. Can. Not. Judge. A. Neighborhood. By. Driving. Through. It. It has definitely lost some of its character, but it is still one of the best neighborhoods (or, really, group of neighborhoods) in the city.

That's true as drawn, but it would be possible to reconfigure it to allow space for transit lanes. It is weird that Public Works released these drawings *now* while Metro is actively finalizing the design of the University corridor though. Feels a lot like the bad old days when different city/local agencies never talked to each other.

Eh, there have been plenty of bars on Main Street. COVID caused a bit of a lull, but I think the difference between Main and Washington has more been about the types of bars/clubs rather than the quantity. Washington has *never* had much in the way of what I personally would find interesting other than the Julep - Liberty Station - Darkhorse trio. Main St has/had Deans, Notsuoh, Bad News Bar, Pastry War (RIP), Little Dipper, Secret Garden, and a few more places scattered on Congress, Franklin, and Travis. Definitely a noticeable loss since before COVID, but still much better than the early 2000's club scene on Main. Though again, I've never personally been a "club" person. And that's within like a 300' radius of the 300 block of Main as opposed to like 2 miles of Washington.

I don't think the difference between walking and cycling is anywhere near as pronounced, in part because you have nearly as much flexibility on a bike as you do on foot. If you see something interesting on a bike you can easily stop and go investigate, and it's a lot easier to catch something that could be interesting at 18mph than 35+.

*rolls eyes*

...what could be more modern than postmodern...

That would have the added benefit of disincentivizing larger, heavier vehicles which are also significantly more dangerous.

The name is ok. The mural is ...a problem. A problem that needs to be ...dealt with.

Sorry, that was too harsh. I do think you wrote something that reads like it was designed to be completely incomprehensible to anyone not familiar with the specific academic sources you are, and that always drives me crazy. I think the purpose of writing is to maximize understanding, and this does not remotely do that. I've read through your post a few times, and I am genuinely unsure of what point you're trying to make. Is it possible for self-sustaining neighborhoods to exist in a free market? Well, yes. Traditional/historic 19th and early 20th century examples developed in market a lot freer than the ones that exist now, even in houston. The issue with this specific building is whether something that explicitly subverts the "free market" has an effect worth that subversion. I'm no libertarian, but I do believe that government regulations are only defensible if they serve a genuine public need. I recognize that not everyone will agree on what qualifies, but we should at least be able to discuss the actual impacts and intentions of a regulation rather than just falling back on cliches or unsupported statements.

You're right; the existence of the T-Mobile and its entrance facing the inside of the lot means there had to be a significant setback. I just like calling out the cowards at the planning department for not making the 82 a transit corridor at every opportunity I can find.

The excessive setback from Westheimer.

If those cowards at the Planning department had made the 82 a transit corridor this wouldn't be a problem.

I really don't think it's appropriate to force us to witness that much public masturbation, even if it is just mental.