Texasota

I mean, I absolutely would. If anything that number seems low.

It's not hard to comprehend, but it's also not hard to comprehend that whether or not a business is generally open to the public is a meaningful distinction. Yes, this location is physically downtown, but it is entirely irrelevant to the actual Downtown restaurant and bar scene.

Yeah but that's not really "Downtown." It's inside Minute Maid Field explicitly for people attending an event there. It *is* a Shake Shack in Houston, but it's not actually generally accessible to people living and working Downtown.

Our art museums are up there.

Check it: http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Commissions/docs_pdfs/walkable_places/Walkable Places _May 1st 2019 Draft.pdf This looks genuinely impressive.

I mean, it might be cheap looking but I don't agree at all that it's actually cheaply made. In fact, I think this building is likely to still be rock solid when many of its peers start having serious problems.

Man, I am not particularly religious, but this seems borderline blasphemous. That said, this building does look real purty. I would probably not compare it to Jesus, but it seems nice...

That can't possibly be a serious question. No, we're not all in favor of highway expansion. And Metro's prioritization of moving people around within the (enormous) city makes sense - it's not just about how the population is dispersed today; it's about providing for what the population could look like in the future. It's the same basic idea as the obscene Grand Parkway. You build the infrastructure for the city you want, not just the city as it currently exists.

I mean, there's some down off of MLK and Avenue CDC is doing a bunch up in Near Northside, but that said, I *partially* agree that every neighborhood should do its fair share. I say partially because proximity to transit is absolutely worth considering too. I think keeping as close as possible to the Red, Green, and Purple lines, as well as anywhere high frequency transit is planned is a logical priority. So this location makes sense to me, but so would something in or south of the Medical Center. Or close to Hermann Park. Or replacing one of Uptown's may parking lots. Or along Richmond. Or, hey, where the HSR station is planned. But I'm not sure that's a reason to protest this particular project. It's an unfortunate reality that nobody complains more loudly than rich white people afraid of coming in contact with the poors. That's a constant fight, and in the meantime there is a need here that's not being filled. Doesn't mean you don't still fight though.

There's a more fundamental worldview disagreement here. 102IAHexpress seems to believe that public transit's primary purpose is to serve people who can't afford a car. If you start from that perspective, you're never going to end up with a decent transit network. You will instead end up with what most American cities have - a bunch of slow, low-frequency bus lines and *maybe* some sort of specialized service specifically for commuters that doesn't run on the weekends or late enough to get you home from going out.

Eh, we already have an Avondale. Surely they could have thought of something else. That said, the site plan could have been worse.

You say that, but... isn't this section of Elgin included in the Westheimer rebuild?

Yes, there are plenty of off-campus housing options - many of which are easily accessible via light rail. This is a poor use of land, and catering to students commuting by car is bad policy.

Except that UH is actively working to expand on-campus housing. I'm not saying that UH actively needs this land; I'm just saying a freeway is the worst possible use for it.

Or literally anything else. Reclaim that land for UH. Convert it to stormwater detention. Or some sort of residential use. Or just plant a bunch of trees. Some kind of art. Giant climbing wall. Anything at all would be better.

And? That's worth reinforcing the eastern boundary of main campus? This just seems like a huge waste of money for pretty questionable gain.

Wait, then why are you for this project? What possible benefit does it have? How is building out a freeway through campus a good thing?

Empty lot... greenfield that never should have been developed... Potato, potahto

Guys, it's a cap above a sunken ramp. Not a great rendering (and the blur doesn't help). The bike trail tail connecting to the abandoned Pierce Elevated adds to the confusion I suppose.

Suddenly and with no warning, all mentions of the city of Dallas in a thread about pedestrian experiences in Houston cease never to return. ...And there is much rejoicing...

I still think you're over-exaggerating the dog-eat-dog nature of these neighborhood competitions. As the city keeps growing, there are just going to be more great neighborhoods, and increased proximity will allow flow between them. I mean, downtown and midtown as the "current hotspot" is a weird way to put it, considering they're over 150 years old. They've changed radically over that time and gone through long periods of decline, but they're not going anywhere.

Look, everyone loves hating on Dallas, and rightly so, but maybe every discussion of how Houston is changing/improving doesn't have to devolve into a d!ck measuring contest with our evil twin?

Yes, some of us were genuinely confused. And when I asked what you meant, your refused to actually engage with me and just proclaimed your meaning to be obvious. I found that incredibly obnoxious, and since this is a discussion forum, I don't think that's an unreasonable reaction. And no, I still don't really understand what "the location of downtown is going to get inferior real quick" is supposed to mean. Are you saying that improvements on the East End will somehow have a negative impact on Downtown itself? If anything I would expect the opposite to be true, especially as the Allen Parkway and Washington Avenue corridors (and Midtown) continue to develop. Increasingly Downtown will actually the locus of a vibrant central city, rather than just one cluster of office highrises among many.

Perhaps the most helpful possible response. Respectful, thoughtful, considerate of the inherent value of conversation to the exploration of ideas, the furthering of knowledge, and human advancement in general.

Wait what do we mean by Downtown? The existing neighborhood or the concept? What are we moving? The people? But the population downtown is growing! The center of population? That's not downtown! The center of activity? That's only sort of downtown and only pretty recently after the destruction of the 70s and 80s. What are we talking about? What does any of this mean?