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Texasota

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Everything posted by Texasota

  1. Texasota
    yeah, it might be time to figure out some other permeable pavement and abandon this (probably pretty expensive to maintain) lawn.
  2. Texasota
    I'm sorry, but a golf course is not a park. I am otherwise very sympathetic to this argument though. How much of the gardens really need to be restricted access?
  3. Texasota
    my (limited) understanding is that financing for buildings that are not entirely or at least predominantly one use (residential in this case) can be very difficult to get. They do have to set aside some space in the ground floor/garage for a lobby and office, so I wonder how much of an impact an extra 2000sf for a small cafe or bodega would make.
  4. Texasota
    I know the location is an excuse, but... BOO PAD SITES, BOO!!!!
  5. Texasota
    That's really great; they're anchoring all four corners with retail. Hopefully they get some diverse tenants.
  6. Texasota
    This is being funded by the Downtown District, NOT the city. Now, obviously that money is coming from somewhere, but it's likely coming from residents and businesses downtown, not anyone in Montrose or the Heights.
  7. Texasota
    Ok I understand your point about River Oaks Shopping Center, but I fundamentally disagree with it. I will happily criticize proposed projects for not being good enough, and the idea that they can be improved later, or, worse, torn down and replaced with something better, is an argument for why one bad project is not, in the long term, the end of the world. It is not, however, an excuse or an opportunity. It is an opportunity lost. And, the thing is, you know what encourages higher quality developments? High quality developments. They spread out until they hit something that acts like a wall, like a CVS in the middle of a parking lot. Just look at how development in Midtown has happened. Now, this is not as bad as a pad site, but it's still a missed opportunity to build on the positive developments nearby and continue growing them out and connecting them to each other. Maybe it will be good enough, but it could have been so much better.
  8. Texasota
    This is nowhere near River Oaks Shopping Center. What it IS near is the most walkable part of Midtown and (somewhat) the intersection of Taft and Fairview. This area should be (and in some ways already is) one of the most walkable neighborhoods in the city. Making this development pedestrian-oriented fits a need that's there now and builds on recent and simultaneous developments nearby. "We can fix it later" is the kind of thinking that leads to accepting low quality developments (like the small strip center that's going in next to Barnaby's.) Think about this location. Really, seriously think about it. This is a major intersection for pedestrians and cyclists that is only going to become more so with the light at Allen Parkway. Now, this is just a crappy rendering. It's totally probable that the sidewalks and landscaping shown is not meant to be representative. But that, in its own way, is a bad sign, because it suggests what the developer's priorities are.
  9. Texasota
    Yeah, because what makes Houston not a "real city" is a lack of setbacks? Come on. Sidewalk width should reflect potential pedestrian flow, so maybe it makes sense to setback a bit from Gray, but not all four sides. And density in this area already warrants pedestrian friendly design. Why not just do it right in the first place? Holding on to space just in case its needed in the future is wasteful and absurd. Make the space work now or it never will.
  10. Texasota
    Just a permanent farmer's/flea market would be fantastic
  11. Texasota
    A real market would be absolutely fantastic here. Something like Reading in Philadelphia, Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, or something like SA's mercado. Possible a bit smaller scale I suppose.
  12. Texasota
    The red line at least already does that. Again, I think it's a question of how much to scale it out. Stopping service at 3am for every single line might work, but in reality some lines would probably end up serving almost no one after a particular time.
  13. Texasota
    Most cities don't run 24 hr transit, and often those that do only run it on a limited number of lines lines. That said, I do agree that expanding hours is a good thing, but I think they actually did that with the recent bus system redesign. There is absolutely no way Metro can afford to offer 24hr (or even later hours) on every single line. Now, if we could fix our priorities so that we increase funding for transit and stop funding excessive highway expansions then that might change.
  14. Texasota
    Let's leave snarky politics out of this.
  15. Texasota
    What's with the exaggerated setbacks on this?
  16. Texasota
    Wait, Ted Cruz is a pedophile? I though he was just the Zodiac Killer!
  17. Texasota
    The worst thing about the J W Mariott is that it is literally directly across the street from the Gulf Building, one of the finest buildings in the city. It is a broken, wretched mockery of a building that, by its very existence, sickens and befouls everything around it. the J W Mariott is an abomination.
  18. Texasota
    The JW Marriott is like you dug up a long buried corpse, replaces its rotting skin with saran wrap, and introduced it as your significant other to your family over Thanksgiving dinner, As it shambled around, they would all smile and nod, but they would all be thinking the same thing: The JW Mariott is an abomination.
  19. Texasota
    The JW Marriott is, I'm sure, a very fine hotel, but there is very little left of the original building. As a renovation, it is a festering corpse with its skin torn off and replaced with the skin of a thousand brutally murdered hogs. It is an abomination.
  20. Texasota
    It's not the city tending the planters. As long as the downtown district has funds the planters will be fine.
  21. Texasota
    But it really was never supposed to be just a "green" park. They were very clear that it was going to be heavily programmed from the start. And I think these regular events draw people to the park. I certainly have enjoyed going for free yoga in the morning then, totally unexpectedly, finding myself in the middle of a Vietnamese cultural festival. I understand that, as it is now, Discovery Green is not exactly what you were hoping it would be. I think a lot of people really enjoy whats been done with it though and a big part of that comes from these regular diverse events. And it seems like there are usually plenty of children using the park as well, so I don't think these uses are actually completely in conflict.
  22. Texasota
    When Discovery Green opened, very few people (particularly children) lived close enough to use it with any regularity. Heavy programming is a huge part of its success. *Maybe* it will make sense to dial it back a bit as more residential buildings open nearby, but I wonder if the real solution isn't to plaza-ify portions of the lawn with some sort of permeable pavement that holds up better to crowds.
  23. Texasota
    This is really great. Hopefully the Planning Commission plays ball.
  24. Texasota
    Right now Washington dead ends at a pedestrian tunnel under 45, but it certainly seems like it should be possible to re-establish its ROW there. Either way the site is much too large not to have an additional e-w street through it.
  25. Texasota
    Randall's is pretty hilarious.
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