s3mh

1 hour ago, Ross said:

Hard to believe they didn't stick another 3 or 4 units in that space.

Hard to believe that we have a fire code that allows builders to stack townhomes with a single narrow driveway.  Firefighters hate them as the driveways are too narrow for equipment and potentially create a hall of fire if units on both sides are in flames.  

There are now big signs up in the median on Waco SB that say that the train may stop for hours on the tracks and to call the railroad company if there are problems.  

There was a TABC notice on the building with a d/b/a for what was presumably a Mexican restaurant (can't recall the name).  

On 12/17/2022 at 10:06 PM, chempku said:

Floating Bus Stop

I think Metro is making all of its bus stops compatible with the BRT busses with wide doors that open level with the ground.  

Word is that a disgruntled former employee of one of the studios is a suspect.  Scary stuff.  

On 12/17/2022 at 6:38 AM, editor said:

Buchanans is one of the very few businesses in The Heights that needs more parking.  Not because of its popularity, which is evident.  But because of the nature of what it sells.  I say this as someone who once hauled a five-foot-tall cypress tree home on a subway with a hand truck.

I bought a wheelbarrow at C&D and walked it home once because it would not fit in my Prius.  

I wonder whether they will put the mulch/soil etc. part across the street and expand the parking across the back of the property?  

It has been a long time, but I recall the Rutland Detention Pond site had very serious environmental issues because it used to be a, not sure which, refinery/city incinerator/steel mill or some sort of other industrial site.  There was a brief attempt to make the detention pond a "wet bottom" detention pond with some park amenities kind of like Willow Waterhole.  But the cost of remediation was very high due to all the past industrial uses and there was no way to cost effectively dig any deeper to have a permanent water feature.  There was also talk about connecting W 6th and the same issue was raised about having to dig to build supports for a bridge.  So, I would doubt the prospects of building a bridge to connect W 6th.  Even if it was a possibility, it would probably be a ten plus year project given the environmental issues and planning/construction process.

24 minutes ago, BigRed said:

Whoa whoa whoa - all fried chicken is supposed to be on Shepherd/Durham. WHO ALLOWED THIS WITH CITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT?!

While Houston has no zoning, the Chicken Districting is very specific.  Shep/Durhan is a chicken sandwich district.  Ella is a chicken finger district.  This is why Layne's is going in across the street from Raising Cane's.  

On 11/11/2022 at 6:07 PM, 004n063 said:

Anyone have a rendering of the streetscape upgrades on McKinney?

This is the website:

https://thehighlighthouston.com/

There was a guy in the tunnel putting up a sign for The Highlight today.  Only the adult putt putt place and the gaming place have been announced as new tenants.  

Centerpoint now owns the land.  I guess the Heights needs more power.  

3 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Turnout down almost 10%, too, which typically favors Republicans.

Votes cast for governor, Harris County, 2018: 1,188,623

2022: 1,091,819

Difference -8.9%

I think people in Harris County aren't as partisan when it comes to County Judge.  Hidalgo just snuck by Ed Emmett in 2018 (may have lost bust for a libertarian candidate siphoning votes from Emmett).  

Also, I noticed that the total votes for County Judge were about 20k fewer than for Governor.  Another factor might be the removal of straight ticket voting and people who were lazy and did not vote the entire ballot.

I am still surprised that Cagle lost.  He won fairly handily in 2018.  Lesley Briones threw darts at Cagle over abortion and birth control.  But who pays attention to county commissioner attack ads.  I remember Cagle when he was a county court at law judge.  He was terrible.  On his motions docket, he would tell stories and crack jokes the whole time.  Any actual substantive legal discussions seemed like an afterthought.  Or maybe the shift in precinct lines in 2021 made a difference.  

This was a lot closer than I though it would be.  Not sure whether there is a shift back to the right in Harris County or turnout for Dems was lackluster because of little enthusiasm (or hope) for Beto.  

On the other hand, Briones over Cagle is a pretty big deal.  That leaves only one Republican and no more quorum busting no show tactics.  

1 hour ago, Ross said:

Residential. This is the house that the previous owner had a huge amount of foliage and such on the 12th Street sidewalk area. Street view 2016

Here's the permit detail

I miss Honker the Goose.  

N. Shep is becoming the next Champs Elysees.  A major thoroughfare lined with shops and cafes.  And an HEB. 

But in all seriousness, the Radoms and the Brauns set higher standards in the Heights and you can no longer Ainbinder up a strip mall and get the kind of tenants who are going to be able to pay Heights rents.   

20 hours ago, Texasota said:

health-forward restaurant ... based in the Midwest...

Nope. It doesn't add up.

This franchise comes from Minnesota.  I would put the health habits of the residents of the Twin Cities on a different plane from Cleveland or Indianapolis.

And holy rapid expansion Batman.  On their website, they are showing a crap ton of new locations across the US.  It is a franchise, so probably some big money backing the major expansion.  

On 10/23/2022 at 6:25 AM, IntheKnowHouston said:

Last month, Telegram announced an opening date. The tea room is opening December 1 at 2601 Baylor St. 

Telegram will also be a space "for Monica’s community work with O.N.E. Table suppers & Story Thyme cooking classes, as well as a store selling great ingredients & amazing products from local talent."

This is a joint venture from chefs Monica Pope and John Avila.


https://www.telegramtearoom.com/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci6cJlBAkxY/
 

I would not hold them to that date.  Interior of the building has not had much buildout done and is mostly bare studs.  Not impossible to knock out an interior build out in a month and be up and running.  But I would be surprised to see the doors open on Dec. 1.

3 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

I live in the real world, where the law means what it says and not something else.  I call BS on your having seen motorists get ticketed for failing to stop for people waiting to cross in either Washington or Colorado, because (1) that's not the law in either place and police don't tend to write tickets for activities that do not violate the law and (2) any such ticket would get thrown out because, again, that's not the law in either place.  The law in Washington and Colorado (the locations of your two photos) is functionally identical to the law in Texas.

Washington:  "(1) The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian, bicycle, or personal delivery device to cross the roadway within an unmarked or marked crosswalk when the pedestrian, bicycle, or personal delivery device is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning. For purposes of this section "half of the roadway" means all traffic lanes carrying traffic in one direction of travel, and includes the entire width of a one-way roadway. (2) No pedestrian, bicycle, or personal delivery device shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk, run, or otherwise move into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to stop."

Colorado:  "When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger."

Texas:  "(a) The operator of a vehicle shall stop and yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing a roadway in a crosswalk if: (1) no traffic control signal is in place or in operation; and (2) the pedestrian is: (A) on the half of the roadway in which the vehicle is traveling; or (B) approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.  (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and proceed into a crosswalk in the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the vehicle operator to stop and yield.

Your interpretation of the law would basically mean that no one could ever cross a busy street in a pedestrian friendly shopping area like the two examples I gave.  With a steady stream of vehicle, the pedestrian in your interpretation of the law cannot enter the crosswalk as long as another vehicle is approaching and the motorist doesn't have to yield until the pedestrian has taken a step in front of their vehicle.  That kind of stupidity may rule in Texas where the motor vehicle is king but it is definitely not the rule in many other states where people actually value pedestrian access.

On 10/16/2022 at 9:21 AM, Houston19514 said:

Neither of the signs you‘ve shown us say what you have reported to have seen, to-wit:  signs in CO, VT, MA, WA at crosswalks stating that drivers must stop to allow waiting pedestrians to cross.

What strange world do you live in where a sign posted in the street saying "stop" for "pedestrians" would be interpreted to allow a motorist to drive past the crosswalk when pedestrians are waiting to cross?  Stop means stop.  Pedestrians are people who are on foot not exclusively defined as people who are walking in a crosswalk, but not people waiting to use a crosswalk.  I have been to both locations I posted and can verify that police will write you a ticket if you fail to stop when pedestrians are waiting to cross.    

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

I spend a lot of time in Colorado in particular and I've seen those signs.  You are misquoting them, just as you misstated the existence of such laws.  The signs say:

"State Law    Yield to pedestrians within crosswalk."

29 minutes ago, chempku said:

If funding the police means more motor vehicle violations not yield to pedestrians will be caught, then why not do it? The county funding hike and bike trails does not mean the money will go where it need to: the county consistently underinvest in high density neighborhoods where hike and bike trails have more bang for their bucks nevertheless, despite more property taxes were collected in those neighborhoods. 

How cute.  You actually think that police in Houston issue citations for failing to yield to pedestrians and having more police would help pedestrian access.  It has been documented that the police are not even enforcing the bike ordinance.  And this is just a stupid line of argument when a protected crossing is clearly what we need but the idiots Austin and our city engineering department are stuck with the idea that a protected pedestrian crossing can't go in unless someone has been killed trying to cross the street.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Houston-safe-passing-bicyclists-ordinance-law-17451596.php

53 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

I spend a lot of time in Colorado in particular and I've seen those signs.  You are misquoting them, just as you misstated the existence of such laws.  The signs say:

"State Law    Yield to pedestrians within crosswalk."

21 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

What states are those?  I cannot find one.  FWIW, here is the Texas law and most states' laws are essentially identical to this (Again, I find none that require motor vehicles to stop for someone standing on the curb waiting to cross):

"When traffic signal is not in place, vehicles must yield to pedestrian in crosswalk on vehicle’s half of road or close to it. Pedestrians must not step off curb and into path of vehicle when vehicle does not have time to stop."

https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/PEDESTRIAN-AND-CROSSWALKS-50-STATE-CHART.pdf

It is how the statutes are put into practice.  I have seen signs in CO, VT, MA, WA at crosswalks stating that drivers must stop to allow waiting pedestrians to cross.    

20 hours ago, bedmondson said:

What I don't get is how much a Houston centric idea it is that you don't stop at cross walks for people. Growing up in Houston you learn to just ignore cross walks. Now having lived and visited many other cities, Houston seems unique in their categorical disregard of cross walk rules. Even in College Station, 1 hour away, drivers would slam on their brakes if you walked a bit to close to one. There are already the "Yield to Pedestrians" signs on 11th at the bikepath and you can see every day crowds of people, some with strollers, waiting as a freeway of cars pretend like they don't see them.  The amount of crazy that comes out of the wood work to see anyone try to alleviate any of this (studewood pedestrian islands) is depressing.

Unfortunately, under Texas law, you do not have to stop at a crosswalk if there are people waiting to cross.  A lot of other states have laws requiring motorists to stop at a crosswalk if someone is just waiting to cross.  But in Texas, you only have to stop if someone has started to cross the street.  For pedestrians, that means you either wait until the street is clear and you can make it all the way across before any vehicles approach or you have to play a game of chicken and hope that vehicles coming down the street will stop if you start crossing.  The hate for pedestrians and cyclists is so bad in Texas that Alexandra Mealer is running attack ads against Lina Hidalgo complaining that she is funding hike and bike trails instead of police.  So, it will take a lot of noise from the community to get a change to this.  

On 10/7/2022 at 10:44 AM, kennyc05 said:

Man I miss Downhouse.

Weekend breakfast/brunch spots in the Heights have taken a beating.  In addition to Downhouse:

Soul Taco/Throughgood Coffee

Revival Market

Golden Bagels 

Morning Star

Angela's Oven (down to just Saturday morning)

2 hours ago, wilcal said:

I'm not an expert on this, but I believe that there is grant funding that becomes available at some point when there is a serious injury/fatality.

Could be.  With respect to the Nicholson crossing, the story from the city was that it would be too close to the Shep intersection for state road design standards.  But if there was a fatality, that would allow the city to bypass those requirements.  That is how we got the pedestrian crossing on Shep at 10th.  A woman got hit and killed trying to help someone in a wheel chair cross Shep.