RedScare Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 EDIT: And to people who say that restricting signage or billboards is fascist or trying to be the "tacky police" - to them I say, check the deed restrictions in your own neighborhood. If I, as a homeowner, cannot erect a 100 foot flag pole in my yard, and am forced to keep the grass cut to no more than 4" tall... and those restrictions, on me, and my property, are legal... then why the hell is so bad to ask business owners to do the same thing? Why is it "OK" to restrict a private residence... but not a business? And for those whose deed restrictions have expired... look at the war zone your neighborhood has turned into.And to you I say read your US Constitution. It is not as simple as just waving your hand and making them go away. Hence, the 25 years of lawsuits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C2H Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I agree with the above post. My impression is that the city just flat out doesn't care about certain parts of town like southeast, parts of north, and southeast areas. The city is moving toward its growth patterns. It's all about the $$$. The money is out toward West Houston. The areas i mentioned above are mostly filled with low income Hispanics and Blacks. Why invest in building upgrades or beautification projects? It's easier to just let the "maggots" die. Edit: 500th post! Wow, only took me 4 years to do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 actually the superbowl is an economic win for the cities that host it.....saying it is not would be the same as saying tear down the GRB because all those people coming to town, spending the night at hotels, eating in restaurants, and spending money for entertainment don't do anything for the quality of lifeas for the Olympics when it is done wrong I agree it can cost a city.....but the amazing thing about Houston in particular of all the cities that have not hosted an Olympics is that pretty soon Houston will probably be in a position to host an Olympics with the least cost of additional infrastructure of any "new" host city in the world and long as Houston sticks to currently available or planned facilities and if planned and executed properly the additional infrastructure (with a few exceptions) could be a boom for Houston and the long term future of Houston.....properly designed and constructed additional or replacement dorms at TSU, UH, Rice and maybe even UHD would be great for those schools and a well planned and non-over the top refurb of existing facilities would be great as well....especially when a large amount of federal, sponsor, and private money is used....I think Atlanta did well with theirs, but I am sure there were some things they spent too much on......but they were going to build a new baseball facility (tearing part down was a waste) and their universities made use of and received dorms and other new facilities and it was an upgrade for many of their public spaces.....public spaces that Houston currently has many of already....just because some places do something wrong does not mean Houston has to follow their lead or we need to run and window dress (for way too much money) perfectly fine existing facilitiesReality doesn't seem quite as rosy as your predictions.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ympic-city.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I don't see why the fourth largest city in America would have railroad tracks over one of it's main street. Those rail road tracks are part of the reason why we're now the fourth largest city in America. Houston was once a major rail road hub, and that really spiked the economy. Had it not been for those tracks, you wouldn't have anything to complain about, as that area probably would've remained undeveloped to this day, and just be a field located outside of a small East Texas town called Houston, which instead of being a city on the go, it would instead be serving as a bedroom community for the bustling port metropolis of Galveston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I agree with the above post. My impression is that the city just flat out doesn't care about certain parts of town like southeast, parts of north, and southeast areas. The city is moving toward its growth patterns. It's all about the $$$. The money is out toward West Houston. The areas i mentioned above are mostly filled with low income Hispanics and Blacks. Why invest in building upgrades or beautification projects? It's easier to just let the "maggots" die.Edit: 500th post! Wow, only took me 4 years to do it! That's some easy low hanging fruit to suggest that the city isn't doing anything for minorities, but the fact of the matter is that you are painting with a broad brush and spilling paint everywhere. So is citykid. Let's look at this in a bit more detail. For one, the city does not own the freeway that you and citykid complain of. It is built, owned and maintained by TxDOT, with a combination of state and federal funds. The City has nothing to do with it. As for landscapimg, unitl a few years ago TxDOT rules prohibited highway funds going toward landscaping. So, it is not the City's fault. Place the blame where it belongs. The City has been fighting the billboards for over two decades. There are serious 1st Amendment and property rights issues in play. Maybe in your dream world, you just snap your fingers and things happen, but here in reality, we have to abide by the courts and their rulings. Just blaming the City for everything displays a lack of knowledge about the subject you are complaining of. The buildings that look "rundown" house businesses that serve the neighborhoods that surround that area. These neighborhoods are not wealthy. Whereas household incomes on the westside may exceed $100,000, on the Northside they may fall below poverty level. If the business invests money to "upgrade" their building, those costs must be passed on to the customers, money the customers do not have. The customers accept the fact that their meager incomes will not support fancy new buildings, and I rather suspect that they do not care what tourists and others driving by their neighborhood think of their old buildings either. So, before you throw out allegations of racism by "the city", make sure you know that "the city" is to blame. That way, people like me who just love to set people straight don't get to come on here and point out all the mistaken assumptions in your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasVines Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That way, people like me who just love to set people straight you are going to have your hands full with HtownWxBoy......but I think you are up to the task Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C2H Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 That's some easy low hanging fruit to suggest that the city isn't doing anything for minorities, but the fact of the matter is that you are painting with a broad brush and spilling paint everywhere. So is citykid. Let's look at this in a bit more detail.For one, the city does not own the freeway that you and citykid complain of. It is built, owned and maintained by TxDOT, with a combination of state and federal funds. The City has nothing to do with it. As for landscapimg, unitl a few years ago TxDOT rules prohibited highway funds going toward landscaping. So, it is not the City's fault. Place the blame where it belongs.The City has been fighting the billboards for over two decades. There are serious 1st Amendment and property rights issues in play. Maybe in your dream world, you just snap your fingers and things happen, but here in reality, we have to abide by the courts and their rulings. Just blaming the City for everything displays a lack of knowledge about the subject you are complaining of.The buildings that look "rundown" house businesses that serve the neighborhoods that surround that area. These neighborhoods are not wealthy. Whereas household incomes on the westside may exceed $100,000, on the Northside they may fall below poverty level. If the business invests money to "upgrade" their building, those costs must be passed on to the customers, money the customers do not have. The customers accept the fact that their meager incomes will not support fancy new buildings, and I rather suspect that they do not care what tourists and others driving by their neighborhood think of their old buildings either.So, before you throw out allegations of racism by "the city", make sure you know that "the city" is to blame. That way, people like me who just love to set people straight don't get to come on here and point out all the mistaken assumptions in your post.I never said the city doesn't do anything for minorities. I also wasn't trying to imply that it was about racism either, but I can understand how you may have interpreted that. I was just saying that as the city is moving out toward where all the money is, with exception of the eastside which is the industrial area of town.My issue is not about the freeways themselves, it's about the billboards and some of the businesses. Those are not TXDOT issues at all. Those could easily be implemented by City ordinances, the same ones that fine a person who refuses to mow their own lawn if it gets higher than 3 feet. I remember reading when Mayor White took office in early 2004, that he had removed a great portion of billboards. Driving down 45 today really shows no indication of any major stride ever having taken place. Again, I was not trying to play the race card but it does seem that the city is letting portions of the city die off while they reinvent somewhere else. The fact that they happen to be in low income areas where blacks and hispanics primarily live is a true statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 My issue is not about the freeways themselves, it's about the billboards and some of the businesses. Those are not TXDOT issues at all. Those could easily be implemented by City ordinances, the same ones that fine a person who refuses to mow their own lawn if it gets higher than 3 feet.No, it cannot be easily implemented. The City's attempts to remove billboards have been tied up in the courts for 25 years. Here is just one of numerous articles on the subject since the first ordinance was passed in 1983.http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/kho...al.6538b21.htmlNote that the Texas and US governments have caused much of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroMogul Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 One man's blight is another man's business or neighborhood. Sorry the whole city can't look like River Oaks or West U.I'm also tired of people complaining about century old railroad tracks in neighborhoods that were built up around them."Ew! Stink train! Build overpass NOW!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celiene Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 As for old buildings, I bet we have a lot fewer run-down areas than, say, Detroit. And I would say most decent sized southern cities are as bad or worse than Houston. The only cities that maybe don't have those areas have geographical limitations, so their space is at a premium and not worth wasting. Comparing Houston's run down areas to Detriot's isn't exactly a "balanced asessment" , as Detriot is a 330 year old city, founded by French Fur entrepreneurs, or " fur trappers", if you will......(while Texas is a 150+ year old "state")-- it took a long time for it to become the crumbling mess that it is today( but many of the surburban areas are still "quite nice") Certain areas of Houston fell into disrepair at much faster rates than Detriot--and I've spent plenty of time in both cities over the course of my 50+ years on the planet................ Both have some of the same industrial issues in common, though--Enough said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.