Discuss Conceptual Plans for Houston

[lockmat]

From time to time some of us find plans for Houston that are, unfortunately, just conceptual ideas. Although they may not actually be planned to break ground, they can be healthy to look at and discuss in the public forum, b/c who knows, maybe one day the idea will catch on and actually happen. So instead of plopping them down in Going Up! just to find out that it's just a concept, let's discuss them...

Here is one I found today.

A jogging trail network near southeast of downtown: (more pics at website - Website Link)

[TheNiche]

I'm all for investing in better sidewalks and bike paths in that area, however this concept sucks. The cutaway diagram does not indicate that there would be any sidewalks adjacent to existing homes or businesses. And although dimensions aren't shown on the diagram I'll bet that if traditional sidewalks were included, then there'd be insufficient ROW. Another thing that would piss me off about this is that it destroys the efficiency of the grid system in its ability to handle traffic, especially on the north/south alignment.

This is the kind of unmitigated crap that is generated when architecture students (and all too often their professors) confuse their area of study with urban planning.

[LTAWACS]

Where is the rest of it?

[lockmat]

Where is the rest of it?

what makes u think there is more?

[UrbaNerd]

Heh....architecture students with nothing better to do, along with a lack of understanding/information. The concept is too "forced", and it attempts to stand on it's own integrity (or lack thereof) without considering the reality of the context. If anything, they could have simply placed a series of cantilevered paths and landscaping in the existing ROW of the highway system, sort of like where 288/59 has trees, and/or a concrete slope, instead of brutally and nonsensically tearing up entire neighborhoods, and wedging in a larger ROW where it cannot fit.

Essentially, what Niche said.