Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[Firebird65]

HAIFers don't even care about my opinion...

Well... truth be told...

I am a long time Walmart hater.

Wonderful. Then don't shop there. And that should be the end to the conversation. Somehow I'm thinking it won't be.

[LTAWACS]

Exactly! The problem with America's economy is a dearth of low-paying unskilled and semi-skilled assembly line jobs. Bring those back by artificially increasing the prices of consumer goods and watch the wealth trickle up!

Ha! I would attribute the problem to more of a "people have too much freedom" to do whatever they want. Do drugs. Drop out of high school. Get a low-paying job. So of course they are going to go to walmart. The more poverty increases and education suffers in this country, the bigger walmart will become.

[samagon]

Ha! I would attribute the problem to more of a "people have too much freedom" to do whatever they want. Do drugs. Drop out of high school. Get a low-paying job. So of course they are going to go to walmart. The more poverty increases and education suffers in this country, the bigger walmart will become.

So WalMart is going to be the Costco of Idiocracy come true?

[SilverJK]

Electrolytes... what your plants crave!

[Ross]

I've got more information as well. If you are outside of the market zone (like the heights) walmart doesn't give two craps about which store you go to. They just want you in a Walmart. The more time you spend inside a Walmart the better is their mantra. You are the one thinking to hard, it is very simple. "Come to walmart, the first $5 is on us". Running out of options to fine renewed profit growth would be a bad thing.. if your company wasn't already the most profitable in the country. (#1 in 2010 according to Fortune)

Fortune ranks companies on revenues, not profits. WalMart was almost $5 billion behind ExxonMobil in profits for 2010, even though WalMart's revenues were $120 billion higher.

[SilverJK]

Fortune ranks companies on revenues, not profits. WalMart was almost $5 billion behind ExxonMobil in profits for 2010, even though WalMart's revenues were $120 billion higher.

Your right, they are only 3rd in profit. Point still stands though.

[swtsig]

I got more information. It is a nation-wide campaign. Walmart is sending out gift cards to people living near new or remodeled stores. The idea is to get people to go to THAT STORE so they will shop at THAT STORE. People living near future Walmarts do not get cards. Thus, Walmart's own marketing shows that they are trying to use their largesse to knock out the competition instead of prices. (Walmart has stopped releasing same store sales data on a monthly basis, a sign that their ability to bring in consumers as the price winner has faded badly: http://finance.yahoo...s=7&asset) If you think Walmart is sitting around trying to get people in the Heights to go over to Silber in order to win them over until the Heights location opens, you are thinking way too hard. What is obvious is that Walmart is running out of options to find renewed profit growth. Largesse is how they got where they are. And it looks like they are going to bank on largesse in urban areas to get them out of their current rut.

ummm.... no.

walmart wants you to shop at walmart... they don't give a damn which walmart you decide to shop at as it makes no difference to them. it's basic marketing, really. i believe you may be the one that is thinking too hard on this.

[august948]

ummm.... no.

walmart wants you to shop at walmart... they don't give a damn which walmart you decide to shop at as it makes no difference to them. it's basic marketing, really. i believe you may be the one that is thinking too hard on this.

Actually, retailers do give a damn. They closely watch a store opening and run grand-opening specials tied to that store. Although cards like these are good at any store, they are keeping track of who uses them at the intended store (and others) to see how the store draws from the surrounding areas. They're paying you to provide marketing info.

[Tiko]

So, I saw a flyer up in Jenni's Noodles about the city deeming the Yale Street bridge unsafe and demanding its replacement. Is this a sneak attack on Walmart?

http://blog.chron.com/heights/2011/05/yale-bridge-demonstration-planned/

Edited May 11, 2011 by Tiko

[RedScare]

Not really a sneak attack, as Walmart has already been approved. But, it might get us a new bridge. I wouldn't mind that, though I wonder why Heights residents would advocate tearing down a historic structure like that.

[august948]

Not really a sneak attack, as Walmart has already been approved. But, it might get us a new bridge. I wouldn't mind that, though I wonder why Heights residents would advocate tearing down a historic structure like that.

Apparently as another way to put a thorn in Walmart's side.

[s3mh]

Apparently as another way to put a thorn in Walmart's side.

So, Walmart is going to put a store on a road with a bridge that is not structurally sound for Walmart's 18 wheelers and it is a thorn in their side? And Walmart can't find a penny of the 6 mil in tax dollars they are getting to do anything about upgrading the bridge? Thorn in their side?

[august948]

So, Walmart is going to put a store on a road with a bridge that is not structurally sound for Walmart's 18 wheelers and it is a thorn in their side? And Walmart can't find a penny of the 6 mil in tax dollars they are getting to do anything about upgrading the bridge? Thorn in their side?

Yeah...thorn in their side. This is coming from RUDH, i.e. the stopheightswalmart.org folks. If they can't stop it then they'll do their best to slow it down.

[RedScare]

It is not even a thorn in Walmart's side. Walmart did not sign any agreements. They are not responsible for the bridge. This is someone else's problem. At worst, Walmart will direct their drivers to use the Heights bridge.

This is just fun for the anti-Walmart crowd. It won't actually affect Walmart at all.

[samagon]

So, Walmart is going to put a store on a road with a bridge that is not structurally sound for Walmart's 18 wheelers and it is a thorn in their side? And Walmart can't find a penny of the 6 mil in tax dollars they are getting to do anything about upgrading the bridge? Thorn in their side?

What red said, also it's pretty irresponsible of rudh / stopheightswalmart to continue posting false information about that bridge. It is rated at 20k lbs per axle, iirc. The info is in this thread somewhere, along with the relevant link to the government website where the data is clearly displayed.

[RedScare]

20,000 lbs. per axle, huh? That's 100,000 pounds per truck, not the 40,000 claimed by RUDH. Considering that a fully loaded semi weighs about 65,000 pounds, this should not cause a problem at all.

To me, the funnier part of the protest is the claim that the trucks will be "idling on the bridge for extended periods of time". The suggestion is that traffic will be at a standstill constantly, apparently, even at night, when the loads are usually delivered. Given that traffic on Yale is 40% lower than previously estimated (according to RUDH's traffic study), there is not likely to be a lot of idling on the bridge. But, that's not the best part. Standing loads put LESS stress on a bridge than moving loads. Slow moving loads exert less stress than rapidly moving loads. The high stress is caused by the flexing of the structure as the load passes over it. RUDH's claims would actually allow HEAVIER loads on the bridge, since, according to them, traffic will be moving very slowly. Guess there aren't too many engineers in the RUDH membership.

Don't think I'll be protesting on Saturday.

[J008]

It is not even a thorn in Walmart's side. Walmart did not sign any agreements. They are not responsible for the bridge. This is someone else's problem. At worst, Walmart will direct their drivers to use the Heights bridge.

This is just fun for the anti-Walmart crowd. It won't actually affect Walmart at all.

I agree it won't affect wal mart at all they will just put it on our tab.

So $6M 380 agreement + $9M bridge we're standing at $15M, plus whatever this giant feeder extra interstate exit every half mile cost.

We should all be thrilled to be such a crucial part of this whole new urban walmart experiment, maybe they will hire the teachers, firefighters, police officers, etc.. that we can no longer afford.

[samagon]

I agree it won't affect wal mart at all they will just put it on our tab.

So $6M 380 agreement + $9M bridge we're standing at $15M, plus whatever this giant feeder extra interstate exit every half mile cost.

We should all be thrilled to be such a crucial part of this whole new urban walmart experiment, maybe they will hire the teachers, firefighters, police officers, etc.. that we can no longer afford.

Here are the relevant posts from this thread, which you and s3mh seemed to have forgotten (conveniently).

Must be an inside job! They've got someone working at TXDOT! :-)

you can clearly see that TXDOT is in on this as well, they state that the load is 21,000 LBS PER AXLE.

Not 40k lbs gross, this is such a very stupid thing to argue about, and the fact that you guys are still going at it is actually REALLY funny until I think of the misinformation that is being spread across the city by the likes of you, and the Irresponsible Urban Development Houston/Stop Heights Walmart.

Talk about a waste of money, I wonder how much of the taxpayers money will be used in debating this subject at city hall, and then, if for some reason they decide to rebuild this bridge, how much tax money is going to be WASTED rebuilding this historic bridge because you guys just don't want a walmart within a 2 mile vicinity of your house?

That 9 million you threw out there? That is on you! and every one of your Irresponsible Urban Development Houston buddies, in fact, if you could give me the $1 that is going to come directly out of my taxes to pay for it, that would be great.

go to the page and look it up yourself: http://apps.dot.state.tx.us/apps/gis/lrbm/ then could you kindly go and tell everyone in your group of friends they are wrong.

Edited May 12, 2011 by samagon

[RedScare]

I agree it won't affect wal mart at all they will just put it on our tab.

So $6M 380 agreement + $9M bridge we're standing at $15M, plus whatever this giant feeder extra interstate exit every half mile cost.

We should all be thrilled to be such a crucial part of this whole new urban walmart experiment, maybe they will hire the teachers, firefighters, police officers, etc.. that we can no longer afford.

Could you point me to the link that shows this 380 agreement is going to Walmart? Thanks in advance.

[s3mh]

What red said, also it's pretty irresponsible of rudh / stopheightswalmart to continue posting false information about that bridge. It is rated at 20k lbs per axle, iirc. The info is in this thread somewhere, along with the relevant link to the government website where the data is clearly displayed.

No it isn't. http://apps.dot.state.tx.us/apps/gis/lrbm/

Zoom in and you will see that it is restricted to 40,000 gross vehicle weight. The sign by the bridge says 21,000 lbs for a tandem axel vehicle and 40k gross. It is not rated 20k per axle.

And it is not just RUDH. It is five different community orgs that are behind this: http://rudh.org/community-support

The 380 agreement with the developer gave them funds to resurface the bridge and to spruce up the lights and railing. They were completely ignorant to the load limitation issue until RUDH discovered it. In fact, the City originally told residents that Yale St. would be the route for truck traffic to supply the Walmart.

And it sure as hell is Walmart's problem. If they are going to need 7-9 18 wheelers a day to supply their store, they are going to need to put that store somewhere where their is adequate 18 wheeler access. The solution right now is to have the trucks go down Heights, turn on Koehler (which will not have a traffic light at Heights) and then head over to the development. Good luck to anyone on Heights or Koehler when those 18 wheelers are trying to make right turns coming in and left turns going out.

[s3mh]

Here are the relevant posts from this thread, which you and s3mh seemed to have forgotten (conveniently).

you can clearly see that TXDOT is in on this as well, they state that the load is 21,000 LBS PER AXLE.

Not 40k lbs gross, this is such a very stupid thing to argue about, and the fact that you guys are still going at it is actually REALLY funny until I think of the misinformation that is being spread across the city by the likes of you, and the Irresponsible Urban Development Houston/Stop Heights Walmart.

Talk about a waste of money, I wonder how much of the taxpayers money will be used in debating this subject at city hall, and then, if for some reason they decide to rebuild this bridge, how much tax money is going to be WASTED rebuilding this historic bridge because you guys just don't want a walmart within a 2 mile vicinity of your house?

That 9 million you threw out there? That is on you! and every one of your Irresponsible Urban Development Houston buddies, in fact, if you could give me the $1 that is going to come directly out of my taxes to pay for it, that would be great.

go to the page and look it up yourself: http://apps.dot.state.tx.us/apps/gis/lrbm/ then could you kindly go and tell everyone in your group of friends they are wrong.

From your link:

Structure # 121020B71457079

Crossing WHITE OAK BAYOU

Bridge Located on YALE ST

Bridge is 0.1 MI S OF IH 10

Bridge Status POSTED

Restriction Notice Load Restricted to Gross Loading and Single or Tandem Axle

Load Restriction in lbs 40000(GROSS LOAD SHOWN)

Latitude 29.77521572

Longitude -95.39861043

And you just made up the per axel thing. It is a 21,000 lb limit for tandem axle vehicles according to the sign on the bridge.

[SilverJK]

maybe you and your pals should go stand on the bridge with a sign... I've seen several 18wheelers drive on this bridge. Oh yeah, you only care about walmart trucks causing an incident.

[RedScare]

And it sure as hell is Walmart's problem. If they are going to need 7-9 18 wheelers a day to supply their store, they are going to need to put that store somewhere where their is adequate 18 wheeler access. The solution right now is to have the trucks go down Heights, turn on Koehler (which will not have a traffic light at Heights) and then head over to the development. Good luck to anyone on Heights or Koehler when those 18 wheelers are trying to make right turns coming in and left turns going out.

Well, there you go. You posted the solution to your problem right there in your post. Saved the City and taxpayers $9 million in the process. Thanks for your help.

Next complaint, please!

[s3mh]

Well, there you go. You posted the solution to your problem right there in your post. Saved the City and taxpayers $9 million in the process. Thanks for your help.

Next complaint, please!

If you think that Walmart's trucks will stick to that route, I have got a bridge on Yale St. that I would like to sell you.

[RedScare]

If you think that Walmart's trucks will stick to that route, I have got a bridge on Yale St. that I would like to sell you.

Doesn't matter what you or I think. The solution to the problem lies a mere 200 feet away. There are fines for violating the restriction, and Walmart, and their drivers, is not in the habit of running up fines just for the fun of it. They will simply tell their drivers to avoid that bridge. If they do not, the driver is responsible for the fine. It is illegal to restrict Walmart's right to do business simply because one of its drivers may receive a traffic citation. Trader Joe's drivers would probably do the same. So will the Whole Foods drivers who will use the same exit from the freeway.

Next complaint!

[samagon]

From your link:

Structure # 121020B71457079

Crossing WHITE OAK BAYOU

Bridge Located on YALE ST

Bridge is 0.1 MI S OF IH 10

Bridge Status POSTED

Restriction Notice Load Restricted to Gross Loading and Single or Tandem Axle

Load Restriction in lbs 40000(GROSS LOAD SHOWN)

Latitude 29.77521572

Longitude -95.39861043

And you just made up the per axel thing. It is a 21,000 lb limit for tandem axle vehicles according to the sign on the bridge.

Hey Bro,

Read.

http://ops.fhwa.dot....wghts/index.htm

also, it is obvious, from the image shown that the number has CHANGED, from 21000lbs to 40000lbs. I assumed the number has remained the same, as the bridge hasn't changed in the period of time from when we last discussed this in January to today. But you're right, it is listed as 40k lbs. you should also look at what you copy/pasted, that makes a difference as well.

it's funny you reference the sign from the bridge, when it was you who said that the sign was missing, or am I confusing you with one of the other people from Irresponsible Urban Development Houston?

anyway, besides, like you said, they'll go over the bridge on Heights anyway. and yeah, they will stick to that route because the cabs have GPS transponders, and if they don't, they'll likely get fired.

Edited May 12, 2011 by samagon

[s3mh]

Doesn't matter what you or I think. The solution to the problem lies a mere 200 feet away. There are fines for violating the restriction, and Walmart, and their drivers, is not in the habit of running up fines just for the fun of it. They will simply tell their drivers to avoid that bridge. If they do not, the driver is responsible for the fine. It is illegal to restrict Walmart's right to do business simply because one of its drivers may receive a traffic citation. Trader Joe's drivers would probably do the same. So will the Whole Foods drivers who will use the same exit from the freeway.

Next complaint!

If you think the soon to be cut to the bone HPD will catch Walmart's 18 wheelers crossing the bridge, I have got a bridge on Yale St that is only restriced to 20k lbs per axel. You can roll 100k lb 18 wheelers across it.

This is all supposed to be addressed in a traffic control plan. Any responsible municipality would require a developer to make infrastructure upgrades that are required for the development. In fact, the City is requiring the widening of Yale St AFTER the bridge to add a left turn lane into the development. If they can do that, they can require an upgrade of the bridge. 18 wheeler traffic is just one issue. All traffic will idle on that bridge during peak volume. That will just continue to degrade the bridge. Walmart is already getting the benefit of 6 mil in tax dollars. No reason they can't share some of the burden of this development.

[RedScare]

If you think the soon to be cut to the bone HPD will catch Walmart's 18 wheelers crossing the bridge, I have got a bridge on Yale St that is only restriced to 20k lbs per axel. You can roll 100k lb 18 wheelers across it.

This is all supposed to be addressed in a traffic control plan. Any responsible municipality would require a developer to make infrastructure upgrades that are required for the development. In fact, the City is requiring the widening of Yale St AFTER the bridge to add a left turn lane into the development. If they can do that, they can require an upgrade of the bridge. 18 wheeler traffic is just one issue. All traffic will idle on that bridge during peak volume. That will just continue to degrade the bridge. Walmart is already getting the benefit of 6 mil in tax dollars. No reason they can't share some of the burden of this development.

Sticking with a failed argument, I see. The City has a reasonable and simple solution to the issue, by requiring trucks to use the Heights bridge. The traffic control plan will simply dictate that trucks use Heights to access the store. You and your friends may continue to use the failed argument, but the people in charge will simply ignore you, as I have.

As for idling traffic on the Yale Street bridge, see post #1539. Again, making an argument that traffic engineers know to be false will only be ignored by those you hope to convince. It probably makes you and your friends feel better to say something, anything, but those in charge will ignore you.

Carry on.

EDIT: Oh, a quick note on the possibility of 181 layoffs at HPD. It is not final, and the layoffs will likely be from the Houston Jail staff, not from patrol. In any event, it is unlikely to affect the Traffic Division, whose activities bring badly needed revenue to the City. Again, your argument lacks forethought or facts.

Next complaint!

Edited May 12, 2011 by RedScare

[J008]

EDIT: Oh, a quick note on the possibility of 181 layoffs at HPD. It is not final, and the layoffs will likely be from the Houston Jail staff, not from patrol. In any event, it is unlikely to affect the Traffic Division, whose activities bring badly needed revenue to the City. Again, your argument lacks forethought or facts.

Next complaint!

Thanks I have changed my comment.

I agree it won't affect wal mart at all they will just put it on our tab.

So $6M 380 agreement + $9M bridge we're standing at $15M, plus whatever this giant feeder extra interstate exit every half mile cost.

We should all be thrilled to be such a crucial part of this whole new urban walmart experiment, maybe they will hire the teachers, possibly firefighters, houston jail staff, police officers, etc.. that we can no longer afford.

[SilverJK]

or the trucks can just drive down heights, $9m saved!