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Bagby Street Redo


REALaw

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The first casualty (that I know of) of a bunch of the new landscaping -- a nasty looking accident at the corner of Pearce and Bagby with a truck taking out some trees and part of Christian's Tailgates patio....

 

Some of the "natural grasses" or whatever alongside Kirby need some trimming. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I checked it out last night and today. Just a few new small trees planted in. It doesn't look like much now but will be really nice after years and decades once they grow to be like the ones in front of metro midtown on the right side of bagby. 

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There's also been a lot of work to install benches and complete the crosswalks.  Previously they were all just asphalt fillers but now they're a concrete mix with a bit of exposed aggregate.  Look quite nice and are much better to drive over than the fillers.  Just need them to finish all the street lights and new traffic lights and we'll be set!

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I drove down this road on Sunday and it almost looks like a rendering straight out of a new urbanism website. Very unHouston but cool.

I wouldn't recommend more traveled roads to be like this but side ones, for sure.

This area is seriously growing into a walkable and dense area. For those who haven't been should at least drive by.

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Just drove down this road tonight to the point where it meets Westheimer. There were people all over the place, standing in line to get in the clubs and it was past 2am. This area is really traversing to be a very walkable area with many bars and restaurants packed into a small area. The new lamposts and redone sidewalks have really done wonders and is starting to resemble a mini version of McKinney Avenue in Uptown Dallas.

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caught the rain garden in action from a friend's place

 

Do you know what kind of grasses they have in there?  I worked on a LID (Low Impact Design) for a two block section of Darling Street in the Heights last summer that I think is still going to happen (Hasn't yet so I can't get too specific).  Anyway, it had more of a standard curb and sawtooth design but I'm curious as to how this one handled the downpour.

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I don't claim to know what kind of ornamental or native grass is used on Bagby, but best "low impact" grass in my book is...drumroll...bermuda grass.

Particularly if it's going to be used to cover a large area that's subject to any erosion. Most native grasses are bunch grasses that don't provide full cover. Bermuda isn't a sexy or trendy choice but it'll stand up to wet and dry conditions and lives through anything.

Obviously not the right choice for the linear Bagby planter boxes, but great for larger areas. St Augustine may be prettier, but needs irrigation to last through a drought, or even an extended dry period...and that's not exactly "low impact".

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Do you know what kind of grasses they have in there?  I worked on a LID (Low Impact Design) for a two block section of Darling Street in the Heights last summer that I think is still going to happen (Hasn't yet so I can't get too specific).  Anyway, it had more of a standard curb and sawtooth design but I'm curious as to how this one handled the downpour.

 

Contact the Midtown Management District. They'll be able to get the info to you. I know it's not just grass like Bermuda or St. Augustine.

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Contact the Midtown Management District. They'll be able to get the info to you. I know it's not just grass like Bermuda or St. Augustine.

 

Good call.  It honestly looks like Giant Liriope which was one that was used for the LID I did.

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  • 4 months later...

I'm very impressed with the changes. I took a bunch of pictures and wrote some thoughts here: http://kylejack.com/?p=56

 

It looks very nice, but I'm curious who is tasked with maintaining it this way?  I've seen countless nice landscaping projects go downhill because there was no long-term commitment to maintain them.

 

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It looks very nice, but I'm curious who is tasked with maintaining it this way?  I've seen countless nice landscaping projects go downhill because there was no long-term commitment to maintain them.

 

I'm sure this is a dig on the project for not being in the burbs, but I agree.  I live here and love this area but hope that it doesn't go to hell.  They are already being treated as trash cans.

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Midtown Management District is tasked with keeping the project clean.

 

It looks very nice, but I'm curious who is tasked with maintaining it this way?  I've seen countless nice landscaping projects go downhill because there was no long-term commitment to maintain them.
 

 

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Great to read your blog Kylejack!! Yes the Greenroads project is awesome, but even better is that there is finally some movement from the mayor to make Complete Streets a priority for the city. It won't happen overnight of course, but her Executive Order is witness to an important shift in thinking about how Houstonians use roads.

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I'm sure this is a dig on the project for not being in the burbs, but I agree. I live here and love this area but hope that it doesn't go to hell. They are already being treated as trash cans.

Not sure why you consider this a dig. Nice landscaping is a common feature out in the burbs. In most cases, though, there's either a private business or homeowner's association in charge of maintaining it. I was just curious who takes charge in a case like this. As you noted, passersby don't always respect the effort and someone has to clean up after them or it goes downhill.

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