General Transportation News

[j_cuevas713]

2 hours ago, Justin Welling said:

311 it :). Click "Report a Problem" -> Traffic Signs - Traffic Signals -> Traffic Signals ->  Modify Existing Signal ->  Pedestrian Signal - Traffic Signals 

And then write your concern, that's my only suggestion. 10 seconds to cross is terrible, but it will only improve if we let the city know about it. 

I actually ended up writing an email to District G and got a response that they have filed a work order to have the pedestrian signals last longer. 

[j.33]

You're amazing @j_cuevas713. I'm sure a lot of pedestrians will appreciate this :) 

[skooljunkie]

Based on the October Board packet, TIRZ 5 (Memorial Heights) is planning to expand its boundaries next month (see attached map). Here are some highlights:

• The annexed areas would include Shepherd/Durham between White Oak and Buffalo Bayous, Washington, Center, Westcott, and Waugh from W. Dallas to Allen.
• The city and TIRZ 5 have submitted a grant for 700K to study the Washington/Center corridors. With this annexation, the corridors would now completely be in TIRZ 3 (Downtown Market Square), 5, and 13 (Old Sixth Ward); all three entities could collaborate to fund infrastructure rebuilding/redesign.
• The Waugh Dr. bike lanes/resurfacing being completed currently by TIRZ 27 (Montrose) would be extended to Buffalo Bayou Park by TIRZ 5 in some fashion.
• TIRZ 5 would oversee the rebuilding of Shepherd/Durham from Washington to I-10, the missing link. 
• No timelines were given. I'm assuming some of this is years out, but this is good progress in my opinion.  

 

annexation map.pdf

[j_cuevas713]

Couldn't find a thread for the reconstruction of Shepherd Dr from 59 to Westheimer. Did anyone else notice that a lot of the equipment is gone? I was walking my dog and didn't see a bulldozer or any construction cones. 

[j_cuevas713]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Houston-to-use-nighttime-parking-meters-to-help-17073192.php

[j_cuevas713]

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2022/04/19/cyclists-camera-captures-dangerous-road-rage-incident-in-deer-park/

[hindesky]

TXDOT 10 year road construction plan. Houston section starts on page 92.

https://ftp.txdot.gov/pub/txdot/tpp/utp/utp-2023.pdf

[BEES?!]

New transportation app released the other day, it’s called Houston ConnectSmart

https://www.houstonconnectsmart.com

I’ve been playing around with it. I really like the carpool group feature.

You can see traffic cameras on the map. 

It lists all BCycle stations and how many bikes are available at each one. The bike route comfort levels is a neat feature too, and is nice for a less-confident cyclist like myself. 

I think it would be nice if they had a layer that made bus route info a bit easier to understand. You can see the names of the stops, but it’s not immediately clear to which numbered route they belong. If they could fix that somehow, that would be very helpful. 

Edited September 18, 2022 by BEES?!

[j_cuevas713]

I just got through walking my dog and I came across a surveyor on W Alabama. I asked him what they were doing and he said they're about to start reconstruction on the street. He said they finished doing work from Buffalo Speedway to Kirby and they completing Kirby to Shepherd today. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[samagon]

On 12/2/2022 at 1:45 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

I just got through walking my dog and I came across a surveyor on W Alabama. I asked him what they were doing and he said they're about to start reconstruction on the street. He said they finished doing work from Buffalo Speedway to Kirby and they completing Kirby to Shepherd today. 

so from Shepherd to Montrose? maybe all the way to the spur?

[j_cuevas713]

1 hour ago, samagon said:

so from Shepherd to Montrose? maybe all the way to the spur?

That's being handled by Montrose TIRZ. I live right on the border of UK

[hindesky]

3 hours ago, samagon said:

so from Shepherd to Montrose? maybe all the way to the spur?

Phase 2 is from Buffalo Spwy to Shepherd and Phase 3 will be Shepherd to the Spur.

[j_cuevas713]

https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/transportation/2022/12/13/texas-department-of-transportation-allocates-250m-for-walking-biking-in-2023/

[samagon]

when I look at this amount compared to the bigger picture, TXDoT has a 30 billion annual budget https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/fin/funding-brochure2021.pdf and they are tossing 0.8% for pedestrian and cycling? I feel slighted, but then I start start to feel like I've got Stockholm syndrome and am grateful they are doing anything for transportation other than just single occupancy vehicles.

this money is allocated from the federal level specifically for pedestrian and cycling, so it's not like TXDoT is doing anything other than making funds that someone else is providing available for use by local municipalities.  

ugh, I am glad that money is being allocated, no matter how much/little it is, or where it's from.

Edited December 15, 2022 by samagon

[j_cuevas713]

Just a general question but are there any future plans to rebuild Westpark Dr? It’s hideous 

[004n063]

5 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Just a general question but are there any future plans to rebuild Westpark Dr? It’s hideous 

Yes, it's part of the MetroRapid plan. 

 

But that's optimistically set for a 2028 opening. Meanwhile dozens of construction workers are biking in the dark and dozens of kids are still walking to and from school (there are at least 4 on the worst part of WP) on desire paths next to 50+ mph traffic, and crossing the godawful intersection at 59.

[samagon]

the part of Westpark from 59 to Gessner is a mess, am I 3 lanes in each direction? am I 2 lanes in each direction? oooh, look, now I have a right turn lane only!

if ever there was a road in Houston that encouraged drivers to go faster than is safe, that's one of them.

[004n063]

10 hours ago, samagon said:

the part of Westpark from 59 to Gessner is a mess, am I 3 lanes in each direction? am I 2 lanes in each direction? oooh, look, now I have a right turn lane only!

if ever there was a road in Houston that encouraged drivers to go faster than is safe, that's one of them.

It's the most dangerous type of stroad: the 75% road, 25% street kind. It feels like a highway, and drivers treat it as such. Except people also make left turns onto it from perpendicular side streets and business/school driveways. Also people, including children, walk along and across it at near-peak traffic times. 

[dbigtex56]

Almost 40 years ago, 'Repo Man'  got it right.
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."

[AcresMansions]

On 9/18/2022 at 12:07 PM, BEES?! said:

New transportation app released the other day, it’s called Houston ConnectSmart

https://www.houstonconnectsmart.com

I’ve been playing around with it. I really like the carpool group feature.

You can see traffic cameras on the map. 

It lists all BCycle stations and how many bikes are available at each one. The bike route comfort levels is a neat feature too, and is nice for a less-confident cyclist like myself. 

I think it would be nice if they had a layer that made bus route info a bit easier to understand. You can see the names of the stops, but it’s not immediately clear to which numbered route they belong. If they could fix that somehow, that would be very helpful. 

I've been using it exclusively for a couple months now because of the rewards system. I want to make it my ONE transportation app but there's currently a few issues I have with it. 

-changing the walking speed settings does nothing to the estimated travel times and this makes the application offer me weird routes because it thinks i walk slower than a senior citizen with a walker and I won't make it to the bus stop on time to take a more common-sense route. 

-for that matter changing the prefered cycling speed also does nothing to the estimated travel times and that also feeds into the issue of suggesting bus routes i could reach on bicycle. 

Have you had the same or similar issues, and is this still an app you use or have you reverted to another app, i'm curious.

 

 

 

[j_cuevas713]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-sidewalk-construction-fee-developers-17735966.php

 

[AcresMansions]

6 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-sidewalk-construction-fee-developers-17735966.php

 

The sidewalk in lieu fee received a heated reaction from me and the rest during the October meeting of the Acres Home mobility study. Acres Homes' south side is rapidly filling up with 16-piece townhome developments on acre lots where previously there was only one ranch-style home. I'm not against more housing of any kind, but I'm very upset the developers think they can plop down as many of these gated multi-family developments and not even put in a sidewalk. Acres Home is not that kind of community, we take care of our own. Historically Acres home was sort of a black Wall Street-esque town before it was annexed and things went to shit.

Further, I think it's stupid that in the age of hyperinflation the city thinks it can manage a common fund and leverage economies of scale to get a sidewalk built "somewhere down the line" when a developer decides it's prohibitively expensive for them. We all told the planning department they need to make it mandatory, Acres Home needs sidewalks, bicycle lanes and the developers need to give something back when they come in and take up sub 100k lots to build 1.5mm+ in shoddy cookie-cutter townhomes.

Edited January 24, 2023 by AcresMansions

[j_cuevas713]

6 minutes ago, AcresMansions said:

The sidewalk in lieu fee for a heated reaction from me and the rest during the October meeting of the Acres Home mobility study.
I think it's stupid that in the age of hyperinflation the city thinks it can manage a common fund and leverage economies of scale to get a sidewalk built when a developer decides it's prohibitively expensive for them. We all told the planning department they need to make it mandatory, acres home needs sidewalks.

Yep because all that's going to happen is developers are going to make excuses not to build sidewalks

[Houston19514]

On 1/24/2023 at 12:42 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

Yep because all that's going to happen is developers are going to make excuses not to build sidewalks

If the fee costs more than building sidewalks or even a similar amount, why would they do that?  Further the allowed "excuses" are pretty limited.  This seems like a reasonable accommodation to reality. There are some neighborhoods that do not want sidewalks.  (My former neighborhood is among them - in fact it's in the deed covenants, IIRC.)  

It is a waste to require builders to install sidewalks on new builds in that neighborhood when they will never be connected to anything.  Why not take that money and install additional sidewalks where they can provide further pedestrian connectivity.

The draft ordinance from last year has the following allowed "excuses" (which, remember allows the builder/developer to pay to the city an amount approximately the same as he would otherwise have had to spend building sidewalks) - these may have been adjusted somewhat in this year's draft but probably not significantly):

(1) construction of new single-family residential . . . ; AND it is on a lot that has not been part ofd a subdivision plat created after October 1, 2020; AND the lot fronts a local street that is not a walkable place street or TOD street; AND the lot is not a corner lot . . . ; AND the lot makes up 20% or less of the linear length of the blockface; AND the lot is on a blockface where no existing sidewalk is located or no existing sidewalk is located within 500 feet of the lot along the same blockface; AND there is no school located on the same block.

OR

(2) they can file under Section 40-561 which require an application, a sidewalk plan, a non-refundable fee, and documentation to support the request, after which the planning officials must give notice of the request to the district council member, each relevant neighborhood association, the sidewalk committee, and other entities as determined by the planning official.  THEN, the sidewalk committee may approve the request IF construction of the sidewalk is infeasible due to existing physical conditions at the project site; OR construction of the sidewalk may create an unsafe condition or be otherwise contrary to sound public policy; OR there is an approved public street or sidewalk project at 60% or more of the design stage on the blockface; OR the required sidewalk construction . . . would adversely impact an approved public street project or other construction project by a governmental entity, political subdivision, transit authority, or local government corporation.  And again, gaining this exclusion only allows them the ability to pay the approximate cost of building the sidewalks they would otherwise be required to build.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Houston19514

[AcresMansions]

4 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yep because all that's going to happen is developers are going to make excuses not to build sidewalks

The more common excuses shared by Lindsey from Houston Planning & Development is that it was going to be very expensive for them to curb the trenches, but why would the city be able to do it in say, 4 years, cheaper than the developer can do it now? Inflation remains high, the Fed is going to continue to normalize rates, and this small window of opportunity while people sit around and wait to be pikachu-faced after the next fed meeting when they hike is all anyone is going to get.

[Houston19514]

22 hours ago, AcresMansions said:

The more common excuses shared by Lindsey from Houston Planning & Development is that it was going to be very expensive for them to curb the trenches, but why would the city be able to do it in say, 4 years, cheaper than the developer can do it now? Inflation remains high, the Fed is going to continue to normalize rates, and this small window of opportunity while people sit around and wait to be pikachu-faced after the next fed meeting when they hike is all anyone is going to get.

Not sure what you are talking about... curb the trenches?

[AcresMansions]

2 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Not sure what you are talking about... curb the trenches?

hell maybe i don't even know what I'm talking about. I thought that's what it was called when you build a curb and sidewalk over the trench and convert it to in-ground drainage as opposed to an open ditch. 

what's that called? 

bc as it stands many streets in Acres Home have very narrow streets and in cases where perhaps you might want to put in a sidewalk where there isn't one, you would have to build it over the trench, instead of narrowing the street even more. 

[j_cuevas713]

Looks like this was approved. I'm not against the plan, I do see the benefit of it helping us build continuous sidewalks in the city. 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-oks-sidewalk-fee-and-buffering-rules-17740765.php

[j_cuevas713]

This has also been approved. Metro is taking over the bike share program

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/bike-share-houston-metro-transit-bikehouston-17744012.php

[samagon]

On 1/25/2023 at 8:50 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

Looks like this was approved. I'm not against the plan, I do see the benefit of it helping us build continuous sidewalks in the city. 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-oks-sidewalk-fee-and-buffering-rules-17740765.php

great idea on the sidewalk part, although the fee needs to be set to an average price for pouring a sidewalk. right now $12psf is the high end of a sidewalk install psf, (at least according to top results from Google), but at some point the cost is going to go up, and it'll be cheaper to pay than to put in a sidewalk, which may counter the intended purpose.

as for the other mention in that article, looks like Ashby highrise haters have made density more difficult city wide. good job for them. I hope the developer builds as large as he possibly can and makes it 100% low income housing.