Houston19514 Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 57 minutes ago, samagon said: 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. The $12 psf fee is the current fee. The amount of the Fee in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction will be established based on the estimated material and labor cost of the sidewalk projects constructed by the City on an annual basis. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 2 hours ago, samagon said: 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. From what I've heard, third party contractors in Houston are a bit above the $12/price, but it is somewhat in line with what developers pay before concrete prices spiked before COVID. They do still have to get approval and meet criteria to pay the $12/sf fee, so it isn't completely discretionary on their part. Currently the city is approving a few hundred sidewalk modifications per year that haven't been paying anything more than the $1000ish application fee. 1 hour ago, Houston19514 said: The $12 psf fee is the current fee. The amount of the Fee in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction will be established based on the estimated material and labor cost of the sidewalk projects constructed by the City on an annual basis. Exactly, they can modify it. Time will tell home much they'll be able to do, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/federal-road-safety-grant-awarded-houston-17756791.php 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcresMansions Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 Metro CEO Tom Lambert retiring at the end of the year (houstonchronicle.com) I would've preferred for them to promote from within, I think Sanjay Ramabhadran would bring dedicated leadership, but they've decided to hire a firm to find a new CEO. Idk anything about Tom, but maybe a change in leadership would impulse more investment into METRO. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 How is this not a hit and run? https://abc13.com/bicyclist-killed-deadly-hit-and-run-bike-stuck-under-car-bicycle-beneath-vehicle/12904169/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 6 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said: How is this not a hit and run? https://abc13.com/bicyclist-killed-deadly-hit-and-run-bike-stuck-under-car-bicycle-beneath-vehicle/12904169/ Sounds like it was? The article refers to it as a hit and run several times. They haven't charged him yet, but one has to assume they will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 15 hours ago, 004n063 said: Sounds like it was? The article refers to it as a hit and run several times. They haven't charged him yet, but one has to assume they will. Yeah the article makes it clear but the police for some reason had a hard time coming to the same conclusion. But yeah you're right, they'll be charged eventually. I'm just super sensitive on the subject after seeing people I know get seriously hurt or killed. The kid in Waller got 6 felonies for his stunt. I have yet to hear anything about the little boy who died riding his bike in his neighborhood. The last I heard, the lady that was driving admitted to being distracted by a sandwich she was eating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted March 16, 2023 Share Posted March 16, 2023 more construction to come for i45 (north of BW8 up to loop 336). https://communityimpact.com/houston/conroe-montgomery/development/2023/03/15/txdot-to-transform-i-45-corridor-north-to-conroe/ this article links back to another with 3 proposals. Quote Alternative 1: The first design proposal would use the existing paved roadway and restripe it to create one high-occupancy vehicle lane and five main lines in both directions. The project would not require additional right-of-way, according to TxDOT, but it would use a portion of the shoulders on the freeway to create the additional lanes. This plan does not make any improvements or changes to the frontage roads. Alternative 2: The second proposal would require additional right-of-way along I-45 in order to widen the freeway and make way for two HOV lanes as well as four to five main lanes north and south. It would also require full reconstruction of the frontage roads and ramps, but it would keep the same number of lanes. This would also add a shared-use path in place of sidewalks along the frontage. Alternative 3: The third proposal would require some additional right-of-way, but it would require a significant amount of construction to create two elevated HOV lanes going north and south. This would leave the same number of main and frontage lanes which currently exist and also create a shared-use path. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 I know this isn't "transit news' but it is important to note that the BBB has revoked Centerpoint Energy for a year. I hope they address the terrible job they do keeping the pedestrian realm clean after they do a job. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/bbb-revokes-centerpoint-accreditation-17845648.php 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted April 7, 2023 Share Posted April 7, 2023 (edited) Please tell me they’re building sidewalk here 🤦🏻♂️ This is in front of the Pappa’s Seafood that’s being remodeled. It looks like it was filled with mulch. Edited April 7, 2023 by j_cuevas713 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted April 10, 2023 Share Posted April 10, 2023 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/downtown-houston-parking-one-quarter-area-17888647.php 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 (edited) I wanted to add this random piece of info. I have a friend who works for TxDOT Houston, and he recently told me that the 288 Toll Road to Pearland was actually planned to be an extension of the Metro Rail but because of so much push back, it became a regular toll road. He also said a line on Washington to the old NW Mall is not dead it just needs the support of businesses along Washington. That was the biggest hurdle when trying to get that approved the first time. Anyways it hurt me when he said all of this, especially since the University Line should already be running right now if it hadn't been for idiots like Culberson. Happy Friday! Edited June 9, 2023 by j_cuevas713 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said: I wanted to add this random piece of info. I have a friend who works for TxDOT Houston, and he recently told me that the 288 Toll Road to Pearland was actually planned to be an extension of the Metro Rail but because of so much push back, it became a regular toll road. He also said a line on Washington to the old NW Mall is not dead it just needs the support of businesses along Washington. That was the biggest hurdle when trying to get that approved the first time. Anyways it hurt me when he said all of this, especially since the University Line should already be running right now if it hadn't been for idiots like Culberson. Happy Friday! I am not super confident that a Pearland line would have ever been very successful. The only regional lines that really make sense to me would be a Woodlands-Downtown-Sugar Land line (stops at Woodlands IAH, Downtown, Med Center, Bellaire/Bissonet, and Sugar Land) and a Katy-Downtown-Deer Park line (stops at Katy, Energy Corridor, Memorial/CityCentre, Uptown, Downtown, East End, Pasadena, and Deer Park). Local corridors like Washington (and Westheimer, and Gray, and Shepherd, and Montrose, and Almeda - roughly in that order) seem like better foci for our transit system to me. But I don't really know what I'm talking about. Edited June 9, 2023 by 004n063 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 12 minutes ago, 004n063 said: I am not super confident that a Pearland line would have ever been very successful. The only regional lines that really make sense to me would be a Woodlands-Downtown-Sugar Land line (stops at Woodlands IAH, Downtown, Med Center, Bellaire/Bissonet, and Sugar Land) and a Katy-Downtown-Deer Park line (stops at Katy, Energy Corridor, Memorial/CityCentre, Uptown, Downtown, East End, Pasadena, and Deer Park). Local corridors like Washington (and Westheimer, and Gray, and Shepherd, and Montrose, and Almeda - roughly in that order) seem like better foci for our transit system to me. But I don't really know what I'm talking about. Have you seen Pearland at rush hour? Both in the AM and PM that area is a disaster with easy 2 hr commutes in and out of the city. I used to live in that area, people def would have used it. And if anything it would have furthered the cause for more transit. We need to start giving people options. The idea that nobody would have used it is getting old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 42 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said: Have you seen Pearland at rush hour? Both in the AM and PM that area is a disaster with easy 2 hr commutes in and out of the city. I used to live in that area, people def would have used it. And if anything it would have furthered the cause for more transit. We need to start giving people options. The idea that nobody would have used it is getting old. Hey, maybe you're right - I don't really know the area at all. I also think it depends a bit on geography. From what I can figure, the main draws between Pearland and Downtown would be Hobby, UofH, and the Medical Center, but that'd be sort of a weird alignment, no? If you could get all of those (and/or through-run to Cypress or something?), it's not unimaginable. It's just that the exemplars are hard to find. Obviously Europe and Asia have plenty of great regional metros, and there are functional commuter rail systems in the Northeast Corridor. And, of course, BART is regional. But none of those systems started from a context as sprawly as Pearland and Houston. San Jose and Oakland are true cities unto themselves, with true downtowns, airports, and in San Jose's case, endless acres of depressing business parks. Pearland isn't anything like that. I don't think you'd see a lot of trips outside of the classic commuter rail "inbound/outbound" paradigm. And while Pearland is a big suburb, it's not as big as all of the towns on a typical MBTA or LIRR line put together. So I think what you'd most likely be looking at would be something like DART. And that's not something I'd object to having here, but I would definitely want to keep a keen eye on how suburban commuting was affecting service prioritization within the urban core. Would the red line still maintain 6min headways? Would we have as many buses with 10min headways? Would we have any shot at improving those, or the many lines (bus and rail) that need improvement? Again, it's not that transit wouldn't be good for Pearland, or that there isn't any latent demand for it, or that reducing the number of cars on 288 (or eliminating it altogether) wouldn't be good for Houston proper. It's just that I think the potential benefits of focusing on improving transit service and walkability in the central city and along key corridors is are greater in both likelihood and degree. In other words, with the debatable exception of airport-downtown connections, I think it's pretty much always best to establish the strong local services first, before adding the expresses and regionals. But that may be "wisdom" from an era before bike and micromobility technology and infrastructure were what they are today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 "Adding managed lanes along I-10 from Loop 610 West to downtown Houston, expected to cost $1.13 billion, including through the Loop 610 interchange." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/txdot-spending-plan-utp-houston-freeway-i45-i10-18292103.php 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFubbles Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 The city's addiction to lanes is mind blowing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, MrFubbles said: The city's addiction to lanes is mind blowing it's not the cities addiction to lanes, it is TXDoT relying on input from sources like HGAC, the members of which represent interests of the surrounding areas of Houston more than Houston. which kind of sucks because Houston has a majority of the population, yet we end up under represented by that committee, which holds a lot of sway. even still, there are a lot of people who live in Houston that still think more lanes of traffic is the only solution to transit issues. Edited September 13, 2023 by samagon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79ta Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 9/13/2023 at 3:20 PM, samagon said: even still, there are a lot of people who live in Houston that still think more lanes of traffic is the only solution to transit issues. unfortunately, that includes several candidates for mayor.... Quote Bike lanes faced a barrage of criticism from all (MJ Khan, former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia and attorney Lee Kaplan) candidates Friday night. Kaplan said Houston is still car-centric and “bikers shouldn’t control the city.” Khan agreed, adding that the current patchwork of dedicated bike lanes also present safety risks. Garcia last week received rounds of cheers at a transit forum for championing alternative transportation methods before a cyclist-friendly crowd. But he underscored the rift between him and the pro-biking community Friday night and highlighted the need to scrutinize the "cannibalization of streets for bike lanes" in Houston. “I can't tell you how many people in the bike community have been trolling me, being mean and angry, all those things,” Garcia said. But due to the high costs of constructing bike lanes, he said the funds would be better spent on other causes such as public safety and drainage improvement. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-mayor-candidates-gun-buybacks-bike-lanes-18395207.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) For those that want to participate, Midtown Management District is coming up with it's 10 year improvement plan for the neighborhood. They need input on what areas need sidewalks, lighting, etc. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdECLj1Xow0tOD0gZ67wkZhq0rn2GhcQ_SkgUMaILkusfdG5A/viewform Edited October 3, 2023 by j_cuevas713 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amlaham Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 Does anyone have a link for current/future road construction projects in Houston? RebuildHouston.org is not up to date at all and has a lot of missing projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 6 minutes ago, Amlaham said: Does anyone have a link for current/future road construction projects in Houston? City of Houston street projects. https://www.engagehouston.org/street-projects https://engagehoustonmap.org/src/project.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 Great video! 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbg.50 Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 13 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said: Great video! The video was ok, but I guess "good" relative to other videos. He was well versed on Prop B but not well versed on NHHIP. He also took some unnecessary jabs at the Houston Astros which were weak. I didn't learn anything new in this video which magnifies what a poor job Houston does tooting its own horn compared to other cities. This guy was shocked and amazed that Houston was nothing like he expected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, steve1363 said: The video was ok, but I guess "good" relative to other videos. He was well versed on Prop B but not well versed on NHHIP. He also took some unnecessary jabs at the Houston Astros which were weak. I didn't learn anything new in this video which magnifies what a poor job Houston does tooting its own horn compared to other cities. This guy was shocked and amazed that Houston was nothing like he expected. It wasn't meant to be a tour guide video but an unbiased view from someone who is very well known in the world of building strong cities. In my opinion Houston doesn't need to toot it's own horn, it needs to continue building smarter. From there people will see how great the city is. But when you have poor sidewalks in Midtown right adjacent to Downtown, people are going to focus on the bad before the good. He was brutally honest which is good. The Astros jabs were all in fun, nothing to take seriously. The bigger point is that Ray really liked Houston and praised the city for it's efforts. He also understood the battle between the city and region. It was great he covered Prob B. I see the effort passing pretty easily. A lot of people in Houston have been scratching their head for decades wondering why certain things are being done that they don't want. Edited October 26, 2023 by j_cuevas713 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 18 hours ago, steve1363 said: The video was ok, but I guess "good" relative to other videos. He was well versed on Prop B but not well versed on NHHIP. He also took some unnecessary jabs at the Houston Astros which were weak. I didn't learn anything new in this video which magnifies what a poor job Houston does tooting its own horn compared to other cities. This guy was shocked and amazed that Houston was nothing like he expected. There are counterpoints in the NHHIP's favor that he didn't touch on, but they're not enough to countervail the validity of his argument. We on HAIF have all accepted that it's going to happen, and that TXDoT is essentially a car lobby, so we look for positives through that lens. In the context of such inevitability, the cool little side projects we're supposed to be getting out of it feel like a lot of good things. But for a die-hard urbanist, the premise of that inevitability is damning, so it's impossible not to see the project as a giant giveaway to car-dependency. I don't blame him for that view. I do feel that he undersold the importance of neighborhoods like Gulfton, though, and how much the city has screwed over that whole region in its planning. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Houston is without a chief transportation planner, at a time when some suspect the plan for Houston transportation is moving backward. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, David Fields said his last day with the city was Monday, listing a number of accomplishments he credited city workers with instituting. “Through sound planning and a passionate commitment to this mission, Vision Zero Houston has led the work in reducing crashes and fatalities,” Fields wrote. “We have miles of new bikeways and sidewalks thanks to the Houston Bike Plan and the Sidewalk Program; and most importantly, Houstonians recognize they deserve transportation that works no matter how they travel: walking, rolling, riding transit, or driving.” Fields’ departure comes as Whitmire slows or reverses many of the street redesigns he shepherded. On Monday, because of what Whitmire called a “bad design,” crews removed a recently installed median along Houston Avenue south of Washington that led to complaints from nearby residents and businesses, notably Trinity Lutheran Church. In the past two months, a large truck and a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus both got stuck on the median, though other heavy trucks and buses routinely navigated the street. “I can say to me concern is an understatement,” said Mehdi Rais, a Montrose area resident who recently helped form Walk Roll Houston, a group aimed at pedestrian safety, especially around schools. Rais said the recent changes at Houston Avenue, coupled with the departures, signal the city is unwilling to make any changes if they draw ire from certain people. “All of that work was unraveled by a phone call from a pastor,” Rais said. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-transportation-planner-resigns-amid-road-18651043.php 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 5 hours ago, hindesky said: Houston is without a chief transportation planner, at a time when some suspect the plan for Houston transportation is moving backward. Glad to see Chron hit the right note in the opening graf, at least. The situation right now certainly feels dire to me, and we need the media to amplify the noise that multimodal Houstonians have been making the last couple of weeks. Edited February 7 by 004n063 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouTXRanger Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 11:05 AM, hindesky said: Houston is without a chief transportation planner, at a time when some suspect the plan for Houston transportation is moving backward. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, David Fields said his last day with the city was Monday, listing a number of accomplishments he credited city workers with instituting. “Through sound planning and a passionate commitment to this mission, Vision Zero Houston has led the work in reducing crashes and fatalities,” Fields wrote. “We have miles of new bikeways and sidewalks thanks to the Houston Bike Plan and the Sidewalk Program; and most importantly, Houstonians recognize they deserve transportation that works no matter how they travel: walking, rolling, riding transit, or driving.” Fields’ departure comes as Whitmire slows or reverses many of the street redesigns he shepherded. On Monday, because of what Whitmire called a “bad design,” crews removed a recently installed median along Houston Avenue south of Washington that led to complaints from nearby residents and businesses, notably Trinity Lutheran Church. In the past two months, a large truck and a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus both got stuck on the median, though other heavy trucks and buses routinely navigated the street. “I can say to me concern is an understatement,” said Mehdi Rais, a Montrose area resident who recently helped form Walk Roll Houston, a group aimed at pedestrian safety, especially around schools. Rais said the recent changes at Houston Avenue, coupled with the departures, signal the city is unwilling to make any changes if they draw ire from certain people. “All of that work was unraveled by a phone call from a pastor,” Rais said. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-transportation-planner-resigns-amid-road-18651043.php It looks like the post I wrote was lost to the ether . . . to summarize, losing Fields is a tragedy for the city. A few years ago, when he first started, I was fortunate enough to speak/work with him a little, and I was impressed with his attitude regarding the city and its potential. He went out of his way to make projects work (like attending an opposition meeting for 11th street to answer questions and talk with concerned residents) and I respected his decision to take his career (multi-modal planning) to a challenging place (a sunbelt metropolis). It will be difficult to find a replacement that has his attitude and outlook, if Whitmire plans to get a replacement at all, which I doubt considering how he's conducted his office so far. Very disappointed that my hometown seems to be taking ten steps back. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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