new bike paths around town

[editor]

7 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/edward-pollard-bike-lanes-16716815.php

Glad the Mayor and others took exception to this 🤡 and his statements. The problem is people aren’t paying attention so they wind up in the bike lane. 

If I knew the city/county's web sites better, I'd look up the list of his campaign donors and see how many are auto dealers and concrete companies.

[j_cuevas713]

Instead of this bozo complaining about bike lane design he needs to focus on the bigger issue. The city needs to crack down on people speeding and drivers who are completely distracted by their phone or whatever else they're doing. I have friends on the west side of town that live along Westheimer and that road is a damn drag strip. And not only that, people aren’t just speeding they’re completely ignoring traffic signals/signs and doing whatever they want. All of this is from decades of pedestrian neglect and a car centric culture, but somehow 3 years of bike lanes is the issue.

Edited December 21, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[Ross]

43 minutes ago, editor said:

If I knew the city/county's web sites better, I'd look up the list of his campaign donors and see how many are auto dealers and concrete companies.

Here you go https://cohweb.houstontx.gov/CampaignFinanceWeb/CFRwebsiteSimpleSearch.aspx

[editor]

1 hour ago, Ross said:

Here you go https://cohweb.houstontx.gov/CampaignFinanceWeb/CFRwebsiteSimpleSearch.aspx

Thanks for that.  I skimmed through the latest report.  Lots of construction companies.  Lots of real estate interests.  Lots of motel companies.  Lots of professional sportsball employees. A bunch of people hiding behind P.A.C.'s. 

Again, it was just a quick skim, but I did see these two donations from legacy transportation providers:

Team Autoplex - $1,000
Linda Butler, of Grand Rapids, Michigan - an employee of General Motors - $2,000

[hindesky]

He walked it back after a lot of heat.

[j_cuevas713]

17 hours ago, hindesky said:

He walked it back after a lot of heat.

The great thing behind that is it shows how huge the bicycle culture has become here. When enough voices have that kind of influence, we're on the right track to becoming a gold level bike city. There are only a few cities where bicycle culture really dominates. NY, Chicago, and SF are a few that stand out. It would be nice to see us in that discussion in the near future. We're too damn flat not to have bike lanes all over this city. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[X.R.]

It was an incredibly idiotic statement, especially given his district which contains a) higher density than a lot of Houston and b) quite a few people who actually use bikes to get to work which anyone can see on the sidewalk when one drives around his district.

I do love what the city has done for all the neighborhoods that have bike lanes running through them, but District J needs them just as badly, if not moreso, than many of the neighborhoods that have them. Would love to know the number of people who don't use cars in his district to get to places. I would imagine it is higher than the Houston average, which would make his comments out of touch with his constituents. They deserve better. 

[sapo2367]

Heights bike trail is getting an extension on the western end. Looks like this will go under TC Jester and then connect to the sidewalk there. 

[august948]

I've seen grading going on recently at several places for the Brays trail segment connecting Fiorenza, Driscoll, and Storey parks.  Once they complete this segment and the one eastwards from Storey park this might well be the longest bike path in the metro area, running from Brays Greenway Park on Buffalo Bayou all the way past Fiorenza park to about a mile or so west of Hwy 6.  If they can figure out how to connect it to the trails in George Bush Park you might be able to ride almost to Fulshear on grade separated bike paths.

Edited May 4, 2022 by august948

[sapo2367]

Heights trail extension is open!

[TacoDog]

Where is this extension?

[Triton]

Is this going across the train tracks? Or is this somehow going around it?

[august948]

4 hours ago, TacoDog said:

Where is this extension?

I believe this is the extension from Stude Park to the Heights trail.  As far as I know they're still working on the bridge so I don't think it's completely open yet.

EDIT: Nevermind...looks like this is extending the trail towards TC Jester.  My bad.

Edited June 7, 2022 by august948

[sapo2367]

4 hours ago, TacoDog said:

Where is this extension?

This is under TC jester, basically this: 

[august948]

57 minutes ago, sapo2367 said:

This is under TC jester, basically this: 

Is it complete or are they still working on it?

[jermh]

1 hour ago, sapo2367 said:

This is under TC jester, basically this: 

Awsome! I didn't even realize they were doing this. I hated crossing TC Jester on at bike a the bottom of that bridge, so I've always drove to visit friends in that area. This connector will make me reach for a bike instead of car keys from now on.

Edited June 7, 2022 by jermh

[sapo2367]

55 minutes ago, august948 said:

Is it complete or are they still working on it?

I haven't biked it but I believe it is open today

 

27 minutes ago, jermh said:

Awsome! I didn't even realize they were doing this. I hated crossing TC Jester on at bike a the bottom of that bridge, so I've always drove to visit friends in that area. This connector will make me reach for a bike instead of car keys from now on.

Woot! I think the long term plan is for this to continue and cross over I10 to get all the way to Memorial Park. I recall seeing some mockups somewhere on HAIF a while ago.

Its the little connectors like this or the one by Stude park that can make such a difference to a comprehensive network. Eliminate those pinch points and people are much more ready to give it a try.

[Triton]

7 hours ago, sapo2367 said:

I haven't biked it but I believe it is open today

It's open:

New Heights Bike Trail by Marc longoria, on Flickr

[Amlaham]

I get sooo jealous of you guys that live in the Heights and have these awesome biking trails. You guys could legit bike all the way downtown without even being on the street. I feel like almost every area in town is seeing new trail construction except for my area lol.... Galleria area... not a single biking trail for miles. 

[BEES?!]

4 hours ago, Amlaham said:

I get sooo jealous of you guys that live in the Heights and have these awesome biking trails. You guys could legit bike all the way downtown without even being on the street. I feel like almost every area in town is seeing new trail construction except for my area lol.... Galleria area... not a single biking trail for miles. 

For real. Galleria area needs some trail action. There’s a ton of people living there, too, so I’m sure the demand is there. 
 

(not to mention- the easy access to memorial park!)

Edited June 8, 2022 by BEES?!

[X.R.]

57 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

I get sooo jealous of you guys that live in the Heights and have these awesome biking trails. You guys could legit bike all the way downtown without even being on the street. I feel like almost every area in town is seeing new trail construction except for my area lol.... Galleria area... not a single biking trail for miles. 

Putting in the silver line drew all sorts of criticism and some lawsuits from the surrounding businesses due to the construction and perceived/real effect the construction had on their revenue. I wonder if that is in the back of the mind of the Uptown peeps when considering more pedestrian construction.

Tbh, there are alot of roads that could be utilized for a lane given the lack of traffic outside of peak rush hour. Plus, y'all have schools and actually incredible number of pocket parks that could really be given a boost by having bike connectivity with Memorial Park. I work in and around the Galleria area and it always amazes me that for an area with such high property values (condos are viable assets here!) getting from Tanglewood/West Oaks/Upper Post Oak/San Filipe to the park seems like such a treacherous proposition. Any real protected pathway would instantly be a huge boost, to both life quality and property values. I see so many people with strollers navigating shitty sidewalks, cyclists riding front roads, and joggers in the street that I'm just like "whats going on."

[sapo2367]

I was checking the Houston bike plan map and even their proposed trails are just ok for the galleria area.

https://mycity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4b5467e117d0459b84e2f2e94ba4fdc2&extent=-10619481.073%2C3470289.6806%2C-10609291.0617%2C3475071.7722%2C102100

[Arboosto]

23 hours ago, sapo2367 said:

Woot! I think the long term plan is for this to continue and cross over I10 to get all the way to Memorial Park. I recall seeing some mockups somewhere on HAIF a while ago.

Here they are:

[pokemonizepic]

Westpark is getting a mix of protected bike lanes and 10 foot wide shared-use paths from Dairy Ashford to Wilcrest, along with utility work 
https://www.engagehouston.org/westpark-paving-and-drainage

 

[august948]

10 hours ago, pokemonizepic said:

Westpark is getting a mix of protected bike lanes and 10 foot wide shared-use paths from Dairy Ashford to Wilcrest, along with utility work 
https://www.engagehouston.org/westpark-paving-and-drainage

 

'bout time they got this done.

[skooljunkie]

Per the July Board Agenda, TIRZ 5 has added a project per to the '23-'27 CIP:

"Mill and overlay with the addition of bike lanes and improvement of pedestrian facilities: Dallas to Allen Parkway on
Waugh Drive. This project will be completed in partnership with Precinct 1 and TIRZ 27"

[j_cuevas713]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/articleComments/White-Oak-Trail-is-brimming-with-riders-Two-new-17377392.php

[pokemonizepic]

 

https://www.hcp1.net/AlmedaRoadBikeway

[004n063]

On 7/12/2022 at 3:18 PM, skooljunkie said:

Per the July Board Agenda, TIRZ 5 has added a project per to the '23-'27 CIP:

"Mill and overlay with the addition of bike lanes and improvement of pedestrian facilities: Dallas to Allen Parkway on
Waugh Drive. This project will be completed in partnership with Precinct 1 and TIRZ 27"

Woah I missed this. That fantastic news!

[004n063]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:39 PM, sapo2367 said:

I was checking the Houston bike plan map and even their proposed trails are just ok for the galleria area.

https://mycity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=4b5467e117d0459b84e2f2e94ba4fdc2&extent=-10619481.073%2C3470289.6806%2C-10609291.0617%2C3475071.7722%2C102100

The problems with the layout in the Galleria are the real issue. The only solution is sturdily built protected lanes, because there are literally zero side streets that run all the way through east-west. And I don't see Uptown drivers giving up their dominion easily.

 

It's a huge pain for me. I bike from work on Dunvale/Westpark to my home in Midtown. Should be ten straight miles on Richmond, but instead it's sixteen miles that take me through Memorial Park and Rice Military, and not because I want it that way.