Houston: The New River City?

[nmainguy]

Hmmm. The view from that footbridge is a little scary, heading right into the dark area under the freeway. What were they thinking with that location? Thanks for the pictures though.

When all the lighting has been installed and all the odds and ends tied up, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. It would be great if the parking lot at Memorial and Houston could be open on nights there are performances at Hobby. On a nice night that would be a very pleasant stroll across the bridge.

[TheNiche]

THATS WHAT THE BLUE LIGHTS ARE FOR TO MAKE IT MORE APPEALING AND SAFE. AND HOPEFULLY THE CITY GETS OFF ITS A** AND DOSE SOMETHING WITH ALL THOSE BRIDGES THAT BLOCK THE BAYOU Y TRAILS.

The only thing I can make of the blue lights is that it is intended to deter heroin users. It's almost as though that part of downtown has been turned into a massive simulation of the last few seats of a Greyhound or chartered bus.

[Highway6]

Anyone know when the lights will be turned on for good ?

They had them all going last Thursday, but then when I went back Fri night to photograph that area, they were all off again.

[T 2 THA C]

The grand opening is planned for May 20. Now to push the city to start on the other listed projects.

Edited March 27, 2006 by T 2 THA C

[largeTEXAS]

By the way, anyone know the status of the talks about tunneling I-45 under Buffalo Bayou? I assume TXDoT didn't go for it.

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Anyone know when the lights will be turned on for good ?

They had them all going last Thursday, but then when I went back Fri night to photograph that area, they were all off again.

I saw the lights for the first time when I passed near one of the bridges or freeways with the lights on(forget which one) It looked great....I can only imagine how the entire project will look in May.

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Well, I stopped by tonight to try to catch the big blue lights under the bridges but they weren't on . Even though they weren't on th bayou was still very well lit. There were families walking around and bike riders too at 10pm. I took a few pictures but they didn't come out to well(still haven't learned all the functions, so night pics don't compare to being there).

Maybe they'll be on in a couple of months when I return. See y'all then

[h-townsfinest]

wow 10 pm, thats great! good lighting brings people, and yes makes them feel safer, im very impressed with how the bayou has turned, just 8 years ago, i took my first trip downtown, and im from HOUSTON! thats how desolate it was, but 8 years ago i saw a downtown that made me ashamed, i was expecting so much and found so little, and the bayou was nowhere compared to what it is becoming now, but i look at our city now and it is thriving, i love my hometown! go houston!

[Javi]

Hi there. The wife and I stopped by yesterday at about 5:30 pm. Started our walk from Tranquility Park (next to City Hall), and walked to behind Hobby Center, where the Pedestrian Bridge lies (and is open, not scary). We took a walk all the way to the Aquarium (there is a still-locked entrance from the trail), viewed an Easter Gay-friendly function and walked back to Tranquility Park on the streets.

Observations: The trail looks great - no pictures yet. Some great pictures of downtown can be taken from the pedestrian bridge. Freeway noise is there, but it's so far up that it can easily be ignored. Graffitti exists - but it looks like it's being sandblasted for removal. Saw some of the blue light placement - looks like it's going to be great. Many lampposts litter the trail, it's going to be well lighted. The water is still dirty-looking, but other wise the walk will be a great place to be, and will serve as a scenic alternate from City Hall to Wortham Center, the Aquarium and Bayou Place.

[Sunstar]

I stopped by the other day during my lunch break to check out the finished product and I have to say I was quite impressed. Back when they first announced they were working on this segment of the bayou I was very skeptical. I felt there were just too many overpasses on this leg of the bayou for it to be successful. But in fact, it

[Highway6]

Where did all the trash go? I

[Houstonian in Iraq]

I've noticed this too...

Have they put some trash collection filters in place upstram a la paris, or is it merely the lack of rain/sewer runoff thats made it actually pretty damn decent looking lately ?

The bayou is kept clean with the help of this trash skimmer

workers and volunteers.

Here's the story on the trash skimmer

[MidtownCoog]

I see a ton of trash in the bayou under 59 every day.

[MidtownCoog]

OK. NOW you should see the bayou after this morning's storms. Yuk.

Where does all the styrofoam come from?

[dbigtex56]

Where does all the styrofoam come from?

Anonymous donors.

[Sunstar]

OK. NOW you should see the bayou after this morning's storms. Yuk.

Where does all the styrofoam come from?

Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

[Highway6]

Edited April 27, 2006 by Highway6

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Better late than never

Too bad I can't make it. I really do hope my schedule changes though.

[MiDTOWNeR]

Rode the new trail last night. Very nice! That water is pretty nasty though.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Yeah, the water is at its worst after a good rain.

[Subdude]

Does anyone know what is going on along the bayou immediately east of Eleanor Tinsley park, next to the volleyball court? When I rode by there were a couple of bulldozers and the grass was pretty torn up. It is unfortunate that part is ripped up when they just finished the bayou improvements immediately adjacent.

[Trae]

When are they going to finish these big plans:

[TAK]

that is 50 years from now... just before the polar caps melt and put us under water. ;-)

[Trae]

^^You serious??

[TAK]

no i'm not serious... but the more i think about it, the probability of the two are about the same.

[bkjones98]

I couldn't find the "New River City" post with the discussion of developments along the bayou, but this article from the HBJ was kind of interesting. I'm not sure what exactly dragon boats are, but it would be nice to see more use of our beloved 'crik'.

Buffalo Bayou to get boathouse

Houston Business Journal - 12:39 PM CST Tuesday

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The Texas Dragon Boat Association plans to build the city's first boathouse along Buffalo Bayou.

The non-profit association organizes the Houston Dragon Boat Festival on the bayou each May to carry on the tradition of dragon boating and increase awareness of Asian and Asian American culture.

The Houston Endowment donated $75,000 to build the boathouse at 501 N. York Street, which will be used to store dragon boats. The association will also use the new facility for training and as a launch site for community-based teams.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer.

"We supported the project because of the year-round team-building, youth boating education and breast cancer survivor programs," said Ann Hamilton of Houston Endowment. "Dragon boat racing is a great way at-risk populations can engage in healthy activities on one of Houston's most historic waterways."

Houston City Councilman Adrian Garcia says the boathouse will encourage more Houstonians to take advantage of Buffalo Bayou.

The 2007 Houston Dragon Boat Festival is scheduled for May 5 at Allen's Landing. Last year's event drew more than 25 teams.

[ricco67]

While I understand the boathouse will be private, will the slip/launch be made for public to launch canoes?

Eitehr way, it should be a major plus, I just worry about it during a couple of the major floods.

[Subdude]

I couldn't find the "New River City" post with the discussion of developments along the bayou, but this article from the HBJ was kind of interesting.

I went ahead and moved it to the "New River City" thread.

The boathouse sounds like a nice idea.