I-45 Rebuild (North Houston Highway Improvement Project)

[004n063]

On 2/23/2023 at 4:01 PM, mattyt36 said:

Below is a link to the Midtown Parks and Public Space Master Plan that I believe came out last week, which does not refer to the SkyPark as anything more than an option.

https://midtownhouston.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Midtown-Parks-and-Public-Space_DRAFT_230216.pdf

 

Man, if all of those protected bike lanes get built, Midtown will be just about the most bikable district in the country.

[hindesky]

Houston Housing Authority plans to demolish 31 more buildings.

Edited February 25, 2023 by hindesky

[hbg.50]

On 1/31/2023 at 3:21 PM, mattyt36 said:

I've said this many moons ago and it wasn't well received, but the one thing that concerns me is that we may be going overboard with parks here after years of not having much.  It is going to cost a lot to maintain Disco Green, the new cap park, Trebly Park, Market Square Park, Lynn Wyatt Square, Buffalo Bayou Park, not to mention the proposed greenbelt and now the Pierce Elevated Park.  If they're not all regularly teeming with people, I just fear they will become overrun with homeless or become neglected and turn into something more like Tranquility Park or Midtown Park.  Not to mention, who in the heck wants to go walking around the Pierce Elevated for 6 months a year without any tree cover.  (There's the same problem with the Post Skylawn.)

The Kinders (God Bless them!) have started an endowment to maintain Discovery Green!  Donated $2M

Kinder Foundation grants $2M to create Discovery Green endowment

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/02/24/kinder-foundation-discovery-green-endowment.html

[mattyt36]

51 minutes ago, steve1363 said:

The Kinders (God Bless them!) have started an endowment to maintain Discovery Green!  Donated $2M

Kinder Foundation grants $2M to create Discovery Green endowment

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/02/24/kinder-foundation-discovery-green-endowment.html

God bless them indeed. Personally responsible for Discovery Green, BBP, and Emancipation Park, in addition to everything else they have done. Houston is so lucky to have such a great and non-flashy tradition of philanthropy.

[HoustonMidtown]

FHWA and TxDOT sign agreement to allow I-45 North Houston Highway Improvement Project to move forward

 

https://www.txdot.gov/about/newsroom/local/houston/fhwa-txdot-sign-agreement-i45-nhhip.html

[bookey23]

There's a ton to take in here. These are in no way the most important aspects of this VRA, but two things that jumped out at me 15 minutes into reading the Voluntary Resolution Agreement:

1. My bike commute along White Oak Bayou by UHD into downtown will go from a nice view of downtown into a hellscape of elevated freeway lanes (Page 26 of the VRA)
2. They've committed to the cap parks in writing, with the largest being in EaDo stretching from Lamar to Commerce. Relevant text:

"a) TxDOT will design and construct a structural cap along the following:

• i. IH 69 that is located to be centered on and carrying both the METRO light rail Red Line and Fannin Street over the interstate main lanes;
• ii. IH 69 that is located to be centered on and carrying both Caroline Street and Wheeler Avenue, including their intersection over the interstate main lanes;
• iii. The parallel alignments of IH 69 and IH 45 that is bounded by Lamar Street and Commerce Street and carrying Lamar Street, McKinney Street, Walker Street, Rusk Street, Capitol Street, METRO’s Purple and Green Lines, Texas Avenue, Preston Street, Congress Street, Franklin Street and Commerce Street over the main lanes of both interstates and, New Hamilton Street over the IH 69 southbound main lanes and IH 45 southbound main lanes; and
• iv. IH 45 that is located to be centered on and carrying North Main Street, the southbound frontage road and the northbound frontage road over the interstate main lanes and managed lanes."

 

There's a ton in here about Flooding and Displacement/Housing that I won't have time to properly read for a while.

[Triton]

Work has pushed to 2027?!?! What the hell?

[bookey23]

5 minutes ago, Triton said:

Work has pushed to 2027?!?! What the hell?

I'd set the over/under for when this project is finally completed at 2040. Houston might be at the bottom of the ocean by then

[Amlaham]

So there's also a proposal to build a deck park on i45 and N Main? *chef kisses*

Honestly, I only see pros with this project. They plan to expand biking/ trial access and beautify the adjacent areas of the highway! 

1 hour ago, Triton said:

Work has pushed to 2027?!?! What the hell?

I may have missed this but I don't see this on the website or on the document. I wish they could get this thing rolling already!

[j_cuevas713]

35 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

So there's also a proposal to build a deck park on i45 and N Main? *chef kisses*

Honestly, I only see pros with this project. They plan to expand biking/ trial access and beautify the adjacent areas of the highway! 

I may have missed this but I don't see this on the website or on the document. I wish they could get this thing rolling already!

I've been on the fence about this project for a while. I do see the good in it though, but a start date of 2027 is a headache.

[tigereye]

3 hours ago, Triton said:

Work has pushed to 2027?!?! What the hell?

Notably, after the city hosts the World Cup in 2026

Id guess that may have something to do with it. Can’t have the city be a mess of construction for a globally showcase event like that. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by tigereye

[j_cuevas713]

1 hour ago, tigereye said:

Notably, after the city hosts the World Cup in 2026

Id guess that may have something to do with it. Can’t have the city be a mess of construction for a globally showcase event like that. 

If that's the case they need to rebuild the sidewalks along Chartres. That whole area is a mess already.

[tigereye]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

If that's the case they need to rebuild the sidewalks along Chartres. That whole area is a mess already.

Also, if that’s the case, they need to do something about the Astrodome before the World Cup. Can’t have an empty vacant condemned building next to a World Cup venue. What impression would that leave on our foreign visitors? 

[j_cuevas713]

2 minutes ago, tigereye said:

Also, if that’s the case, they need to do something about the Astrodome before the World Cup. Can’t have an empty vacant condemned building next to a World Cup venue. What impression would that leave on our foreign visitors? 

That building should have at the very least been pressure washed by now

[Triton]

5 hours ago, Amlaham said:

 

I may have missed this but I don't see this on the website or on the document. I wish they could get this thing rolling already!

"While the agreement could allow TxDOT to reconsider some of the delays, officials have said the pause left them no choice but to plan for 2027." 

[004n063]

FroM VRA:

"TxDOT will reconnect Andrew Street over the proposed Downtown Connectors in Fourth Ward on the west side of downtown. The Andrew Street reconnection will be a pedestrian-bike only crossing."

 

Oh hells yeah.

 

Just now, 004n063 said:

FroM VRA:

"TxDOT will reconnect Andrew Street over the proposed Downtown Connectors in Fourth Ward on the west side of downtown. The Andrew Street reconnection will be a pedestrian-bike only crossing."

 

Oh hells yeah.

 

"TxDOT has determined that maintaining the Cleburne Street connection across I-69 in Third Ward is feasible and will seek stakeholder and public input to retain this connection as part of the NHHIP."

So everyone here is gonna be a public inputter, yes? Guys?

[mattyt36]

8 hours ago, Triton said:

Work has pushed to 2027?!?! What the hell?

NB to the disingenuous detractors . . . when the cost increases 20%+ due to the delay, that is NOT a cost overrun.

[Triton]

3 hours ago, 004n063 said:

FroM VRA:

"TxDOT will reconnect Andrew Street over the proposed Downtown Connectors in Fourth Ward on the west side of downtown. The Andrew Street reconnection will be a pedestrian-bike only crossing."

 

Oh hells yeah.

Pretty sure we saw that proposal... like.. before Covid.

[kennyc05]

Maybe there's a chance this can get started earlier than 2027.

[004n063]

7 hours ago, Triton said:

Pretty sure we saw that proposal... like.. before Covid.

I mean, it's a 62-page thread, and I joined HAIF in late 2021...LET ME HAVE THIS TRITON

[texan]

13 hours ago, 004n063 said:

FroM VRA:

"TxDOT will reconnect Andrew Street over the proposed Downtown Connectors in Fourth Ward on the west side of downtown. The Andrew Street reconnection will be a pedestrian-bike only crossing."

 

Oh hells yeah.

 

I wish they would've pushed to make it a full cap from Andrews St. to W Dallas in this agreement. That would've been a very concrete and beneficial addition that could've been pursued.

[004n063]

1 hour ago, texan said:

I wish they would've pushed to make it a full cap from Andrews St. to W Dallas in this agreement. That would've been a very concrete and beneficial addition that could've been pursued.

Well, the highway will be gone. I am sure the city (or rather, the Kinders) will do something with the structure or the ROW along the full course of the eliminated highway.

[Houston19514]

On 3/7/2023 at 10:30 AM, bookey23 said:

1. They've committed to the cap parks in writing, with the largest being in EaDo stretching from Lamar to Commerce. Relevant text:

"a) TxDOT will design and construct a structural cap along the following:

• i. IH 69 that is located to be centered on and carrying both the METRO light rail Red Line and Fannin Street over the interstate main lanes;
• ii. IH 69 that is located to be centered on and carrying both Caroline Street and Wheeler Avenue, including their intersection over the interstate main lanes;
• iii. The parallel alignments of IH 69 and IH 45 that is bounded by Lamar Street and Commerce Street and carrying Lamar Street, McKinney Street, Walker Street, Rusk Street, Capitol Street, METRO’s Purple and Green Lines, Texas Avenue, Preston Street, Congress Street, Franklin Street and Commerce Street over the main lanes of both interstates and, New Hamilton Street over the IH 69 southbound main lanes and IH 45 southbound main lanes; and
• iv. IH 45 that is located to be centered on and carrying North Main Street, the southbound frontage road and the northbound frontage road over the interstate main lanes and managed lanes."

 

There's a ton in here about Flooding and Displacement/Housing that I won't have time to properly read for a while.

The language you quoted does not commit them to cap parks.  It only commits them to build the structural cap, not the park.  The structural caps were already part of the plan.  

I haven't read it completely, but from what I've seen so far, it's 99% Kabuki theater, as I predicted it would be.  The only slightly substantive change I've seen so far is an increase in their commitment to provide funds for public housing by $3 Million (This is over and above the costs of relocating people whose residences are displaced.) It's outrageous that it took 2 years to come to this agreement.  What a waste of time and money. 

Imagine how much more money could have been available for public housing and other worthy endeavors had we not wasted two years (and the employee hours, attorney fees, and increased project costs due to the delay) on this ridiculous exercise.

 

5 hours ago, 004n063 said:

I mean, it's a 62-page thread, and I joined HAIF in late 2021...LET ME HAVE THIS TRITON

I think his point was that the Andrews Street provisions were already planned.  This VRA provision changes nothing.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Houston19514

[JJxvi]

The City\Texans probably also have active bids to host a Super Bowl in 2026 and 2027 at this point as well. 

[Triton]

6 hours ago, 004n063 said:

I mean, it's a 62-page thread, and I joined HAIF in late 2021...LET ME HAVE THIS TRITON

Haha, sure thing. 

I guess what I was saying really wasn't aimed at you. It's more about the hilarity of the situation we find ourselves in... Especially when someone notices a preceived change in the design that may just be different wording now. 

All these politicians are patting each other on the back now that the midterms are over (something some of us could see a mile away) and yet there's no change  except for a now fully delayed project and one that has a much higher price tag. 

Each article you read about this, you just have to laugh. 

 

Edit: the upsetting part is the payback now. You know TXDOT could still begin this project this year but you know they're delaying it for retribution and a sign for other cities that want to block their work. 

I hope the activists learn from this incident. Instead of coming at the very end of this process, they should have been fully active when major changes were still being considered.. Not near the final decision making. They could have actually made a meaningful impact. 

And we also need to start talking changing the culture within TXDOT itself. It needs to stop being against integrating mass transit into their projects. 

[mattyt36]

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

I think his point was that the Andrews Street provisions were already planned.  This VRA provision changes nothing.

Has it really always been planned as pedestrian-only?

I guess now that I think about it, the renderings have all been that way.

Edited March 8, 2023 by mattyt36

[Big E]

On 3/7/2023 at 9:17 AM, HoustonMidtown said:

FHWA and TxDOT sign agreement to allow I-45 North Houston Highway Improvement Project to move forward

 

https://www.txdot.gov/about/newsroom/local/houston/fhwa-txdot-sign-agreement-i45-nhhip.html

WELL ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!!

[samagon]

On 3/8/2023 at 12:18 PM, Triton said:

Edit: the upsetting part is the payback now. You know TXDOT could still begin this project this year but you know they're delaying it for retribution and a sign for other cities that want to block their work. 

I doubt it. they have budgets and planning and they have to project and assign. that's been done. that was done. in whatever document it was that came out in Novemberish (if I am remembering correctly) that set the budget for the next 10 years.

that doesn't mean that next year they may find some way to pull things forward, but to the point of the WC games, I don't think the city wants the state to be 3 years into a project of this magnitude when we are a showcase to the world.

On 3/8/2023 at 12:18 PM, Triton said:

I hope the activists learn from this incident. Instead of coming at the very end of this process, they should have been fully active when major changes were still being considered.. Not near the final decision making. They could have actually made a meaningful impact. 

I think this is not a very good take.

businesses and government entities that have been engaged in this from the start have literally paid people to protect their interests as it relates to this project. all it took to get that ball rolling was one guy reading an article in 2007 (or whenever some of the news first started trickling) and sending the link to his boss, and then that getting filtered up to the CEO (or whoever was the person in charge) and then that person assigning someone to go be a part of the process on their behalf.

look at it from the perspective of someone living in poverty who is working more than 1 job to pay rent, or afford food for their kid. maybe they have time to see an article on this, or hear about it on the news? but who are they going to engage? 

it's unfortunate that the people they voted into office aren't really helpful. I started emailing SJL office over a decade ago (and continued to do so) regarding this specific project, and I never once got any reply. I had better luck from more local representatives of that area, but their interests align with the voters briefly, in order to get their vote, over the long term they represent the donations, and that again is the large companies that can afford to donate to protect their interests.

I have to believe that every one of the people who saw way back when that this was going to be a thing wanted to be a part of the process, but due to financial constraints, being a responsible parent, or other things that life throws at you when you are living paycheck to paycheck (as many of the affected people do), that doesn't leave you a lot of time for activism.

this process is not very conducive to success for their cause. I was shocked to see even what they were able to do.

On 3/8/2023 at 12:18 PM, Triton said:

And we also need to start talking changing the culture within TXDOT itself. It needs to stop being against integrating mass transit into their projects. 

hopefully change happens. it's simply mind boggling. there are 3 major projects on the scale of i45 that TXDoT is undertaking that I know about, and all 3 are facing the same pushback as i45 is. i10 in El Paso and i35 in Austin. they are both (from a perspective of expansion and land taking) almost mirrors of i45.

I hope for their sake they are early enough in the process to be able to push TXDoT to make real change, and I hope that our elected officials see what is happening and help move us in a new more transit diverse direction. I don't have much hope for them though, they'll get small wins, but overall the projects will fall the way TXDoT demands.

[JClark54]

On 3/8/2023 at 12:18 PM, Triton said:

 I hope the activists learn from this incident. Instead of coming at the very end of this process, they should have been fully active when major changes were still being considered.. Not near the final decision making. They could have actually made a meaningful impact. 

I agree. This is an absolutely shitty take, especially from a moderator. 

Many east end civic clubs and super neighborhoods that have zero affiliation with the Stop 45 group were engaged many years ago. They're largely comprised of older people don't use social media or understand who Stop 45 is. Their concerns were then and still are valid.

Limiting downtown access for half of the east end beyond EaDo that's west of Harrisburg to just Leeland, a street without a grade-separated crossing across the west belt (the region's most heavily trafficked line at 55 or more trains per day) is downright sacrificial to favor downtown interests, a far smaller population. 

Leeland is blocked a lot, and traffic from or to downtown will hit a stopped train and fly through the neighborhoods looking for a way around. Small cars, 18-wheelers, etc. 

People here talk about mobility daily. The above plan to move traffic off Polk is the exact opposite of what you preach. The only underpass is Polk, and putting all traffic on Leeland will only further exasperate the east end's traffic issues. 

I'm not saying stop the project. But to say activists weren't engaged until the end is not based in reality in any measurable way. We can disagree on topics, and I accept that, but the above comment is horrible and beneath a moderator. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by JClark54

[sapo2367]

I'm glad this project is finally out of purgatory (or at least it planned to be out of purgatory in 2027). I agree that a lot of the 'changes' are window dressing and its no shock that this happened right after the midterm elections. Cynicism in our political system aside, I'm hopeful this will lead to a more walkable, connected downtown/eado/midtown, and that will result in a more livable city for the folks in those areas. This limbo has only been bad for the area -- no one wants to invest in things that are getting torn down, but nothing is getting torn down at the same time. That poor blue house is looking worse by the day, lets see if it makes it to 2027 to get moved over to the east side.