Downtown Houston Street Revitalization

[DJ V Lawrence]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metrop...an/3518023.html

A phrase of the revitalization downtown has completed now that downtown's streets have finally been cleared of a 8-year construction project for that whole area. What do you think of the results? Are you proud? Please send your favorite pictures as well if you have them

[The Great Hizzy!]

As with everything, some of the work was excellent, some of it not too good.

Example: Louisiana Street, just four years after completion, has some spots that are pretty bumpy, though the lights and sidewalk upgrades worked out very well.

Milam Street was well done. The street is smooth, the lighting is perhaps the best DT and it greatly improved the urban landscape from a visual standpoint.

Main Street had no choice but to be a marked improvement. It was an absolute disgrace for years prior to the rail/road reconstruction. The brick street and sidewalks were a nice addition, though the sidewalks have a few ill-deposited bricks, particularly in the Historic District.

Smith Street is very nice but this is after a second round of reconstruction (you'll recall that Smith was redone a couple of years prior, only on a smaller scale. The redo wasn't well done. The second reconstruction, however, went smooth and the streetscape may be the best downtown overall. Only issue is that the crosswalk at Capitol, between Bayou Place and Jones Plaza, sticks out like a sore thumb).

There's also the issue of poor upkeep during construction as some sites were unnecessarily messy and trashy (such as the Travis Street work that finally came to an end). While the cleanup on Travis since completion has been noted--and appreciated--it was still very embarrassing watching the trash build up in exposed gutters and construction equipment slinging dust and dirt all over the uncompleted sidewalks.

Finally, I think the city would've been better served investing in some sort of upgrade to lane markers, as many of the existing ones are starting to rub off into obscurity, particularly on Louisiana and Fannin.

Oh, and I wish the Cotswold project included more fountain work, as its hard to distinguish the theme when it's limited to only a couple of streets and only for a handful of blocks.

[Montrose1100]

I like the blue light/censor pedestrian crossings by City Hall.

[Houstonian in Iraq]

I like the blue light/censor pedestrian crossings by City Hall.

Is that the same kind of pedestrian crossing that's between Bayou place and the Wortham Theater?

Where you walk between the two sensors and the cross walk lights up along with the posted sign.

That was pretty cool.

As for the street revitalization, they are way better than when the project first started. Although there are some streets they could of done a better job of(can't think of what segments exactly). The lighting is great, it's almost daylight at night. Some covered bus stops even have lights.

[Montrose1100]

Is that the same kind of pedestrian crossing that's between Bayou place and the Wortham Theater?

Where you walk between the two sensors and the cross walk lights up along with the posted sign.

That was pretty cool.

As for the street revitalization, they are way better than when the project first started. Although there are some streets they could of done a better job of(can't think of what segments exactly). The lighting is great, it's almost daylight at night. Some covered bus stops even have lights.

I'm not sure.

But when someone walks, the path across the street lights up, and theres a sign that lights up further down the street to let drivers know when people are crossing.

[Houstonian in Iraq]

I'm not sure.

But when someone walks, the path across the street lights up, and theres a sign that lights up further down the street to let drivers know when people are crossing.

Yep that's it.

Edited December 13, 2005 by Houstonian in Iraq

[Talbot]

Except the one's by Wortham aren't blue. But when I first saw it, I thought it was pretty cool.

[Guest Plastic]

I'm tired of Downtown. They need to work on other parts of town.

[danes75]

Are they not working on other parts of town? I could have sworn there was some sort of construction in the Galleria area. And Midtown. And the Heights.

Wait a second, Houston's ALWAYS under construction!

[ssullivan]

Oh wow - I didn't realize they had installed those crosswalks in downtown Houston. I first saw them earlier this year in downtown Olympia, Washington and thought they were really neat. They also had some that had traffic lights and pedestrian signals, and when someone walked between the censors it was the same as pushing the button to get the signals to change for a pedestrian. Only this worked better, because you didn't have to push the button.

The Smith St. reconstruction done just a couple of years ago was always intended as a temporary patch job to get the street through a couple of more years until the full reconstruction. It was not really a waste of time or money because it did smooth out the street some and it was only intended to last a couple of years. That's why it didn't hold up well at all.

[Talbot]

I'm tired of Downtown. They need to work on other parts of town.

Are you serious? They have been working on other parts of town for years. They have just really started on DT.

[travelguy_73]

I have an issue with the City and Metro saying that downtown streets have been constructed, as if ALL of them had been. As someone who takes crosstown streets often, these are still mostly in terrible condition (Pease, Bell, and Jefferson especially). I know they weren't part of the original plan, but it does seem to be a little misleading.

Otherwise, the parts that have been redone are mostly good. I notice they are working on ramps on Smith in Midtown, don't know if that is part of a larger city-wide effort.

[MidtownCoog]

I just wish they would get rid of the orange cones McKinney.

It's like they are there waiting for new street lights.

WTF!

And don't get me started on Williams Brothers trash dump on N. Jackson, and the other one near Dallas @ St. Joe.

Those are REAL nice looking.

[firstngoal]

I'm tired of Downtown. They need to work on other parts of town.

Ok... what about the $2.5 billion being spent on the Katy Freeway? Or the $750 million to $1 billion that has been spend on the West Loop over the past few years?? Then there is the construction in Uptown, the Southwest Freeway, the rebuilding of streets in Montrose/Heights, blah, blah, blah... and yet, you are tired of downtown??

If you are truly tired of Downtown Houston, may I suggest a different thread... your time - and ours - would probably be better spent there. You see, people here ARE NOT tired of downtown!

[tierwestah]

^^^let's not forget that this is coming from the same guy who thinks downtown is everything inside of Beltway 8

Edited December 14, 2005 by tierwestah

[DaTrain]

I just wish they would get rid of the orange cones McKinney.

It's like they are there waiting for new street lights.

WTF!

And don't get me started on Williams Brothers trash dump on N. Jackson, and the other one near Dallas @ St. Joe.

Those are REAL nice looking.

I'm happy for DT's revitalization, from 90 percent of streets finally being construction free to Main Street LRT. But the new streetlights are the only thing I don't like about the revitalization of downtown Houston. They suck. I hate to put it to you that way, but the original cobra neck light poles could have been left alone and painted black to make it appealing. And the light color, yuck. Those metal halicide colored lites are unneccessary. ***cries*** I WANT THE YELLOW-PINK-ORANGE SODIUM VAPOR LIGHTS BACK!!!! ***boo-hoo*** And these new light poles make the street look like a parking lot -- U know, them parking lot style poles. Everything else about the revitalization of dt, I'm satisfied with.

[houstonfella]

Whoa! Over reaction to frickin' lights??? Total over reaction.

[Montrose1100]

Whoa! Over reaction to frickin' lights??? Total over reaction.

No, its prefrence.