Gas Station At 3409 McKinney St.

[wilcal]

That is great news. They've got a few other locations but are big enough that they do some barrel picks. 

[samagon]

when the competition is King Liquor #2? the amount of dust on some of their bottles is concerning, but not as much as their prices.

I've not been into . Liquor, but at that point, I may as well just go to Specs in Midtown.

I've not been into Ly's Liquor either, but from their google reviews, it might be worth a stop.

[wilcal]

3 hours ago, samagon said:

when the competition is King Liquor #2? the amount of dust on some of their bottles is concerning, but not as much as their prices.

I've not been into . Liquor, but at that point, I may as well just go to Specs in Midtown.

I've not been into Ly's Liquor either, but from their google reviews, it might be worth a stop.

Ly's is good! They were planning on expanding into the space next door but I think it is on pause.

I've been resisting going to Spec's when they pushed so hard against closing the spur to Bagby 🤐

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[zbrow17]

How come this one is taking forever? I feel like the I45/cullen one went way faster? 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[wilcal]

A bunch of concrete is actually down! Nice pics. You are really enjoying that drone :) 

[zbrow17]

This is literally the slowest project ever. 

[hindesky]

[wilcal]

Obligatory FU to Union Pacific. 

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[samagon]

work on this gas station was moving too slowly, now it's moving too fast, I'm not ready for this to be open by 2026. 

seriously though, I would expect that the builder/owner is aware of this:

https://www.eastenddistrict.com/district-partners-for-west-belt-railroad-crossing-elimination-grant/

specifically from that:

Quote

 

York Street

• Construct new underpass on York below three sets of railroad tracks
• Convert York and Sampson to two-way streets within project area
• Construct new bicycle lanes and sidewalks
• Close railroad crossing at Sampson between Rusk and McKinney
• Close railroad crossing at McKinney between York and Milby
• Close railroad crossing at Milby between Woodleigh and Polk

 

it does look like they poured the lot so that there would be an entrance from York, but if that's going to eventually be an underpass, then that entrance becomes nothing.

overall as this pertains to moving around in the greater east end, closing crossings, even at grade, is a horrible plan. money hasn't been approved yet, so I guess there's still a long time for this to shuffle around.

[JClark54]

The York underpass and related street closures announcement to which you linked are conceptual at this time. The East End District applied for BIL monies as a result of CoH inaction on east Houston rail mobility improvements. If you look, they are very clear that it's apply only at current and nothing has been awarded.

The EED likely will not receive the grant, but what that announcement did is spur CoH -- an applicant with a greater likelihood of getting a grant -- to submit its own BIL funding application. That application was revealed last week, and the US DOT is expected to announce recipients in March 2023. Pushing CoH to make an effort was the end game of the EED announcement.

Considering rail issues have become so profound in east Houston, it was incredibly disheartening to learn the city has performed zero rail-car/pedestrian mobility studies on this matter. A CoH streets and drainage official literally told residents at a meeting about rail blockage concerns in 2022 the city did not apply for grant monies in the first round of BIL funding because it had not studied this issue, and thus could not produce a grant proposal. I was told the city used recommendations from the 2011-12 TxDOT study in the application that was submitted at some point before last week's acknowledgement, simply because there's no other study. So whatever it entails is also somewhat dated and likely includes street closures. 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by JClark54

[samagon]

1 hour ago, JClark54 said:

The York underpass and related street closures announcement to which you linked are conceptual at this time. The East End District applied for BIL monies as a result of CoH inaction on east Houston rail mobility improvements. If you look, they are very clear that it's apply only at current and nothing has been awarded.

The EED likely will not receive the grant, but what that announcement did is spur CoH -- an applicant with a greater likelihood of getting a grant -- to submit its own BIL funding application. That application was revealed last week, and the US DOT is expected to announce recipients in March 2023. Pushing CoH to make an effort was the end game of the EED announcement.

Considering rail issues have become so profound in east Houston, it was incredibly disheartening to learn the city has performed zero rail-car/pedestrian mobility studies on this matter. A CoH streets and drainage official literally told residents at a meeting about rail blockage concerns in 2022 the city did not apply for grant monies in the first round of BIL funding because it had not studied this issue, and thus could not produce a grant proposal. I was told the city used recommendations from the 2011-12 TxDOT study in the application that was submitted at some point before last week's acknowledgement, simply because there's no other study. So whatever it entails is also somewhat dated and likely includes street closures. 

 

 

thanks for the additional insight, unless I misread, whether it's EED, or city that's put forth and receives the funding the results are the same, street closures in an already hard to access area of the east end.

I think you and I have discussed this same topic in other threads, but the streets that are not through streets because of this west belt rail line, and then the streets that aren't through streets from downtown because of all sorts of civic projects (convention center, baseball, basketball, soccer, and soon to be freeway), it's kind of ridiculous how disjointed the whole mess is, and forcing people to drive through neighborhood streets as a result.

indeed disheartening is the right word.

Edited January 27, 2023 by samagon

[JClark54]

If the stars align and the US DOT awards grant monies for a York underpass, it's not a fix-all but a step in the right direction. The Class Is that own trackage in Houston state rail volume will increase in the coming years, and Canadian Pacific is trying to bring an additional eight to 12 trains daily through the Houston Complex if its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern is approved. So the already hours-long blockages will only get worse without infrastructure investment. How often does Congress pass an infrastructure spending bill? Incredibly rarely, so this is likely Houston's one-time shot at remedying the issue comprehensively rather than in a piecemeal fashion. It's my hope they will be proactive in years three through five. 

The only separated crossings for the UPRR Galveston subdivision are Wayside and Emancipation, which are three-plus miles apart. York is approximately one mile from Emancipation, and if CoH piggybacks onto the Lockwood crossing set for the METRO University line (they currently have not committed to this and METRO has indicated its funding will only be used for public transit, but it's a hope the city acts since a bridge or an underpass is happening for METRO anyway) there's another crossing one mile down the road. York and Lockwood continue up through Fifth Ward, which has similar rail blockage issues. Getting separations at rail crossings here (yes, there are many and it'd be a decades-long effort) would go a long way, I believe. 

Closing McKinney and others is unfortunate, as it further breaks up connectivity. It's my hope it will be kept because Polk Street access to downtown is eliminated with the 45 realignment. This will push traffic onto Leeland or similar streets were crossings are not separated. When trains are stopped on the West Belt, traffic will undoubtedly fly through neighborhood streets at high speeds looking for a way around. 

Why I chuckle at some commentary by some on this board that the 45 realignment better connects the east end. I guess if by east end, they mean EaDo, they are right. There's more to the east end than EaDo, though. 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by JClark54

[phillip_white]

Permit issued on 1/31 for convenience store buildout. Maybe that's what has been taking so long.

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[HoustonMidtown]

 

[EaDolivin]

This has to be the slowest project i've seen in this area. They started the process over two years ago! 

[phillip_white]

I saw some new sidewalks and entry/exit ramps in @hindesky's photo on another thread. Three worker vehicles, so hopefully they get this sucker open soon.