11th Street Bike Lanes

[samagon]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:09 PM, Ross said:

We live inside the loop.. We have a 1/4 acre lot and live within a few blocks of Kroger. We still use the car to shop for groceries.  Anything to do with the yard is going to require a car. I've known a few people who tried to live without a car in Houston. One managed pretty well, but he was a coworker who was literally a rocket scientist, but was absent minded. He never learned to drive. All the other gave up after a month or so. The other issue is getting to and from work. Unless your office is downtown, public transport is tough. When we lived in Midtown, I had to take the bus to Bellaire for work for 6 weeks after TS Allison flooded my car. 6 block walk to the bus and it dropped off across the street from my office. It turned a 10 to 15 minute commute into 45 minutes or longer. Why would I not use a car for that?

that is exceedingly rare though. the overwhelming majority of single family, detached homes in Houston (even within BW8) are on 5000sf lots for the specific reason that at one point in time, that was the minimum lot size. if the city had allowed for 2500sf lots, then that would be the primary size.

when I lived in one of these common sized homes (1250sf home built in the 1930s, on a 5000sf lot) I could cut my yard with one of those EGO mowers and the smallest battery. but then, it was also just me living there, I could ride my bike to Fiesta, grab what I needed for a few days, it would all fit in a single pannier on the back of the bike.

now with 2 kids, a wife, and 8500sf lot (and bigger house that comes with that bigger lot), it's impossible to go grocery shopping on the bike. but then, the trade off is that my office is remote, so I am steps away from my office desk, vs driving/biking from the near east end into downtown depending on weather.

Houston is car centric, there's not really any way to get around it.

On 3/28/2024 at 5:16 PM, __nevii said:

As mentioned before, there are negative externalities in car-dependent policies like parking minimums, large setbacks and lot sizes, etc that don't exist in the other (more denser) way: whether it is environmental sustainability/flooding, or rising prices/city finances, or traffic, all of it is worse with car-centric policies compared to denser urbanity. In that respect, there is no "both sides" to it:

There are no principled justifications for parking minimums in anywhere, even when factoring in transit options/lackthereof.

In fact, most stuff in US zoning codes (setbacks, residential density limits, etc) have no principled justification.

Most of the complaining is irrelevant: just a bunch of shooting the messenger, poisoning the well, affirming the consequent, and other fallacious, misdirected ire that misses the core causal connections (i.e. and, hence, important keys to true problem solving).

without other transit options than personal cars, I don't think there is an option to not require parking. but then, I've also not ever seen anywhere that doesn't have public transit not have parking minimums, so I can't imagine how it would be without.

I will say that Houston is properly screwing itself, we need to be more aggressive with building BRT, LRT, whatever. we need fixed guideway transit. the facts are Houston gets most of the money from property taxes, private cars as the transit solution only allow for a specific density. fixed guideway transit (LRT, BRT, and beyond) is a long term investment, and commitment by a city to move a lot of humans along that specific corridor.

developers see that signal and build properties that provide density to match the fixed transit. all one has to do is look at the red line corridor in the 20 years since it was put in.  the corridor of the green line started densifying before the line was completed, and the density is getting higher with every year that passes. density on the purple line is increasing, as well as along the north extension of the red line. the uptown BRT already had density, but it is getting even more dense. and all this density happened without the city doing their walkable places and reducing parking minimums near these fixed guideway transit options.

each time higher density goes in, that means higher property taxes, and more money for the city. the state cannot raise property tax rates, so property values/density is the only possible way for Houston, or any city in Texas to increase their income. 

and yeah, wasting money to satisfy outer suburbs that aren't in Houston city limits is a huge burden on the city, and anyone who lives here and wants roads without potholes, or more officers on the street, less crime, we should be yelling from every rooftop for more transit options that will increase density.

anyway, weren't we talking bike lanes?

Edited April 1 by samagon

[__nevii]

5 hours ago, samagon said:

anyway, weren't we talking bike lanes?

I mentioned this is a previous comment, but all of it is connected: those bike lanes, along with more PT, and along with the land use changes that I discussed, all go hand-in-hand in ensuring a more multi-modal environment for all Houstonians.

But lately, the pressure is ramping up because of actions from (what has been shown so far to be) a hostile mayoral administration. With how quick the mayor took out the Houston Avenue project, combined with his rhetoric of "anti-car activists", he does not deserve any benefit of the doubt regarding any potential threats to 11th Street.

Edited April 1 by __nevii

[__nevii]

5 hours ago, samagon said:

without other transit options than personal cars, I don't think there is an option to not require parking. but then, I've also not ever seen anywhere that doesn't have public transit not have parking minimums, so I can't imagine how it would be without.

I will say that Houston is properly screwing itself, we need to be more aggressive with building BRT, LRT, whatever. we need fixed guideway transit. the facts are Houston gets most of the money from property taxes, private cars as the transit solution only allow for a specific density. fixed guideway transit (LRT, BRT, and beyond) is a long term investment, and commitment by a city to move a lot of humans along that specific corridor.

developers see that signal and build properties that provide density to match the fixed transit. all one has to do is look at the red line corridor in the 20 years since it was put in.  the corridor of the green line started densifying before the line was completed, and the density is getting higher with every year that passes. density on the purple line is increasing, as well as along the north extension of the red line. the uptown BRT already had density, but it is getting even more dense. and all this density happened without the city doing their walkable places and reducing parking minimums near these fixed guideway transit options.

each time higher density goes in, that means higher property taxes, and more money for the city. the state cannot raise property tax rates, so property values/density is the only possible way for Houston, or any city in Texas to increase their income. 

and yeah, wasting money to satisfy outer suburbs that aren't in Houston city limits is a huge burden on the city, and anyone who lives here and wants roads without potholes, or more officers on the street, less crime, we should be yelling from every rooftop for more transit options that will increase density.

There are no principled justifications for parking minimums anywhere, they need to be removed STAT. It honestly does not matter regardless of the presence/absence of transit options. That is, if people feel parking is required, then they can just provide it: it would not need to be required for everyone in arbitrary amounts. 

Where are the problems with parking in all that ETJ, which doesn't have parking minimums (i.e. not even under any municipal government whatsoever)? 

Same goes for minimum setbacks, minimum lot sizes, and other such useless rules: they need to go STAT.

With regards to the public transit, the success of the METRORail Red Line (especially the portion from Med Center through Downtown) relies on the great connection between two centers, servicing people for all day affairs to ensure continuous ridership (i.e. not just commuters for work, but also people going for events downtown, people taking trips to Hermann Park, the zoo, museums, etc).

Meanwhile, the relative "slowness" of the Green and Purple lines ties back to the problems of the minimum mandates that I mentioned prior. Until the reformed TOD guidelines came in 2020, the stations on those areas weren't doing the best of job since the old TOD was opt-in, and not necessarily evenly applied: and all those areas that haven't gotten under Walkable Place and/or TOD exemptions suffer under the onerous parking and setback codes.

[samagon]

41 minutes ago, __nevii said:

Meanwhile, the relative "slowness" of the Green and Purple lines ties back to the problems of the minimum mandates that I mentioned prior. Until the reformed TOD guidelines came in 2020, the stations on those areas weren't doing the best of job since the old TOD was opt-in, and not necessarily evenly applied: and all those areas that haven't gotten under Walkable Place and/or TOD exemptions suffer under the onerous parking and setback codes.

I don't know enough about the purple and north red lines, but since I have lived near the location of the green line for nearly 15 years now, I have watched development happen before and after along the corridor.

the development that happened on Lockwood and Harrisburg didn't get funding, or start building until after the LRT was announced and was already under construction even. I don't think that would have happened without the green line, farther in near Milby and Sampson the activity there is I think in part related (if not directly) to the LRT.

and now with the TOD stuff, as you mention? I think this will do even more to strengthen that corridor.

midtown, I had friends that lived there, and at the time, I basically lived there too, so I have seen the density that has happened directly as a result of the red line, the success of the developments around any of those lines isn't due to events or formatting, it's the same as with freeways, induced demand isn't just a concept that works for freeways.

anyway, we're in year 9 of the green line operation, in another 11 years, perhaps the density around it (and the purple line) will be on the same track as the red line. I hope so, and I hope TOD helps push that.

for the purple line, I do know that all of the apartments that have been built with the intention of being for students are all within a single crosswalk of a LRT stop. not that there's a lot of other options near UH for off campus housing.

Edited April 1 by samagon

[staresatmaps]

On 3/28/2024 at 3:43 PM, samagon said:

no doubt, there's all sorts of sides to the subject, and no one way to do it is the right way. the thing of it is, it needs to be understood that there are trade-offs both ways. in some scenarios the business owner suffers, in others, the local homeowners suffer. 

if you have less requirements for parking minimums because it's a neighborhood level business, when the store/restaurant/coffee shop that is opened with every intention of being used by locals becomes popular and people who aren't local want to come, so now, if they don't have appropriate parking in a city like Houston where driving is the only option provided by government, we are stuck with people parking on neighborhood streets. the locals that once sang the praises of that amazing local business are now cursing everyone that goes to it.

as an example, you want to go to Permission? if you don't grab one of the 10 slots shared by it and Pho Binh, you are either paying for parking in the lot formerly known as Fitzgeralds, or you are parking on a neighborhood street. and that's the case for any place on White Oak.

if only we had a real public transit option, then the minimum parking discussions kind of just disappear. 

If you can't handle people parking on the public street in front of your house, you need to move to the suburbs.

[hbg.50]

20 minutes ago, staresatmaps said:

If you can't handle people parking on the public street in front of your house, you need to move to the suburbs.

At what point does it become illegal to block a public street?  I see this on one particular street in my neighborhood all the time and there are no restaurants nearby.  On my walk today I saw two vehicles parked the wrong way (against traffic) on various streets and at least 4 vehicles were blocking the sidewalk.  I know from experience these are traffic violations but where is the neighborhood constable when he could make himself useful?

[samagon]

10 hours ago, staresatmaps said:

If you can't handle people parking on the public street in front of your house, you need to move to the suburbs.

there absolutely are people who get all angry about it, weirdly. I mean, it's a public street, they treat it as an extension of their home and they get all passive aggressive, growing shrubs close to the curb so passengers can't open doors, or putting big boulders on the side of their property. 

on a different subject, but the same subject, as @steve1363 describes, there are plenty of people who don't respect the laws when they park. parking the wrong way, parking within 20' of a crosswalk/intersection, blocking a private driveway, not parking close enough to the curb.

and yeah, I get peeved when people don't park correctly on neighborhood streets. especially blocking driveways, or too close to intersections, both of these are huge safety issues. I'll even go as far as narcing on them to park Houston. whether this gets them a ticket or not, I'm unsure, but I like to think it does, and maybe they learn from it?

[staresatmaps]

15 hours ago, steve1363 said:

At what point does it become illegal to block a public street?  I see this on one particular street in my neighborhood all the time and there are no restaurants nearby.  On my walk today I saw two vehicles parked the wrong way (against traffic) on various streets and at least 4 vehicles were blocking the sidewalk.  I know from experience these are traffic violations but where is the neighborhood constable when he could make himself useful?

If you call the police nonemergency line and say someone is blocking access, a tow truck driver will show up very fast. Then the cops will shop up to write a ticket so they can get towed.

[j_cuevas713]

https://abc13.com/amp/deadly-auto-pedestrian-crashes-in-houston-spring-branch-crash-westheimer-man-killed-walkways/14579613/

This mayor DOES NOT GET IT. His response to someone dying just trying to cross the street is law enforcement. He views cycling as purely recreational and not as a means of getting around. If he’s serious that he supports bike paths then we need to build off of what’s been done on the bayous and make some real connections to the same destinations drivers are accommodated. 

Edited April 3 by j_cuevas713

[TacoDog]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

https://abc13.com/amp/deadly-auto-pedestrian-crashes-in-houston-spring-branch-crash-westheimer-man-killed-walkways/14579613/

This mayor DOES NOT GET IT. His response to someone dying just trying to cross the street is law enforcement. He views cycling as purely recreational and not as a means of getting around. If he’s serious that he supports bike paths then we need to build off of what’s been done on the bayous and make some real connections to the same destinations drivers are accommodated. 

Quote

"I have not made a decision on that yet. We're listening to the residents," Mayor Whitmire said. "The fire apparatuses have to go down 10th street, not 11th, when they're making a call."

Is this BS or accurate? Why does he care so much about the fire department?

[j.33]

13 minutes ago, TacoDog said:

Is this BS or accurate? Why does he care so much about the fire department?

The 11th Street Project page, this is shown. FAQs | 11th Street Safety Improvements | Let's Talk Houston (letstalkhouston.org) 

[kbates2]

I live on Merrill which is 10st street east of Studewood.  I can see 10th west of Studewood from my couch.  I have seen maybe one ambulance going up 10th in the last two years.  If this is true, it is true much farther down 10th.

[hbg.50]

1 hour ago, TacoDog said:

Is this BS or accurate? Why does he care so much about the fire department?

The fire department manages EMS (ambulances).

[hbg.50]

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

https://abc13.com/amp/deadly-auto-pedestrian-crashes-in-houston-spring-branch-crash-westheimer-man-killed-walkways/14579613/

This mayor DOES NOT GET IT. His response to someone dying just trying to cross the street is law enforcement. He views cycling as purely recreational and not as a means of getting around. If he’s serious that he supports bike paths then we need to build off of what’s been done on the bayous and make some real connections to the same destinations drivers are accommodated. 

I'm not sure I understand his quote:

"I think we need to have common sense, and I think the bikers need to be protected from the traffic, and they need to do that on bike paths that are recreational and not try to compete with people going to work and school," Mayor Whitmire said. "If somebody wants to politicize that, go for it. That's not my statement. Vision Zero is critical."

What does he mean when he says that's not my statement? 

[j_cuevas713]

1 minute ago, steve1363 said:

I'm not sure I understand his quote:

"I think we need to have common sense, and I think the bikers need to be protected from the traffic, and they need to do that on bike paths that are recreational and not try to compete with people going to work and school," Mayor Whitmire said. "If somebody wants to politicize that, go for it. That's not my statement. Vision Zero is critical."

What does he mean when he says that's not my statement? 

I'm just as confused

[hbg.50]

Speaking of 11th street.. today about 2:00 there were two guys in yellow vests with a surveying tripod on the SE corner of Waverly and 11th... not sure what is up. 

[Ross]

Just sent an email to the Mayor pointing out how much safer 11th is now, how there will never be enough police to keep traffic under control(HPD could write 500 tickets in one day, and the next day the speeders would be out in force again). I also said that the opposition comes from people who are mad that they can no longer drive like maniacs. I also do not believe for one second that HFD has to use other streets. Someone is lying about that.

[staresatmaps]

13 hours ago, TacoDog said:

Is this BS or accurate? Why does he care so much about the fire department?

It's never actually about the fire department when it comes to street planning. It's always a scapegoat to make people feel bad.

[s3mh]

Definitely time to start emailing the mayor and Abby Kamin.  I think Whitmire thinks he will be able to just rip out the bike lanes and people will get over it.  He is in ask for forgiveness, not permission mode.  

And as for his crack about enforcing speed limits, etc., we have been there and done that.  They put up a radar detection sign and had HPD out writing tickets.  It was like fighting against the tide and did nothing.  

[j_cuevas713]

Haven't they talks about adding a light before the trail? I feel I heard that somewhere.

[004n063]

On 4/3/2024 at 10:35 AM, steve1363 said:

"I think we need to have common sense, and I think the bikers need to be protected from the traffic, and they need to do that on bike paths that are recreational and not try to compete with people going to work and school," 

As a bike-commuting teacher, this kind of statement really makes me want to walk into the ocean

[samagon]

I am a skeptical, but I emailed.

[TacoDog]

3 hours ago, 004n063 said:

As a bike-commuting teacher, this kind of statement really makes me want to walk into the ocean

You aren't a commuter, you're just recreating your way to work 🙃

[j_cuevas713]

4 hours ago, 004n063 said:

As a bike-commuting teacher, this kind of statement really makes me want to walk into the ocean

Email the mayor. He needs to hear from people like you. 

[004n063]

20 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Email the mayor. He needs to hear from people like you. 

Oh I've been emailing him. Guy's gotta be sick of me by now.

21 hours ago, TacoDog said:

You aren't a commuter, you're just recreating your way to work 🙃

and school!

[__nevii]

On 4/1/2024 at 3:33 PM, samagon said:

I don't know enough about the purple and north red lines, but since I have lived near the location of the green line for nearly 15 years now, I have watched development happen before and after along the corridor.

the development that happened on Lockwood and Harrisburg didn't get funding, or start building until after the LRT was announced and was already under construction even. I don't think that would have happened without the green line, farther in near Milby and Sampson the activity there is I think in part related (if not directly) to the LRT.

and now with the TOD stuff, as you mention? I think this will do even more to strengthen that corridor.

midtown, I had friends that lived there, and at the time, I basically lived there too, so I have seen the density that has happened directly as a result of the red line, the success of the developments around any of those lines isn't due to events or formatting, it's the same as with freeways, induced demand isn't just a concept that works for freeways.

anyway, we're in year 9 of the green line operation, in another 11 years, perhaps the density around it (and the purple line) will be on the same track as the red line. I hope so, and I hope TOD helps push that.

for the purple line, I do know that all of the apartments that have been built with the intention of being for students are all within a single crosswalk of a LRT stop. not that there's a lot of other options near UH for off campus housing.

The tweet below pretty much gives a good summary. Houston's LRT + expansions (either additional rail or BRT), while not the most extensive, is doing good in hitting key employment/dense areas (Red Line, future University Line), along with reaching more underserved populations that don't have access to personal vehicles (Green, Purple, and northernmost Red Line). 

Hence, in spite of rhetoric that was oft-said in the past (and currently channeled by personalities like Bill King), this is not "a train to nowhere." If the "University Line" had been built successfully, the perceptions would be total night-day from how the transit system is talked about now: Culberson and ilk were a huge thorn, but they merely delayed the inevitable.

A true grade-separated rapid transit will be a useful future addition. Most likely EL-form, in case subways draw too much concerns with flooding.

As far as rail across the metro, it would have to be some sort of "regional rail" if there is going to be consistent (all day) service: extend from Conroe down to Galveston area. In contrast, I am not the biggest fan of commuter rail, since that form is too tied with the "9-5" lifestyle in mind.

 

Edited April 6 by __nevii

[__nevii]

On 4/5/2024 at 10:19 AM, TacoDog said:

You aren't a commuter, you're just recreating your way to work 🙃

 

On 4/5/2024 at 11:26 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

Email the mayor. He needs to hear from people like you. 

 

10 hours ago, 004n063 said:

Oh I've been emailing him. Guy's gotta be sick of me by now.

and school!

No, no, no, all of this is just silly anti-car activist stuff. The real common-sense solution is to complain on Nextdoor about the neighbor's grass growing too tall.

Edited April 6 by __nevii

[__nevii]

On 4/5/2024 at 7:05 AM, 004n063 said:

As a bike-commuting teacher, this kind of statement really makes me want to walk into the ocean

But real-talk: despite the growing amount of Houstonians in favor of pedestrian-friendly/multi-modal options, it's always portrayed as if it's all invisible (or, at best, an insignificant minority).

"Car-drivers" are not necessarily a monolithic group either: there are parts of the city that any one person is not necessarily going to day-in/day-out, and where's the energy on "tax dollars being spent" on infrastructure?

And there's more than enough times in the city's history regarding the serving of "a minority" at the expense of a majority (see: Richmond rail, deed-restrictions in certain cases, etc).

If people are really serious about change ... and if the mayor truly sticks to being "malignant" ... then there will have to be a little ... "something" happening on that 8th month of his term 😈

[hbg.50]

1 hour ago, __nevii said:

But real-talk: despite the growing amount of Houstonians in favor of pedestrian-friendly/multi-modal options, it's always portrayed as if it's all invisible (or, at best, an insignificant minority).

Honestly, the mayor is not wrong.   Even though @004n063 might ride his bike to work.  I'll guess he's the only one at his school. Most of you cyclists likely use the bike lanes for recreation.  There might be a few exceptions on this website.   Let's face it, the bike lanes are empty 90% of the time.  If there were more bike traffic the mayor would not be able to uphold his stance so easily. That's "real-talk" and I know unpopular on this forum.

[__nevii]

1 hour ago, steve1363 said:

Honestly, the mayor is not wrong.   Even though @004n063 might ride his bike to work.  I'll guess he's the only one at his school. Most of you cyclists likely use the bike lanes for recreation.  There might be a few exceptions on this website.   Let's face it, the bike lanes are empty 90% of the time.  If there were more bike traffic the mayor would not be able to uphold his stance so easily. That's "real-talk" and I know unpopular on this forum.

There's good amounts of usage, but you can't exactly see that human-scale detail when you are whizzing by in your car:
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