SilverJK Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 i'm so riding my bike off the end of the bridge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungled Bungalow Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Some other good news, the bridge beyond I-45 at the east end of the trail is no longer going to end in a drop off. Work has begun to extend the trail just far enough to reach solid ground. This won't make the area beyond road bike-able, but will be walkable and mountain bike friendly.Another thing, Cyclocross races happen tommorow (wednesday) night, across the bayou from Stude park. Come out to watch or participate, it's lots of fun.mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 i'm so riding my bike off the end of the bridge...Well, how'd it go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 It rained yesterday so i didn't go riding, and it looks like the dropoff is gone now. I'll see what i can find to drop off though tomorrow maybe. I did see the cyclocross guys a few minutes ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott08 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I'd like to say I raced the cyclocross last night but at my pace, it was really just "I rode around the course with the other guys and girls." The city bike coordinator has been helping with this behind the scenes and the hope is the bridge will be finished and opened by next Saturday when a full day's festivities are planned to celebrate the completion of the bike path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I see that the bicycle guys are having problems with HCFCD not wanting anyone on "their land". To the extent of sending constables to prevent the 'criminal trespassing'.This post on the site can explain in greater detail the issues they're having with the county, while being (it seems) very accommodating themselves....by maintaining the grass, planting new seeds, etc.HCFCD cyclocross issuesI'd like to say I raced the cyclocross last night but at my pace, it was really just "I rode around the course with the other guys and girls." The city bike coordinator has been helping with this behind the scenes and the hope is the bridge will be finished and opened by next Saturday when a full day's festivities are planned to celebrate the completion of the bike path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Welp. It sucks, but it is their right if its their easement, and I could see how doddering city or county officials could feel like they were being shouldered with more maintenance cost. Also: Anyone have status on the bridge? Is it done? Biketoberfest is tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J008 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Welp. It sucks, but it is their right if its their easement, and I could see how doddering city or county officials could feel like they were being shouldered with more maintenance cost.Also: Anyone have status on the bridge? Is it done? Biketoberfest is tomorrow...This morning I was planning on taking a ride across the bridge that connects Oxford street to the Studemont bridge, but around 7 am this morning there were still crews working on it. I did not go all the way up to the bridge but could see the temporary wooden handrails and workers everywhere. I am anxious to see if they get it done today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott08 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Welp. It sucks, but it is their right if its their easement, and I could see how doddering city or county officials could feel like they were being shouldered with more maintenance cost.Also: Anyone have status on the bridge? Is it done? Biketoberfest is tomorrow...There's a lot of internal wrangling going on over the cyclocross issue. HCFCD only "owns" a couple of small parcels of the land involved and the race was routed to go around them. Securing an easement from the City of Houston "probably" does not allow the holder to enforce no trespassing. My hope is that the media gets ahold of this and makes them look silly for stopping something that is only enhancing the area and the city's image. (BTW, the City of Houston Cycling Director has supported this from the start.) Meanwhile, the bridge will not be done in time but Biketoberfest is still on:BiketoberFest is this Saturday, October 3rd from 12-6 at Blue Line Bike Lab, 3302 White Oak. Pyramid Beer will be supplying the beer and Watermill Express will be supplying the water. This is family-friendly event. It is also a fund-raiser for Bike Houston. $5 buys you a BiketoberFest cup and Pyramid will fill it with beer. There will also be hotdogs & veggie dogs for sale. The Whiskey Saints will be playing, so bring some dancing shoes. There will be helmet checks to see if your helmet is fitted properly. Blue Line will also be having Goldsprint Races. Goldsprints are races on stationary bikes & rollers. Bring some extra money to buy a raffle ticket. We will be raffling off gift certificates for local restaurants, bike bags & a Pyramid Beer bike. It will be a great day. Let’s see just how many bikes we can get in the Heights at one time. If you haven’t heard, the Hike & Bike Trail will not open that day. The bridge across the bayou needs more work. The trail opening will be 12/19. Please forward this to your Heights friends, biking friends, beer-loving friends & most of all, fun-loving friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Well, on the CX issue, if interested:http://www.hcfcd.org/organization.htmlAs for biketoberfest, sounds great...definitely be there.There's a lot of internal wrangling going on over the cyclocross issue. HCFCD only "owns" a couple of small parcels of the land involved and the race was routed to go around them. Securing an easement from the City of Houston "probably" does not allow the holder to enforce no trespassing. My hope is that the media gets ahold of this and makes them look silly for stopping something that is only enhancing the area and the city's image. (BTW, the City of Houston Cycling Director has supported this from the start.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmariar Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Houston Chronicle: "Resident says trail run down" - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/heights/news/6654438.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyHatch Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Houston Chronicle: "Resident says trail run down" - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/heights/news/6654438.htmlI live in the same section of the trail where the person in the article does. The reason there is such an infestation of mosquitos in this particular stretch is that when the original builder built the two homes now on the property, they dug the drainage ditch for the driveways deeper than they should have. Now, because that ditch isn't graded properly, there is always standing water. This property originally held one house with no entrance from Nicholson Street. The orignal builder (whom I believe went bankrupt?) hurriedly built a fake entrance in to the property over the then-proposed hike and bike trail path in order to enable the back access. That way, there was enough space to put two houses where there was once one. I called the city, took pictures and reported it to the building inspector folks, especially because the builder literally built the "driveway" from about 5pm on a Friday night through 7pm on Sunday night. It was pretty obvious they were being sneaky about the whole thing.Personally, I like having my own little section of "park" right in front of my house instead of an ugly driveway. The trail is a great way to people watch and meet the neighbors. We plan to do a little planting once the weather cools (it is going to cool, right? I mean, it's October and what the hell are we doing with a 105 degree "Feels like" anyway!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I dunno, I ride the whole trail (including the trestle bridge before they blocked it of, mwahaha) and I've never seen a part dangerously overgrown with weeds or whatever. Seems fine to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmariar Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I'm assuming the below is what some people would call "overgrown". I think the wildflowers are pretty, and I often see birds feeding along the trail in the tall grass. I'd have to hear more about the exact complaints to have a response to those - I'm not following how the trail worsened the mosquito situation. Given the incursion of Heights development on natural wildlife habitats, my starting point is to hope the green space along the trail will be preserved in a somewhat natural state to the extent it's not interfering with those on the trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I'm not counting that first pic, that's the final approach to the deadly trestle bridge, aye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmariar Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I'm not counting that first pic, that's the final approach to the deadly trestle bridge, aye?It is. And the other photo is the curve by Indian Summer Lodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heightsite Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Anyone have an update on when the trestle will be complete? The bridge has been prepped, the rebarb layed out and framed in. It's just waiting for the concrete pour. What's the hold up on finishing this section of the trail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 ^ I'm curious too. I drove by about an hour ago and there was a small crew doing something, but no concrete truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Rode down to the bridge Friday, and there was lots of activity. I couldn't get too close because I had the baby trailer, but it looked like the bridge surface was there. Maybe all they have left is railing. Anyone get a closer look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights_yankee Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Rode down to the bridge Friday, and there was lots of activity. I couldn't get too close because I had the baby trailer, but it looked like the bridge surface was there. Maybe all they have left is railing. Anyone get a closer look?someone posted on twitter today that its ready to go except no side rails... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 someone posted on twitter today that its ready to go except no side rails...That would be correct. There were a number of people walking/biking over the bridge yesterday (myself included). There is still some work to be done on the south side of the bridge, but it can now be crossed (if you don't mind the lack of side rails). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 If anyone saw a guy riding up and down the trail asking if you had seen a little girl's shoe, it was nice to meet you. I did find the shoe, thanks to some nice people that put it on top of one of the barrier posts and some other nice people who alerted me to its whereabouts. If that was you, thanks!Anyway, I rode across the bayou bridge for the first time, finally. It seems like everything is done now, marked up and everything. There were a ton of people on the trail today, I love it. And it's only a 3 mile shot from my house to Target, in case I ever bike there. I am gonna get a lot of use out of it this year either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yeah, the bridge is complete and looks great. Its getting a lot of use, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 About six weeks ago, I rode the trail under 45 and continued on the stone path that ends at the UH parking lot by Main St. I'm curious if the plans call for finishing that section of the trail. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to be riding it, but I had to know where it stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yes, it will be completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwood Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 About six weeks ago, I rode the trail under 45 and continued on the stone path that ends at the UH parking lot by Main St. I'm curious if the plans call for finishing that section of the trail. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to be riding it, but I had to know where it stopped.One of the guys with TxDot told me he knew of no immediate plans to complete the trail to downtown. It seems stupid to do all of that work and then stop short of the goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 One of the guys with TxDot told me he knew of no immediate plans to complete the trail to downtown. It seems stupid to do all of that work and then stop short of the goal.Having it open all through the Heights is the most important piece in my opinion. It's not a transit route, it's just a trail. And with the Heights portion done I've already seen a good amount of traffic, which is great for the 'hood. When it goes downtown I be me and a few others will take advantage, but most people are looking for a short walk or to let their dog crap everything up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Having it open all through the Heights is the most important piece in my opinion. It's not a transit route, it's just a trail. And with the Heights portion done I've already seen a good amount of traffic, which is great for the 'hood. When it goes downtown I be me and a few others will take advantage, but most people are looking for a short walk or to let their dog crap everything up.Of course its a transit route. And when it connects to downtown and the East End as planned, all the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Of course its a transit route. And when it connects to downtown and the East End as planned, all the better.So it is, technically, but I bet you 90% or more of the people on that trail every day aren't going anywhere, just back and forth for recreation. That's all I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanith27 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 One of the guys with TxDot told me he knew of no immediate plans to complete the trail to downtown. It seems stupid to do all of that work and then stop short of the goal.Well at the inauguration ceremony for the bike trail in December, they said the connection of this to downtown would start construction in 2010. They also said they were in negotiations to connect this to Memorial Park too, but nothing was finalized there.As for the bike path, just as its finished, be prepared for parts of it to be torn up when the build the I-10 access road. Which starts soon apparently... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.