If You Thought 290 Was Bad Now...

[desirous]

Judging from proposed schematics, I'd say the US 290 upgrade will be dead on arrival as far as traffic goes. Capacity will improve, but not nearly as much as with I-10. I-10 will be 18 lanes wide at its widest point, 24 with frontage roads. Also, don't forget that US 290 traffic is dumped onto the West Loop, which cannot handle more than it already does. Additional US 290 capacity would only exacerbate the 1-mile-long weaving meatgrinder to the I-10 interchange.

[PureAuteur]

Desirous- That's a good point. Just because you widen the freeway doesn't take away the fact that there's still lots of cars driving on it. I'm just glad that I'll be moving up north where I'll be using the I-45 freeway instead of 290 that I'm currently using. I used to think I-45 was the worst, but compared to the way 290 has gotten, it's seems almost reasonable.

[desirous]

Desirous- That's a good point. Just because you widen the freeway doesn't take away the fact that there's still lots of cars driving on it. I'm just glad that I'll be moving up north where I'll be using the I-45 freeway instead of 290 that I'm currently using. I used to think I-45 was the worst, but compared to the way 290 has gotten, it's seems almost reasonable.

Also, you will have the option of driving Hardy Toll when in a hurry. HT + Eastex is the best rush hour corridor in town.

About 290 congestion: I researched what TxDOT is doing with the West Loop to accomodate a potential 290 expansion:

http://www.texasfreeway.com/Houston/schema...0_10_lowres.jpg?

The southbound 610 is being widened to 7 or 8 lanes, with 2 lanes to I-10 in each direction. Maybe what I said earlier is unfounded, though a wider highway makes for only more weaving.

[mrfootball]

We're in Longwood, which is situated in the woods between 290 and 249...we almost always take 249 into downtown because 290 is so damned congested (even though 290 is faster when there's no traffic).

In the 77429 zip code alone (Longwood, Cole's Crossing, Rock Creek, etc) there are over 60,000 residents. Multiply that times 10 (the other area zip codes) and you get an idea of what we're looking at.

They're going to need to 'bump' up their timetable for expanding capacity of Hwy 290...Bridgelands is only one of MANY MANY MANY developments that have been built in the Cy-Fair area over the past decade. This expansion is needed now...not in 7 years...now.

[PureAuteur]

I know how you feel, living in Jersey Village area. I love the area where you live. It's got beautiful trees, but it's 290 that would keep me from living there unless they ever urbanize Cypress into an edge city like with the Woodlands. I'm really liking north Houston at the moment. It is not congested, and has alot of things like the airport, cemeteries, lakes, forests, and small towns and communities that stifle suburban sprawl.

I think north Houston has it made with the 45, 59, or Hardy Toll Rd option for commuters traveling north.

The only problem is that aesthetically, Houston is very ugly when traveling those roads between downtown and about Greenspoint, and only then do things begin to look nice.

[Trae]

It's not like the Katy. It looks very nice from Katy High School, all the way into Downtown. I am glad they got started with this freeway. Cinco Ranch, Westheimer Lakes, Grand Lakes, Firethorne, and WoodCreek Reserve are all adding to the congestion.

[h2obuff]

Before vilifying the Bridgeland, you might want to actually go out and look at it. There are trees, wild birds everywhere and pretty good looking lakes (even if they are man made). Did you know there is only one (1) naturally accruing lake in all of Texas. ONE! All of these lakes people like have been created by the Corp, ranchers, etc. Also, you praise the Woodlands, but did you know that the developer of Bridgeland is also the majority owner of the Woodlands as well?

Also, all people that live in the burbs do not work in downtown. I live in Cypress and work in the area as well, so do many of my neighbors. My wife

[PureAuteur]

Nobody should ever have to commute more than 30 minutes to work, much less 45. Whoever chooses to do so is doing themselves an injustice. Alot of people say that they're stuck in their situation, but you can change jobs or move: two options.

I actually wouldn't mind the suburban development so much if the communities would be independent and self-sufficient, rather than surrounding the city of Houston like a giant donut. The way the suburbs have encircled Houston is proof that Houston is still the center of their universe, even if they hate Houston and that's why they're in the suburbs.

The reason I like the Woodlands so much is because it actually has an identity, community feel, geography, and it's a nicely designed city, whereas Katy and Cypress (south of 290) just looks like an unorganized cluttered mess. It actually makes me cringe to drive around through there.

I would like to see more centralization develop in the surrounding areas of Houston so that Houston is no longer the center of things. This will be very difficult because of the way the suburbs are designed. There's so much land and how would you decide where the centers of urbanization would be? One of the biggest reasons for the lack of urbanization is the lack of geography. Everything SW, W, and slightly NW of Houston is either rice fields or flat farm land. Cities just don't develop in this type of geography. Only NNW, N, and NE Houston have geography that is feasible for urbanization.

[Boris]

TXDOT TARGETS HWY 290

HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com)

[westguy]

I would like to see more centralization develop in the surrounding areas of Houston so that Houston is no longer the center of things. This will be very difficult because of the way the suburbs are designed. There's so much land and how would you decide where the centers of urbanization would be? One of the biggest reasons for the lack of urbanization is the lack of geography. Everything SW, W, and slightly NW of Houston is either rice fields or flat farm land. Cities just don't develop in this type of geography. Only NNW, N, and NE Houston have geography that is feasible for urbanization.

This is what happened in Dallas. All the major employers moved to the suburbs, leaving the CBD very depressed. Besides, that arrangment only encourages development to race further out because employees have to live within that suburb. They are not left with the choice between living in Clear Lake, the Woodlands, or Sugar Land.

[JasonDFW]

There are trees, wild birds everywhere and pretty good looking lakes (even if they are man made). Did you know there is only one (1) naturally accruing lake in all of Texas. ONE!

Technically there are zero. The one you're referring to was also created by us, although it used to be a lake thus the possible debate on the topic.

Jason

[stolitx]

attractive northern perimeter rich with vegetation and wildlife that is perfect for natural trail systems and parks.

I love that they highlight the rich wildlife in the pitch. Then when such wildlife tears up gardens and eats domestic animals, it's no longer a selling point.

[h2obuff]

You praise The Woodlands, but do you know/remember what it was like barely 10 years ago? No mall, very little office space, no true high density commerical in the project. You can not build all of these great work communities with out first having the residential infrastructure to support it first. It took the Woodlands over 30 years to get to this point. Not all so called "master planned communities" do this, but many of the larger ones, like Bridgeland and Telfair do try to do this, but you have to have roof tops to attract the true corporate relocations.

Nobody should ever have to commute more than 30 minutes to work, much less 45. Whoever chooses to do so is doing themselves an injustice. Alot of people say that they're stuck in their situation, but you can change jobs or move: two options.

I actually wouldn't mind the suburban development so much if the communities would be independent and self-sufficient, rather than surrounding the city of Houston like a giant donut. The way the suburbs have encircled Houston is proof that Houston is still the center of their universe, even if they hate Houston and that's why they're in the suburbs.

The reason I like the Woodlands so much is because it actually has an identity, community feel, geography, and it's a nicely designed city, whereas Katy and Cypress (south of 290) just looks like an unorganized cluttered mess. It actually makes me cringe to drive around through there.

I would like to see more centralization develop in the surrounding areas of Houston so that Houston is no longer the center of things. This will be very difficult because of the way the suburbs are designed. There's so much land and how would you decide where the centers of urbanization would be? One of the biggest reasons for the lack of urbanization is the lack of geography. Everything SW, W, and slightly NW of Houston is either rice fields or flat farm land. Cities just don't develop in this type of geography. Only NNW, N, and NE Houston have geography that is feasible for urbanization.