bachanon Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 (edited) <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>The Woodlands ready to roll out trolleysVehicles to offer mobility option on waterway</span>By BETH KUHLESChronicle CorrespondentRESOURCES TROLLEY FACTS Edited March 5, 2007 by bachanon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 Any bets on how long until the first resident complains about this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 The water taxi and trolley are nice "touristy" touches, but the mall needs more parking garages to handle all the "tourists" flocking there for a look as well as the everyday resident shopper, especially since restaurants like Cheesecake Factory have valets keeping all the close spaces for themselves. Plus, the overflow parking from the Pavilion needs to be expanded. The area has become a popular destination, but where, oh where, will they all park once they get there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted November 9, 2004 Author Share Posted November 9, 2004 there is new parking breaking ground soon across the street from tinseltown, near the new waterway square location. in addition, new parking garages are being built in market street. there are additional "pedestrian" features in the works to make foot travel easier between attractions. current surface parking lots will be future parking garages and mall extensions.the foot travel between, say, the tinseltown parking garage and the new mall extension is intended to move to the waterway at some point. further, i know, but the waterway is to be the main corridor and the trolleys and water taxis will become more of a necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 good news, bachanon, but lemme guess, none of these expanded parking areas will be available for this year's Christmas shopping nightmare. oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted November 9, 2004 Author Share Posted November 9, 2004 i hear ya! hello online shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted December 13, 2004 Author Share Posted December 13, 2004 i read that the trolleys will not be operating until "early next year". has anyone heard why there is a delay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Woodlands Villager News Parking shortage didn't sour moods over weekend By: Burton Speakman and Brittanie Hoofard, Villager staff 12/02/2004 Talk to any official with The Woodlands Mall or Market Street, and they'll tell you the first weekend of holiday shopping went off without a hitch.But shoppers had different stories, mostly about the difficulties of finding a place to park at The Woodlands' two most popular retail destinations.On Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is typically considered the busiest shopping day of the year and the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, people were standing in empty parking spots to save them for friends or family.By early afternoon Friday, the parking lot at The Woodlands Mall was full, and would-be shoppers were driving around in circles searching for available spaces.Both the mall and Market Street had made early plans to provide both off-site parking for employees and transportation for shoppers who were forced to park too far away from their destinations.The mall made a deal with the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion to use The Pavilion's parking garage as employee parking according to Brandy Bice, director of mall security."We have a shuttle going throughout the day until midnight to pick up employees," she said Friday. "So far parking has been pretty good."Mall marketing manager Wendy Ellis said employees had a choice of either using off-site parking, parking in reserved employee spaces, or parking in those spaces on the perimeter of the mall lots, delineated from shopper parking by a red boundary line."We had a ton of employees ride a shuttle to and from the mall," she said. "We never maxed (out) our parking lot all weekend."Market Street also made plans to provide off-site employee parking, but General Manager Harold Dull said the need didn't arise over the weekend."So far we have not had to do that," he said Friday. "I've got it arranged, so we can use it at the drop of a hat if we need to. I think everything went fine. I've heard no complaints, despite the fact that we were very busy."Still, some shoppers had trouble finding places to park. Bank of America had an employee watching its parking lot to make sure mall shoppers didn't park in the bank's lot. Patrice Szentesy of The Woodlands said her family drove through the mall parking lot and decided to go to Market Street, where there were available spaces. "The mall was packed," she said.Susan Vreeland-Wendt, marketing director with The Woodlands Operating Company, said that although trolley service in the Town Center isn't expected to be up until the beginning of next year, residents have several options in lieu of driving to the mall. TWOC is pushing the use of its Water Taxis, which include stops at restaurants along The Woodlands Waterway and right in front of the mall's recently added wing. She also said people could simply walk and take in the outdoor splendor of The Woodlands."All of Town Center is meant to be pedestrian-friendly," she said.Still, some shoppers may find that special parking bargain."The mall was crowded but everyone was pleasant," said Amy Fisher of Brownwood. "We were lucky. We managed to find a spot in the second row." Burton Speakman may be reached at bspeakman@mail.hcnonline.net. Brittanie Hoofard may be reached at bhoofard@mail.hcnonline.net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 I've had no problems parking at Market Street (right in front of Borders) or at the mall before 10 AM or after 9 PM. I went yesterday and the day before.P.S. LOVE La Madeleine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Oh, so that's your secret... Go to the mall before 10:00 a.m. in the morning or after 9:00 p.m. at night! As far as La Madeleine goes, I went last week with my daughter. She was insisting on getting something called La Croque Monsieur, which I've seen before so we asked for one at the counter. The person at the counter pointed over to the warming grill and said we could just go get one of those that they had already made. I took a look at it, which looked nothing like the fancy French sandwich I knew, and a lot like a warmed over grilled cheese sandwich. For $7.00, I expected a lot more than that. At Eatzi's they make sandwiches fresh for you as you watch. Needless to say, we left. I may try them again this week as my out-of-towners may want to go there, but I'm hoping for a lot better experience next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 still no trolleys damnit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YakuzaIce Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 still no trolleys damnit!<{POST_SNAPBACK}>So did they decide not to do it, or is it just delayed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 word is, it's delayed. i had hoped that someone would have some idea about when these will come online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Interesting, that the lure of the mall is supposed to be convenient access, yet to get to the Woodlands Mall, one will have to park in a distant lot and pay $1 to get to the shops. Sounds awfully inconvenient. I wonder if this will stifle growth. I understand the novelty of a water taxi once or twice, but you won't want to take that thing on a daily basis. Nor would one want to ride an open air trolley to get to the mall on a regular basis, either.Seems to me, that planning a few parking garages near the shops would work a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 i think the ultimate goal is that the waterway be the "main street" of the woodlands town center. the transition to this will not be easy on shoppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 october 30th, 2005. still, no damn trolleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConstructionManagerMAS Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 Interesting, that the lure of the mall is supposed to be convenient access, yet to get to the Woodlands Mall, one will have to park in a distant lot and pay $1 to get to the shops. Sounds awfully inconvenient. I wonder if this will stifle growth. I understand the novelty of a water taxi once or twice, but you won't want to take that thing on a daily basis. Nor would one want to ride an open air trolley to get to the mall on a regular basis, either.It seems to me that the the outdoor section of the mall (where Barnes and Noble is) is very inconvenient for parking. I've had to hike about at least 100 yards every time i've gone there. The fake street with fake parking in front doesn't do much.Market Street parking is much more convenient. That might change when it gets totally built out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted November 12, 2005 Author Share Posted November 12, 2005 the woodlands development update says that the trolleys will be rolling the "3rd" quarter of 2005. i have yet to see one. it's not that i'm excited about the trolleys, really. i want to see what they look like and to see if people use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieDidIt Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 It seems to me that the the outdoor section of the mall (where Barnes and Noble is) is very inconvenient for parking. I've had to hike about at least 100 yards every time i've gone there. The fake street with fake parking in front doesn't do much.Market Street parking is much more convenient. That might change when it gets totally built out.100 yards is a hike?<ducking> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted November 12, 2005 Author Share Posted November 12, 2005 not everyone is as athletic as you katiedidit. isn't the whole "urban" idea to get people out of their cars and walk? i'm so freakin tired of my car. if i could afford to live on the waterway half of my weekly outings would be on foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConstructionManagerMAS Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Hey, I wasn't complaining about the 100 yards, i was just saying that it's 100 yards across an asphalt parking lot, which is akin to having to go into a mall, which I avoid whenever I can. Unfortunately, unless you live on the waterway, you still have to drive to Town Center in most cases.By the way, I lived in Boston and Providence, RI for quite a while so I was really spoiled by easy access to most things, either by walking or public transportation. In that part of the world at least public transportation is not a dirty word, as it seems to be here. People definitely need to get out of their cars more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YakuzaIce Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 By the way, I lived in Boston and Providence, RI for quite a while so I was really spoiled by easy access to most things, either by walking or public transportation. In that part of the world at least public transportation is not a dirty word, as it seems to be here. People definitely need to get out of their cars more.So why do you live in the woodlands? Or do you just shop out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConstructionManagerMAS Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 So why do you live in the woodlands? Or do you just shop out there?I live just outside the Woodlands in Magnolia. I lived in the Heights until I "compromised" when I got married. So what if my bungalow in the Heights had a marble cutting shop on one side and a tenement on the other? Now they've torn in down and built a $500,000 "victorian" on half the lot. But that's another story.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f95kai Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Hey, I wasn't complaining about the 100 yards, i was just saying that it's 100 yards across an asphalt parking lot, which is akin to having to go into a mall, which I avoid whenever I can. Unfortunately, unless you live on the waterway, you still have to drive to Town Center in most cases.By the way, I lived in Boston and Providence, RI for quite a while so I was really spoiled by easy access to most things, either by walking or public transportation. In that part of the world at least public transportation is not a dirty word, as it seems to be here. People definitely need to get out of their cars more.Truer words have rarely been spoken.Gosh, I sure miss Boston. But I'm sure that the next blizzard footage from there on the Weather Channel will ease the pain temporarily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 linkthe last paragraph claims that the trolleys will begin rolling early this year. one can only hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I always love the Woodlands, and by reading that article does not change my mind. I'm loving every minute of it.If the Woodlands keep this up, it will be the #1 destnation in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 it's about freakin' time! i also noticed the statement that "There are no provisions at this time to extend to village centers". at this time....... sounds as if they are considering this as an option in the future. trolley stops at village centers would be great. March 1, 2007, 9:24AMTrolleys are finally ready to roll through Town CenterSystem will operate along waterway, surrounding areas beginning in springBy BETH KUHLESChronicle CorrespondentTROLLEY SERVICE FOR TOWN CENTER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Hey guys,Does anybody have any recent pics of all the development in The Woodlands? I would love to see all the lofts, restaurants, and other new buildings going up along the Waterway. I'm currently living in LA so I just wanted to see what has changed since I was last there several years ago. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 (edited) I still have yet to visit, but the map on the website looks very inviting. Edited March 5, 2007 by Pumapayam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted March 6, 2007 Author Share Posted March 6, 2007 Hey guys,Does anybody have any recent pics of all the development in The Woodlands? I would love to see all the lofts, restaurants, and other new buildings going up along the Waterway. I'm currently living in LA so I just wanted to see what has changed since I was last there several years ago. Thanksjonah, for pictures, you can go to www.thewoodlands.com. also, there is a woodlands development co. link on the same website with pictures of development around town center. there are pictures of market street and the waterway at this link http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...p?showtopic=797. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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