IronTiger

Oh, yeah, Lanier too. He's part of the group that doesn't support funds going to rail, and thus, obviously and clearly aligned with Satan.

Sorry, but you're incorrect.

At least I think it was considered for commuter rail, until I went archive binging. The people that were demanding that the Katy line be converted to commuter rail obviously must have forgot that trains blocked intersections and backed up traffic to the highway.

On Interstate 10, rail was seriously considered and even designed to accommodate rail later. Here are some facts gleaned from looking up "Interstate 10" and "rail" on Houston Chronicle archives: - When TxDOT bought the Katy ROW in 1992 (which UP had permission to use for the next five years, at which point it was abandoned and torn up), there never was an official plan to use that for commuter rail and the other option was what ended up happening--just using it for extra lanes. (State buys Katy rail right of way for $78 million, Houston Chronicle - Wednesday, DECEMBER 30, 1992) - By 1999, plans for the Katy Freeway expansion were solidifying and complaints were rolling in to the Chron letters section on why no commuter rail on the Katy ROW. The answer was that "[METRO] already runs buses into downtown Houston on the HOV from huge parking areas in west Harris County. A train would do the same thing - only cost more to build, go slower, run less often, and not bring downtown workers as close to their offices as the buses." The same article states that the HOT lanes in the center would use congestion pricing, which to my knowledge did NOT end up happening. (forgot the article name, sorry) - The idea for toll roads in the middle of the highway, pitched in 2001, was able to speed construction from 10 years to 6. It's not stated explicitly, but the article has Culberson bragging about the freeway, so he may have been behind that. Does cutting construction of Katy Freeway by four years still make Culberson a bad guy? (Funds for Katy toll road OK'd - As expansion nears reality, opponents vow to continue fight, Houston Chronicle - Friday, January 31, 2003)

I tried to make a comment earlier today, but I find it hard to believe that "the Outer Loop is considered an excursion" Slick went into the suburbs, talked to older people, and it just so happens that everyone loves the downtown areas...just like him.

Times Square isn't exactly a "town square", you know...

Chicago is not particularly ultra centralized. It has scads of suburbs and the metro area spreads over three states. There's a reason it's called "Chicagoland".

I still maintain that there is technology to not only clean but extract the contaminated soil. After all, it can't be that bad, or the entire East End would become a Superfund site, right?

No, I don't have anything against it. If they remerchandised it and restored the facade, well, that'd be awesome. But between the woes of Sears Holdings and the poor condition of the building, it isn't likely it will be around for much longer.

Any tears shed for any school?

Given that houses in far better condition in the Loop are being knocked down for new townhomes, unless this Sears is a huge success, it really makes a lot of economic sense to close this location, knock down the building, and sell the land.

Most sports teams typically play in the downtown areas because that's just where sports teams tend to go, especially because of proximity to lots of bars and restaurants, and, more importantly, highway access (which some people on this forum feel is a scourge to the downtown area). Note that the individual sports stadiums aren't used much of the year.

Daily ridership is very confusing and misleading. If I ride a bus (or a train) from the suburbs to the city, it counts just as much as a man who hops on a bus (with a ticket), and hops off a mile later.

I remember having that discussion. What I find more interesting from your link, though, is that the physical condition of the building is considered "unsound".

I read that the building was no longer owned by Sears and they're leasing it (hence, not a lot of investment in the building). If Sears pulls itself back together (unlikely but possible), the Midtown Sears would probably be updated on the inside. If Sears not only pulled itself back together but bought the building, they would likely sell it (land value's high) or at best, renovate the exterior to something modern/boring. If Sears died and the store closed entirely, the Art Deco facade would be restored and it would be torn down for yet another boring development. Sears and this building probably don't have a lot of years left, but the demise of both will probably be hand in hand.

With Sears having bought a Kmart a decade ago, you'd think they could've remerchandised it to better serve the community. It certainly is an old building, and if it survives the year, it would've been operating for 75 years as a Sears! Incredible!

The soil was probably contaminated sometime in the past in the 1970s or 1980s where pollution ran unchecked in a great economy. Up in Detroit, the grounds of old factories have all sorts of heavy metals (mercury, lead) in them that make it impractical to redevelop. On the upshot, we have our own version of oil sands apparently (like in Alberta!) and we have the technology to extract the gasoline AND clean up the soil to boot.

I actually am checking out "Houston Today", a great book from the 1970s that includes compiled plans and renderings of numerous projects in and around Houston from that era. AllenCenter, The Woodlands, Galleria II, Westbury Square, and a bunch more. But since so much of The Woodlands has changed, it's hard to get a feeling for what the area was like in the "early days".

That's disappointing. It also brings up all sorts of troubling questions about how polluted the rest of the soil in Houston is (industrial areas like the East End), which can affect garden-grown foods.

Therefore, H-E-B must have renewed the lease last year, then.

I don't think we should burden people who live farther away from work or drive older cars. Suppose if there was a way that we could give tax credits to businesses who encourage telecommuting.

Yeah, it's called gasoline tax.

We should all do something to live less wasteful lives. Turn off the lights when you're not in a room, don't keep running the water when you're brushing your teeth, and try to recycle. Unfortunately, there's a ton of differences when people try to encourage others to live responsibility: there's a difference between "not wasting plastic bags" and "not using plastic bags". And because my lifestyle allows it, I compost. It's a great thing for the environment, but composting is not economical for apartment dwellers, for instance. We should try to make what we have work. Better technology goes a long way in handling cost of living (power, food, etc.) We've all been there. I went up to Knoxville a few years ago, and even in a drought that continued to damage the beauty of our great state, in the outskirts of Dallas, the gray (color-wise) subdivisions being set up in the countryside. Given that a lot of the new residents are from other states, it would be better if they FIXED the problems in their state instead of messing up Texas.

One more Weingarten question (man, I never knew this was such an interesting topic): did the Weingarten stores sold to Safeway close and reopen as Safeway, or was it a signage change? When Safeway became AppleTree, it seemed to (from newspaper articles) mostly involved new brands on the shelves and a new name, but when AppleTree became other stores like Fiesta, it seemed to (from newspaper articles) involve shutting down the store for a day or two to install new décor and change all the price tags, as well as re-training employees.

I was referring to more of the "post-built" Woodlands, something that would be more than just broad strokes. However, since HAIF never had much of a following that lived in The Woodlands (much less today), I doubt I'll find anything useful on the HAIF, admittedly.