IronTiger

^^^ in case there's any doubt, the squiggly mess is the Dallas freeways. Houston's is a busy but consistent collection of loops and spokes.

Unfortunately increasing money for schools tends to go nowhere (teachers unions, bureaucracy, a new press box for the stadium). And decreasing money just hurts teachers overall. Vicious cycle.

Gee, is that what they teach in schools these days? The Detroit riots, specifically, were started when the police raided an unlicensed bar, and it radiated out from there. Eventually mob mentality takes over, and you have people of all races standing at their homes and businesses with guns to protect themselves and their property. Same thing happened with the Koreans in the LA riots in the early 1990s. As for Detroit, the media was the first to call it to a race riot, deliberately pitting people against each other (they STILL do that type of thing, see Trayvon Martin case). With things like bussing kids across town to go to schools, and the elected Coleman Young demonizing anyone who wasn't black. But of course, that's not what really happened. The cause for the race riots and subsequent outflow of people from Detroit were solely due to the advents of freeways (boo! hiss!).

Gee, whatever for? Depending on which corner you're referring to, there's a bail bonds building, a tire shop, and two gas stations.

Whenever I go to Chinatown in Bellaire area, there's this restaurant near the corner that has a large apple above it, and used as a landmark. However, even though I looked up the address on HCAD, it turns up nothing meaningful, and plugging the address in instead returns the address of the grocery store behind it (a vacant "Greenhouse" Kroger since renovated into another Asian supermarket). Looking up "Apple Bellaire" mentions a dentistry in the vicinity. Funny thing is, the apple hasn't even been around for that long (new construction), yet I've never been able to find a name for it and I think its empty. Looking on Google Maps it appears to be vacant. It's at Wilcrest Drive and Bellaire Blvd.

Ah yes, that's the one with the hot deli that serves breakfast and also oxtails and gravy. Always wondered how it tastes...

I think in lieu of a 10 11 year retrospective, just go for the gold and get the book a second printing. DFW freeways just don't have the same intrigue of Houston freeways--a squiggly mess of generic freeways with unpredictable traffic patterns. (I'm sure many here agree)

Not necessarily. In that plan, I see several retained buildings. It even looks like they'll be keeping that Burger King.

Geez...I don't remember this at all. Where is it in relation to the outlet mall and HEB?

Welcome to HAIF! From what I can tell, the H-E-B at Barker-Cypress and 290 only opened in 2007 and although small, is very much still open. It's possible that the "other H-E-B" they referred to could've referred to the Fairfield H-E-B, of which signs were up in spring 2008 (though at a slightly different point than the store that opened in late 2012). Originally that H-E-B was to open to the northwest of the outlet mall (which was finishing construction and/or just opening at the time).

You're missing the point. The idea was the arrogant/ignorant way of not caring where anything went when a project was done. Heavy traffic makes a huge difference whether you're driving or not. Now, I can't say that I've driven on the area in 1997, but at least I know my limits. Leaving the fact that the bayous as today were significantly modified from their original forms, the bayous are an example of a boundary. A better example would be railroads, as they ALWAYS get a pass from freeway removal activists (hereafter referred to as FRAs). There used to be a post on Keep Houston Houston about how FRAs despised the freeway, decrying it as a barrier, blah blah blah, and ignoring the railroad viaduct that served to divide neighborhoods ever more than the freeways did. Frankly, the "not man-made" argument is a cop-out. So, where did all those walkable mid-rises come from? Did they slowly evolve over millions of years? Like I said before, the very definition of Midtown was made because of those freeways. Should Midtown and Downtown be an amorphous, indistinguishable blob?

So...you agree with my eviction analogy? I think I read somewhere it was '97. I know I wasn't driving, or even totally aware of my surroundings at the time. No, I think you're missing the point. Let's say, for a minute, that there as many lanes in downtown that feed into it, and that would be 22. The magic number is 1. Anything less than one means traffic gets better, anything more means a backup as people try to get into less lanes that are available. The current ratio of 11/7 is 1.57. Take away 6, and the ratio goes to 22/8, a ratio of 2.75. And besides, in term of construction, my "broken leg" analogy went unnoticed by you even though it's a good one. I think you're missing my point. No, I think I made my point exactly. Do I think the bayous are a barrier and they should be filled in? Of course not. Do they divide neighborhoods? Yes they do. There are bridges and other ways of passage along the bayous. There are sidewalks and other ways of passage under the Pierce Elevated. Besides, the creation of the highways is what gave Midtown an identity in the first place.

Don't give me that. When talking about the vast amount that Pierce moves (not to mention it being part of the Interstate highway system), you basically wrote that off as "they'll find alternate routes". ("I'm demolishing 300 acres of residential areas for my theme park resort. It's okay, they'll find other places to live!") That was a hyperbole, and if I insulted you, I'm sorry. My point was demolishing the Pierce to make a walkable paradise is a fantasy...and that's okay. I don't fault you for having an imagination. Meanwhile, on Midtown: I've both driven through and ridden the light rail on it. It's rather run-down, and what isn't run-down is pretty ugly (mid-rise townhomes!) And there you go. You can easily make a walkable neighborhood just by adding a cluster of bars and nightclubs.

Oh, so you're not only ignorant of any consequences, but with a side order of smug superiority. Classy and thoughtful response, there. You realize that by endorsing that, you inadvertently undermine your arguments about it being a dark scary barrier etc. etc.? See, that's why I offered a real alternative to removing the Pierce instead of this pedestrian-friendly la-la land. More lanes to handle more traffic, avoids downtown, more exits, and it can't be considered "adding a barrier" since the railroad was already there beforehand.

Well, the Pierce probably should probably be torn down around 2027, when it has reached the end of its functional lifespan. Highway demolitions are frankly uneconomical, and you usually only see them when they've reached the end of their lifespan and redundant (Oklahoma City actually is seeing this), or there's some other pressing factor (the San Francisco freeways have the Loma Prieta earthquake to thanks for their removal--the damage made the freeways unusable to their full capacity without a ton of money). Removing the Pierce Elevated isn't a realistic idea, but it's fun to discuss it. However, removing the Pierce has been discussed many, many times with some very good points made, and it's not cool if someone keeps pushing the issue with some rather glib and ignorant insistence. You could make more expanded arguments which address issues like "What do you with the traffic that the Pierce Elevated normally carries?" or "What do you do with the area?" For instance, what if the Pierce Elevated was closed and converted to a walkable park, without wasting money destroying perfectly good infrastructure? Pedestrians could walk and bike safe from traffic below. What if we had Interstate 45 continue to parallel Interstate 10, initially on the north side (sparing UHD) then on the south (sparing St. Arnold), then replacing the freight train tracks dividing 2nd Ward and EaDo, before meeting up with the Spur 5/Interstate 45 interchange? This could then be 8 lanes (instead of six) with interior breakdown lanes (which the Pierce Elevated lacks). Interstate 45 to 288/59 is then rebadged as Spur 5. I think that would be a much more interesting way of getting rid of the Pierce Elevated and more beneficial overall.

A lot of things are "barriers". For instance, the bayous divide neighborhoods and could be considered a barrier. Therefore, we should bury them in concrete culverts or backfill them. As much as nonsense that seems to you, it's thinking along the same lines.

Another Randalls bites the dust.

In regards to Rice and Sears, I read that's one of the reasons why the building isn't maintained all that well, and why Sears still sticks around. I also may have first read about it on HAIF. The reason it's plausible that Rice owns Rice Village is Stanford and Texas A&M do similar things--A&M owns the land out to the airport (and operates it), owns a lot of acreage to the north, and even leased out a chunk of land to Midway Cos. to develop as mixed-use. Stanford not only has a campus, but a full research park, an upscale mall (operated by Stanford until several years ago), medical center, and scads of residential (some converted) buildings. Therefore, Rice owning more than just their relatively small campus is not out of the question, especially considering that Houston was far more rural when it was founded.

I believe that's how they made the ship channel what it is now.

If there is an Eiffel Tower replica in Texas, it should be in Paris, Texas, which it is. It makes the whole thing look ridiculously cartoonish.

But the entire West Side is going away, isn't it?

One source regarding that...

Unfortunately, once you talk about rebuilding bridges to reach specifications, you're no longer talking about a simple operation. And since the river vessels typically go about 30 mph on average, you're no longer talking about an efficient route either.

The second article is locked to non-subscribers. All I can think of is there's a REASON people (in general) don't use horses anymore.

The bayou is very narrow up near Allen's Landing, and I'm not sure if a boat could fit in the water, let alone traverse through bridges. Then you'd get to the Port of Houston, which has a bunch of industrial traffic, and already boat tours. Then the bayou from downtown travels due east, so you'd end up having a 60 mile trip.