IronTiger

"Addressing" plastic bags is a noble cause. Banning them is not (you COULD tax them). Austin's approach, spending tons of money on "education" about the ban, is, pardon the pun, garbage.

MyBCS points out that design has no way for air flow. Ack!

Blargh. Looks way too generic.

It looks like the third lane could easily be achieved by just removing the on-street parking. So what's the biggest threat--using this stretch of Bagby as a way of cutting between southbound I-45 to getting on westbound 59 without that gnarly interchange to the east?

Was exploring around, trying to find the Wings N More in The Woodlands (online, not IRL), and I found a row of four big box stores, Walmart, Kohl's, Garden Ridge, and a vacant box (the one behind Wings N More). Anyone know what it used to have? Kmart seems like a likely candidate but there was one in Conroe proper, and besides, it still wouldn't be vacant after nearly a decade, right?

Surprised to see it tanked so quickly. The people behind CityCentre were going to build a similar project in College Station (though not quite as dense), and it was practically full speed ahead until the economy tanked. Even though they've demolished some of the apartments and replaced them with modern three-level structures not in line with the master plan, they're still talking about it as if it will still get built sometime. Even The Plaza is supposed to be a much denser development when its done.

Let's not try to get ahead of ourselves: yes, a great transit system is needed, but "don't care what it takes" implies that you would do anything, money and quality of life be damned. Let's make I-45 have nine lanes in any direction. That would be great for inflow and outflow for Houston. And let's make it underground. So you'd have to rip out all those neighborhoods to build a temporary I-45, then replace it with the underground system. Would you like your home to be demolished for a highway or rail project?

Why not just use paper bags? Paper bags: Compostable. Made in America. Made from reforestable wood. Old-fashioned. Reusable Bags: Get dirty really quickly and have to be washed, thus becoming worn-out. Made in some sweatshop overseas.

I thought METRO was the mass transit division of the City of Houston, or do I have something wrong?

Citibank looks way too big for a bank of its size. Also, it would make the most sense to cut off that bad turn near Church Avenue and connect it up with Spence, with the Church Street ROW used for 717 University.

Ah. So does that money then HAVE to be used for hike and bike paths, or can Houston funnel it into METRO? For some reason, I was thinking "highways" when I clicked on this link and wondered if they managed to make some sort of bio-degradable highway. Unrealistic, but it could happen.

If it was a TOLLWAY, it wouldn't be for ambulances. It would be for commuters who go in and out, especially for the south. With my elevated lanes idea, it satisfies a few key goals: - it won't disrupt the creek at all - suburbanites can avoid several stoplights and a railroad crossing going in and out--but they will pay for the privilege - the ROW exists: even for the actual exit and entrance lanes. Apparently they were built along with 288 but never utilized.

The bayou tollway is a HORRIBLE idea. Here's an idea: why not add toll flyover lanes from northbound 288/westbound Holcombe and from eastbound Holcombe/southbound 288, ala the "extra flyover lanes" from Woodlands Parkway to Interstate 45? It even looks like there's space for it (the "exit stubs" just beyond the Yellowstone Blvd. bridge). Then, these lanes will completely bypass stoplights/intersections at Old Spanish Trail, Holcombe Blvd., Ardmore, Plaza, Grocers Supply railroad spur, and Grand before finally coming to merge into traffic at the old Nabisco building there at Almeda and Holcombe. Problem solved.

Safeway was attacked in the 1980s by "greenmailing", wherein which someone buys up a huge amount of stock, threatening to take it over, and then selling it back to the company at an inflated price, making a ton of money in the process. As a result, Safeway racked up a lot of debt and had to jettison lots of divisions, including the Texas division, which was bought up by the managers of the Texas division and renamed AppleTree Markets.

I agree! Getting to the Medical Center doesn't seem so bad, but getting around it, not so much, especially with the light rail there. Also, I might get shouted at for suggesting this, but have they considered digging underground? I mean, it is possible from an engineering point, right?

Bob Yari (owner) is a film director. It's also worth noting that he "revitalized" the Forum 303 Mall (in Arlington) by converting it into what was essentially a hybrid flea market/mall. While some 1998 newspaper articles put a real positive spin on it, they basically gutted half of it, put up some cubicle-style fences, gave the mall a coat of paint, and called it a day. With Greenspoint, he didn't even try.

Is the Acres Home route being eliminated entirely, or just have less buses running on it?

Is the shrinking bus problem that bad, or are you just exaggerating?

I was in Texas City-La Marque last spring and I noticed the Travelodge here is now an "America's Best Value Inn & Suites". I thought, in 2008, that was a pretty nice (albeit slightly dated) place. I mean, it even has a pool in the center. It's also surprising since there's a run-down motel in Bryan that's operating under the Travelodge name (and gets pretty mediocre reviews at best). But it also looks like it's gone through hard times: Google Earth in January 2008 has the parking lot as a blacktop, after Ike, it looks pretty nasty. It also looks like there's roof damage. Did it get so messed up in Ike that Travelodge sold it off?

The METRORail has one of the highest passenger/mile ratios in the country. Let's not discount that. Bus service may be declining because bus services are rendered obsolete by the light rail, and that will probably continue. And if all else fails, consider making METRO a private company with a government contract.

Well, first off, we're talking about passenger rail, not HSR. The Austin-Houston route, in particular, would cut College Station out but reactivate abandoned (but intact) rails, like in Paige, Texas. As for increasing sprawl, I think that passenger rail follows sprawl, not the other way around.

According to MyBCS.com, there was a "Mariel's" supermarket in the TJMaxx shopping center. Since Safeway was ALWAYS at Culpepper, this must have been what the Weingarten's transitioned to. Was it relatively upscale like the old Weingarten's was, or a dump?

I was wondering if the HMNS expansion is open yet. All the things online say "Summer 2012", but I can't find anything on any "grand opening" events or whatever, so its either to be announced shortly or delayed indefinitely. If it is the latter, too bad--would've made a great day trip. Anyone know for certain?

Oh. The topic title suggested something different.

Original link, video What do you think? I mean, the numbers are in, but does that even matter? As in, Houston people may like mass transit, but not much has been done about it...