IronTiger

Post Oak Mall has been deteriorating for years (not a dead mall, but certainly a tired one, despite recent renovations) and is no longer thought of as the city's prime retail destination. Students tend to stay away from it. Arguably, one of POM's biggest killers has been the Cypress outlet mall miles away.

Yeah, Ella did push through Acres Homes area, and many other roads (Kirby, Bellaire) have gotten new (often discontinuous) segments. One can always hope that they'll be connected in a grand master plan.

A stop in more than two cities would certainly make more sense and probably drum up more business. Really, College Station makes a lot of sense if you're talking about future investment here. And no, it's not because I go to Texas A&M.

So while doing some digging, I found that Shamrock had a Sakowitz for years...it must have been a boutique-sized store and not one of their even suburban locations (like Gulfgate). It stayed right up until the Shamrock's demise (1985).

I know it closed for 290's expansion. What I want to know is what's next, or if there is even a "next". .

I know that Pinemont Park & Ride closed in January of this year, but I'm curious at to what the redevelopment of the site entails. First, I heard it closed permanently, and not just for construction of 290. It's a pretty big chunk of land and parking lot, and I imagine that the land value is high enough for it to be redeveloped than lay fallow for years to come. If METRO owns it, they could let it appreciate in land value and cash out...but I don't know if METRO owns it and what it plans to do with the site. Anyone have more insight?

By the way, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between October 2013 and March 2014? It seems like a lot of trees died anyway somehow (Google Earth)

Well, as for better bike paths, I agree--the drop-offs are meant as hiking paths and should be signed as such. But mountain bikers still do it anyway. Some paths actually meant for biking (maybe with some challenges) would be nice. But when you talk about covering roads you're not talking about a project that would be equal to a bunch of other minor projects. There's a fairly wide path next to Memorial that goes under the railroad and bypasses the road. There's already a curving bridge that goes over Memorial. I'm saying that I agree with you about kayaks and canoes, it could be accessed through the power line right of way that parallels the railroad. That could be paved and everything! It would be fairly cheap and wouldn't require a lot. Maybe Memorial Park could benefit from some overall planning but I'm recoiling at the idea it should be Hermann Park II. I rather like the roads going through Memorial Park which you claim is visual blight. Frankly, for all the problems I dislike with Central Park (in New York), it does have roads in it. Underbrush should be cleared out periodically as well, but is that really that "worth it" in terms of how Memorial Park "should be"? Sure, it's nice, but that's a continuous maintenance thing and not a one-time thing.

One thing I've wondered about in terms of major thoroughfares is if they actually intend on finishing out the stubs, like extending Kirby to the South Belt, or when one can drive on Bellaire (Holcombe) all the way from the Medical Center to the Grand Parkway, or what have you. Or if they've abandoned those plans entirely.

Houston (and by extension Harris County) have several other parks that are more than a block, and I admit that Memorial Park is one of the largest parks. As for biking paths, there are paths that go from Memorial Park to 610 quite easily, unless you want something that bypasses the frontage roads quite easily like a footbridge. Otherwise, some of your arguments seem a bit silly: with the exception of that little cluster to the west of 610 (presumably cut through to the Northwest Transit Center if METRO gets their way), all of the park is contained to the southeast of 610 and Interstate 10. The only that does cut through is the railroad, which since you weren't complaining about I'm going to assume doesn't matter. I suppose if you wanted a place to put in a canoe, that should be achievable if you drive down the power line ROW to the bayou line. Any hike/bike paths along the bayou won't be contiguous with Buffalo Bayou Park, because there's properties that directly abut the bayou. Probably best to widen the south sidewalk of Memorial or something. What I would like to see is segregated hike/bike trails. Nothing like hiking and having to jump out of the way due to mountain bikers, steep drop-offs be damned.

Any state or national park is going to have "unreachable" spaces, and even though I am no environmentalist, I think it should be left untouched and natural. And while it's not your intent, I've NEVER regretted seeing undeveloped areas along highways.

It depends on what you mean by "underutilized". Well, I suppose a better idea would be some sort of natural area that's protected from development. There's a bit of a rift between people who want "parks" and people who want "nature". To be "useful", a park should either be clear-cut for fields and sporting uses, or they want to hack through and make a lighted, paved bike path. That's what separates Hermann from Memorial. Hermann is manicured with its zoo, mini-train, and public spaces, while Memorial features a few areas for sports but offers mostly untouched woodlands. Frankly, I prefer Memorial, though the drought has made it look a bit ragged.

College Station is underserved in a lot of areas. There will be some 25% more people coming into town for football games, and the hotel building is ramping up but not restaurants. Grocery stores are pretty average too. Problem is maintaining these sorts of things year round.

I feel that the plan is a bit of a let-down (it's basically a conference center hotel + strip mall + apartments) but it sure sounds like a neat concept (will be finished after I leave this town, sadly). It's a bit like a scaled-down version of CityCentre, but that area isn't wealthy like Memorial City is.

You can clearly make out skywalks between the Galleria parking garage to the Transco/Williams complex. By the way, I like the Transco name. A bit before my time, to be certain, but it's like the Sears Tower in Chicago, once named, always named. As for my own Houston nostalgia, it's mostly very recent stuff, but even as of 2004 the Northwest Freeway corridor near Fairfield looked totally different than today.

I am well aware Shipley's once had burgers and stuff on the menu (they did in Bryan, until around they moved to a new location) but I had no idea that one served that sort of thing into the mid-1990s (the Bryan one changed sometime in the 1980s). I'm pretty sure that there are still skywalks connecting the Galleria (or at least the garages) to Williams Tower.

You guys should come up to College Station (or Waco, or San Marcos, as they're opening there too) and try Fuego, which does make their own tortillas. Mmmm...

It's not so much the route, the whole pattern seems strange, why'd they go so far out of their market area.

Remember, the times I go through I see a variety of trucks and cars, so no two times are the same. First off, it is a major corridor, and I do see the occasional 18 wheeler (beer trucks mostly), so it's not like it's a rare occurrence. I've caught the owner of the microbrewery going to work a few times, too (opposite direction)

Didn't they try to do this in 2006? I remember reading that...and posting a thread on it. EDIT: Here we go.

Wow, thanks Purpledevil! I always knew there was some sort of cool story behind it. Recently, I'm a bit into hotels...the downtown Holiday Inn (you know, the one that's been gutted down to a skeleton) is one such example. Perhaps it's the fact that I realize I haven't stayed in a hotel in over 2 years for various reasons.

At which point a massive lawsuit would erupt that would make them wish that they just imploded it and rebuilt it from scratch. You're right, they are probably having it checked, seeing as how construction hasn't restarted yet.

Shipley's beignets?! I mean, besides the fact that I'm surprised any Shipley's actually serves beignets, but it just seems so insulting. It's like if someone asked a good place to get a Philly cheesesteak and you suggested Subway.

Most things are rarely "built" ugly. For instance, a lot of "ugly" apartments have decades of deterioration, natural aging, and falling out of fashion to deal with, so all those townhomes and newer apartments will start to look bad. Same goes for converted houses, and a lot of the "ugly" gas stations and strip malls are going to be the older ones.

WHY DOES THIS THING KEEP EATING MY POSTS?! I give up.