Houston19514

It's not just for parking. The pictures show that same gravel treatment in the entire "backyard" area. (And FWIW, having a tiny patch of turf grass does not require the use of a motorized, polluting lawnmower, and one can use environmentally friendly fertilizers, etc. But all that is really beside the point; as I've said repeatedly, one can plant a nice green, environmentally friendly, native landscaping without resorting to an expanse of turf grass.)

Read my whole post. You can also have green without having grass. (And just because your neighbor sends his clippings to the landfill does not automatically make grass evil. Part of using resources in the most efficient manner is the proper management thereof.) It is indeed about using resources in the most efficient manner. That involves both the design and the proper management of the landscape. This gravel landscape is bad design for Houston (increases the head island effect, uses non-native plants), and a well-designed, properly managed, green landscape (even one using some grass) would use resources more efficiently and actually benefit the environment.

The Census Bureau puts Arlington in the Fort Worth "metropolitan division", not in the Dallas "metropolitan division".

There is no shortage of water in Houston. It quite routinely falls right out of the sky. One can have green landscaping in Houston that does not require artificial watering. One can have green landscaping without covering the site in grass. Yes, the gravel is permeable and therefore better than concrete, but it will definitely add to the heat island effect, whereas green plantings would provide cooling AND oxygen. Building "green" does not mean we have to adopt desert landscaping. I'm familiar with the concept of Xeriscaping. One of the principles of xeriscaping is to use plants native to your region. I could be wrong, but I don't think cactus are native to the Houston region.

I like it a lot, except for the Phoenix-style landscaping. Why did they landscape it as though Houston is a desert climate? It was ironic that the first paragraph of the "Dwell" article said "unfortunately, the green ends at the tree line" while the landscaping for these houses stayed with that theme and is almost devoid of green.

The rendering in the first post above appears to be perhaps an old rendering and not the current plan. If you go to Levcor.com you can click through to to see their current renderings and leasing brochures. The design is quite different from the above rendering and there is no mention of Borders. The above rendering does appear on their site, in fact on the front page of references to Post Oak Plaza, which seems odd...

Agreed. I'm hoping (dreaming) that one day in the not-too-distant future, the Main Street retail market will have improved to the point that they take out the parking garage and make the whole building retail again.

There are restrooms on upper levels as well. They are not all in the basement. I've personally never witnessed a full-time guide directing people to the restrooms.

Pretty funny that the Chron hasn't even managed to report on its own building work. Sheesh.

It was to be more than just a parking garage. The addition would have provided ballroom space, new motor entrance to the hotel, etc. I'll try to find a link to the architectural renderings and post it here.Architect renderings Description from Kirksey's website: "Kirksey hospitality architects designed the Texaco Renaissance Hotel. This downtown adaptive use consists of 3 office buildings constructed in 1915, 1959, and 1962 for the Texas Company, now known as Texaco. The 1915 and 1959 structures will be rehabilitated as a 370-key, 4-star hotel with apartments on the 15th through 17th floors. The 1962 building, which was not historic, has been razed to allow a new entry and multipurpose structure that connects the hotel buildings. This 4-story central structure houses a 220-car garage, a business center, a spa/fitness center with a pool, and a 12,000-sf ballroom." Originally, it was to be a Ritz-Carlton. I think that was changed to a Renaissance before construction even started. Lately, there have been rumors of it being converted into a condo or apartment building.

LOL I was wondering if anyone would see the potential laugh there. But, seriously, it's going to be a mist tree. (I think it's going to be a sculptural "tree" that emits a cooling mist. Art, function, comfort, entertainment all in one.)

I think it's going to be a mist tree.

I enjoyed your posts too, MisterX. Thank you. Excellent work! Brought be a lot of laughs.

And on that note, Happy Bipolar Awareness Week!!

No problem. Thank you for the apology (and for being a stand-up kinda guy).

I apologize if my writing was over your head.... allow me to explain. In the post to which I was referring, Nucklehead mentioned that he took his two sons somewhere in Fort Worth. From that I concluded that Nucklehead had reproduced. The possible presence of not one but three Nuckleheads in DFW does not bode well for its future. No nonsense. No fragmented sentences. Just a little humor.

This might be the most disturbing post EVER on HAIF. Nucklehead has reproduced??? This does not bode well for the future of the DFW area.

DFW is third only if you're talking about aircraft movements. In number of passengers, DFW is no. 4. The top 3, in order, are, Atlanta, O'Hare, LAX.

You never cease to entertain, do you? How you can reach that conclusion based on those premises (many of which had literally nothing to do with transportation) is beyond me. But I'll attempt to address your numbered items: 1. Yes, Houston is more centralized and its urban cores are closer to one another (I'm looking forward to the thread where you tell us that Dallas is much more urban and densely developed). That is ONE of the reasons that Houston is developing a different type of rail/transit system than they are developing in Dallas. We aren't connecting (at least currently) urban "cores" that are 25 miles outside of downtown), so the lines don't need to go out that far. Those areas are very well served by P&R/HOV systems, and Dallas is a LONG ways behind Houston in that regard. 2. No, Midtown Houston is not of major importance to the rail system, at all. I don't know where you got that idea. The red line is the core of the system, yes, and the red line goes through Midtown. Midtown is developing, rather quickly. But whether it does or does not develop will have little effect one way or the other on the rail system. (The fact is, even without midtown being developed, Houston's red line is posting VERY high ridership numbers. Midtown's continued development will only add to the successful numbers.) (And btw, I'm quite certain it has escaped your notice, but part of Metro's short-term plans include expanding the capacity of the red line... quite amazing that a "blown" poorly planned system to need expansion less than 10 years after opening.) 3. Yes, we can all look at Google maps and see where Midtown Houston is located. Despite those impediments, its development proceeds apace. But I'm not sure what this has to do with the Metro Rail system?? 4. There's a below-grade freeway near midtown. And.... again, what does that have to do with the rail system?? 5. Again with the midtown hangup... 6. Ummm, Are we supposed to be impressed by the sprawl of Dallas, with its more than 10 miles separating its "urban cores"? Are we supposed to be impressed by the possibility that "over 100,000 people will be working in each of these four urban areas in the near future"?? (And you let us know when there are 100,000 people working in Las Colinas). And, so what if there are or may be sometime before the 24th century. If that's the case, bully for Dallas and DART in running lines out to all that sprawl. As you pointed out, Houston is somewhat different, so we build a different type train system. 7. I suppose there are indeed more people living throughout Dallas, North Dallas, Plano, etc etc. than there are inside the 610 Loop. Again, so what. One would think that such an amazingly-designed rail system that goes right through so many neighborhoods, connecting every imaginable employment center would be posting world-record ridership... and yet, not so much. Actually, DART's ridership has not been impressive at all. (BTW, FWIW, I think there are closer to 500,000 people living inside Loop 610) Not that it has much to do with your seven "premises", but if, as you say, "the facts are clear that Dallas has done a lot better taking care of its interests of its citizens in regard to mass transit than Houston", one would think it would be reflected in ridership. Sadly for you, the numbers speak pretty loudly. Houston, with only a 7 mile starter line in operation for only a few years, is carrying 45,000 a day. Dallas, with a large portion of its system already in place (45 Miles?) and operating for more than a decade, is carrying 65,000 a day??? In addition, Houston's HOV system serves FAR more than Dallas' ever will. As I said earlier in this thread, I am predicting Houston's metro rail will carry MORE passengers than DART rail when Houston's Phase II is up and running come 2012, or very shortly after. (and as I also said earlier... that really won't be very hard for Houston to accomplish, given the record of the two systems so far.) But I'm sure you'll go on believing that Dallas has done a lot better job of mass transit because Midtown Houston has freeways practically surrounding it. ;-)

Read more carefully, and try to put aside your preconceived notions and prejudices. A P&R/HOV bus system has the flexibility to offer more stops, or fewer stops, as demand may call for. Yes, just imagine a commuter rail making 5/6 stops, and imagine how long that trip will take with that many stops. Then you can start counting the number of passengers who will abandon such a system because it takes longer than driving or takes longer than the former unprogressive P&R/HOV system did. Your prediction that a lot more people would use such a system is based on nothing but conjecture.

Again, you are clearly clueless about Houston's MetroRail and its future plans. Gosh, Dallas's 4 legitimate urban cores will ALL be connected "in some capacity" in the near future by light rail??? Wow. That IS a unique and well-planned system. But wait, by your own definition, Houston has several urban cores, to-wit: downtown, midtown, museum district, Medical center, unversity areas, Greenway Plaza, and Galleria/Uptown. And ALL, yes ALL of them will be connected in the near future by light rail. Not just "in some capacity". They will be connected, all to the one rail system, all connected to each other. (And, for the record, the scheduled operational date is 2012. Not what we usually refer to as the 24th century, but you obviously live in your own little world) Now, THAT is a well-planned system. Funny how when DART rail connects its urban cores "in some capacity" (even with mediocre ridership) it tells you that Dallas has a unique, well-planned system that is already having "incredible impact" on the area's development. . . But when Houston METRO connects its urban cores (not just "in some capacity", but connecting them) (with very high ridership on the small portion that has been completed) it tells you that Houston "blew it." Very amusing.

Why, it sounds like Dallas has a veritable smash hit of global proportions on its hands there. ROFL You are too much. Please stop, you're making my sides ached from laughing. I suppose Houston has blown it, unless of course, the purpose of a transit agency is to, say, transport the most people at the least cost. Try looking up some actual information like, say, the percentage of people using transit to get to work, the number of riders on the rail lines, the costs, the numbers of transit users using Park & Ride and HOV services. By they way, didn't I recently read something about DART just THIS year getting its first cars that allow for platform-level boarding? And it (yes they only have one such car) is currently only available on one line? And the original stations will have to be remodeled to allow for platform-level boarding? Quite unique? Well, I guess that silly and wasteful move might be unique. Other than that, not so much. Well-designed? Not too sure about that either. In addition to the obvious design flaw of not having platform-level boarding, if it was all that well designed, one would expect it to have ridership that was somewhere above low-to-average for light rail systems. And yet, there it is, muddling along with relatively low ridership. I'm not going to take the time to answer your string of foolish questions. It is obvious you know very little about Houston's Metro Rail or plans, or for that matter the history of rail in Dallas. Try to read up before spewing any more of your bile.

Your contrast of the metropolitan areas (while not entirely accurate and certainly incomplete) actually make the case remarkably well that Houston's rail system should be quite different from Dallas's rail system. Indeed, Houston's starter line (the red line) serves most of the areas you list as constituting the Houston urban area (probably ONE of the reasons Houston's redline carries many more passengers than any similar stretch of Dallas's supposedly wildly successful rail system.) Furthermore, every single additional area you list as constituting the remainder of Houston's urban area will be connected by the upcoming University Line. Not bad for a system that "blew it big time" and "failed miserably". Prediction: Houston's LRT and GRT system, when all up and running in a few years will carry more passengers than Dallas's entire DART rail system (which really won't be hard to do, since the Red Line alone carries, what, about 65% as many as the 45-mile DART system?)

... and Houston has light rail (and relatively soon, more of it), BRT, buses, and HOV Lane/P&R systems. Different modes for different purposes. Almost as if Houston was trying to develop "transportation solutions for all of its people, or at least as many as is practical." P&R buses are NOT a substitute for a train that would stop in someone's neighborhood. They are a substitute for (and in most respects an improvement on) commuter rail. Commuter rail, in most cases, also serves park & ride lots in suburban communitie; it does not make stops in neighborhoods. Surely, no one is suggesting we build parallel commuter systems of rail and HOV/P&R buses to make sure we satisfy both the bus-phobic and the train-phobic. That is the surest plan for failure of the entire system that I can think of.

LOL If nothing else, at least your posts are entertaining. I LOVE the line "a smash hit on global proportions". I'm going to try to use it often... ;-)