cspwal Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I don't think they were painted white - I think that was just the color of the quick cure cement they used Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Regardless, they should have been bright yellow or something. Or, they could have painted the street between them and the curb with some pleasing shades/patterns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 IIRC, this was just a pilot program. I agree that they should have integrated some yellow or some plastic raised poles at the corner. They have some really bad problems with speeding in this neighborhood, which is why they were put in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 I 100% support quick-build bulb-outs at intersections, and generally think this was a great idea. I just think if they're hard to see then they're a lot less useful. I'd love to see this exact design put in all over the city *except* with high-visibility paint. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 6 hours ago, wilcal said: IIRC, this was just a pilot program. I agree that they should have integrated some yellow or some plastic raised poles at the corner. They have some really bad problems with speeding in this neighborhood, which is why they were put in. Speeding is a huge problem on Hutchins because people use it as a cut though when traffic backs up. With the increased traffic congestion because of construction there is a wreck at Hutchins and Alabama nearly every week. I'm hoping the bike lane/road diet encourages people to slow down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted November 11, 2019 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Bike lane is nothing if people just park in it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Man I would call and have all of those cars towed. Not even that type of person but this is F’ing ridiculous. 5 hours ago, BeerNut said: Please tell me you called someone 🤦♂️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 I think that's part of the problem is that bike lane isn't finished so it's not properly marked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Where is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 People will learn eventually. Just like those which had to fix their cars when trying to out pace Lightrail trains at intersections. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 14 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: Where is that? West Gray between Milam and Travis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 13 hours ago, BeerNut said: I think that's part of the problem is that bike lane isn't finished so it's not properly marked. Surely you're not suggesting we wait until a project is finished before we complain/attack/condemn... that's not the HAIF way. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 The problem is the unfinished project isn't useful to bicyclists yet - if you're in a nice 2 way bike lane that is suddenly blocked by cars, you either go into traffic or on the sidewalk. Neither are good options, and it might have been better to do the full treatment block by block as opposed to do the whole thing in stages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 29 minutes ago, cspwal said: The problem is the unfinished project isn't useful to bicyclists yet - if you're in a nice 2 way bike lane that is suddenly blocked by cars, you either go into traffic or on the sidewalk. Neither are good options, and it might have been better to do the full treatment block by block as opposed to do the whole thing in stages That's the thing about unfinished projects. They are almost never useful yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 A complete bike lane down one block is more useful than a half built bike lane down two blocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 I did some digging to find out if the cars can be ticketed (after my numerous 311 requests have gone nowhere from the last several weeks). The TLDR is that this is in a gray area (aha!) and that new signage will need to be developed. Currently, parking in a bike lane is not explicitly illegal, which is why the city is using do not park signs along bike lanes so that cars can be ticketed. The Bicycle Advisory Committee is supposedly working on an ordinance so this won't be required. With cars technically being allowed to park here, albeit a lane over in the painted designate parking area, there is some new signage needed to address this. Bonus: it's not a "bike lane" until the construction has been completed and it's been turned over. Last I heard, it would be late spring before the special lights would be able to be delivered, so we'll likely be looking at months of "incompletion" even though everything will be painted. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 Wasn't aware they plan to block through traffic on Hutchins at Elgin. They were also working on sidewalk cutouts at Hutchins and Alabama this weekend. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 On 12/14/2019 at 10:53 PM, BeerNut said: Wasn't aware they plan to block through traffic on Hutchins at Elgin. They were also working on sidewalk cutouts at Hutchins and Alabama this weekend. I think they have one more planned as well. These will have bike cut-throughs in them (you can see the rebar raised out of the ground where the curbs will go). I was at the meeting where they presented this, and the traffic info for Hutchins was terrifying. The goal is for cars cutting through the third to skip over to Emancipation. I made a quick and dirty MS Paint of the situation. Hutchins is all residential, and there were cars driving 40+ through the neighborhood. The road is super wide at some points allowing extreme speeds. Like 50' wide for two driving lanes plus cars parked on the curb. At least part of Hutchins is scheduled to get separated bike lanes as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) On 12/16/2019 at 9:15 AM, wilcal said: I think they have one more planned as well. These will have bike cut-throughs in them (you can see the rebar raised out of the ground where the curbs will go). I was at the meeting where they presented this, and the traffic info for Hutchins was terrifying. The goal is for cars cutting through the third to skip over to Emancipation. I made a quick and dirty MS Paint of the situation. Hutchins is all residential, and there were cars driving 40+ through the neighborhood. The road is super wide at some points allowing extreme speeds. Like 50' wide for two driving lanes plus cars parked on the curb. At least part of Hutchins is scheduled to get separated bike lanes as well. Oh I'm well aware of the crazy speeds people drive on Hutchins as I live near Alabama and Hutchins. There have been several bad wrecks at Hutchins and Alabama with people using Hutchins as an interstate bypass. Will be a slight annoyance for me to get on 69 but I'm looking forward the new bike lane and slower street traffic. Edited December 28, 2019 by BeerNut remove picture 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 38 minutes ago, BeerNut said: Oh I'm well aware of the crazy speeds people drive on Hutchins as I live near Alabama and Hutchins. There has been several bad wrecks at Hutchins and Alabama with people using Hutchins as an interstate bypass. Will be a slight annoyance for me to get on 69 but I'm looking forward the new bike lane and slower street traffic. I hope your neighbors feel the same way! After watching drama about the Gray St bikelane on Nextdoor (at least portion in Midtown) I never really understood why people that live on or near that street would rather have more car throughput that's only utilized at rush hour instead of having street calming measures to slow down people that drive like crazy when traffic is low. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, wilcal said: I hope your neighbors feel the same way! After watching drama about the Gray St bikelane on Nextdoor (at least portion in Midtown) I never really understood why people that live on or near that street would rather have more car throughput that's only utilized at rush hour instead of having street calming measures to slow down people that drive like crazy when traffic is low. Shouldn't be any push back on Hutchins between Elgin and Alabama. Most people have sufficient garage and driveway space. The shotgun houses near Hutchins and Francis might have issues but they still have adequate side street parking. I guess this is one advantage of mandated parking minimums when you want to go back and have a road diet... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X.R. Posted December 26, 2019 Share Posted December 26, 2019 Hutchin's sucks right now, in terms of safety. I definitely have used it to blow by traffic once in a while. A lot of these neighborhoods will be thanking the city/county/whoever for these bike lanes and road diets once more people have kids. No one wants to live on a 35mph street and have cars dominating it at 50mph. Based on @wilcal's initial post in this thread with the diagram...it almost seems like we're getting the promised bike lanes? I'm pretty astonished that Grey got built, rode on it this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised. And the nice thing is that you see everyone using it...the hip bros, the serious cycle dads, and people using it to seemingly get to work who live on or near Grey/Emancipation. If Hutchins is dedicated bike lane to Grey we might actually be getting a useable network! Now they just need to figure out how people are supposed to get to East downtown/2nd ward without having to go all the way to the Columbia Tap. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 So I’m curious as to who maintains these bike lanes? I saw some broken tree limbs and peeling paint along one of the routes on the East End. Long term maintenance is going to be just as important and building the infrastructure itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 They finished building the median on Alabama to block through traffic on Hutchins a few days ago. The number of cars using Hutchins has gone way down...so much better now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/11/2020 at 10:55 PM, BeerNut said: They finished building the median on Alabama to block through traffic on Hutchins a few days ago. The number of cars using Hutchins has gone way down...so much better now. I can think of several of places in Montrose that need exactly that. of course sense its the reversible lane they just need to close off some intersections. West Alabama + Alabama is one of the more dangerous roads in Houston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 1/11/2020 at 10:55 PM, BeerNut said: They finished building the median on Alabama to block through traffic on Hutchins a few days ago. The number of cars using Hutchins has gone way down...so much better now. Saw them finishing it up on Sunday and it looked good. Was very much needed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Looking down Hutchins on my block. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Not a fan of this reverse parking protected layout. This is fine for this street probably given its relatively low volumes I suppose. I wonder why it was done like this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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