A question about the condition of streets

[Dopo]

No money to fix inner city roads,
but there's always plenty of money to build brand new roads in the suburbs.

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by vegankris

I find the roads easier to deal with on a bike rather than in a car. This is why I almost exclusively ride a bike in Houston rather than drive.

I wouldn't do that in Houston on a bet. I'd be roadkill within a week. Houston drivers HATE bikers (both pedal and motorized).

Ronnie

[theSUBlime]

Yup, street conditions in Houston are poor. It has to do with the fact that Houston has a lot of drivers, roads, and cuts costs wherever possible.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by RocketSci

According to the Texas Transportation Institute Urban Mobility Report, Houston also has among the highest lane-miles per capita of any city, meaning that there are fewer taxpayers per mile available to pay for road maintenance. For comparison:
- Houston - 361 residents per mile
- Dallas/Ft Worth - 390
- Atlanta - 421
- Los Angeles - 496
- Las Vegas - 536
- New York City - 697

Some smaller denser communities (Bellaire, West University, Sugarland etc) ARE able to properly size and maintain streets, so it can be done.

And finally, the rapid growth of Houston means that new neighborhoods regularly exceed the capacity of existing roadways, and the end result is that it may be decades before proper roadways are constructed on heavily used streets.

Are you serious? West U has some of the worst streets. Driving down buffalo speedway is a nightmare. River Oaks is another one, rich neighborhood terrible streets.

[vegankris]

Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie

I wouldn't do that in Houston on a bet. I'd be roadkill within a week. Houston drivers HATE bikers (both pedal and motorized).

Ronnie

Interesting... I haven't had a single close call and I ride through downtown everyday on my way to different areas in the loop. I ride on average 2 hours per day, each day and never so much as a honk from a motorist. It is much easier to navigate the terrible road conditions on a bike than in a car.

[CollegeStudentinAtl]

come to atlanta (i think it has to have some of the oldest infrastructure in the country lol), new orleans, chicago, etc >>> you would appreciate houston roads more..

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Are you serious? West U has some of the worst streets. Driving down buffalo speedway is a nightmare. River Oaks is another one, rich neighborhood terrible streets.

Neighborhood streets in West U have all been rebuilt from scratch. The worst sections of Buffalo Speedway are in the City of Houston (south of Holcombe, north of Bissonnet).

River Oaks is part of the City of Houston.

[vwgto]

Originally Posted by CollegeStudentinAtl

come to atlanta (i think it has to have some of the oldest infrastructure in the country lol), new orleans, chicago, etc >>> you would appreciate houston roads more..

Georgia, in general, actually has received top ratings for their roads over the years. Hopefully they have not let things fall apart more recently. I remind my wife of those good old days when our cars are taking a beating on Houston roads.