Why didn't Houston develop more towards to Gulf? (Galveston, Katy: tornado, living in)

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

I've done the heavy rail line to DCA and the Blue Line to ORD. Both are fine and useful. But note: the interim stations between the airports and downtown all contribute substantial ridership, especially for commuting. Would Houston be able to say the same?

In Houston, it would depend on the route. If the rail to IAH follows something like Aldine Mail Route, I doubt there are many people out that way who go Downtown to work. Plus, lots of those folks would scare out of towners. If it follows The Hardy Toll Road, where would you locate stations? Or, do you have heavy rail from Downtown to IAH with only 1 or 2 stops?

I would need to look more for a Hobby route that makes sense.

[SanJac]

Originally Posted by WRM20

In Houston, it would depend on the route. If the rail to IAH follows something like Aldine Mail Route, I doubt there are many people out that way who go Downtown to work. Plus, lots of those folks would scare out of towners. If it follows The Hardy Toll Road, where would you locate stations? Or, do you have heavy rail from Downtown to IAH with only 1 or 2 stops?

I would need to look more for a Hobby route that makes sense.

The only viable route would be Hardy Toll Road. You said Aldine Mail Route but I think you meant Aldine Westfield. Aldine Mail Route runs E-W. Aldine Westfield runs N-S. I forget where Aldine Westfield ends before reaching downtown.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by SanJac

The only viable route would be Hardy Toll Road. You said Aldine Mail Route but I think you meant Aldine Westfield. Aldine Mail Route runs E-W. Aldine Westfield runs N-S. I forget where Aldine Westfield ends before reaching downtown.

Oops, completely misread the map, I did mean Aldine Westfield(probably a result of seeing the exit for Aldine Mail Route from the Hardy all the time). Aldine Westfield dead ends into Jensen Drive Tidwell and Laura Koppe.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by atadytic19

I know this is an old thread but one angle /answer to the question is STORM SURGE.

The Atlantic and Pacific coasts have much deeper ridges. The Gulf Coast on the otherhand has a very shallow continental shelf.

The reason cities in Florida can build on the Coast with less hurricane devastation is because of the deeper water. You think of hurricanes as wind and rain, but the most destruction is caused by storm surge. A category 4 hurricane will result in 20ft plus storm surge on the gulf coast, but the same strength hurricane may only result in an 8ft surge on the Atlantic coast.

This link explains it better than I could
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/surge/
The 1900 hurricane was so devastating because of the power of the waves.

Hurricane Camile had 25 feet waves. Katrina's high-water mark was over 34 feet. Ike was 19. Andrew was only 16.

Out in deep water the force of the wind on the water is able to be dispersed away from the hurricane. In shallow water the force of the wind simply pushes the water on land. That's why the water from Hurricane Laura was able to get so far inland when it got lake Charles.

The curve north of Jacksonville to about to the Charleston area is another shallow area. So is the area around the Delaware, NJ coasts and another along the coast of Maine.

I don't know about you, but the thought of a 35 foot wall of water sounds really scary to me. With rising sea levels and an increase in occurrence of intense storms due to warming ocean waters, the dream of a developed Gulf coast area may never be realized

Good stuff. Yeah the wind is scary but a wall of water is scarier. All one needs to do is look at this video to see what a storm surge can do on the Gulf Coast. Especially from a powerful Hurricane.

Surge starts at the 35 minute mark but I started it just slightly earlier to show how quickly and devastating a storm surge could be.
https://youtu.be/wiL3QKraaTY?t=2066

[copperkinn]

Hurricanes. basically. Having most of the desirable areas in the west side of the metro makes it easier to evacuate.

[atadytic19]

Originally Posted by copperkinn

Hurricanes. basically. Having most of the desirable areas in the west side of the metro makes it easier to evacuate.

Not just to evacuate, but they are also on higher ground.

Have you looked at topographical maps of the Houston area? The further west or the further north you go the higher it gets.

Another interesting thing to look at is subsidence maps.

Again to the south and east there are major issues with sinking land. To the north and west, very little.

Developers didn't shy away from Galveston Bay to spite Galveston, they built further inland because it is just a lot safer bet.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by copperkinn

Hurricanes. basically. Having most of the desirable areas in the west side of the metro makes it easier to evacuate.

Yep. Conroe and Northwest Waller have been becoming real attractive real estate markets as of late. Which not the only reason and probably not the main reason, I’m sure that being well inland giving storms time to calm is a selling point.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Yep. Conroe and Northwest Waller have been becoming real attractive real estate markets as of late. Which not the only reason and probably not the main reason, I’m sure that being well inland giving storms time to calm is a selling point.

Yep they're further inland, plus you have rolling terrain and dense pines too. The landscape is more unique than the rest of Houston, which is mostly flat prairie.

[jeffdoorgunner]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Yep. Conroe and Northwest Waller have been becoming real attractive real estate markets as of late. Which not the only reason and probably not the main reason, I’m sure that being well inland giving storms time to calm is a selling point.

Just one reason I chose woodlands hills………

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

Yep they're further inland, plus you have rolling terrain and dense pines too. The landscape is more unique than the rest of Houston, which is mostly flat prairie.

But they're susceptible to severe tornadoes because they are on the edge of the marine climate (about 100 miles inland from the coast).