What has happened to Houston? (Parker: live in, license, area)

[EDS_]

For the record. I'm a Dallas guy who also really loves Houston. I went to Rice. My daughter begins her medical education at BCOM in the fall. So I've popped on and lurked a bit lately.

People say the OP isn't a troll and I'll take them at their words but her post is so full of utterly nonsensical comparisons and bad logic plus that seems to be followed up with unnecessary emotionalism on the OP's part.

In no particular order and some of these were broached upthread by others.

1). Houston is a light through heavy industrial powerhouse and it's a huge shipping pathway. All that equals trucks. The city can't do much about truck traffic. Significant bans, lane limiting, curfews etc. would be met with near certain defeat in the courts. And all of this stuff is under significant federal auspices in the first place.

2). Complaining about Houston's homelessness problems while mentioning Seattle and CA would be ironically funny if it weren't so patently absurd. We recently sold a home in SF - take an uber or walk through the Tenderloin district and then come back here and complain about Houston and homelessness. New York, LA, King County/Seattle, San Jose, San Diego are all in the top ten for homelessness. Dallas and Houston are not. Further, proportionally for certain and very likely nominally Denver has more homeless than either Dallas or Houston. So you people should simply reject any like comparisons made by the OP.

3). Bad roads? Anyone here driven through Denver lately?

You all should A). relax and B). be proud of your city/metro.

[AcresHomes44]

But as far as broken down cars and junk in front yards, stray dogs, etc... now that's pretty widespread.

You'll see that stuff in the ghettos of Houston, plus horses as a bonus.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by jfre81

In any case, we've ripped up railroads to expand the Katy Freeway when we could have had a commuter train instead. The concrete lobby loves Houston.

There wasn't really enough room in the rail right of way for commuter rail. There was room for a single track. And, the freeway still needed to be widened. Except for deepest rush hour, it moves along at a good pace.

[Spade]

Everytime I driven through Houston, I didn't notice a truck problem. I've seen it but it doesn't touch Chicago. Chicago have the most semis on an interstate in major metropolitan areas than any other large city I have been in.

[kittyhawk]

Houston is what is it is. It's large and diverse enough that anyone can find what they are looking for if they make an effort. However, it's pretty gangly and intimidating for lots of people--particularly those who like urban organization and geographic beauty (which can be found as well). I think Houston's multi-cultural nature is also hard on a lot of people as it's it much more in your face here than other places. In places like Denver, Seattle, and even Austin, you can retreat to your homegeneous enclave much easier than you can in Houston. I honestly think that's what a lot of people have issues with but they don't come out and say it for fear of not being politically correct. When you hear someone say that Houston has too much crime or is too dirty I think it usually translates to "there are too many people that don't look like me" shopping, driving, and living in close proximity.

[keep H-town Trill]

Originally Posted by AcresHomes44

You'll see that stuff in the ghettos of Houston, plus horses as a bonus.

and i love that

[the topper]

Houston now has a nice and vibrant downtown. Houston ended up getting a nicer downtown!

[AliefNorth]

Well I might say trucks have increased in the last 3-4 years, I got my license when I was 18 that’s almost 8 years ago now and I don’t really remember seeing as many trucks (18 wheelers and construction) on the road compared to the time I first began driving (2011-2012). It definetly does feel like there’s more trucks on Katy Freeway now compared to 2012. Other than that I’m not really complaining, then again I was born in Houston.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by the topper

Houston now has a nice and vibrant downtown. Houston ended up getting a nicer downtown!

It's making moves in that direction. A lot better than it was ten years ago, and definitely better than twenty years ago.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by jfre81

It's making moves in that direction. A lot better than it was ten years ago, and definitely better than twenty years ago.

It will totally be smoking hot and very vibrant in just a few years. No longer need to worry about Downtown Houston future viability: developers have the hot for new high rise developments of offices and residential, which will provide critical mass in a big way. Downtown Houston's future looks very, very bright!!