How walkable is Galleria area? (Houston, Richmond: extended stay, apartment, renting)

[RobinR0408]

Hi,

I will be temporarily relocating to Houston from the DC and Richmond, VA areas. I will be working in Houston for a couple of weeks a month for a few months and am looking to stay near my office location. My office will be on the 5000 block of Westheimer, near the Galleria and I plan to get a apartment nearby. What I'd like to know, though, is how walkable is that area? Ideally, I'd like to avoid renting a car and just use public transportation/walking to get to and from work.

Are there sidewalks along Westheimer and the streets around the Galleria area? I've looked up public transportation routes and it seems there are ample bus routes, but still a fair amount of walking involved. Are cabs regularly available, too?

Thanks very much for the help!

Robin

[jfre81]

Lots of traffic, really wide streets, giant parking lots, very car-centric. It's what most people think of when they think of Houston. The buses get caught up in the traffic, just like you would if you were driving. You could do it, and people do, but it's a bit of an adventure to say the least. The 81 and 82 bus lines serve Westheimer so living in a more pedestrian friendly place like Montrose or Midtown might be worth looking at.

[RobinR0408]

Thanks for that input! I think I will expand my search for places to stay to include Montrose and Midtown. I want to avoid having a car there since I'll just be flying in for work (and paying my own travel expenses), but I also do not want to get hit by traffic while trying to walk along Westheimer.

If I did stay in an apartment in the Galleria area within a couple of miles of work, are cabs readily available or is that less common in Houston?

Thanks again!

[Metro Matt]

Cabs aren't common in Houston at all, unless you're traveling to or from the airport. If you're looking into staying in Midtown or Montrose you'll most definitely need a car to get to the Galleria area unless you take the city's Metro Bus. Why not just live/work out of an extended stay hotel? There are plenty of those around...

[RobinR0408]

So far, it looks like if I'm in Houston at least 2 wks a month, that would be my break-even point for sharing an apt w/someone as opposed to an extended stay hotel, plus then I'd have a closet to leave things as opposed to packing everything each time I commute in and out of Houston.

It sounds like the car, though, will be more of issue than the place to stay. I may invest in renting a car for my stays if the Galleria area is not a pedestrian-friendly/safe place to walk the half a mile or so from the metro bus stop to my office location.

Thanks for the help!

[Grunn]

Not walkable, particularly in heavy traffic or very hot weather.

[Kenpar]

The Galleria area is sort of Walkable. You may have to catch a bus or two to get where you want in some parts. But, if you will be mainly in this area it won't be bad at all.

[RobinR0408]

Thanks, Kenpar! I just did a googlemap street-view of my office location and it looks like there is a bus stop right in front of my office. Seems that there are sidewalks there but it didn't appear like there were cross-walks anywhere nearby. I am going to stay at a hotel with a shuttle for a few days and I will try out being without a car to see how it is. I do plan on staying right around that area, so hopefully I can catch a bus near where I am staying (after I move onto something longer term from the hotel).

[Kenpar]

Also don't worry about getting hit by cars, haha. As long as you keep your wits about you like any city dweller you will be fine.

[desertsun41]

There does seem to be an extraordinary amount of homeless people and street beggers throughout the Galleria. They seem to think the area is very walkable. I frequent various small cafes in the Galleria area and these people dressed in their holy dirty cloths come in often with a handful of change to buy something small to eat. I wanna know where they sleep!