How Could Houston Be A Better Place to Live?

[Dopo]

That's the problem... people are not supposed to "get used to it"
Roads are supposed to be built in a logical way to reduce the number of people driving trying to "get used to it" and creating traffic congestion.

[OducksFTW!]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

The crime is blown out of proportion. As I have said many times, I live inside the loop and always have done when living in Houston and have never been victim of a crime nor do I know anyone who has been victim of a crime.

There you have it folks.. since this guy hasn't been a victim of crime in the Houston area.. the crime rate must be inaccurate and misconceived..

[micmac99]

Originally Posted by Dopo

More trees?
You need to visit San Antonio (just West of Houston) and see what "no trees" looks like.

You ALL need to go to Phoenix or Las Vegas. If you are used to a "sea of green" (like in Atlanta or Charlotte), those cities will shock you.

[micmac99]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

I lived there for 7 years. Not an option for Houston though given can't do subway and anything like this above ground would be a nightmare.



I have two simple wishes:

1) Get all of the power lines underground; sometimes I feel like I am in a third world country because of the power lines. I suspect half of the reason people think Houston is ugly is the bloody power lines.

2) A bit more public transport. Not tons as having elevated trains everywhere would be ugly and I get frustrated enough having to sit and wait every time a train comes through on the tracks that run up through Bellaire and West U, but reasonable coverage of the city.

I would take the best of the different beautification measures in the "management districts" and implement them citywide.

METRO needs to continue to improve. On-time service and vehicle reliability need to be Priority Number One. They need to expand the "Quickline" rapid bus service to more heavy-volume streets such as Westheimer.

[testmo]

Originally Posted by OducksFTW!

There you have it folks.. since this guy hasn't been a victim of crime in the Houston area.. the crime rate must be inaccurate and misconceived..

crime rate really isn't that bad for the fourth largest city in the US. the vast majority of people in the city have never been confronted by violent crime. if you like selling drugs or doing drugs yeah you'll get yours in the end someday. live a regular life and you likely just may face car vandalism (which happens in nearly all cities i believe)

I feel houston does have a culture and cultural center. I don't have kids and am under the age of 30. for a mom and dad it will most likely be different especially if you move to the suburbs. if you want to move to a place for "culture" why would you plan on setting up in an area that is meant to stay away from culture


1. Perception - from out of staters, other Texas city people, and people who live well outside of the city limits of Houston and say things like "ugh the parking downtown" or "ugh there's so many... people." If we blew the money the city of Austin does for marketing we'd be a top tourist attraction. Get corporations/businesses in line with this

2. Clean up the greenspaces/business along freeways - I see more and more people throwing junk/trash out of their cars. Cops need to start ticketing like mad and have a crew just everyday cleaning up. I think they are supposed to do this but with our budget maybe they pulled back. I think the roads for the most part are clean esp. in comparison to the north.

3. Mass transit - I hope a certain group of people don't block our Metro from getting their full funding for expansion. I would like to see commuter rail in the future but stopping at the beltway. it'll keep sprawl contained somewhat but still give plenty of space for transit. I also think the sprawl is killing any type of progress. yet all these people come on this forum asking about X suburb - so they don't actually care and lose their right to complain about lack of Y

4. Stop the comment section on the Houston Chronicle website


I think the city of Houston is trying. I mean stuff is going on /changing downtown. More businesses and entertainment are coming in. But southerners have a burning hate for the idea of tax revenue. Wish everything in this thread goodbye is there isn't any money for it.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by OducksFTW!

There you have it folks.. since this guy hasn't been a victim of crime in the Houston area.. the crime rate must be inaccurate and misconceived..

Now, if you'd read the post that I responded to then you'd know that the individual who posted indicated that based on everything he/she had heard about Houston you'd think that we are crawling in crime and everyone is a victim.

Try to read the context before you go making silly posts please.

[NYer75]

There is nothing you can do, as there will always be someone complaining.