Ideas To Help Downtown

[jdw7337]

Originally Posted by Oildog

More cabs. Too many just sit at the airports, not many just crusing the party districts.

Yeah I read somewhere that we had like the 3rd or 4th largest number of cabs in the country a few years ago (by a few I mean 2 or 3 years) yet I never really see any that make me think there is a large number of cabs in the city of Houston.

[Redlionjr]

Well I know midtown was jumping with some activity last Thursday night. I'm loving the way midtown is shaping up right now. Downtown just needs a centralized location of activity. The thing with downtown Houston is it has alot of potential. I hope they really turn the Bayou district into a big entertainment district. But downtown can be spooky in certain parts due to not enough feet traffic but alot of homeless people and that can scare some people.

[theSUBlime]

Simply put, businesses need to stay open longer. The problem is customers need to stay there longer, too. Chicken meet egg. More of those parking lots need to be housing and the parking lots need to be condensed.

Yesterday, I called Brown Bag Deli Downtown to see what time it was open until, and my boyfriend reminded me that it was Saturday...in Houston...

[houstonfan]

Parking was always a turn off for me. Also, get most restaurants and shops into a condensed area, that is blocked off for pedestrians only. That way, people can hop from bar to bar or restaurant to dessert to entertainment. Kinda like the city Centre or uptown district idea. Pavillions wasn't well done nor marketted. I drove by it many times not knowing it was the pavillions until one day I was actually looking for it.

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by testmo

the tunnels are completely dead and empty after a certain time. aren't they still closed after hours and on weekends? i don't see the tunnels really pulling a nightlife/weekend crowd.

the buy out of the Pavillions is the best bet. court some big time retailers to put in more "flagship" stores in the area. mixed use with bars/restaurants/music venues. finish the rail! they are working on it so I can't complain. they are laying the train bed where i live as I speak.

advertise the stuff going on downtown more. the average person in the burbs probably has no idea discovery green plays movies, there is a music event every week for weeks in the fall, discovery green has a farmer's market and kids activities on the weekend, there is a splash park there, you can kayak the bayou etc.

i agree with a cab hub - but you need the people first. you cant force a cabby to wait around for a fare that isn't coming when he could be banking taking burbanites to the airport.

put in some more parking towers and kill some of the land lots downtown. in their replacement sell the land or keep as park green space.

then EVERYONE in houston talk to people about downtown. go do stuff there. have a beer, go to the theater, go out to eat, support the stores and the area you want to reinvigorate. i think there is a lot more talk than participation

edit: I had to laugh when I read it so I'm going to retell it. A similar chron article was made awhile back. some person complained about the need for a movie theater in the area.... I'm thinking I may go to Sundance tonight. Dude was all angry on the internet that houston was so dumb not to have a theater downtown.

The tunnels are closed and dead afterhours. That is exactly what I said needed to change. The tunnels are too unique to let go to waste.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Trains to the burbs. Many want to work and dine here, but can't afford he pricetag to live close it.It took me 30 minutes From the Ball Park to 610 at rush hour yesterday with no wrecks....these quotes of 30 minutes to Sugarland from downtown are ridiculous.

No, more like 30 minutes in non-rush hour to the Medical Center / Museum District area from Sugar Land. We go to the Museum District and surrounding much more often than Downtown these days. I don't know how much longer to downtown on top of that, maybe another 10 minutes or less on the freeway in non-rush hour.

Originally Posted by FOBolous

Also add some kind of attractions in downtown to give people a reason to go there...something they can't find in Sugar Land Town Center, City Centre in Memorial, or the Woodlands mall area. Simply adding stores and restaurants will not entice people to go.

I personally think Houston should turn downtown into a student life area for the students that go to UH Downtown and UH Main Campus. Expand the lightrail system and connect UH Downtown and UH Main Campus together with them connecting through a central hub somewhere in downtown. Add some nice, safe, affordable apartments, some coffee shops, and a few bars/clubs than THERE YOU GO! You got yourself a mini-college town/neighborhood.

Sound like good ideas. Until there's more residential living in downtown, and more events (like festivals), I can't imagine adding more stores and restaurants will do much.