So we aren't imagining things...the commute times have jumped rather drastically (Houston: how much, houses)

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by atler8

So what do you feel are the options to be considered to counter this trend of longer commute times?

I see flexi-hours becoming more popular than they already are to allow people to work different hours to miss the worst of the traffic.

I can only speak for myself for but I moved out to the burbs to get the house and yard that I wanted despite the commute. The upside of this for me is that I have a dedicated office space so I can work from home and be productive - if traffic continues to worsen I'll probably work from home more frequently. My friends that live inside the loop with families are all looking to move out to the burbs because they are struggling with space - they all love living in the loop - but the reality is that they could get a lot more outside the loop. The commute is what's concerning them though.

[tstone]

I see that Katy herd mentality is finally catching up.

Originally Posted by Cbink

I see flexi-hours becoming more popular than they already are to allow people to work different hours to miss the worst of the traffic.

I've been doing the flex hours for the early Uptown drive for a couple of years and haven't seen an increase yet. (If anything, it should improve slightly once the construction is complete near 45/8.) The younger folks here who live in the city do the late flex hours, because if they leave at 5 they will spend 30+ minutes going 5-6 miles.

[Oildog]

Originally Posted by Cbink

I see flexi-hours becoming more popular than they already are to allow people to work different hours to miss the worst of the traffic.

I can only speak for myself for but I moved out to the burbs to get the house and yard that I wanted despite the commute. The upside of this for me is that I have a dedicated office space so I can work from home and be productive - if traffic continues to worsen I'll probably work from home more frequently. My friends that live inside the loop with families are all looking to move out to the burbs because they are struggling with space - they all love living in the loop - but the reality is that they could get a lot more outside the loop. The commute is what's concerning them though.

That's the big trade off. Do you want to pay for extra space (with longer commutes and more generic amenities) or just the opposite. Same question asked all over the country. In Houston its not uncommon to have a 2800 sf house with a yard and a 45 minute commute for under 400k.

[gwarnecke]

Originally Posted by atler8

So what do you feel are the options to be considered to counter this trend of longer commute times?

A few ideas...

If you're with TxDOT/HCRTA/Metro:
-Kick the toll payers out of the HOV lanes (or double/triple the HOT lane prices), raise the HOV requirements, do whatever it takes to get those lanes moving again.
-Increase Park & Ride routes and explore adding more commuter bus services, maybe services to specific areas of Houston from the suburbs (Galleria, Energy Corridor, etc).

If you're in the real estate management dept of a large company:
-Move your HQ out of downtown, near the suburbs where your employees actually live (tough balancing act though...don't want to alienate younger employees/perspective employees who live in the loop. This helps explain why the Energy Corridor is booming, it's halfway between Katy and the Inner Loop. Although the commute from both areas stick sucks).
-Flex hours, telecommuting, etc. Easier said than done, but it will have to be done more and more in the future.
-Car-sharing so that employees who take the bus to work can borrow a car for errands/business trips during the day.

If the above statements don't apply to you:
-Make a sincere effort to buy a place near where you work. Do your homework. Before you buy that 4000 sq ft monster in Cross Creek Ranch, actually TRY the commute during rush hour a few times and see if you can live with it. Make the reasonable assumption that however bad it is now, it WILL get worse as the suburbs continue to grow.
-If you still want that big house in the suburbs, use the $ you saved over buying closer in to get yourself a 2014 Mercedes S-Class that will drive itself in rush-hour stop and go.

[GTRdad]

Believe it or not my commute from Alief to Greenway got a lot better after I-10 opened up. I do think its going to get unbearably bad for Katy folks

[Dopo]

Traffic next to the new Exxon-Mobil campus is getting ridiculous
it's as if everybody has to look at the Grand Parkway construction

BTW, who the h.... is in charge of synchronizing street lights?
Let me guess... nobody?
Can we get rid of the "Left only on green arrow" lights?
Traffic would improve if anybody took the time to program the traffic lights in a way that make sense and would allow traffic to flow.

[GTRdad]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

A few ideas...

If you're in the real estate management dept of a large company:
-Move your HQ out of downtown, near the suburbs where your employees actually live (tough balancing act though...don't want to alienate younger employees/perspective employees who live in the loop. This helps explain why the Energy Corridor is booming, it's halfway between Katy and the Inner Loop. Although the commute from both areas stick sucks).

Westchase will be the best place

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Traffic next to the new Exxon-Mobil campus is getting ridiculous
it's as if everybody has to look at the Grand Parkway construction

BTW, who the h.... is in charge of synchronizing street lights?
Let me guess... nobody?
Can we get rid of the "Left only on green arrow" lights?
Traffic would improve if anybody took the time to program the traffic lights in a way that make sense and would allow traffic to flow.

The only place the lights work in Houston is downtown! That's the only place I can think of where the lights are actually synced. The rest of the city it's like they have deliberately gone out of their way to make the light timings as inefficient as possible. The most noticeable place for me is around 610 @ Galleria. They let both sides of the feeder go under 610 turning left only for the light to be red which means that at busy times, it creates gridlock as cars get stuck turning and block the traffic when the lights change.

[rhn]

Originally Posted by atler8

So what do you feel are the options to be considered to counter this trend of longer commute times?

Employers need to support the idea of telecommuting. I realize that working from home is not possible for every job/career (doctors, retail, construction etc...). However, a huge chunk of jobs are desk jobs where only a computer, internet, skype, and telephone are necessary to conduct business/perform tasks. With that being said, is it really necessary that these office folks clog the roads for hours and hours each day to be stuffed into an office with the same amenities as home (or less)? Less headache, less taxes spent of transit, less spent on commuting, less spent on office space. It's not a perfect solution, but it beats the current situation. Maybe one day we will change our ways.

[EasilyAmused]

The WestPark at night is completely unbearable. no way would I ever take that route or depend on it. Starting at 4:15 or earlier, to about 7pm it's completely choked until the Beltway. Literally crawling for over 30-40 minutes to the Beltway. Once you exit at the Beltway it's smooth sailing.

I look at the guys going over the "hill" headed to Fulshear at 4 mph and shake my head.

This is where they need commuter rail.