Houston is most walkable metro in Texas according to a GWU study! (Dallas: day care, neighborhood)

[testmo]

I see lots of people downtown during lunch hours walking around. I love the heat and plenty of others do too. Give me 98degree day and I'm happy. Anything nearing 60 degrees literally shuts my body down.

I see people in the peak of summer running memorial park and rice. not just some people - tons of people.

Houston isnt just walkable in the innerloop although it is more walkable/urban. People who live in CityCentre and close-suburban developments like that live in a highly walkable area. Med center continues to develop. They just need a local grocery store tucked in there somewhere closer than Rice/West U area. Galleria area isn't in the loop neither are large parts of the Heights and Garden Oaks areas which are becoming more self sufficient than they used to be. You have bars restaurants tucked into pocket neighborhoods all through there. My neighborhood and large parts of Meyerland, Bellaire, Southside place are easily walkable. Not as many people do it but I'd have a healthy but managable walk to the grocery store, home deport, post office, neighborhood bar, several places to grab food, banking options.

Here people die at the idea of walking a half mile. Many places in the US and other developed countries roll their eyes at that.

[gsmj]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

Parker has done wonders for the walkability of Houston. I am really impressed with what she has done as mayor.

Could you cite some examples for us who don't know any of her accomplishments in this area?

[Schumacher713]

Originally Posted by gsmj

Could you cite some examples for us who don't know any of her accomplishments in this area?

That is like me asking you to cite one example Rick Perry has done for this state. Was not really looking for a political thing.

[testmo]

granted, i was a young person when lanier was around but i dont remember houston being anything close to what it is now back then. lanier was before white so if someone got the ball rolling wouldnt it be more attributed to him if not parker?

the buffalo bayou redevelopment project, from what i know, is 100% parker. the push for street closers for pedestrian weekends, rent-a-bikes, and extension of bike lanes into the urban area is 100% parker in that the bond to create a large part of this funding was under her and she campaigned in part on this.

she has been on and off about rail expansion but she has got lots of monied opponents and i believe that is why she isn't all on board. but under her Houston received a good chunk of federal funds for the rail and expansion into east end and UH are happening well into her second term. white was, if i remember, was pro rail

houston benefited greatly in the last decade to energy and medical. parker cant get much props for this anymore than rick perry can get props for governing a state floating on natural gas and oil deposits with cheap labor. but, i believe she has been a good face for houston and has helped shape an image of this city that brought in ousiders and caused others to start looking at what houston has to offer in its own right, not just as a city in texas.

for someone that was raised in houston and is still here the city is soooooo different. its mind boggling. i believe it has been for the better and honestly cant see any drawbacks to how it has developed (COH is fighting suburban sprawl, but not much we can do against suburban developers)

[gsmj]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

That is like me asking you to cite one example Rick Perry has done for this state. Was not really looking for a political thing.

I'm not looking to make your assessment of the mayor a political issue. I'm simply asking for some examples to support it, as I'm not familiar with any. I've seen posters on here more than once state that she has done "this" or "that" for the city, yet when asked for examples they always deflect or become defensive.

[Kiovo]

Originally Posted by texas7

Actually this is exactly what I do every weekday. I work downtown. I go out everyday at lunchtime and walk from one end of downtown to the other. So works out to be maybe a 2 - 2.5 mile daily walk. Yeah it's hot but I'm good with it and take a bottle of water along with me. As far as Houston as a whole being a walkable city -- no, not really. Too spread out. But there are pockets of very walkable areas.

I feel bad for your co-workers after you get back to work.

I will walk to and from midtown from downtown when the temp is less than 80 but over and I'll take the metro rail. It's not the heat, it's the humidity and the sweating. There is nothing you can do about the sweating. Compared to cold weather places, at least you can put on more layers of clothing to keep warm. I do love places like city centre, town squares etc because it is nice to park, walk around, eat, and do some shopping.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by testmo

granted, i was a young person when lanier was around but i dont remember houston being anything close to what it is now back then. lanier was before white so if someone got the ball rolling wouldnt it be more attributed to him if not parker?

the buffalo bayou redevelopment project, from what i know, is 100% parker. the push for street closers for pedestrian weekends, rent-a-bikes, and extension of bike lanes into the urban area is 100% parker in that the bond to create a large part of this funding was under her and she campaigned in part on this.

she has been on and off about rail expansion but she has got lots of monied opponents and i believe that is why she isn't all on board. but under her Houston received a good chunk of federal funds for the rail and expansion into east end and UH are happening well into her second term. white was, if i remember, was pro rail

houston benefited greatly in the last decade to energy and medical. parker cant get much props for this anymore than rick perry can get props for governing a state floating on natural gas and oil deposits with cheap labor. but, i believe she has been a good face for houston and has helped shape an image of this city that brought in ousiders and caused others to start looking at what houston has to offer in its own right, not just as a city in texas.

for someone that was raised in houston and is still here the city is soooooo different. its mind boggling. i believe it has been for the better and honestly cant see any drawbacks to how it has developed (COH is fighting suburban sprawl, but not much we can do against suburban developers)

Redevelopment of Buffalo Bayou has been planned for decades, at least since Whitmire. During the Lanier administrations, they did the construction on the west side of downtown near the theater district. Before that it was overgrown and inaccessible.

[boredboredteacher]

Kind of a sad testimony of Texas in general, truth be told.

[Weatherguy]

Originally Posted by boredboredteacher

Kind of a sad testimony of Texas in general, truth be told.

Huh?

[Weatherguy]

Regarding suburbs, some are very walkable. If anyone hasn't seen Cinco Ranch, you have to see it to believe it. Walking trails, lakes, parks everywhere you look. Suburban life isn't really for me, but if I had to do it, master planned communities like Cinco would be outstanding for walkability. What about Sugarland and The Woodlands? Can anyone comment on their walkability?