I really don’t see the appeal in The Woodlands (Houston: living, store)

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

While a lot of growth is occurring around The Woodlands, if anything it's making a significant share of residents there more oriented to keeping / fortifying the "bubble." The original visionary developer, George Mitchell, never wanted it to be a bubble, just an example of how to do a higher-quality version of suburbia that kept more natural landscape (fake lakes aside) and created a walkable downtown. However, many existing residents are actively fighting to keep it cut off from the outside world.

The thoroughfares leading out of The Woodlands have been in plans for decades to connect to the growing areas adjacent. However, the bubble people are actively working to change those plans to make sure The Woodlands thoroughfares don't connect, particularly to the south or west. It's bizarre and frankly deplorable (yes I am being judgmental) - they are actively trying to ruin mobility and traffic flow for everyone else.

The residents of The Woodlands killed the extension of Woodlands Parkway to Tomball, with some quoted as saying "If Tomball residents want to come this way, they should use 99. We don't need them coming through here. It didn't help that Tomball is in Harris County, and had no vote on the bond issue.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The residents of The Woodlands killed the extension of Woodlands Parkway to Tomball, with some quoted as saying "If Tomball residents want to come this way, they should use 99. We don't need them coming through here. It didn't help that Tomball is in Harris County, and had no vote on the bond issue.

There are 3 major thoroughfares running north-south into the Woodlands from Harris County Gosling Rd., Kuykendahl, and FM 2878 or Hufsmith-Kohrville Rd. How many more would you guys suggest they have ? It seems more than enough for me especially when you include I-45. These major thoroughfares pretty much dissect the Woodlands into 3 equal parts.

People in Tomball can use 2878 as well as 99. You can also use Hardin Store Rd and FM 1488 from 249 to 2878 from the west.

Quit picking on TW people just because you want them to urbanize and they obviously do not.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

There are 3 major thoroughfares running north-south into the Woodlands from Harris County Gosling Rd., Kuykendahl, and FM 2878 or Hufsmith-Kohrville Rd. How many more would you guys suggest they have ? It seems more than enough for me especially when you include I-45. These major thoroughfares pretty much dissect the Woodlands into 3 equal parts.

People in Tomball can use 2878 as well as 99. You can also use Hardin Store Rd and FM 1488 from 249 to 2878 from the west.

Quit picking on TW people just because you want them to urbanize and they obviously do not.

Jack, Woodlands Parkway should be extended to the 249 Tollway. Do you agree? This could give TW residents a quicker route to visit their kids at A&M or a quick way out into Central Texas. In fact, Woodlands Parkway should have been a mini expressway between 45 and 249, with no frontage roads similar to the Grand Parkway through Cinco Ranch or unincorporated Fort Bend.

The connectivity going east from TW is really strange too. I'll have to see if MoCo has a plan to connect roads from 45 over to 59 because that'd help traffic also. I know they want folks to use 99 for that but there's gotta be other options too. Right now 242 is the only connected road outside of 99. Now if TW residents didn't want to be connected to Tomball people seamlessly, then they damn sure don't want to be connected to those folks in East County lol.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

There are 3 major thoroughfares running north-south into the Woodlands from Harris County Gosling Rd., Kuykendahl, and FM 2878 or Hufsmith-Kohrville Rd. How many more would you guys suggest they have ? It seems more than enough for me especially when you include I-45. These major thoroughfares pretty much dissect the Woodlands into 3 equal parts.

People in Tomball can use 2878 as well as 99. You can also use Hardin Store Rd and FM 1488 from 249 to 2878 from the west.

Quit picking on TW people just because you want them to urbanize and they obviously do not.

Other thoroughfare connectivity has been on the county's plan for literally decades, and TW's residents want to just ignore those plans. Furthermore, you don't have to have much density to require a high level of street connectivity for local mobility or otherwise suffer pretty bad consequences - this is a basic principle of transportation planning. Pearland (not exactly a dense place) is desperately trying to play catch-up now in that regard. Houston's historical lack of thoroughfare connectivity was long thought of as black mark on the city, way before the city started densifying.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

Jack, Woodlands Parkway should be extended to the 249 Tollway. Do you agree? This could give TW residents a quicker route to visit their kids at A&M or a quick way out into Central Texas. In fact, Woodlands Parkway should have been a mini expressway between 45 and 249, with no frontage roads similar to the Grand Parkway through Cinco Ranch or unincorporated Fort Bend.

The connectivity going east from TW is really strange too. I'll have to see if MoCo has a plan to connect roads from 45 over to 59 because that'd help traffic also. I know they want folks to use 99 for that but there's gotta be other options too. Right now 242 is the only connected road outside of 99. Now if TW residents didn't want to be connected to Tomball people seamlessly, then they damn sure don't want to be connected to those folks in East County lol.

To the east is 242 but thats about it. It looks like Rayford will extend into Kingwood eventually and that should be enough.

No I don't think the Woodlands Parkway should have been an expressway like a Memorial drive they do not want to urbanize and thats exactly what that would have done for or to them. but even Memorial dead ends into Hwy 6

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Other thoroughfare connectivity has been on the county's plan for literally decades, and TW's residents want to just ignore those plans. Furthermore, you don't have to have much density to require a high level of street connectivity for local mobility or otherwise suffer pretty bad consequences - this is a basic principle of transportation planning. Pearland (not exactly a dense place) is desperately trying to play catch-up now in that regard. Houston's historical lack of thoroughfare connectivity was long thought of as black mark on the city, way before the city started densifying.

I know thats why we have so many streets in Houston that mysteriously change names for seemingly no reason.Also the Woodlands Parkway Dead ends into 2878 almost due north of Tomball, are you saying that The Woodlands Parkway should then take a 90 degree turn to the south and parralell 2878 into Tomball. Have you looked at a map lately ? If that was ever in the county plans it was a idiot plan and good for the Woodlands for killing it.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I know thats why we have so many streets in Houston that mysteriously change names for seemingly no reason.Also the Woodlands Parkway Dead ends into 2878 almost due north of Tomball, are you saying that The Woodlands Parkway should then take a 90 degree turn to the south and parralell 2878 into Tomball. Have you looked at a map lately ? If that was ever in the county plans it was a idiot plan and good for the Woodlands for killing it.

WP was supposed to go directly westward to 249. It's a shame that it didn't happen.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

WP was supposed to go directly westward to 249. It's a shame that it didn't happen.

Ok I was mislead by a previous post, sorry about that.

That extension is totally within MC isn't it, so thats their business, but it doesn't seem like that much of a detour to 1488.

The only real dead end I can see is Sawmill Rd heading south stops and looks like it was heading towards a connection with Holtzworth Rd in Harris County which runs past the EM Campus. But that may be Harris County dragging it's heels on that, I mean why should HC extend Holtzworth to Spring Creek just so more development can take place in far southestern Woodlands at the expence of northern Harris County ?

[WRM20]

Here's a MoCo newspaper article on the "secret" construction of the Woodlands Parkway extension https://thegoldenhammer.net/woodland...ims-otherwise/

The description of 249 as "The Decimation of Hope Highway" is hilarious.

As far as I'm concerned, the people who live in The Woodlands should have very little influence on the roads outside the limits of The Woodlands. They aren't the only people who live in Montgomery County.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

There are 3 major thoroughfares running north-south into the Woodlands from Harris County Gosling Rd., Kuykendahl, and FM 2878 or Hufsmith-Kohrville Rd. How many more would you guys suggest they have ? It seems more than enough for me especially when you include I-45. These major thoroughfares pretty much dissect the Woodlands into 3 equal parts.

People in Tomball can use 2878 as well as 99. You can also use Hardin Store Rd and FM 1488 from 249 to 2878 from the west.

Quit picking on TW people just because you want them to urbanize and they obviously do not.

It's FM 2978, not FM 2878.

Going north, Hufsmith-Kohrville Rd becomes FM 2978 at FM 2920.