How can a Mass Transit for Houston Suburbs work? (Briar: Home Depot, neighborhood)
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It would all be a lot different if white-collar workers were willing to live in the inner and middle suburbs (inside SH 6 / FM 1960), thus hugely reducing commute lengths to Uptown / Greenway / Upper Kirby / Downtown, but they largely won't because of "schools."
That would reduce commuting distances but I doubt it would lead to commuters switching to public transportation en masse.
When I moved to the Energy Corridor, several miles from the office, my thought was "It will only take me 10 minutes to drive to work!", not "It will only take me 30 minutes to take the bus to work!"
I pay a premium to live near work, but with remote work likely to be with us in some form post-COVID I see few colleagues willing to do the same.
But many people don't buy new vehicles because of wear&tear. They WANT new models, with new gadgets, to show off their wealth, to make a statement.
Nowadays most cars can drive 100K miles without major problems, but driving an older model is not the way an average American want to be seen. It's not a sign of successful, prosperous life, to some.
I drive a 12 year old car. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. It's in great shape, and only has 122,000 miles. No need to replace it just because it's "old". I never understood the desire for a new car every few years. I have better things to spend my money on.
Many people lease cars. Lots of almost brand new 3 series BMWs around town... probably huge fraction of them are leased, not owned.
And for many people warranty matters and they sell once they run out of warranty. Especially if you own Mercedes or BMW.
That would reduce commuting distances but I doubt it would lead to commuters switching to public transportation en masse.
When I moved to the Energy Corridor, several miles from the office, my thought was "It will only take me 10 minutes to drive to work!", not "It will only take me 30 minutes to take the bus to work!"
I pay a premium to live near work, but with remote work likely to be with us in some form post-COVID I see few colleagues willing to do the same.
Actually I didn't mean to imply that closer suburban living would mean increased transit usage (though maybe it could if other factors were present). I was actually trying (and I guess not succeeding) to make the point that the need to address long distance commuting and traffic congestion to keep urban core office properties competitive, like in Uptown, wouldn't really be there as much if the white-collar folks lived in the inner and middle suburbs.
I think a lot of y'all are mistaken by what I mean. When I say make Houston suburbs more walkable, i'm not talking about turning Katy into Manhattan or D.C or even Pittsburgh. I'm talking about Arlington, VA. I'm talking about corridors, and specific areas, often with retail, or declining housing stock, or apartment neighborhoods, and focus on revitalizing them into more walkable/mixed use developments. I think most Houston suburbs can achieve an area like Rice Village to Fourth Ward's size of urban development, or a loose corridor.
Most urban cities, aren't on a hard-core grid. In fact the Middle East and America is basically the only places where hardcore grids are prevalent. On top of that, 90% of Houston is semi-gridded. We are flat, and nearly every suburb had a town grid that they originated from.
People overestimate how little development can functionally change the look of an entire area, even without doing much outside of certain zones.
For example in Pasadena, their are two census tracts with over 10,000 ppsm currently.
1. of them is basically the town center, and it includes the Macroplaza (Which is on the verge of being a dead mall), and two or three small pocket neighborhoods and just Apartment complexes. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/29.6...42c740!1m0!3e0
Now obviously cities don't have unlimited money, neither do developers. But the right partnership would realize that this mall is dead, and instead focus on changing it into a mix-used development. It's already in a census tract with several Apartment complexes not to mention the Courthouse and Police Station, so it's a perfect central location to create an attractive new development for Pasadena.
The 2nd area with over 10,000 ppsm is Richey Street. From Southmore till it's terminus at 225 (A highway I honestly have never heard uttered in my life).
But from Allen Genoa, all the way to the highway the development on Richey Street is largely low-density commercial or apartments, with only a few houses backing the road. Enhancing this corridor and the census tract I mentioned. Not to mention, doing the same For Airport Road/College Avenue/Spencer Highway from Hobby heading towards LaPorte. (By enhancing I mean adding high density apartments along the road with commercial and retail at the bottom of the buildings and still having abundant parking in either garages or parking spots).
The above census tract, and the two corridors, established with a major mixed use development at the mall and more "walkable" apartments, not much in the actual city of Pasadena would have changed but the city would feel 10x more urban.
Arlington, VA is often considered one of, if not the most urban suburb, and it's largely detached single-family housing. It has the Rosslyn-Court House/Clarendon-Ballston corridor and the Pentagon City/Crystal City corridor. Maybe two or three neighborhoods made up of apartments outside the corridors/neighborhoods. North of I-66, the city is as suburban as your average Houston suburb, and this is probably 30-40% of the area.
Much of London, England's outer boroughs are similar builds, with loads of housing and the occasional apartments, it's not necessary to pave over the suburbs, but rebuild the strip malls/commercial and utilizing the empty space in many of these suburbs consistently and at every given opportunity will dramatically increase walkability.
I think a lot of y'all are mistaken by what I mean. When I say make Houston suburbs more walkable, i'm not talking about turning Katy into Manhattan or D.C or even Pittsburgh. I'm talking about Arlington, VA. I'm talking about corridors, and specific areas, often with retail, or declining housing stock, or apartment neighborhoods, and focus on revitalizing them into more walkable/mixed use developments. I think most Houston suburbs can achieve an area like Rice Village to Fourth Ward's size of urban development, or a loose corridor.
Most urban cities, aren't on a hard-core grid. In fact the Middle East and America is basically the only places where hardcore grids are prevalent. On top of that, 90% of Houston is semi-gridded. We are flat, and nearly every suburb had a town grid that they originated from.
People overestimate how little development can functionally change the look of an entire area, even without doing much outside of certain zones.
For example in Pasadena, their are two census tracts with over 10,000 ppsm currently.
1. of them is basically the town center, and it includes the Macroplaza (Which is on the verge of being a dead mall), and two or three small pocket neighborhoods and just Apartment complexes. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/29.6...42c740!1m0!3e0
Now obviously cities don't have unlimited money, neither do developers. But the right partnership would realize that this mall is dead, and instead focus on changing it into a mix-used development. It's already in a census tract with several Apartment complexes not to mention the Courthouse and Police Station, so it's a perfect central location to create an attractive new development for Pasadena.
The 2nd area with over 10,000 ppsm is Richey Street. From Southmore till it's terminus at 225 (A highway I honestly have never heard uttered in my life).
But from Allen Genoa, all the way to the highway the development on Richey Street is largely low-density commercial or apartments, with only a few houses backing the road. Enhancing this corridor and the census tract I mentioned. Not to mention, doing the same For Airport Road/College Avenue/Spencer Highway from Hobby heading towards LaPorte. (By enhancing I mean adding high density apartments along the road with commercial and retail at the bottom of the buildings and still having abundant parking in either garages or parking spots).
The above census tract, and the two corridors, established with a major mixed use development at the mall and more "walkable" apartments, not much in the actual city of Pasadena would have changed but the city would feel 10x more urban.
Arlington, VA is often considered one of, if not the most urban suburb, and it's largely detached single-family housing. It has the Rosslyn-Court House/Clarendon-Ballston corridor and the Pentagon City/Crystal City corridor. Maybe two or three neighborhoods made up of apartments outside the corridors/neighborhoods. North of I-66, the city is as suburban as your average Houston suburb, and this is probably 30-40% of the area.
Much of London, England's outer boroughs are similar builds, with loads of housing and the occasional apartments, it's not necessary to pave over the suburbs, but rebuild the strip malls/commercial and utilizing the empty space in many of these suburbs consistently and at every given opportunity will dramatically increase walkability.
Couldn't rep enough! Houston and much of Texas in general is just too dependent on cars to ever fully embrace a more walkable pedestrian friendly metro. Even with Houston improving in walkability there's still future developments popping up all over the place that offsets that trajectory towards more walkable area.
When looking at future developments in the burbs of Houston I can only think of the boardwalk in Katy as being one of the few projects encouraging more of a walkable mixed used development in the suburbs.
Houston imo feels like a "let me have my cake and eat it too" type of city/metro. For example, I live in the Energy corridor where there's sidewalks, trails, parks which encourages people to get out and walk. I live right across the street from a park and every now and than I go take my child to that park without getting in the car. However even with those attributes it's still heavily car centric. Cars are still the top priority over foot traffic in that area. Which is why I probably drive to the park more than I actually walk to the park. I would love to just only walk to the park but it's not entirely safe or design for pedestrians.
Btw, smart growth complied a list of 30 of America's largest metropolitan areas and ranked them based on walkable urbanism. I believe they do this list every 4 years. In 2020, Houston was ranked 22 out of 30 metropolitan areas. It's considered Lower-Middle Walkable urbanism according to the metrics.
They also did "Future Growth Momentum Ranking" which is basically predicting where these metros are headed as far as walkable urbanism. They used some pretty solid metrics to come up with these rankings imo.
Houston is ranked 27 out of 30. DFW and San Antonio are also at the bottom of the list. San Antonio being dead last. Houston with it's density could be so much better if they just focused more on making the metro more walkable. It's not hard to do considering similar sprawling metros like Atlanta and Charlotte have done a better job in this department than Houston or DFW.
Redlion, if you're talking about Ray Miller Park, yes it's practically criminal that there's no safe crossing of Eldridge there. Another safe crossing is needed between Briar Forest and Parkway Plaza.
Even with these infrastructure challenges, the number of folks walking in our neighborhood is pretty noticeable relative to standard Houston suburbia.
Redlion, if you're talking about Ray Miller Park, yes it's practically criminal that there's no safe crossing of Eldridge there. Another safe crossing is needed between Briar Forest and Parkway Plaza.
Even with these infrastructure challenges, the number of folks walking in our neighborhood is pretty noticeable relative to standard Houston suburbia.
Yep that's it! That's why I don't understand when people make excuses for Houston's lack of walkable areas when they say "It's too hot and humid". I literally see tons of people walking everyday in that part of the Energy corridor. From joggers to teens to families. That area is ready for a more pedestrian friendly environment. Because people are walking despite it's shortcomings. Like I said before, I personally prefer to walk in that area than to ever get in my car. It's just gets pretty dangerous crossing the street especially when you have a little one. A more pedestrian friendly neighborhood could also probably lessen the congestion in that area.
This article goes into detail about Houston's pedestrian problem and focuses on the Energy corridor and the Memorial and Eldridge intersection specifically.
How Houston fails to see the huge potential in making this area more walkable is beyond me. I really don't get it. It's prime real estate in this section alone.
A vision without action is just a dream. That is all leaders in this city do when it comes to this utopian lifestyle.
I never get why we build the massive infrastructure for transportation. I mean I know why it is built, but why Houston does not look to the future. Cost is always the deciding factor, but I don't ever recall anything being cheap, and it does not get cheaper going forward. Mayor Lanier, back in the day, could have transformed Houston, but he himself had other reasons... does anyone remember all the property he owned along the Grand Parkway? He owned something like 1700 acres out in Katy, what is now the route from i10 to 290. He surely had an interest in infrastructure being built around the land he owned. Why ruin future profitability with rail? (sarcasm)
People forget that there is another alternative if they want walkability, and conveniences that come with urban living. Move. Better yet, move to a different city which already has that, or move to another country if possible.
If you think about all the concrete, asphalt, and utilities needed to keep extending the boundaries of the Houston metro, at some point you will see that it is unsustainable. All of that costs a lot of money not only to construct, but also to maintain. You can keep moving to the suburbs for the big houses, but you will also need to pay more in taxes to support all of that infrastructure in the future, not to mention when the government begins to tax you per the mile... 'yes, it is coming.
Anyway, look how bad Houston has kept repairs on the roads in town. Everyday I curse Houston, the neighborhood where I live has the most f*ed up streets, like a third world country with dirt roads. It is embarrassing to foreigners and visitors. I have a truck with off-road suspension, so I admit my suspension is stiff, but it still causes a lot of damage to the cars that traverse the streets in Montrose, people just don't know the damage is being done because the suspension is meant for the comfort of the passengers, the damage is still being done to their vehicles. Roads cost money to maintain, we just cannot keep building roads forever.
Actually I didn't mean to imply that closer suburban living would mean increased transit usage (though maybe it could if other factors were present). I was actually trying (and I guess not succeeding) to make the point that the need to address long distance commuting and traffic congestion to keep urban core office properties competitive, like in Uptown, wouldn't really be there as much if the white-collar folks lived in the inner and middle suburbs.
Ah, understood.
Still, the reality that transportation planners need to accept is that - for those who have a choice in how they commute, 99% of people will choose the quickest and most-convenient option 99% of the time. In a city like Houston, that option is almost always the car.
P+R from the far suburbs to downtown/med center/greenway plaza is one of Metro's most-successful ventures, precisely because it is one of the few scenarios where it may actually save users time (if buses use HOV lanes and can drop users off within a couple blocks of their destination). It doesn't hurt that P+Rs save on parking charges (for the few Houston-area business districts where paid parking is the norm) and are often subsidized by employers. For folks who live relatively close-in, driving is usually quicker than local bus services, and is preferred.
That Memorial/Eldridge intersection should not be advertised as a successful pedestrian-oriented construction project, at least not to anyone who's lived in the area. The intersection is nicely designed and aesthetically pleasing, but for a number of reasons - it was under construction for over five years, snarling traffic the whole time! Among West Memorial residents, it is a universally-derided debacle. And as someone who drove through it daily for years both during and after the rebuild - and who occasionally even used its sidewalks to run home! - I can confidently state that the area receives virtually no pedestrian traffic, primarily because there isn't much to walk to (a CVS, a cemetery, a couple of tired strip centers, an abandoned church, and a couple of half-empty office buildings). Maybe further south on Eldridge is a different story.
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Just dreaming...
