Butt Ugly (Houston, Memphis, Riverside: apartments, crime, homes)

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Which parts are unsafe? There's nowhere in Houston I won't go in the daytime.

5th Ward!

[atadytic19]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Which parts are unsafe?

South Union, South Park, Sunnyside, Brookhaven, Southside. That whole area has the highest murder rate in the metro.

Those areas are also more run down and tend to be food and retail deserts.

South of Greens Bayou to North of Sims Bayou and between 288 and Telephone Road to me is a tad worse than 5th Ward, but 5th Ward is rough too.

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by usc619

Centerpoint will maintain and upgrade the lines, but will not put the lines underground on their own dime.

They don't maintain and upgrade the lines "on their own dime" either. it's all part of the rate base.

[oil capital]

Originally Posted by usc619

On another note, to those who always try to use the “it’s every city” excuse in order to minimize the truth, need to get out more and free your mind lol

People who think Houston is significantly different in this regard from most other cities in the US need to pay closer attention when they travel to other cities, and look with a more critical eye, as they do in Houston.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by oil capital

They don't maintain and upgrade the lines "on their own dime" either. it's all part of the rate base.

Of Course that's going to be on the rate base, but anything above that (placing existing lines underground) will need to be justified and funded privately.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by usc619

Of Course that's going to be on the rate base, but anything above that (placing existing lines underground) will need to be justified and funded privately.

No, Centerpoint would do the work and add it to the rate base and increase the delivery charge. The cost to put lines underground is high, so rates would effectively double for 10 years, or how ever long the recovery period is. Centerpoint is not going to allow some other entity to do the work or pay for it.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

One has to distinguish between the nice suburbs, and the City of Houston itself. If you live in the far suburbs, or master planned communities, yes, it is nice. I have been here 40+ years, and I love the diversity, but Houston is not only 'butt' ugly, it is 'fugly'.

If you come in to Houston via any airport, or any highway and head towards downtown, you will see blight. You will see filth and trash on the streets and feeder roads that make the roads look like the entrance to the city dump. Just trashy as hell, and all you have to do is drive a few miles along any freeway and you will see the trash strewn about. The governor was just saying out loud what many of us see, but never bother discuss out loud.

My pet peeve of Houston has always been the massive amount of wires. Too many wires hung about, that alone makes the city look like awful. You don't pay attention to it because you are driving, but if you ever walk around the city (which many never do), you will notice it. It is expensive to bury the power lines, but it can be done.

And before anyone comes up with 'the water table is too shallow', or 'it rains too much', that is just nonsense. Not all of Houston is ugly, but what a visitor sees who never has been here, is ugly, no getting around that truth.

You haven't been outside Houston much.

Houston is one of the cleaner cities in the country. The "Don't mess with Texas" campaigns really worked. You want to see trashy-go to northern Connecticut or New York City or Philadelphia.

Lots of older cities have a lot more lines hung about.

Sure I-45 from the airports doesn't look good, but 288 is pretty nice. Might have been Kay Crooker who pushed the sign ordinance that kept 288 billboard free when it was developed.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by atadytic19

South Union, South Park, Sunnyside, Brookhaven, Southside. That whole area has the highest murder rate in the metro.

Those areas are also more run down and tend to be food and retail deserts.

South of Greens Bayou to North of Sims Bayou and between 288 and Telephone Road to me is a tad worse than 5th Ward, but 5th Ward is rough too.

Isn't Greens Bayou on the north side of 610? You're basically talking about Sunnyside, right?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by bu2

Isn't Greens Bayou on the north side of 610? You're basically talking about Sunnyside, right?

Greens Bayou runs North to South between East 610 and BW8 until it turns West between E Mt Houston and BW8 near Fall Creek, cutting through Golf Club of Houston. The poster is probably thinking of Bray's Bayou, not Greens Bayou.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by atadytic19

South Union, South Park, Sunnyside, Brookhaven, Southside. That whole area has the highest murder rate in the metro.

Those areas are also more run down and tend to be food and retail deserts.

South of Greens Bayou to North of Sims Bayou and between 288 and Telephone Road to me is a tad worse than 5th Ward, but 5th Ward is rough too.

When I was laid off during the pandemic, I drove for Uber. There isn't a square inch of this city I haven't seen. I am going to agree with WRM20. During the day, most places are fine and there aren't a lot of people looking for trouble. After dark, I definitely prefer to keep away from South Park, the area of the 5th Ward around Waco/Lyons St., and Westwood, but still most places are ok. I don't find Sunnyside that bad personally. The most imposing area of Houston, IMO, is around Cullen and Yellowstone, but still during the day I have no problem there.