Tag Archives: Department of Public Works and Engineering

The Houston Avenue hullabaloo

It seems like every new Mayor makes at least one dumb self-inflicted error early on in their tenure, because being Mayor is hard and there are lots of things that need to be done with priority. I’d say this goes … Continue reading

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Mayor proposes his water bill fix ordinance

This sure got a lot of late momentum. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is adding water bill reform to his to-do list as he approaches the end of his eight years in office. Turner announced at a Monday news conference nine … Continue reading

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Prop A gets its first customers

First there was this: Council Members Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (District D) and Mary Nan Huffman (District G) joined Council Member Amy Peck (District A) to submit notice to the City’s Agenda Office to place an item on the City Council Agenda. … Continue reading

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The goats are working hard for you

I love this story. Soon Houston residents may actually celebrate a group of city workers standing around eating lunch or lying down on the job. Houston Public Works is poised to expand its use of goat herds to clear detention … Continue reading

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Houston to spend more fixing water pipes

Seems like a good idea. The city is poised to at least double its annual spending on water line repairs, citing two years of pipe breaks and leaks driven in part by ongoing drought conditions. Houston lost nearly 20 billion … Continue reading

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The boil notice

Yeah, it’s a pain. And now schools are closed again, which my daughter appreciates but probably most grownups do not. Also a thing many grownups did not appreciate was how long it took for the boil notices to go out. … Continue reading

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Houston’s preparations for the next freeze

We learned from the experience, which I hope will serve us well for the next time. The grid’s near collapse last February had drastic consequences for local governments, none more acute than the challenge water systems confronted in trying to … Continue reading

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How our water systems failed during the freeze

Good analysis of something that has received far less attention than the blackouts that resulted during the freeze. Which is interesting because the blackouts were the main cause of the water outages and resulting boil notices. And the fix here … Continue reading

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What makes a mural?

I’m kind of fascinated by this. For two decades, passersby could easily miss Bud Adams’ vacant midcentury modern building on the Southwest Freeway near Hillcroft. Not anymore. The low-slung, massive roof over the car dealership, formerly owned by the late … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

We have a consent decree

It appears to be a done deal. Houston would add $2 billion to its planned sewer system improvements over the next 15 years under a proposed deal with state and federal regulators that is expected to produce higher water bills … Continue reading

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We’re about to find out how much we’ll pay to fix Houston’s sewer system

Be prepared. Houston would ramp up spending on its sewer system by $2 billion over 15 years under a proposed deal with state and federal regulators that is expected to produce higher water bills as soon as next year. The … Continue reading

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Better sidewalks needs to be everyone’s job

It’s the only way we’re going to make progress. Houstonians annoyed by cracked, missing or buckled sidewalks along their streets may be surprised to learn that city rules make residents responsible for fixing them. At the urging of council members … Continue reading

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Now how much would you pay to fix Houston’s sewer system?

We may be about to find out. Federal and state authorities sued the city of Houston over its long-running struggle to limit sewage spills on Friday, marking the beginning of the end of a years-long negotiation that could force the … Continue reading

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ReBuild re-vote

Sort of. It’s complicated. Eight years after voters narrowly backed the idea, the controversial street and drainage program known as ReBuild Houston is expected to appear again on the November ballot in the form of an amendment to the city … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The latest report on city finances

A little light reading for you. Even after Mayor Sylvester Turner’s landmark pension reforms, the city of Houston is on pace to spend $1 billion more than it will take in over the coming decade, and must cut spending and … Continue reading

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Is this development really necessary?

Boy, the optics of this sure are lousy. The Houston City Council has indefinitely postponed a proposal to build hundreds of homes in a west Houston floodplain amid questions about whether city leaders’ actions would match their rhetoric about mitigating … Continue reading

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Can we share these lanes?

Metro is rethinking how the light rail lines run in parts of downtown. Traffic woes and collisions along the newest light-rail lines in downtown have Metro leaders toying with the idea of backpedaling on their promise not to close parts … Continue reading

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HCC Board censures Chris Oliver

It’s the most they can do. The Houston Community College system’s board of trustees decided Thursday to reprimand a 21-year veteran of the elected board who has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge. The board’s eight other members decried … Continue reading

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Houston Public Works director caught up in HCC bribery case

Unclear yet how big a deal this is, but it is a big deal. Houston Public Works Director Karun Sreerama made $77,143 in unlawful payments to a Houston Community College trustee who faces up to 10 years in prison after … Continue reading

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Smarter streets

They’re coming soon to Houston. Houston City Council on Wednesday will consider a $33.6 million contract – partially funded by a $10 million federal grant – to add hundreds of traffic-tracking devices across the city so officials can receive better … Continue reading

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Be careful what you flush

Yeesh. Grease blockages are the main cause of Houston’s epidemic of sewer overflows, a problem so widespread that it has drawn the city into negotiations with the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The multibillion-dollar enforcement action that could result – likely … Continue reading

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Potholing

The city’s pothole repair program seems to be going well. Faster response by city crews to resident-reported potholes has saved thousands of drivers a bumpier ride around Houston the past six months, though officials warn there’s a long way to … Continue reading

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How much would you pay to fix Houston’s sewer system?

Whatever your answer to that question is, the real answer is that

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Meet the toucan light

The first of its kind in Houston, though maybe not the last. The new traffic signal suspended above Appel at Yale and Seventh is a first for Texas, but also an adjustment for residents – some of whom are unsure … Continue reading

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More speed bumps coming

Like ’em or not. Houston officials are speeding up the process of slowing down residential street traffic. A laborious process to improve traffic and safety by installing traffic calming devices such as speed humps is radically streamlined in a new … Continue reading

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Flooding as election issue

I suppose this was inevitable. As thousands of Houstonians recover from the recent storms, the flooding is emerging as a political issue. Mayoral candidates are criticizing the city’s drainage infrastructure, attacking an unfinished project along Brays Bayou – around which … Continue reading

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Changing pothole procedures

Mayor Parker seeks to reduce the number of campaign issues for this fall by half. City officials are hoping to replace more concrete segments of streets in lieu of simply patching over Houston’s many potholes, part of an emergency response … Continue reading

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Fixing sidewalks

I like this. Houston’s leaders often decry the condition of city sidewalks, whether missing, overgrown or buckled by tree roots. Then there’s the safety risks when pedestrians are forced to walk on the crumbling concrete or adjacent streets. But the … Continue reading

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Pothole progress

Hooray. Two months after Mayor Annise Parker called Houston’s pockmarked streets a “crisis situation” and pledged to clear a mounting pothole repair backlog, the city has reduced open work requests by about 1,000 despite a steep increase in calls for … Continue reading

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Heights-Northside mobility study

Mostly of interest for folks in my area, here’s the city’s report on mobility for neighborhoods in the upper left quadrant of the Inner Loop. Final Report: Heights-Northside Sub-regional Mobility Study The Planning and Development Department, in partnership with the … Continue reading

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Downtown dedicated bike lane delayed a bit

Aiming for the end of the year now. Conversion of a traffic lane on Lamar into Houston’s main bike route through downtown has been delayed as officials finalize plans and wait for in-demand humps known as “armadillos” to arrive. Department … Continue reading

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A bike lane to connect to bike trails

Makes sense. Houston may get its first protected on-street bike route as early as October, as city officials prepare to convert a lane of Lamar Street downtown into a two-way cycling path connecting the popular Buffalo Bayou trails west of … Continue reading

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Transforming the GRB Convention Center

I don’t think I’d realized that there was a renovation of the George R. Brown Convention Center in the works, but after reading this story, I’m excited about it. By late next year, people strolling the George R. Brown Convention … Continue reading

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Yale Street Bridge load limit reduced again

From the inbox, via CitizensNet: Yale Street Bridge Load Limit Further Reduced by TxDOT City of Houston Takes Proactive Steps to Monitor Bridge Usage The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has reduced the load limit on the Yale Street Bridge … Continue reading

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