Makes sense. In downtown Houston, there are about 3,200 parking spaces on the street – and a whopping 5,800 signs drivers must decipher to use them without getting towed or ticketed. Aiming to fix this “confusing mishmash of signs,” as Mayor Annise Parker put it, City Council on Wednesday approved a $1.3 million contract with [...]
Posts Tagged ‘parking’
The Washington Avenue parking benefit district is now operational
From CultureMap: It took a while, but nearly five months after Houston City Council approved the first citywide Parking Benefit District for the Washington Avenue corridor, the meters started charging at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. The City of Houston’s Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department hopes to solve a handful of issues with the new parking system, including [...]
Why we need flexibility in our parking regulations
Here’s the story of Coltivare. As many of you know, we are in the process of opening Coltivare, our interpretation of an Italian-inspired, American, neighborhood restaurant, at the corner of White Oak and Arlington Streets. Undoubtedly, one of the most unique aspects to Coltivare, is the potential to have a 3,000 square foot, fully-functioning vegetable [...]
Another reason why bike parking matters
This comment of the day on Swamplot points out a salient fact about bike parking. In all honesty, I only ride my bike for fun with the family on the weekends. However, after a couple of very frustrating attempts to park around White Oak to go out to dinner, I recently rode my bike down [...]
Who says you can’t park there?
This story about parking in Houston is kind of fluffy, but this was something I didn’t know: Smaller developments like strip centers along frontage roads are moving away from dedicating parking to certain tenants, Hernandez said, realizing that opening spaces for everyone helps move people in and out. “If there is anything, there is a [...]
One size does not fit all, parking regulations department
This makes a lot of sense to me. A proposed rewrite of Houston’s off-street parking rules could allow some areas to alter the new requirements or ditch them altogether, part of what Mayor Annise Parker said is an effort to allow tailored solutions in this “city of neighborhoods.” City planners say the off-street parking ordinance, [...]
City proposes bike parking alternatives
Nice. Bicycle advocates are cheering a city proposal that would give businesses an incentive to offer bike parking and would require some properties to provide it for the first time, saying the ideas mark a cultural shift in Houston. “This is a first for Houston and a sign of how our city is evolving,” Mayor [...]
The off-street parking debate
I believe the new offstreet parking requirements that have been proposed and are being debated are at least as big a deal as the Chapter 42 revisions. We really need to get this right. Under the new rules, some eateries – dessert shops, carryout restaurants – would need less parking, but requirements on most restaurants [...]
And maybe we won’t need as much road capacity as we think, either
Felix Salmon writes about the possible implications of driverless cars. While I’ve generally been a fan of just about any alternative to the automobile, now I’m not so sure: I think that smart car technology is improving impressively, to the point at which it could be the most promising solution, especially in developed parts of [...]
Ready or not, here comes Chapter 42
Changes are coming to Chapter 42, the section of Houston’s ordinances that deal with density and development, and to Chapter 26, the section on off-street parking for bars and restaurants and what have you. The revisions would allow neighborhoods to create special parking areas tailored to their needs, reduce parking requirements for historic buildings, allow [...]
Council approves Washington Avenue parking benefit district
We’ll see how this works. The Houston City Council on Wednesday formed a special parking district along Washington Avenue, intended to ease the woes associated with the bustling corridor’s mix of bars, restaurants and residential streets. The plan will add parking meters on about 350 spaces along Washington, and will make it easier for residents [...]
On the Parking Benefit District
A proposed ordinance to create a parking benefit district in the Washington Avenue corridor was on Council’s agenda this week, but it was tagged and will wait a week while everyone gets up to speed on it. District C Council member Ellen Cohen says the city has been working with business owners to come up [...]
Washington Avenue parking
The city of Houston has been trying to tackle the problem of insufficient parking in the busy Washington Avenue entertainment corridor. What to do about Washington Avenue is Houston’s latest public policy discussion of what government’s role should be in growing business, in helping a fledgling business strip turn into a destination district. The players [...]
More bike racks
The Chron notes that Houston is on the verge of becoming an actual bike-friendly city, and that we ought to recognize that and do something to help facilitate it. Notably, many downtown buildings lack accessible and visible bike racks. For those who live close enough, biking to downtown destinations, whether work or the Theater District, [...]
One more thing about the Buffalo Bayou transformation
You saw Trudi Smith’s guest post about the transformation of Buffalo Bayou, which was recently kicked into high gear. There’s a point that needs to be addressed about the project and the lovely park that’s being built up, and the Chron discussed it in a recent editorial. How will people get there? And where will [...]
Bike racks at restaurants
I wholeheartedly approve of this. On nice days, a 20-station bicycle rack stays mostly full outside Hay Merchant, a food-and-beer establishment located among a cramped string of restaurants on Westheimer near Montrose. When the rack is full, it means 20 people left vehicles at home and freed up parking outside the popular venue. The Hay [...]
San Antonio B-Cycle keeps on growing
It’s very cool to watch. [B-cycle and city officials announced] plans to add three bicycle stations in April, at HemisView Village apartments, the San Antonio Housing Authority park on South Flores Street, and the 1221 Broadway apartments, said Cindi Snell, executive director of San Antonio B-cycle and co-owner of Bike World. That will bring the [...]
Parking feedback
A couple of weeks ago I noted that the city is undergoing a review of its 1989 Off Street Parking ordinance. The idea is to recognize some changes in the real estate market, especially having to do with entertainment and retail development in denser areas and the issue of neighborhood streets being used as overflow [...]
There’s an app for reporting handicapped parking space violators
In Austin, anyway. Ever see someone parked illegally and wanted to do something about it? Your chance might be coming. A new smartphone app could allow people in Austin to report illegal parking in spots reserved for people with disabilities. The City Council on Thursday will consider a resolution to link such an app to [...]
New parking regulations
Hair Balls last week had a good discussion of a proposal by the city to revamp its 1989 Off Street Parking ordinance. Currently, bars — which are defined as having alcohol make up more than 75 percent of their sales — are required to provide ten off-street parking spaces per every 1,000 square feet of [...]
That’s what I call double parking
Did you know that there were hydraulic parking lifts in use in Houston? I didn’t. District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams, who represents Midtown, attached an amendment to the city budget passed last month that requires the planning department to craft an ordinance in the next three months to regulate lifts. “When I saw the parking [...]
Washington Avenue lite
That’s what someone thinks White Oak Drive is becoming. Is White Oak Drive becoming a cozier, more walkable version of nearby Washington Avenue as a restaurant-entertainment hub? One local real estate agent thinks so. White Oak is more concentrated with restaurants and bars in a much smaller area, said Jeff Trevino, a local commercial real [...]
Valet parking
Do you love it or hate it? Whether one makes use of the service or not, valet parking has a spot in the Houston area’s landscape. The podiumlike stands with uniformed attendants sit like landmarks in front of hot night clubs, high-dollar stores and even joints that buzz on weeknights with regulars who would rather [...]
What’s the deal with parking?
Andrew Burleson attended the first community meeting to discuss possible changes to the city’s parking requirements, and gives a report on what was discussed. He also has a nice discussion on the economics of parking, which one hopes will have some effect on the decisions that are made as a result of those community meetings. [...]
Parking review coming
This ought to be interesting. The Department of Planning and Development has scheduled three community meetings in April to hear ideas about possible changes in the city’s parking ordinance, which has been modified only slightly since it was adopted in 1989. From the department’s press release: Some of the topics that will be discussed include [...]
Ten transportation opportunities for the next mayor
Christof has a list of ten transportation opportunities for the next mayor, having to do with trains, roads, parking, infrastructure, and other matters, that I hope all of the candidates read. I encourage you to read it as well.