Tag Archives: downtown

Feds tell TxDOT to slow down on I-45

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

On pause for however long. In two letters released Wednesday — one to the Texas Department of Transportation and another to Harris County leaders — the Federal Highway Administration said it expected Texas officials to halt work [on I-45], including … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The I-45 effect on Metro

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There will be a lot of disruption to mass transit as a result of the I-45 project. Metro’s board on Thursday approved hiring design and engineering firm STV Incorporated for services related to the controversial Interstate 45 project. Though the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The I-45 effect on Metro

Downtown kiosks

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure yet how I feel about this. City Council on Wednesday will consider a plan to install up to 125 interactive digital kiosks around the city, a proposal that has drawn support from city officials who tout the … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Whither downtown?

Posted on April 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody really knows when or if Houston’s downtown will return to something like it was pre-COVID. Few areas of the local economy were hit as hard by the pandemic as downtown and few face as much uncertainty as the service … Continue reading →

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

The federal hurdle to the I-45 project

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I mostly missed this when it happened. The Federal Highway Administration has asked Texas’ transportation department to halt construction on an Interstate 45 expansion project, citing civil rights concerns. The news comes the same day Harris County announced it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A new downtown park

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Something to look forward to, when we’re all comfortable being in crowded spaces again, even outside crowded spaces. Houston officials broke ground [earlier this month] on a new park in south downtown that by next year will provide the area … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Scooters banned from sidewalks

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Houston has scuttled scooter rentals along city sidewalks, and kicked riders of the two-wheel transports in busy areas into the street. City Council on Wednesday approved changes to Houston’s codes outlawing any rental activity that impedes public … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Houston’s scooter problem

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Wait, when did we get scooters? A plan in Houston to prohibit vendors from renting motorized scooters on city sidewalks has suppliers of the two-wheel contraptions revved up, and city officials holding the line to have scooters clear the way. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TxDOT plows ahead with I-45

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What did we expect? Texas highway officials [last] Thursday gave themselves the green light to rebuild Interstate 45 in Houston, a crucial step in the process, despite lingering concerns from critics that the proposed $7.5 billion widening project is out … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There’s a real lack of consensus about the I-45 project

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It seems unlikely that TxDOT could just throw up its hands and walk away from this, but it’s at least a possible scenario. A proposed agreement devised to bring planners and critics of a massive redesign of Interstate 45 together … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on the Metro security robot

Posted on January 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like this is finally getting rolled out. Typically, when a security guard weighs 400 pounds, it means they are not well suited for foot patrols. K5, however, was built for it. Soon the spaceship-shaped sentries will roll into action … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The next phase of the I-45 fight is about to begin

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Where it goes from here is still up in the air. The opening of this story was at a rally on Sunday that opposed the current I-45 plan. The rally, part of a flurry of events from concerts to block-walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Eating on the street

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense. Main Street bar owners are expected to take to the streets now that the city has given them the OK. City Council on Wednesday approved, after some delay, plans for the More Space Main … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Can downtown survive COVID-19?

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

So depressing to read. When Understory opened last summer, the stylish food hall in downtown’s Bank of America Tower quickly became the go-to lunch spot for throngs of office workers who stood in line for poke bowls, gourmet burgers and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Can downtown survive COVID-19?

The rooftop park at the downtown post office

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. The company redeveloping downtown’s former post office property will open a rooftop venue early next year as part of a five-acre park and organic farm that will top the historic building at 401 Franklin St. Lovett Commercial said … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The rooftop park at the downtown post office

Who gets displaced by I-45?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping in mind, the cost of expanding I-45 is more than just dollars. The I-45 project’s toll on local property owners would be unprecedented for TxDOT in Houston, potentially relocating hundreds of families and businesses. Estimated to cost at … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The city’s vision for I-45

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like the way this is shaping up. The city of Houston is prepared to ask for major changes in state plans to rebuild Interstate 45 that potentially could scale back the planned widening of the freeway and put a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The city’s vision for I-45

Goodbye, Greenlink

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Another version of Metro’s downtown trolley system is shut down due to coronavirus, and likely won’t come back, at least not in that format. Downtown Houston’s free shuttle may have hauled its last passenger, a victim of the central district’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Goodbye, Greenlink

City responds to busking lawsuit

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

And I’m not thrilled with it. Lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit Friday that the city is beholden to keeping its streets and sidewalks safe, and that striking down the decades-old ordinance limiting where buskers — … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

There’s still (a little) time to affect the I-45 design

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening this week. After that, it gets harder. City officials and consultants will spend the coming weeks finalizing a few ways to turn the region’s largest and most controversial freeway rebuild of recent years into an Interstate 45 … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on There’s still (a little) time to affect the I-45 design

A better way to do I-45

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Skelley on Facebook: Here’s a new vision for I-45. -saves money -no displacement in low income areas -no destruction of White Oak Bayou -prevents TxDOT vandalization of EaDo -downtown amenities if we want to fund those ourselves This … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Metro’s robot security guards

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a character from a dystopian action movie, I promise. Robot security guards are coming to a Houston-area transit center, park and ride lot and rail station in the coming months, after the Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved a $270,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The busking lawsuit

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A Houston accordionist is feeling squeezed by an obscure city law aimed at restricting where musicians can play for tips. Anthony Barilla, also a composer whose work can be heard on the radio program “This American Life,” lodged the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

HGAC makes its pledge to TxDOT for I-45

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of pushback, but not enough to change the outcome. Local transportation officials now have skin in the game when it comes to widening Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston, approving on Friday a $100 million commitment for the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Another manifesto against I-45 expansion

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re fun to read, and my heart is with them, but we all know how this works. The I-45 project is likely to do irreversible damage to our city’s finances and ecology. It will reduce the city’s tax base by … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Downtown post office redevelopment update

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the big post office at the north end of downtown? It was sold a few years ago and slated for redevelopment, and after a few years that project is getting ready to get started. Lovett Commercial, the Houston-based company … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still filled with dread about I-45

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Anyone got a paper bag I can breathe into? Strip away the enormity of rebuilding Interstate 45 and the promise of speedier trips along downtown Houston freeways, and two questions about the once-in-a-generation project remain: How many negative effects are … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

What’s wrong with the I-45 expansion plan?

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Urban planner Jeff Speck, in a recent lecture in Houston, lays out the following problems with the planned I-45 expansion: The brief list of negatives include: I-45 will wreck your bayou parks. I-45 will destroy wildlife habitat. I-45 will make … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What’s wrong with the I-45 expansion plan?

More details on the Metro referendum

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still a work in progress. A planned 110 miles of two-way HOV along major freeways with eight new park and ride stations is expected to cost $1.37 billion, with another $383 million in improvements to operate 25 percent more bus … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What to do with the county courthouse?

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a problem. More than 15 months after flooding from Hurricane Harvey shuttered Houston’s 20-story criminal courthouse, county leaders say they will begin in January on the first phase of a multi-part $86 million restoration project, which won’t be … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The World Cup and its possible infrastructure effects

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming Houston does get to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, that could spur some major projects, for transportation and recreation and who knows what else. Houston will not receive final word on the bid until … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The World Cup and its possible infrastructure effects

Minute Maid 2.0

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Astros are staying in their home stadium for the long term. Now that the Astros are in Minute Maid Park for the long haul, “Minute Maid Park 2.0” is in the works. The Harris County Houston Sports Authority on … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Reinventing Jones Plaza

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Big changes coming to downtown. Jones Plaza, the often-empty, 1.5-acre public space at the heart of Houston’s Theater District, may finally become a true people magnet courtesy of the second face-lift in its 51-year history. This time, Houston First Corporation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Happy tenth birthday, Discovery Green

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What a great addition it has been. Discovery Green opened a decade ago this weekend, drawing 25,000 people to the long-dormant east side of downtown to gawk at parading Clydesdales, dogs in costumes, a puppet show, a magician, musicians and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Happy tenth birthday, Discovery Green