Tag Archives: downtown

Metro approves I-10 Inner Katy BRT route

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Big step forward. Metro officials Thursday settled on the route for a busway along Interstate 10 that they predict will improve transit for urban and suburban travelers, whether they hop on board or not. The elevated busway planned along the … Continue reading →

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Harris County to pause the I-45 lawsuit

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna give talking a try. You never know. Harris County will pause its lawsuit against the Texas Department of Transportation over the proposed Interstate 45 widening in hopes that it leads to a consensus that has eluded them for more … Continue reading →

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I-45 remains in the funding plan

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. Ask again in 90 days. Interstate 45 still is on a road to rebuild after Texas transportation officials on Tuesday kept the controversial project in the state’s 10-year construction plans, but warned that failing to get federal highway … Continue reading →

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Will TxDOT pull funding from the I-45 project?

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. Supporters of state plans to rebuild Interstate 45 from downtown Houston northward trekked to Austin on Thursday to keep the imperiled project on pace, fearing the region could be stuck with an aging freeway and no sign … Continue reading →

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The I-45 survey

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Who thought this was a good idea? The fate of the massive $9 billion project may depend on how many people who agree with Smith or agree with Davies fill out an online poll — after 15 years of planning, … Continue reading →

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Back to the public input phase for I-45

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They hear, but will they listen? Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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