Tag Archives: bicycles

Whitmire’s Montrose Boulevard plan passes on second try

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Dammit. A controversial Montrose Boulevard redesign plan is set to move forward with key revisions introduced by the Whitmire administration after board members of the area’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone voted to accept the changes Friday morning. The Nov. 1 meeting … Continue reading →

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Not so fast on Whitmire’s Montrose Boulevard revisions

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Probably fleeting, but still nice. After months of delays, the controversial redesign of Montrose Boulevard was still in limbo Monday night when a split vote at a contentious public meeting stalled the project yet again. The Whitmire administration favors a design that would … Continue reading →

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A small followup on the West 11th Street safety study

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This doesn’t really add much to what we had before, but I figured a little low-stakes story about something good was a thing we could use. 11th Street in the Houston Heights area became safer for everyone, including drivers, after … Continue reading →

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Metro to fund RYDE services

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, fine. Transit officials are poised to pick up the tab for another six months of funding on-demand rides around Second Ward and Third Ward. If approved by the Metropolitan Transit Authority board on Thursday, the agency would spend $216,000 … Continue reading →

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City report calls 11th Street a success

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? A Houston Public Works draft report obtained by Axios states that measures to slow traffic along 11th Street in the Heights have achieved key safety goals. Why it matters: The project — a polarizing rebuild completed under … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle’s reprieve runs out

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sad to see it go. Houston’s long-struggling system of on-demand bicycles is reaching the end of the trail. BCycle, the system of kiosks with available bikes spread around downtown, Midtown and other locations will close June 30, officials with the … Continue reading →

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Shepherd-Durham project back on track

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

First, I got this in my inbox, from the Mayor’s office. Mayor John Whitmire and the Memorial Heights TIRZ have reached a compromise on the design of the Shepherd Durham Phase II project that maintains the terms of the Federal … Continue reading →

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On “bold things” for mobility

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor John Whitmire started a noontime discussion about transportation in the region by saying he was “fired up” about the opportunity to improve the city’s mobility and infrastructure. […] 2. “I am … Continue reading →

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On increasing ridership at Metro

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m open to hearing more. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is under new leadership, but the goal of increasing ridership remains the same. While the number of riders steadily has increased across the system since the peak of … Continue reading →

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Shepherd-Durham project halted

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like deja vu all over again. Houston city officials have put the brakes on the middle piece of a planned redesign of Shepherd and Durham drives along the edge of the Heights, a decision that community officials and others … Continue reading →

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Montrose Blvd project officially delayed

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. Permitting for an overhaul of Montrose Boulevard, a project that has drawn ire from residents pushing to protect the road’s oak trees, has been delayed at City Hall after Mayor John Whitmire’s staff asked project organizers to … Continue reading →

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“If you’ve ever gardened, you know you have to weed”

Posted on March 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

What Allyn West says. I moved to Montrose in 2008, just in time for Hurricane Ike to welcome me to the Gulf Coast formally, and I lived on Crocker at Avondale during the pandemic. When Hurricane Harvey claimed the Honda … Continue reading →

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Do I really need to worry about West 11th Street?

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. Houston Mayor John Whitmire is reevaluating several street infrastructure projects for effectiveness, including the completed 11th Street redesign despite the controversy surrounding the recent removal of pedestrian and cyclist upgrades on Houston Avenue. Whitmire, who took office … Continue reading →

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The Houston Avenue hullabaloo

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

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 Whitmire appoints a new Metro Chair

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations and welcome aboard. Mayor John Whitmire on Tuesday announced CenterPoint Energy executive Elizabeth Brock would lead the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s board of directors. If approved, Brock would be the first Hispanic woman to lead the transit agency. “She brings … Continue reading →

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On solving the crimes

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a nice profile of Precinct One Deputy Constable Joe Bowden, who is good at his job. His specialty is solving bike thefts, and I want to highlight this bit that shows him in action, and then share some … Continue reading →

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Connecting Uptown and Memorial Park

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I approve of this. The overwhelming task of getting to Memorial Park from Uptown by bike or on foot is poised to vastly improve, provided a $22 million project for a bridge across Buffalo Bayou and underpass of Loop 610 … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: CityNerd visits Houston

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An urban planner who has mostly heard negative things about Houston visits our city for a couple of days, and finds quite a bit about it that he likes: Found via Evan Mintz. It’s about 20 minutes (there’s about two … Continue reading →

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What some Mayoral candidates said to some Republicans

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have a few thoughts about this. Houston mayoral candidates took aim at “feel-good” public safety initiatives such as gun buybacks and proposed plans to boost the city budget at a Friday forum organized by United Republicans of Harris County. … Continue reading →

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Metro moves forward with its bike plan

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Really interested to see what this looks like. Metro’s board of directors voted Thursday to negotiate a contract with a Canadian company to launch Houston’s second bike-share program, but left unclear how – or whether – the two bicycle rental … Continue reading →

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City Council approves B-Cycle lifeline

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I approve of this as a stopgap, but a real plan needs to be in place. Houston’s floundering bike sharing system has a little more life, after city officials approved $500,000 to keep the system operational, at least until a … Continue reading →

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Metro introduces its bike share program

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds pretty good, actually. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is expected to contract with a Canadian operator that will provide up to 700 e-bikes and 100 charging stations as the agency embarks on the creation of its own … Continue reading →

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City to provide some funding to B-Cycle

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to extend a half-million dollar lifeline to the city’s nonprofit bike share program, he said Wednesday. Turner said he will present City Council next week with a proposal to send funding to Houston Bike … Continue reading →

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The end of B-Cycle

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This sucks. At Houston Bike Share, the nonprofit agency that runs the BCycle system, we’ve been working to find new funding for more than a year. We’ve made tough decisions, suspending stations and raising prices. And now, in the face … Continue reading →

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Connecting Buffalo Bayou Park and Memorial Park

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I approve of this. Two popular Houston parks may finally be bridged together after Harris County Precinct 4 unveiled a $13.5 million Buffalo Bayou Greenway Connector project to join the recreation areas. Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones announced $170 million … Continue reading →

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The Pat Walsh Memorial Bikeway

Posted on September 10, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I love this. Friends remember Pat Walsh as someone who saw the big picture of what Houston could be, and the little details necessary to get a massive city bureaucracy headed in the right direction. Now they want the former … Continue reading →

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Too many bicyclists are dying in traffic this year

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve got to do better. A fatal crash [in late July] cemented what cycling advocates had been warning about for months – Houston is going backwards when it comes to erasing roadway deaths of bicycle riders. “With few exceptions, trying … Continue reading →

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The scooters come back to Dallas

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes this time around. Electric scooters had a rough go in Dallas following their 2018 introduction. The “micro-mobility” options pissed off plenty and led to a spike in hospitalizations. So in 2020, the two-wheeled vehicles were yanked … Continue reading →

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Another neighborhood road projects/bike lanes update

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, from the Woodland Heights Civic Association. We would like to provide you with important updates regarding the road projects in our area. Firstly, we are pleased to inform you that the construction of the 11th Street project is … Continue reading →

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A ride down the West 11th bike trail

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been riding the West 11th bike trail since it opened, mostly to go to some of my favorite lunch places. It’s been great, modulo the occasional hazards like trash/recycling bins out for collection and delivery trucks or construction vehicles … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle hits the brakes

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Hopes for a much-needed infusion of cash from a new partnership with Metro have yet to be fulfilled, leading Houston Bike Share to warn users that prices will increase and the number of available stations will shrink, starting May 1. The nonprofit … Continue reading →

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I-45 project is back on

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Though it will still be several years before there is any real construction. Nearly two years to the day that federal officials paused TxDOT’s plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 and downtown Houston’s freeway system, national and state highway leaders have come … Continue reading →

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More on the state of B-Cycle

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I think they will come out of this in better shape, but change is always hard. In a sense, Maya Ford is just trying to get Houston Bike Share back in gear in the hope that it has a long … Continue reading →

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A brief 11th Street update

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the latest Woodland Heights Civic Association newsletter: 11th Street Safety Improvements: Project Update The WHCA board hosted City officials (David Fields, Lauren Grove, and Colin Lupold) at the January 10th general meeting. We had around 50 or so on … Continue reading →

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