Tag Archives: parking

Sugar Land partners with Swyft Cities

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We may get some local gondola action in the near future. Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s a gondola? Or it will be if the city of Sugar Land can get a federal … Continue reading →

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Parking meter extended hours proposal withdrawn

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Probably dead, though I suppose it could come back. Proposals to make it easier to extend parking meter enforcement hours and install speed cushions did not advance at Houston’s inaugural Proposition A committee meeting Tuesday, after both failed to meet … Continue reading →

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Parking meter extension proposal sent to Prop A committee

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We sure do live in a different world now. City Council voted on Wednesday to send a proposal extending parking meter enforcement times to committee following a clash between council members who introduced the agenda item and those who expressed … Continue reading →

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Extending parking meter hours downtown

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Houston City Council will vote to extend the time residents will have to pay city parking meters on Wednesday. The current ordinance requires drivers who park in metered spots to pay between 7 a.m. and 6 … Continue reading →

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How much downtown parking do we need?

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know the answer to that, but this is how much we have. Downtown Houston dedicates more than a quarter of its land to parking spaces, surpassing the percentages in most major U.S. cities, a new report shows. A photo from … Continue reading →

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“More Space: Main Street” permanently extended

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A good outcome for a good idea. Houston will close down traffic on seven blocks of Main Street permanently to allow businesses to maintain outdoor seating spaces initially established during the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to expand the concept to other commercial strips in … Continue reading →

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Metro looks beyond parking lots for its park and rides

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I like the idea. It will need some careful thought and planning, but the idea seems to be on the right track to me. The Metropolitan Transit Authority spent decades developing a network of parking lots where drivers could leave … Continue reading →

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More eating outdoors downtown

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good idea, and I’m glad it’s being continued. DINING IN DOWNTOWN HOUSTON CAN be a hassle, what with the limited parking and COVD-19 restrictions affecting seating space at so many eateries. Fortunately, the city of Houston is … 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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Don’t park in a bike lane

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s illegal now, and you will get a citation. Houston city council on Wednesday made it illegal to park in or otherwise block the city’s expanding network of bike lanes, a long-sought change by cyclists fed up with dodging cars … Continue reading →

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In which Houston becomes more walkable

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. On 19th Street, one of Houston’s most enduring strips of shops and restaurants, there is a vacant lot tucked between two stores, about a block from the landmark “Heights” sign. When developers recently expressed interest in putting … Continue reading →

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Restaurants may get to use parking lot space for dining

Posted on August 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I like this idea. Restaurants in Houston, currently limited by 50% indoor capacity limits, may soon be able to serve diners in parking lots to accommodate more guests. Pending a vote by the Houston City Council, a “More Spaces” plan … Continue reading →

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Biking and breweries

Posted on July 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Actually, this makes perfect sense. This started off in the gray area between a good idea and a bad one. Two years ago, Jason Buhlman and Brian Kondrach got about 30 of their friends together for an afternoon of two-wheel … Continue reading →

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Paying to park at Memorial Park

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let the pearl-clutching begin! A quarter of the parking spaces at Memorial Park will be metered starting later this year, as the city and the park’s nonprofit operators scrape together dollars for maintenance amid an ambitious renovation. Visitors who park … Continue reading →

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Zipcar parking arrangement approved

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The City Council on Wednesday said companies can start immediately applying for agreements with the city that allow them to use on-street parking spaces so vehicles are visible and easily available to users. Companies such as Zipcar allow people … Continue reading →

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Zipcars and parking

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s sort this out. A plan to allow more on-street parking spaces for cars Houstonians could rent by the hour hit a bump Wednesday, when city council members balked at moving beyond the pilot program they approved nearly two years … Continue reading →

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Can we share these lanes?

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

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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The Complete Transportation Guide To Super Bowl LI

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For which the tl;dr version is don’t drive in or near downtown if you can at all help it. More than 1 million people are expected to converge on downtown Houston during the week leading up to Super Bowl LI … Continue reading →

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Take transit to the game

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

If you can, you should. The transformation of downtown from a work place that empties after dark to a true community is finally underway in earnest, with residents, retail shops, and restaurants that remain open long after the lunch rush. … Continue reading →

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New parking meters coming

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No more paper receipts to clutter up your dashboard. Some things about street parking in downtown Houston are unlikely to change: It will always require a keen eye for available spots and the courage and skill to wedge your car … Continue reading →

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What’s coming to the Yale Street post office location

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Some more news from my neighborhood. A Houston developer plans to replace a shuttered U.S. Postal Service building in the Heights with a two-story mixed-use development with space for offices, shops and restaurants. MFT Interests last month scooped up the … Continue reading →

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Allen Parkway 2.0

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Changes are a-comin’. Lane closings are scheduled to start soon along Allen Parkway – slowing traffic – so workers can complete a redesign of the road – meant to slow traffic. The long-planned overhaul, which will add parking along Buffalo … Continue reading →

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From the “Good problems to have” department

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Metro will have a few million dollars left over when it is done building the remaining light rail lines. After more than three years of construction, Metro officials estimate $39.9 million of the $900 million awarded by the Federal Transit … Continue reading →

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Making open data better

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some positive news. Houston leaders in the last year or so have cheered the promise of “civic hacking,” pushing to make the mountains of data the city collects accessible to tech enthusiasts capable of building programs to help citizens better … Continue reading →

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The downside to downtown’s boom

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More traffic, less parking, and lots of construction. Where have we heard those complaints before? Construction crews are clearing city blocks once dedicated to surface parking, readying the sites for multistory office buildings, hotels and residential towers. Adjacent sidewalks and … Continue reading →

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It takes time to park, too

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Atlantic Cities had an article a couple of weeks ago about light rail in Houston. It’s an overview written for people who aren’t from Houston, so other than the extremely high opinion of themselves of some rail opponents – … Continue reading →

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Enabling bike parking at restaurants

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see this effort is making progress. It has taken some time, but a community effort to add bike racks in the Heights is seeing results. Heights resident Mitch Cohen has placed two racks along 19th Street this year … Continue reading →

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Medical Center mobility

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The problems they face today pale in comparison to the problems they will face in the future. Already the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center is poised to get much bigger, prompting a raft of ideas ranging from … Continue reading →

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Park and Ride parking

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have no problem with this. Park and ride buses are among the cheapest options for suburban commuters who work downtown, in part because Metro provides free parking. But just as new highways increasingly require drivers to pay tolls, officials … Continue reading →

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Good news and bad news on the Washington Avenue parking benefit district

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As you may recall, a bit more than a year ago Council approved a plan to create a “parking benefit district” for the Washington Avenue corridor, which is a fancy way of saying they approved the installation of parking meters … Continue reading →

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Texas cities embracing bicycles

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good thing. In Fort Worth, the mayor hosts occasional bicycle rides called “Rolling Town Halls.” The Dallas City Council could may soon require new businesses to set aside space for bicycle parking. Over in El Paso, officials are … Continue reading →

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Parking Panda

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting Parking Panda, an online parking reservation system, launches Tuesday in Houston and Dallas. The site’s already up and running, taking reservations for lots around many area venues, including Minute Maid Park, Reliant Stadium and the Toyota Center. The concept … Continue reading →

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Chron wonders where B-Cycle is going

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week in an unsigned editorial, the Chron asked a provocative question about B-Cycle. Are bicycle rental programs supposed to be legitimate transportation or merely toys for urban bohemians? New York Times writer Ginia Bellafante revealed Friday that her city’s … Continue reading →

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Making downtown parking easier

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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 … Continue reading →

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