Proposal for Houston Electronic Signage to Direct Drivers to Best Parking Spots

Houston is looking to implement a plan to have signage downtown that would direct drivers to the best possible parking spot. This plan will greatly improve driving downtown. The city is in talks with seven private parking garages to cooperate. A company would track the number of spaces available, then distribute that information online. Mobile apps and electronic message signs would use that information in order to direct drivers who are driving downtown. The signs would also notify drivers what neighborhood the parking spaces would be available in. For example, if the parking garage is in the Theater District, the signs will tell you that. This is an excellent program and I hope it meets the light of day.

Non-stop flights to start from Houston to Manchester.

Starting October 30^th, Singapore Airlines will deliver flights directly from Houston, Texas to Manchester, England. Houston will greatly benefit from this news. The new flights will run 5 times weekly. There is a large concentration of Northwest England businesses with a presence in Houston, including Oliver Valves and Morson. Which are industrial equipment suppliers. Combined, they have over 300 clients in Houston. More good news for Houston as we continue to grow as a city.

Houston Second Most Prepared City for Evacuation.

A recent study declared Houston the second most prepared city in the country in the case of an evacuation. I am very proud of Houston for this.

The consulting firm that put together this list works very closely with insurance companies. Named the PT&C Forensic Consulting Services. The firm looked at exit capacity, roadway density, automobile availability, internal traffic, geographical barriers and land area. Houston has an evacuation plan in place that includes the ability to quickly make the exit highways contraflow. Which means all highways will become one way streets out of the city. The study said Houston was ranked well, because it had nearly no bottlenecks, great exit capacity, auto availability and light congestion. Quite a change from the Hurricane Rita era, I know but we have changed many things for the better since we met that challenge.

Majority of METRO Riders Happy with Service

A recent survey taken by the advocacy organization TransitCenter shows that most Houston METRO Riders are happy with their service. I am proud of METRO for this good news.

76 percent of Houston METRO’s riders were highly satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the frequency of METRO’s service, including bus and rail. 71 percent said they were highly or somewhat satisfied with METRO’s bus and rail stop facilities. 76% were happy with the transit times, 86% were happy with the price. Houston METRO should be proud of their accomplishments; I know that I am proud for them.

Houston's Loaned Executive Program

Houston has a program called the Loaned Executive Program. The concept for the program is that a private company loans an executive free of pay to advise the city. I think Houston’s Loaned Executive Program is a good program. The Loaned Executive Program is brand new and currently only has one company and executive office holder participating. Centerpoint energy has loaned their Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications Floyd LeBlanc to help advice the Department of Public Works and Engineering. He will work as the Community Place and Emergency Preparedness advisor. Mayor Sylvester Turner said "I want to thank CenterPoint for stepping up to the plate to help us get this program started. The City will benefit from the unique perspective and skills of a seasoned professional without the added cost of a salary or fees that usually accompany a consulting arrangement. Floyd will help us implement more effective and efficient processes for utility work. The City, CenterPoint and Houstonians will all benefit."

I think the Loaned Executive Program is excellent and free to the taxpayer. Houston continues to impress.

Houston Stands with it's Sister City, Nice, France

Houston Receives 2016 Housing and Community Design Award

Houston has received the 2016 “Housing and Community Design” award from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Houston’s program is a leader in rebuilding houses affected by disaster. The award recognizes Houston’s “Disaster Recovery Round 2” program, also known as DR2. The award also recognizes The City of Houston’s collaboration with the architectural firm bcWorkshop to help design homes rebuilt through DR2. Part of the program operates with Houston’s Community Revitalization Areas, known as CRA’s. Each neighborhood gets different designs for their projects to reflect the character of that neighborhood, as laid out by the CRA's. The program has a high rate of customer satisfaction, with most families happy with their home repairs. Yet again, Houston receives an award, recognized for being a well-run city.

Bus Lanes Proposed for Post Oak Boulevard

METRO has proposed converting some lanes along Post Oak Boulevard to be buses only.

Although, I support bus lanes in some cases, I do not support bus lanes down Post Oak Boulevard. The decision, is between more lanes for cars or more lanes for public transportation. Post Oak currently has larger vehicular traffic than public transportation or pedestrian traffic. I support bus lanes down streets that have a large amount of pedestrian or public transportation traffic.

Downtown already has a lot of bus lanes and deserves them as there are mostly pedestrian and public transportation traffic downtown. Uptown/Post Oak does not have as much pedestrian or public transportation traffic. On the day Uptown does have large amounts of public transportation traffic, it would warrant bus lanes to help relieve congestion. The issue here is whether to favor vehicular traffic or pedestrian/public transportation traffic. At this point, for Post Oak, we need to favor vehicular traffic as that is where the traffic demand currently is, for that road.

Our Respect for the Victims of the Dallas Police Shootings

This morning we have learned of a tragedy in our neighbor to the north, Dallas. We mourn those who lost their lives and the many lives it impacted. Dallas has shown resilience and will become a greater city than it was before.

Harris County Flood Control

Harris County is one of the most vulnerable counties in the country for flooding. However, it is also one of the most prepared to take on flooding challenges. Here is how the battle against flooding works in Harris County. Flood management is controlled by the Harris County Flood Control District. The county has 1,500 drainage and flood control channels totaling in 2,500 miles in length. The same length of distance between New York and Los Angeles. Along with 22 watersheds. The current 5-year capital improvement program totals $975 Million. District maintenance is almost entirely privatized. Those numbers are Harris County alone and do not include projects done by incorporated cities in the county. Harris County may be at risk of flooding; however, it is one of the most prepared communities in the country to handle flooding.

Downtown Houston

My favorite neighborhood of Houston is downtown. Downtown is Houston’s most urban neighborhood and home to some of the greatest architecture in the world. Downtown is the founding point of the city, the city was founded on Buffalo Bayou and The First Ward was its first neighborhood. Today, it is home to some of the best architecture in the world. With the “Skyline District” on its western half. It is home to a historic district, light rail, architecture, sports stadiums and large parks. I encourage you to visit downtown and see the architecture of Houston’s most urban neighborhood.

The Woodlands Town Center

As The Woodlands grew, leaders knew that they had to organize and plan for the large amount of development coming in, this led to the creation of The Woodlands Town Center, The Woodlands downtown. The Woodlands has done an excellent job of designing The Woodlands Town Center. The Woodlands Town Center was designed to be the main commercial hub for The Woodlands. Although each village gets a shopping center, The Town Center is home for business, shopping and hotels and entertainment for the entirety of The Woodlands. It is home to offices for Chevron Philips, Anadarko Petroleum, Huntsman Corporation, Woodforest National Bank, Banker Hughes, Chicago Brick & Iron, McKesson Corporation, Aon plc, Maersk Line, Safmarine, GeoSouthern Energy, ExxonMobile and Southwestern Energy Company. It is home to a large outdoor auditorium called The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and shopping such as The Woodlands Mall and Market Street.

The Woodlands Town Center is a rare example of new urbanism done right and is a great asset to The Houston region.

The Woodlands Waterway Square

One of the centerpieces of The Woodlands Waterway, is The Waterway Square. The Waterway Square is a beautiful plaza. The Woodlands Waterway Square opened in 2008 and is in the center of The Woodlands Waterway. The Woodlands Waterway, is similar to The San Antonio Riverwalk and was built in The Woodlands Town Center. I have talked about it in the past in this blog. Here, on this plaza, sits many restaurants, including Goose’s Acre, Baker St. Pub and America’s. It has large fountains and a large Waterwall along with benches to relax on.

Waterway Square is a beautiful feature for The Woodlands and anchors The Woodlands Waterway, some of the best urban planning in the region.

Should The Woodlands, Texas Incorporate?

The Woodlands, TX is a master planned community. It is not an incorporated city and is run by The Woodlands Township, which was established by the Texas Legislature.

I do not think The Woodlands should incorporate. Opened in the late 70s, The Woodlands has never been an incorporated city, it was designed and built by George Mitchell, who never sold it until 1993. The Woodlands was run by community associations, including The Woodlands Community Association, The Woodlands Association, The Woodlands Commercial Owners Association and the Town Center Improvement District. In 2010, all these organizations were merged together by The Texas Legislature, forming The Woodlands Township. The Woodlands Township runs everything an incorporated city in Texas would run, except for the roads and the police. If The Woodlands were to be incorporated, The Woodlands taxpayers would entirely fund a Woodlands police department and run the roads. Currently those services are run by the county. The tax burden on The Woodlands would not be worth it, as currently the roads and police are run well. The only need to incorporate, is if The Woodlands could significantly run the roads and police better than the county and currently, that is not the case.

I do not believe we should incorporate The Woodlands. However, if in the future, the county has serious problems running our roads and police, maybe The Woodlands should take it over and incorporate.

The Woodlands, TX!

For most of my life I have grown up in The Woodlands, TX. Here is how I feel about The Woodlands, TX.

The Woodlands is a beautiful city. It is built in a dense pine tree forest and in between the roads and the development they have preserved the pine trees. Not only is it a beautiful place, it is a major economic center. Home to the Fortune 500 Anadarko, which has built two 400-foot-tall skyscrapers in the city. The city is home to The Woodlands Mall and Market Street, providing some of the best shopping in Houston.

The Woodlands is a beautiful city and a major economic center, I encourage you to visit if you are in the area.

Houston's Architecture!

Houston is one of the greatest cities in the world for Architecture and in this post I will explore Houston’s architecture.

Houston’s Architectural variety is impeccable.

I will start with some of Houston’s earliest buildings. The northern section of Downtown is the historic district, also known as Allen’s Landing. This is where Houston’s earliest buildings were built. The Allen Brothers took their boat to the convergence of the Buffalo and White Oak Bayou’s. The original urban plan for Houston, created this area. A wide-road grid, with a City Hall sitting at the current Market Square Park location. Today, this area is the city’s historic district.

The original urban plan also designated a block for the Republic of Texas Capitol. Today, that building burned down in an accidental electrical fire. However, there is still a landmark on that location. The Rice Hotel. A beautiful Building.

 One of Houston’s earliest iconic skyscrapers was the Gulf Building, built in 1929, it was Houston’s tallest building until 1963

The Gulf Building had a tall neighbor about a block away, called the Niels Esperson Building, completed in 1927.

Houston is also home to many other skyscrapers. Pennzoil Place is an award winning, optical illusion skyscraper. Although it appears like one building, it is actually two buildings. It reveals itself as two buildings from certain positions downtown, where you can see a thin line of light separating the two.

Wells Fargo Plaza is a 900 feet postmodern feature buildings downtown.

Two buildings that landmark and shape Houston’s skyline is the Bank of America Center and the Texas Heritage Plaza.

The Bank of America Center has three triangular shapes, accentuating a beautiful line of buildings behind it, including the Wells Fargo Plaza.

Texaco Heritage Plaza, directly faces the west, shaping the western skyline view with the rest of the downtown buildings behind it.

Uptown Houston is home to a truly beautiful building. Combining Post Modern Architecture and Art-Deco Architecture The 900ft Williams Tower Stands tall over Uptown Houston. It is beautiful both in the day and at night. At night, it has a nighttime beacon on the top of the building that can be seen throughout the city.

This blog chronicles my favorites among Houston Architecture. Houston is a great city for Architecture and if you ever visit the town, make sure to check out all of its architectural assets.