11 Comment

• turning_basin August 22, 2016 at 9:03 am

  0% chance anything productive happens with money that SJL and Boykins have their hands in. Might as well burn that check.
• WR August 22, 2016 at 9:31 am

  Re: Acres Homes:

  Seems to me that the residents of this area want to keep property owners from doing what they want with their own property …. whatever happened to Houston’s “no-zoning” mantra?
• Anonymous August 22, 2016 at 11:15 am

  Re: Acres Homes, They need to come up with some kind of deed restriction scheme like any other neighborhood. Over the past 25 years or so, I’ve really seen a steadily creeping erosion of Houston’s “no zoning” mantra via lots of little city requirements for setbacks, density, etc.
• Houstonreader August 22, 2016 at 1:20 pm

  From the Texas Monthly piece on dangerous intersections:

  “maybe getting rid of those red light cameras was not such a good idea after all. As StreetBlogs USA notes:

  ‘The HPD data contrasted crash figures from 2006 to 2010 — when the cameras were in operation — and from 2010 to 2014, after they were banned and removed. At the intersections that formerly had cameras, fatal crashes jumped 30 percent. Meanwhile, total crashes were up 116 percent. And DWI crashes nearly tripled, increasing by 186 percent.’

  Houstonians are now safe from $75 fines, but according to the National Coalition for Safer Roads, Houston now carries the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous city in America for red light running.”
• tempeh August 22, 2016 at 2:53 pm

  Re: Park 4 Waste Pits
  “Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle says the park will aim to compensate the people affected by the waste pits, which are near Channelview.”

  I am all for more park space but if they really wanted to “compensate” those affected, why a park so far north? Do you really think residents from Channelview and Highlands are going to drive to Kingwood and then walk/bike to The Woodlands? They could have used the funds to extend the Carpenters Bayou Hike and Bike Trail to finally connect to Gene Green Park, Sheldon Lake State Park, and Summerwood. The waste pits are not even in Cagle’s district anyway. The less resourced residents of east Harris county are losing out again to the benefit of the more affluent that gave them the waste pits to begin with.
• Pffft August 23, 2016 at 12:09 pm

  HoustonReader- 48.721% of all red light camera data numbers are made up or exaggerated.
• Houstonreader August 23, 2016 at 12:37 pm

  Pffft: Are the injuries and deaths made up too?
• Rex August 23, 2016 at 1:10 pm

  So red light cameras are going to stop DWI crashes? How is that relevant? If anything, it shows that there may be another variable that could explain the increases. Plus a large percentage of fatal crashes at intersections are caused by people who dont see the red light. All the cameras do there is get a nice picture of the crash.
• etherist August 23, 2016 at 3:36 pm

  @Houstonreader

  You have to be a little cynical when you read statistic like this: “National Coalition for Safer Roads” sounded to me like an astroturf public advocacy organization, i.e. a front for a special interest. Sure enough, from their website: “NCSR is supported by American Traffic Solutions.”
• Houstonreader August 23, 2016 at 6:56 pm

  @ etherist: the article mention HPD data. Does your conspiracy theory include them too?

  @ Rex: No, red-light cameras will probably have no impact on DWI’s. But then, DWI’s aren’t the only data mentioned there. Have another look and see.
• matx August 24, 2016 at 5:01 pm

  I work about a block west of BW8 and Bissonnet – it is a massive intersection, but people are just stupid.

  There is nothing inherently unsafe except for the drivers who want to beat the red light.