7 Comment

• luciaphile December 1, 2014 at 9:19 am

  Heard somewhere Luci Baines Johnson relate how, after LBJ’s death, her mother began the process of giving the ranch to the NPS and making west Austin her primary residence. Of the house she ultimately purchased, her daughter said. “Oh Mother, that tree right in front of the door takes up so much room, there’s nowhere to park,” or some such. Replied Lady Bird, “It’s the tree I am buying, not the house.”
• coconutbutter December 1, 2014 at 9:58 am

  My neighbors came over one work day morning at 8AM to knock on my door and tell me to cut down a tree – a tree that’s probably 35 ft tall, obviously planted before my 2 years of homeownership. The reasoning? The branches were over the property line and were going to break her windows. I honestly don’t even know: I looked at the tree and the branches, and no windows were in danger of having a tree branch stab through their windows.
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  I told them they were more than welcome to cut down the branches that they found offensive (again, 35 ft tall – good luck with that) and that I would help them if they needed another hand, but I’m not paying to remove the tree. Since then, the tree has remained untouched (unsurprisingly?).
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  To my knowledge, my neighbors have no affiliation with the Dhananis. ;)
• Duston December 1, 2014 at 7:52 pm

  Does anyone know if the city or the builder is going to fund a red light or some other traffic flow change for the building above Spotts Park? Traffic really backs up there during many points in the day and I have seen more than a few accidents from cars turning left or right from that street and the adjacent apartments.
• matx December 2, 2014 at 5:40 am

  Duston, I don’t know how the city figures out traffic light placement. I think you must have to point out a problem to them and they *might* do a traffic study. The intersection of 43rd and Rosslyn is an accident and near-miss hot spot: designated left turn lanes, but no protected left turn signals, but it isn’t a “major” intersection. If what you describe is not a major intersection, nothing will be done if left to the city alone.
• Purple City December 2, 2014 at 10:58 am

  Be careful what you wish for. You can get a full traffic study including counts, recommendations, etc from a local firm for around $4-5k… but it might not come back recommending a light. If I saw data showing a bunch of accidents from left turns out of Willia to Heights/Waugh, I’d consider the possibility of making it right-only, since you can always use Raymond Street as a U-turn route. That sort of channelization almost always nets a few local complaints, even if it wins from a safety/capacity perspective.
• coconutbutter December 2, 2014 at 11:17 am

  Just read the article about Helping a Hero; hooooly shit. Very, very shady.
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  The lawyer for Helping a Hero also represented Timothy McVeigh. …this is crazy!
• joel December 2, 2014 at 12:41 pm

  pretty sure you have to have a lot more than just a few traffic accidents to get a light set up in Houston. i’d think you probably have to show mutliple fatalities within a given time range. anyone know if there’s a city checklist for this kind of thing?
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  also, don’t presume putting up a stoplight will alleviate the traffic. a lot of office building require security for letting out traffic because they’re too close to intersections and that would be the issue here as there’s not enough traffic to justify holding up the major thoroughfare for this Willia St for long and I doubt the developer has any plans for giving the city a big massive paycheck for a light there. I would say the same as Purple City if safety is the concern, only allow right turns onto Heights. the primary issue here really appears to be the limited number of exit/entry points for the apartment complexes. such a restrictive layout baffles me, but I guess makes sense if you’re a developer looking to maximize your lot.