- Medical Center Undergoing $2.6M in Landscaping, Pedestrian Improvements [KUHF]
- Libertarian Foundation Study Finds That Roads, Not Transit, Have Helped Reduce Houston Congestion [The Highwayman]
- Houston Police May Start Charging Critical Mass Riders for Escort, Safety Services [Houston Chronicle]
- Astros Looking at Ways to Have More Games with the Roof Open [MLB]
- Construction Update on the Nordstrom Coming to The Woodlands Mall [Isiah Carey’s ‘Insite’]
- A Guide to the 10 Greatest Houses in Houston [Houstonia]
Photo: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
I liked the top 10 Houston homes. I’m sure there are 100’s that people could point out that were missing. Nice to see one of my neighbors in there (William Nash house)
While I am happy that the “Medical Center Undergoing $2.6M in Landscaping, Pedestrian Improvements”, how about fixing the darn roads?! Driving down Main street between Hermann Park and Brays Bayou is like running a obstacle course and not in a good way. It’s amazing that the CoH can’t keep the major roads fixed.
HPD certainly should charge the Bywheeled Terrorists for the havoc they cause. If they want equal rights on the road, they should be equally responsible.
When I first saw the headline on the Chron, I was hoping that they would have to pay in the form of fines for running red lights and stop signs, and for other traffic infractions.
Seriously, any other moving event which uses public streets, ignores traffic signals, and blocks other traffic requires a permit. Why does Critical Mass get a pass? And why do they even encourage riders NOT to apply for a permit? http://critical-mass.info/permit.html
I do not like Critical Mass because it has become more of a big party on bikes than the original movement to raise awareness about cycling and transportation issues (environment, etc.). But, assuming that they were still a protest movement, there is a constitutional issue at work. Municipalities are not allowed to sock protesters with huge bills for public safety in order to quell dissent. But if all the critical mass people are going to do is drink beer and party on bikes, then they should foot the bill for their mobile street party.
A few comments on the ‘reducing congestion’ study:
Published groundrule: “The case studies use only the freeways figure, as the arterial
street analysis, while significant, was far less so than the freeway analysis.â€
Published conclusion: “Accordingly, policymakers who want to reduce traffic congestion should focus on increasing freeway and arterial road capacity and/or reducing vehiclemiles traveled.â€
Better conclusion: “Accordingly, policymakers who want to reduce traffic congestion [on freeways] should focus on increasing freeway ___ ________ ____ capacity and/or reducing vehiclemiles traveled.â€
However, it appears the data only really supports the conclusion that the primary metric employed (TTI) for comparison of transport mode efficiency and congestion is insufficient for transit utilization analysis.
Oh well- when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I love commenters who make up a scenario, then complain that this is why they oppose it. Old School and commonsense never ride Critical Mass, and have no idea what occurs during the rides. However, they fill in the blanks with their own fantasies, and then complain that CM is bad, because their fantasies are bad. Are there a few riders who bring along beverages during the ride? Sure. Is it the majority? Not even close. Most of us are stone cold sober until we end the ride at a local pub. But, why does it matter? Using Old School’s logic, it isn’t a real protest if you enjoy it. That sounds an awful lot like the Ctholic Church’s approach to sex…it is only acceptable if you are procreating. No fun allowed!
Here’s the deal. When Old School, commonsense and other motorists stop killing us cyclists when we ride alone, the cycling community will not feel the need to ride en masse for safety. Or better yet, demand that the City begin building dedicated bike lanes on major streets separated by curbs. In other words, we’ll get off the streets when we have another place to ride.
I’ve ran into the CM crowd several times and they are not peaceful bikers out for a group fun event, they’re a militant wing of the Eco-Terrorist left who think driving a car is tantamount to harpooning whales. You may technically be allowed on the streets but will never be accepted by majority of Houstonians. Every time a biker gets plowed by a driver, the general consensus (and cops report) says “Well, he knew it was dangerous to ride on the street.”
commonsense,
I’m guessing you didn’t realize that Airplane was a comedy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn0WdJx-Wkw
Commonsense….. I commute to work 2 days a week by work. We are all, in some sense, forced by society to live within certain conditions. In Houston we are forced to rely on a car to move around. There are many people who want to change this condition, especially in the inner city where we can bike to many places very quickly. The animosity that you bring to this discussion worries me. I hope that when you see me biking that you do not see me as someone whom is entering your territory and all risks to my well being are simply a product of my own fault. I bike because I want to use less gasoline, have a lower impact on the environment, decrease the wear and tear on our roads (because they are in such terrible shape), work exercise into my daily routine, and finally promote alternative modes of transit. So many people believe that cars are the key to freedom and an indicator of the American dream, and that may have been true 10-50 years ago, but now many view this as simply not the case. I think the government exists to promote freedom and not simply to impose a particular viewpoint of how to live upon its citizens. The citizens have a duty to respect the ways that others choose to live, this includes drivers respecting bikers on the roads. You may not abide by my views but as an American you have a responsibility to respect those views as long as they do not harm you, with harm not being allowed to include inconveniences.
No deal! As long as CM employs radical tactics, I will use the opposite extreme tactics to combat their scourge.
Commonsense. No deal on what? Do you mean that you will use extreme cm opposing tactics on just cm or on all cyclists in the city. Both options seem to be deplorable but the latter seems to be exceptionally so.
Duston- Don’t feed the trolls. Like it or not, but rest assured critical mass has done its job right here, airing out even the most deplorable attitudes among us. Its about awareness, eh?
It so funny to watch the Hypocritical Massholes shoot themselves in the foot on every ride. Promoting awareness by hijacking intersections and doing whatever they want. Yes, we are “aware” the majority of you are self-centered pricks who think laws don’t apply to you. Time for HPD to start handing out tickets.