Tag: Parking

Hazards
06/29/09 9:53am

Ditched off Washington Ave.: Nighttime Off-Roading Adventures

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Parking, Rice Military, Streetscapes, Washington Corridor
24 Comments

HAIF poster Htowngirl, who lives near the new Ei8ht nightclub at the corner of Roy St., complains about . . . uh, parking difficulties in her neighborhood. And posts a few photos of an early Sunday morning scene from a few weeks ago:

The parking for Ei8ht in the neighborhood is already horrendous, I can’t even imagine what it will be like when Taps, Busty LaRoue’s, and this new “country” bar open…

Sample of the parking issues… I live a few blocks off Washington, near Ei8ht…the scene outside my house at 3 AM Sunday Morning a few weeks ago. Drunk suburbanite 21-year-old drove into our ditch.

Still there in the morning…

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Crime
06/09/09 3:06pm

Solving the Late-Night Parking Problems at Sunset and Morningside

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Neighborhood Disputes, Nightlife, Parking, Rice Village, Southampton Extension
11 Comments

From the Village News:

“Johns” may be sad to see the Southampton brothel close, but the neighborhood is glad to see the nuisance gone.

The location of Asian Massage Villa, 2401 Sunset at Morningside, appeared vacant after a notice of eviction was served by the property owner. . . .

“Their little driveway was always full at night and people were parking wherever they could. HPD and the city attorney’s office really did a fabulous job with this,” said [Southampton Extension Civic Association President Ann] Hightower. . . .

[The establishment’s] little door was around the side and towards the back on Morningside. There was no sign, just a lighted doorway and some stickers indicating donations to emergency responders.

Photo of 2401 Sunset Blvd.: LoopNet

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Art
05/27/09 11:27am

Houston House and Lot Flipping: Conceptual Art Meets Sharpstown Deed Restrictions

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Development Restrictions, Public Art, Sharpstown
23 Comments

Sure, Mary Ellen Carroll is gonna pick up this Sharpstown lot across from Bayland Park and the house on it and rotate the whole thing 180 degrees. Oh, and then there’s gonna be that hydroponic curtain-wall fencing system and the solar and geothermal systems and the wi-fi cloud and the fancy door hardware and the bees and all. Still gotta meet the local deed restrictions.

Video: Douglas Britt

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Buying and Selling
04/24/09 8:46pm

Redo, Rinse, Repeat: Brun Bungalow, Makeover Magnet

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Hillcrest, Homes for Sale, Parking, Renovations
13 Comments

Some Houston bungalows have to wait years before they can get into rehab, but this dark number on Brun St. has been the recipient of no fewer than 3 makeovers in the last decade.

Carol Isaak Barden bought the house in 2000 “to keep it away from the wrecking ball” — then spent so much “making it perfect,” she says, that she lost money when she sold it the following year.

The buyer, Mark Horn, thought the house was perfect . . . as a new location for his hair salon. So he made a few renovations of his own:

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Midtown
04/24/09 9:43am

Houston Valet

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Parking, Quicklink, Restaurants
10 Comments

HOUSTON VALET Valet parking makes sense in Downtown and Midtown where spaces are scarce, declares Katharine Shilcutt. But for restaurants with plenty of parking nearby, what’s the point? “Crave Sushi is an excellent case in point of a restaurant whose diners simply got fed up with forced valet parking and threatened to stop patronizing them. The owners had originally instituted valet as a means of thwarting Midtown clubgoers who were parking in their lot and then ambling off to Pub Fiction, leaving their Miata in Crave’s lot until 2 a.m. As honorable as their intentions were, however, guests at Crave didn’t appreciate having to pay extra for their meal (especially when Crave was still allowing the clubgoers to park in their lot, but for an additional $15). This week, however, the owners finally rescinded their forced valet following vociferous complaints. Instead, they’ve hired a parking lot manager who ensures that only Crave customers park in the lot. Not ones to eschew extra income, however, they still allow other Midtown patrons to park there for $10.” [Eating Our Words]

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Development Regulations
04/08/09 11:48am

Neighborhoods Not Paying for No Front-Yard Parking Notices

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Landscape, Neighborhood Disputes, Parking, Quicklink
8 Comments

NEIGHBORHOODS NOT PAYING FOR NO FRONT-YARD PARKING NOTICES Civic clubs won’t have to shell out thousands of dollars for postage if they want to apply for a front-yard parking ban after all, the Chronicle‘s Bradley Olson reported last week: “After the neighborhoods balked, the planning department purchased equipment that will allow it — instead of neighborhoods — to send bulk mailings. The department estimates it will pay $15,000 to $20,000 in mailing costs in the first year and $125,000 over five years for the bulk mailing equipment. ‘I’m really excited that the administration listened to the voices of the homeowners and the civic associations,’ said Councilman James Rodriguez, who pushed for city to revise its stance. As of [last] Thursday afternoon, the planning department had received four applications, all from neighborhoods in the Spring Branch area.” [Houston Chronicle, previously in Swamplot]

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Landscape
03/27/09 8:17am

Problems with the Front-Yard Parking Postage Meter

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Neighborhood Disputes, Parking, Quicklink
7 Comments

PROBLEMS WITH THE FRONT-YARD PARKING POSTAGE METER Houston’s opt-in-only front-yard parking ban, which goes into effect next week, is already proving popular with neighborhood groups — but expensive. “The current application requires civic clubs to pay for first-class mailings to every property owner that would fall under the parking ban. ‘We’re seeing whole neighborhoods come in (to apply), like 5,000 residences,’ said Planning Department spokeswoman Suzy Hartgrove. ‘We underestimated the magnitude of the interest in the program. We weren’t fully budgeted for this, and this was a way for neighborhoods to share the cost.’ . . . Sharpstown, for example, has more than 6,800 homes. Informing all the owners through a first-class mailing would cost at least $3,000. Milton Winebrenner, the Sharpstown Civic Association president, said he is asking the city to allow them to do a bulk-rate mailing. Other neighborhood leaders want to know why they cannot use their regular homeowner association newsletter to inform residents.” Or hey, why not just use Swamplot? We’ll post keep-off-your-lawn notices for free! [Houston Chronicle; previously in Swamplot]

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Development Restrictions
03/24/09 9:54am

New West U Buffalo Parkway

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Parking, Quicklink, West University
5 Comments

NEW WEST U BUFFALO PARKWAY “West University Place’s Zoning and Planning Commission recommended a proposal Monday night to be sent to City Council, which includes a zoning ordinance amendment that would allow driveway stubs and parking areas in front of homes on Buffalo Speedway. A 2003 amendment allowed such driveways on Kirby, Bellaire/Holcombe and Bissonnet, but not Buffalo Speedway. Upon moving to West University Place from the Champions area, [Belma] de Berardinis immediately forecasted a traffic snarl in front of her home and tore up her front lawn with the intent of building a paved maneuvering area. City officials delivered the news that, under West U. law, this was not permitted. De Berardinis had the lawn replaced and every morning . . . confronted angry motorists as she made the dangerous drive in reverse onto traffic.” [West University Examiner]

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Attractions
02/27/09 9:27am

The AstroLot: Houston’s Newest Transit Hub

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Parking, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Reliant Park, Tourism, Transportation
2 Comments

THE ASTROLOT: HOUSTON’S NEWEST TRANSIT HUB Another scene from the active afterlife of the former theme park: “The 150 acre lot formerly known as Astroworld has been empty for a while, but is expected to be packed on Friday when it will be available for rodeo parking. . . . Lighting towers will be brought in and parts of the property not suitable for parking, such as areas with holes in the ground, will be marked off. There will be entrances along the 610 feeder between Kirby and Fannin and exits off of Belfort. After the rodeo, all entrances will be used as exits so all traffic will flow out of the lot. There are only about 12,000 parking spaces on the actual rodeo site. Officials welcome the new 5,000 space parking opportunity. . . . The lot is not paved and is bumpy, two factors that do not bother some rodeo patrons. . . . ‘We think it’s great that people will be able to cross the bridge and it will bring back memories of when Astroworld was here,’ [Andi Devera of the Fazeli Group, owners of the leasing rights] said. The Astrolot opens this Friday.” [abc13; previously]

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Art
02/19/09 11:47am

Openings and Closings: Galleria Gallery, Paulie’s Retreat, Not Mulch More

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Furniture, Long Point, Museum District, Openings and Closings, Parking, Restaurants, Retail, Southgate
7 Comments

So what’s new?

  • Opening: There’s a big new Gallery Furniture taking over the old Pier One space in the Post Oak Shopping Center, across from the Galleria. Isiah Carey notes that there’s a (much smaller) “coming soon” sign out front. Also coming to the strip from Mattress Mack: a new and more upscale Kreiss Furniture store, where Pier One Kids used to be.
  • Closed: Paulie’s restaurant reports receiving an undisclosed “offer we couldn’t refuse” to close its Holcombe at Kirby location, and dutifully complied on Monday. The original Paulie’s, on Westheimer at Driscoll, will remain open.
  • Hoping to Spread: And Katharine Shilcutt reports that Otilia’s Mexican restaurant, the longtime Long Point standout, now “a bastion of the upper class yuppies who reside quietly in the nearby Memorial Villages and wash down their rice and beans with bottles of Merlot,” isn’t closing, despite rumors she had heard. But:

    it turns out instead that Otilia’s is actively seeking to franchise their restaurant. A bright sign by the register blinked this advertisement every five seconds as we ate, while the waitresses sullenly confirmed this fact.

Then there’s that Main St. mulch . . .

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Landscape
01/29/09 2:51pm

Front Yard Parking Ban: If You Want It, Here It Is

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Lawn Care, Parking
12 Comments

Been worried that those neighbors of yours have been ruining the delicate balance of petroleum-based fertilizers in their grass with slow oil leaks?

Help is on the way! City Council has passed an amendment to Houston’s parking ordinance that will allow neighborhoods to apply individually for local 20-year bans on front-yard parking.

Signatures of 60 percent of a neighborhood’s residents are required to enact a ban, and restrictions can be appealed. But Intermodality blogger Christof Spieler, who’s been following lawn-parking-ban efforts for some time, notes neighborhoods that don’t have fussy deed restrictions already in place might want to think twice before signing up:

This new version also allows for the use of permeable paving. But it does not address the other problem: ultimately, this is an incentive to pave more. If your neighborhood opts in, you won’t be able to park on your front lawn. But, unless there’s a specific deed restriction in place against it, you’ll be able to pave your front lawn and the park there.

Photo: Flickr user herbinhouston

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Downtown
01/08/09 7:57am

Flexible Downtown Parking: $25

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Parking
7 Comments

Feeding the meter won’t help you avoid a parking ticket Downtown anymore, thanks to a change in Houston parking regulations that passed City Council yesterday:

Drivers who stay beyond the posted limit will get a ticket, even if they have paid for additional time or have bought the all-day “Downtown Hopper” pass. The stricter ordinance also includes a provision making it clear that no one else can feed the meter for you.

How they gonna catch you? By tracking your license plate. The fine for overstaying coin-bought welcomes? $25.

The new rules are set to go into effect after a 1-month “grace period.”

Photo: Flickr user wandayuen2001

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Commercial Real Estate
12/29/08 12:02pm

Heights Village: It Was All Just a Good Old Fashioned Dream

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Development Strategy, Houston Heights, Mixed Use, Parking, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Washington Corridor
20 Comments

Here’s something we can all feel tingly and nostalgic about: Developer Bobby Orr’s Heights-ish fantasy — of brand-new old-timey storefronts facing long streetside parking lots off Yale St. and Heights Blvd. just south of I-10 — is dead. The Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff drops news of the demise of the Heights Village dream as an aside to her update on the stalled-out High Street development.

The entire 4.9-acre property, across Heights Blvd. from the ArtCar Museum, is back on the market, at $75 a square foot.

Sadly, Cushman & Wakefield’s listing for the property doesn’t include any misty watercolors to memorialize what might have been. But Swamplot remembers! Here’s a brief trip down invented-memory lane . . . in 3 quick images:

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Houston Heights
11/10/08 1:45pm

Making Room for a Strip Center on Heights Blvd.

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Parking, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Retail, Strip Centers
20 Comments

1101 Heights Blvd., Houston Heights

A Heights-area reader alarmed by the “Notice of Public Hearing” sign that appeared in front of the 100-plus-year-old converted home at the northeast northwest corner of Heights Blvd. and 11th St. has done some sleuthing and sends Swamplot a report:

No, the 1903 Victorian at 1101 Heights Blvd. won’t be torn down . . . the owner has received approval from the historic commission to move the building one lot to the north. And then to jack it up a few more feet, so cars can be parked underneath. Why hadn’t the Victorians thought of that?

Why the need for parking? To accommodate the brand-new strip center the developer wants to slide in between the new location for the home and the corner, facing 11th St. On the corner itself: Parking.

One observer who’s seen the plans says the house will end up “awfully close” to the back of the strip center. The developer apparently has promised to “restore” the home, though it may be leased out as office space. The project is scheduled to go before the planning commission a week from this Thursday: November 20th.

More photos from the scene:

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