TAKING THE “A” STREETS: NEW RULES FOR HOUSTON’S RAIL TRANSIT CORRIDORS Does your street intersect one of the new light-rail lines within a quarter-mile of a proposed station? If so, it’s now called an “A” Street, and the Urban Corridors Ordinance, which City Council approved yesterday, has some new development restrictions and exemptions that affect it, effective immediately: “The ordinance will mandate six-foot sidewalks near stations while increasing the citywide sidewalk standard from four feet to five feet. The ordinance creates an incentive program to entice developers to build more livable, walkable, and urban places. In return, the developers will be exempted from the 25-foot setback required in the rest of the city, allowing them to build on a greater percentage of land.” [Houston Tomorrow]
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And the closer to the station your property is, be ready for METRO to condemn your property and sell it to a developer.
METRO is no longer a transit agency, it’s a government development vehicle. If it was a transit agency, they wouldn’t be slashing bus service to neighborhoods that need it.
We have a city sidewalk standard? That’s kind of amusing considering how many streets don’t even have sidewalks.
And the closer to the station your property is, be ready for METRO to condemn your property and sell it to a developer.
METRO is no longer a transit agency, it’s a government development vehicle. If it was a transit agency, they wouldn’t be slashing bus service to neighborhoods that need it.
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Bottom line of Metro is its main priority is the developers. The rail lines are going where the developers want them. Not where the people need them to be.
Metro claims there will be no condemnation along the Richmond line. It will be interesting to see where they are planning to put the track since there really is no median and quite a few buildings are literally sitting on the sidewalks.
I guess for the moment, well, it sounds good. No doubt everyone will know when construction is about to begin when Metro mails the condemnation notices.
The properties along Richmond that will be affected because of needed right of way have been given noticed and this has been known for some time. Most takings will occur from Shepherd to the SH 527 Spur since METRO has agreed not to eliminate any road capacity on Richmond.
The condemnation powers I mentioned is METRO ability to condemn property near stations to flip to a developer under the guise of economic improvements.
I think this is great news. Hopefully much of the development along the new rail lines will be pedestrian friendly. Yay for no 25 foot setback requirements!
From what I have read elsewhere Metro is claiming there will be no condemnation but then only fools at this point would believe anything Metro says. And of course they will flip the land to developers. Which is why the rail is going down Richmond. It’s a gold mine in the making for the developers. Far more than the Main Street line. Although that is just now beginning to really be developed by Camden and soon by others no doubt.