UPTOWN TRAFFIC GRID “As we all know, traffic is incomparably worse in Uptown than it is in Downtown. Downtown has more of everything: more streets, more freeways, more transit, more pedestrian use. The most important part, though, is that Downtown has the grid, and Uptown does not. Uptown is a lot less dense than Downtown, and yet it’s reaching a breaking point. There are critically few ways in and out, and even though those are mega-roads, they concentrate traffic BY DESIGN rather than diffusing traffic as the grid does. If Uptown had a fine-grained local street grid the traffic there would be a fraction of what it is today, but it’s too late to put in a grid now. The best we can hope for is for benevolent developers to include new connecting streets to break up some of the super-blocks when they come up for redevelopment.” [NeoHouston]
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I forgot, where’s Uptown?
Galleria area.
It’s at the corner where Traffic meets Sucks at W. Rush Hour Loop (not that I’m bitter or anything).
The solution is: personal jet-packs! And they’d look really cool zooming among all those shiny Jestson-era stainless steel arches and loops and zig-zaggy street light poles.
And that is why I ended up buying in Midtown instead of Uptown.
The Uptown TIRZ and District are actively working to build a grid in Uptown. Much of it will be funded by existing and new developments by the TIRZ funds and not from the general taxpayer base. The link below is to a list of maps. Click on the connecting community map. It is their planned addition of grid style layout to uptown.
http://www.uptown-houston.com/info/maps.html#
It’ll take existing private access roads and convert some to public streets.
Obviously the solution is to widen Westheimer.
Widen Westheimer until it merges to the north with I-10. That should settle the congestion problem, ie: no pesky homeowners to clog the roads.
Widen Westheimer until it merges to the north with I-10. That should settle the congestion problem, ie: no pesky homeowners to clog the roads.
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Keep thinking like that and you might find yourself with a job at TXDoT.
I always laugh at people that make silly comments about the “people at TxDOT”.
It’s especially fun to do it at public comments meetings. They end up realizing how silly their comments are.
I know a lot of the engineers at TxDOT. They are evil people who love to go around pouring concrete everywhere.
TxDOT’s unimodal solutions are guided by our state constitution. They can’t do anything else unless instructed to do so. Rail is a private venture or the nature of local transit agencies (that are completely separate from TxDOT).
While the joke is tongue-n-cheek, it just as insulting comments made in other topics that started heated debates.
It’s easy to pick on TxDOT because to most people it just a few letters in a government agency name or some guys on the road side putting up cones.
I humbly apologize to all past and present employees of TxDot. I will now rewrite my wisecrack in a new, politically-correct form:
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Keep thinking like that and you might find yourself with a job with one of various local, state, and national governmental bodies and/or lobbying groups and thinktanks that believe all transportation problems can be solved by widening roads and freeways.
(Not quite as pithy, but still hilarious, right?!)
Actually, Westheimer itself moves fairly quickly considering. I don’t know that widening it would be the answer. I think increasing the number of east/west streets between say Richmond and San Felipe/Woodway would make the difference.
I can get in and out of there very easily and quickly, but I know all the little back streets. However, those little backstreets are not currently designed to handle any significant traffic.
Widen Westheimer to I-10, yes, but then turn it into a toll road for that total regional mobility experience.
Good job RWB. If we’re supposed to watch some people’s feeling, we should watch all people’s feelings….
EMME is right about Westheimer. West of Sage, it moves quite well and handles traffic with ease. Signal timing helped even more. The next big thing on Westheimer will actually be out at Beltway 8. A planned underpass for the through traffic on Westheimer will allow motorist to avoid the light at the Beltway feeder roads. Think of 1960 at SH 249 and I-45. Or even Main and Fannin at Holcombe.
Don’t forget there’s lightrail planned for “Uptown.” It may worsen the car congestion but it should move a whole lot of people.