Perhaps the biggest news over the past few weeks regarding the Houston area built environment has been the struggle over Segment E of the Grand Parkway, which would run through the Katie Prarie. The debate has heated up as the state presses on to use stimulus funds to extend the outer ring road.
Friday March 13
Grand Parkway snarl: Stimulus funds should not be used to build toll roads. Tolls should. [Houston Chronicle] "Fees collected from users should foot the bills for these pay-to-drive roadways, which have come into ever-increasing favor across Texas. Funds to build them should not come from a huge pot of found money such as the stimulus. Those dollars can be put to better use on projects that are equally as necessary as the toll roads but which don't come equipped with their own built-in revenue stream."
SIX MONTHS AFTER HURRICANE: Communities are rebuilding, but the storm is still a part of daily life on the Gulf Coast [Houston Chronicle]
Thursday March 12
BRAYS BAYOU Clutterbuck guiding effort to upgrade bridge replacements [Houston Chronicle] "Clutterbuck said she hopes to create momentum and enthusiasm for the idea of linking neighborhoods along the bayou together in a sort of "community ribbon" of greenspace made accessible for walkers and bikers by the bridges. Adam Weiss, an architect who lives on the bayou and a member of the Braeswood Super Neighborhood, and Jonathon Glus with the Houston Arts Alliance offered suggestions to conduct a design contest. The contest would involve artists, architecture students from Rice University, or even younger art students from Houston Independent School District. Glus gave an example of a bridge in San Diego enhanced with a series of bronze elements on the side that chime when wind passes through them."
CYCLING NOTEBOOK A Strange story on 2 wheels Dobie product finds his calling aboard road bike [Houston Chronicle]
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN District G residents add ideas for projects Complaints led by cut-through traffic and crime [Houston Chronicle]
MONTROSE Management district in the works Legislation pending to create western entity [Houston Chronicle]
EXHIBIT The rise of modern consumer culture Raymond Loewy turned items of need into objects of desire [Houston Chronicle]
The expansion of 23 miles of the Katy Freeway has reduced travel times for drivers, giving them more time at home freeway [Houston Chronicle] "Frank Blake, of the Sierra Club's Houston Regional Group, said the improved commute times still do not make up for the missed opportunity to develop a commuter rail line instead of a wider freeway."
DISTRICT D City plans to extend two area roads Eyed are Kirby Drive, Buffalo Speedway [Houston Chronicle]
Cynthia Woods Pavilion renovation continues with canopy installation Facility undergoing $9.5 million in improvements [Houston Chronicle]
Wednesday March 11
Streamlined plan aims to boost recycling Pilot program will mix paper, plastic and glass [Houston Chronicle]
HURRICANE AFTERMATH It took a 900-foot tanker to find a missing oil rig [Houston Chronicle]
With talk focused on parkway, budget sails to approval COURT: Budget up by $30 million "The court voted two weeks ago to build and maintain a tolled segment of the expressway connecting the Katy Freeway and U.S. 290. On Tuesday, the court approved contracts with 13 engineering companies to design different parts of the roadway and voted to obtain a comprehensive study of the traffic and revenue the segment would generate. The Sierra Club sued the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation on Monday, saying they failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of the proposed 15-mile segment on the Katy Prairie. Brandt Mannchen, the air quality chairman for the group's Texas chapter, said the existing environmental studies do not take into account the fact that 700 acres of the Katy Prairie will be paved over for the road." [Houston Chronicle]
Tuesday March 10
Grand Parkway work stirs dissent Activists are concerned Harris County is rushing new segment to get stimulus funds PARKWAY: Push reportedly began in June [Houston Chronicle]
Monday March 9
Making room for new rail cars [Houston Chronicle]
Sunday March 8
Recession takes its toll on another builder David Powers Homes' business has tapered off along with subprime lending [Houston Chronicle]
Ike's salty floods leach ranches of life Crops and cattle suffer where storm surge left barren fields CATTLE: Statewide drought compounds problems [Houston Chronicle]
State divvies up stimulus for its roads Harris County gets portion for Grand Parkway [Houston Chronicle]
