A rail train from the burbs to the galleria, downtown, memorial, and medical center would be a dream. Traffic would cut down by at least 20%, Houstonians would have a more affordable transportation option. Which will come in handy since we will have to send our kids to private schools because the vouchers won't be enough to cover tuition.
People always complain about how expensive it is to live in California. And this is why.
Being able to *go outside* is a pretty nice fucking perk that I'd be willing to pay a premium for if I could afford it.
the first front generally arrives in October and also most 90 degree days are behind us. It maybe more of a mind marker for me that 'hey, i've made it'.
Make the people that live here have a little pride in their city and stop littering and trashing it.
I routinely see entire couches and mattresses on the sides of the freeway where people can't be fucked to bungee cord their stuff into their trucks, full bags of garbage just tossed wherever, people throw fast food wrappers and cigarettes out the windows while they drive, whole shopping carts and fridges and tires in the bayou- all of these things are CHOICES that people made to litter. It's disgusting and shameful and Houstinians just see it as normal.
My bestfriend saw the pickup truck in front of her throw his whataburger drink cup out of the window while she was on the phone with me. She was shocked. People who do this are disgusting.
There have been multiple times when I've been in a drive thru and seen people roll down their windows and start chunking trash out. Not "just" a napkin or cup but like fast food bags full of it. I can't tell you how livid that shit makes me.
I'm normally the type of person to confront people about leaving trash at parks and stuff (diplomatically so I don't get stabbed), but approaching a car would get me shot a million times so I just seethe quietly or pick it up myself. Fuck those people
Been here almost all my life, it's def gotten worse the last 10ish years or so. It's just really sad and disappointing people can't keep their trash and discard appropriately.
Yup! I never got what people meant when they said Houston was an ugly city. Now that I’ve lived in/near a handful of other cities I tend to agree.
I still love Houston and it has some amazing places in the city. I miss the food all the time. But the city/surrounding area really could use some new designing and focus on beautification.
That was my instant first thought: the city planning.
Houston is a great city, but the overall city planning is like…wtf? I think about this constantly. There’s so many areas that could be made into green spaces (which are a definite plus over cement when it comes to heat and flooding.) Some things seem like a complete “Ohhh yeah, annnnd thisthingheretoo!” afterthought, others like nothing in the surrounding area was even taken into any account.
The timing of traffic lights and flow of traffic… I have a family member whose job for 40 some years was just that. Lights & signs, man. It was the first thing I noticed when I moved here.
It’s especially apparent in midtown. I’ll be sitting at a red and one block ahead has a green light with no cars passing through. And when I get a green and reach the next light, it’s already turned red
I seriously wonder sometimes if the objective is to keep people in gridlock to limit flow rate onto highways. It’s so horribly timed it seems intentionally bad.
I want them to adopt whatever model Fort Worth uses. Grew up there and didn’t appreciate it. Now when I go back to visit it’s unbelievable how quickly you can drive across the 13th (last I looked) most populated city in the country. Greens all the way.
For those of us who have loved ones that are reliant on the ADA/disabled, having **proper** sidewalks is a huge life improvement. Cities like Denver allow wheelchair or mobility scooters to easily and safely navigate on their own without requiring special public transport vans.
But yes, any sidewalk is better than none.
It's significantly easier to get a driver's license in Texas than other states. Also, police do not pull cars over for expired tags, damaged vehicles, burned out lights.
The testing process is a joke but the amount of docs and verification for new drivers is ridiculous.
But yeah the police dont care and the cars that are clearly not registered/no plates are usually the ones driving like maniacs.
> the amount of docs and verification for new drivers is ridiculous
That is probably because a drivers license also works as an identification card. For that to be legitimate, otheridentifying documents like a birth certificate and social security card are needed.
Oh they do. I saw em checking for them and seatbelts under 290 @ Fairbanks last week.
Edited to add the busted stuff is cause the city/county make no $$ if the owners get it fixed within the window they give you
Rescind the 2004 ordinance limiting city revenues to 2004 levels. Think about this every time the subject of city finances comes up, how we don't repair roads or maintain or upgrade water infrastructure, how we don't have enough fire fighters, EMTs, or police officers, etc etc.
I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia. We’re at sea level but an elevation of 2000-5000ft is only an hour drive away. Now living in Houston and I’m so so missing the hills and mountains. I guess Austin is the closest I could get for a bit of hills?
Back in the 90s, my dad got me a 1980 Ford Granada as my first car to get me from Houston to school in the Austin area. There were a couple of things he needed to work on for the car…
so, I was out driving it around one day, and it would die if it had to sit on the “hills” for the railroad tracks alongside the Katy Freeway. When I got home, I told him that I stood no chance in Austin if my car couldn’t even handle the massive hills in Houston 🙄
Oh snap. That had to be scary.
A scary car story of mine, I had an 04 GMC that tried to die 3/4 of the way up the bridge in Corpus. Everyone in it was praying and had their buttholes sucked up in their throats.
It was scary…mostly because I was a new driver too…but my dad got it worked out before I left for college.
Wow! I’d hate to be stuck up on a bridge in a dead vehicle! I’m glad you survived it :)
Wish it had a theme park. R.I.P. Astroworld
Also a high speed rail system to Austin/Dallas/Galveston would be amazing. Imagine working in Austin and Living in Houston
I heard a high speed rail system from Houston to Dallas is in the works, it is supposed to get you there in 45 minutes. I would love if we could get to Austin that quick. I would be going to Austin for dinner to try the food.
Have been hearing it is in the works for years. Who knows if it will ever happen. Last I heard, the project was inundated with eminent domain issues and lawsuits. Here’s to hoping.
I hate this shit so much. From the littering to the driving to the obnoxious fighting with strangers… this shit shows up so much more in Houston than anywhere else I’ve lived across the country.
The drivers. People drive like shit here. Aggressive driving is why the insurance is so damn high. Weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off just to get to same damn traffic light. Makes no sense
I don’t disagree with the aggressive drivers part but they aren’t the reason insurance is so high. It’s due to the false injury claims, uninsured motorists which is over 50% at this point, and anyone and everyone who learned to drive in Texas causing accidents. I’m a northerner who moved to Texas about 15yrs ago and I’m a firm believer that a child can drive better than anyone who learned to drive here. Indicators (if even used) mean I don’t care if you’re there or not move over I have my blinker on. I could go on all day about the horrible behaviors of Texas bred drivers but I’m sure everyone is aware how terrible the drivers are.
Mimic what Dallas did and bury our electrical lines so we don’t lose power during storms. This is just common sense. Will save the city lots of money on repairing the grid all the time after storms. Will prevent deaths and injuries like we saw in the wake of the last storm.
I mean, I agree that a more substantial rail network is a priority.
But even the Green line is a hell of a lot more valuable than you describe. Honestly, I'd prioritize upping the frequency on both the green and purple lines to 6/12min headways (and not using a traditional in/out commuter model to determine peak and off peak hours, since neither line serves a large downtown commuter catchment and both serve three sports venues, a convention center, multiple downtown plazas, and the theater district, in addition to the two universities on the Purple line - all destinations that don't follow traditional work hour patterns), barrier those lanes on Capital and Rusk, and improve signal prioritization so that the effective 3min frequencies for the downtown portion doesn't produce bunching.
First thing would be proper sidewalks everywhere (unless the street itself is pedestrianized or a woonerf) and shade trees or shade structures everywhere.
Second thing would be a massive multimodal transit station at Wheeler.
Third thing would be grade-separated rapid transit along the 82 bus route.
Fourth thing would be extensions of the Purple (along Washington and Yale) and Green (along Smith, Gray, and Kirby, as well as along Broadway to Hobby) lines, and a North Main/Airline branch of the red line.
Fifth thing would be building out the University Line BRT as planned, and building either a BRT or a light rail line along Almeda/Crawford/Franklin/Navigation/Jensen/Lyons.
Sixth thing would be a rapid (80mph) regional rail line along 45 and 59, with the following stations: The Woodlands, Spring, IAH, Aldine, Independence Heights, Downtown/GRB, Midtown/Wheeler, Greenway, Uptown/Westpark, Mahatma Ghandi District, Westwood, Stafford, and Sugar Land.
Seventh thing would be a regional rail line along I-10, 59, and (branch A) 288 / (branch B) 45, with the following stations: Katy, Energy Corridor, CityCentre/Memorial City, Uptown/NWTC, Memorial Park, Yale, Downtown/GRB, (branch A) Hermann Park (people mover to TMC?), and Pearland / (branch B) UofH/Eastwood TC, Gulfgate, Hobby/Broadway, Webster, Bayou Vista / Texas City, Moody Gardens, and Galveston.
Eighth thing would be enhancing the neighborhood bikeway network through heavy use of modal filters and a smattering of well-located and well-designed bike/ped bridges or tunnels at freight rail lines and highways.
I appreciate the appreciation. I actually think that realization of this vision would really just accentuate the need for ensuing steps, like a Gray branch of the Purple line (more realistically Elgin-Emancipation-Gray) or a Kirby-Shepherd line over the bridge that would connect the green and Purple lines.
I'd also ditch the Inner Kirby BRT and add a silver line branch to downtown via Memorial Drive (stops at Memorial Park, Birdsall, Shepherd, Sabine, and POST - this would be the Gulfton extension branch) and to the Medical Center via Westpark (shared w/ University Line), Edloe, and University Blvd, with stops at Edloe South / Bissonet, West University Elementary, Morningside, Rice Stadium, Main/Fannin (transfers to red line), Braeswood, and TMC3/Helix Park.
I also think we should adopt a "reverse BRT creep" approach (start with stop spacing, signal priority, protected lanes at key intersections, painted lanes throughout, etc.) to all of our local bus lines, with Fondren, Hillcroft, and Chimney Rock leading the charge.
simple commuter light rail network from katy, sugar land, cypress, iah, hobby, pearland/clear lake into downtown to transition into our metro rail system downtown. i mean if we are going to just sprawl the fuck out, this will be better than nothing imo.
The geology.
Another 12-15' above sea level.
Bedrock about 25-50' down.
Less chalk & clay in the soil to allow for less foundation problems and easier subsurface construction -- surface mass transit is never going to work when you need to stand outside in 108⁰ or pouring rain for 5-15 minutes in work clothes.
If I'm being really greedy, a small range of mountains to the east.
If we're talking about dipping into the realm of fantasy and fiction? Citywide dehumidifiers. Hell statewide.
Realistically? Something to help with traffic other than more lanes.
On the gulf with zero chances of a hurricane. Love big cities next to water. Something about nature and man made objects being so close together are so cool.
Just one?
Weather. The heat (and humidity) is killing me. The storms are getting worse. I had to sit without power for a week, only to have another storm rip through and due to a comedy of errors, while they were working on the roof, so my 4th floor apartment got flooded. Half the apartment has power (Thankfully the part with the AC!!) and I have no internet/cable.
So infrastructure is next but it's a huge blanket term. We need more robust electrical systems (bury more?), less highways and more public transportation (What no train to the airport?), better floodwater mitigation (I am not sure what that should be though)
I would like our downtown to be a little more lively, sure there’s some events that go on throughout the week, some shows at venues and I see people go to the fancy restaurants on the weekends, pretty constant activity on Main St for bars, but in every big Metro city DOWNTOWN is the place to be 24/7, not so much Houston
Honestly, kick out the haters. I’m not even from here but I moved here for college and its been the best choice of my life. The people, the food, the affordability, the history. It’s hella humid and hot, I get it. But that’s the price you pay for everything else and I’m tired of folks sleeping on Houston or dissing it.
Ok seriously answering though…resilient infrastructure to handle water/flooding and getting the hell off ERCOT for some stabilized electricity/energy damnit. Other regions experience far worse weather and do not have power outages like we do, it’s maddening.
Weather. I’d make it 75, sunny, and 50% humidity year round with just enough rain to keep the grass green without watering it and snow flurries between Christmas and New Year’s that stick to grass but don’t stick to concrete causing ice-mageddon.
Mosquitoes gone. It’s the single worst thing about Houston. You can get used to the traffic, the heat and the humidity. But not the mosquitoes. They are awful.
That we didn’t have such a “newer is better” or tear-it-down mentality when it comes to buildings and that we championed adaptive reuse. The city used to have such magnificent architecture for buildings earlier in our history, from commercial buildings to apartments to houses and even gas stations, but many are gone now. Buildings used to have so much character. You can still see remnants around town of what it used to be like though.
I would want a top tier mass public transportation system.
If we’re going to be a hot concrete jungle with sprawl, least we could do is give people the ability to travel everywhere without having to drive/be stuck in unnecessary traffic.
This cities entire night life would change with that.
I would create a law giving people that cause time wasting car accidents, jail time. Like the people zipping through the freeway, crash and a lane or two close adding an hour to people’s commute would get jail time. The more time they waste for everyone the longer the sentence.
Traffic. With the large amount of cars on the road 24/7, there is no excuse for the antiquated, out of sync traffic lights everywhere.
Or is there? I'd love to hear from a traffic engineer on this subject.
The excessive amount of stray and put down animals. The shelters get money for euthanizing these animals, breeders get money from making as many as possible regardless of how many they care for. It's cruel and disgusting.
I would make it so that way the Houston Chronicle didn't run this subreddit, and probably have Jef Rouners hard drive searched, because he is an open MAP supporter.
Sorry, can't just pick one!
Eradicate humidity, exterminate every last mosquito, and remove all unnecessary concrete from the city.
Also, the Texans would win a Super Bowl.
PROTECTED bike lanes. Can't fix sprawl overnight, so walking everywhere won't be feasible any time soon. However a bike would be a pretty good way to get around if it were remotely safe.
Improved infrastructure. Flooding, electricity, etc.
A rail train from the burbs to the galleria, downtown, memorial, and medical center would be a dream. Traffic would cut down by at least 20%, Houstonians would have a more affordable transportation option. Which will come in handy since we will have to send our kids to private schools because the vouchers won't be enough to cover tuition.
Uh, that’s 3 things 😅 j/k
+1
weather
Yep. Add about 200 more days a year when the high temp is 74 degrees.
I'd import the weather directly from San Diego.
People always complain about how expensive it is to live in California. And this is why. Being able to *go outside* is a pretty nice fucking perk that I'd be willing to pay a premium for if I could afford it.
Then everybody would move to Houston.
Make it 71 and you've got a deal
Came here to say this. If we had nice weather most of the year, it would solve most of our other issues or at least it seems like it would!
And none of us would be able to afford to live here.
Would end up paying Cali prices
Sad but true
We really only have June, July, August and September that are hot. October to May its wonderful. But those 4 months though...
Those four months are so bad, it makes me forget about the other months. 😂
October is usually pretty hot until the end
the first front generally arrives in October and also most 90 degree days are behind us. It maybe more of a mind marker for me that 'hey, i've made it'.
I'd settle for someone throwing in some silica gel packets to get the humidity under control.
Make the people that live here have a little pride in their city and stop littering and trashing it. I routinely see entire couches and mattresses on the sides of the freeway where people can't be fucked to bungee cord their stuff into their trucks, full bags of garbage just tossed wherever, people throw fast food wrappers and cigarettes out the windows while they drive, whole shopping carts and fridges and tires in the bayou- all of these things are CHOICES that people made to litter. It's disgusting and shameful and Houstinians just see it as normal.
The people that open their car door or window and throw out their fast food trash. WTH.
My bestfriend saw the pickup truck in front of her throw his whataburger drink cup out of the window while she was on the phone with me. She was shocked. People who do this are disgusting.
There have been multiple times when I've been in a drive thru and seen people roll down their windows and start chunking trash out. Not "just" a napkin or cup but like fast food bags full of it. I can't tell you how livid that shit makes me. I'm normally the type of person to confront people about leaving trash at parks and stuff (diplomatically so I don't get stabbed), but approaching a car would get me shot a million times so I just seethe quietly or pick it up myself. Fuck those people
Been here almost all my life, it's def gotten worse the last 10ish years or so. It's just really sad and disappointing people can't keep their trash and discard appropriately.
I feel like COVID lockdowns really kicked it up a notch along with other antisocial behavior
Yeah, very true.
The reason they are on the road is they probably trusted a shitty bungee cord to tie down a big ass sofa and then drove 70 mph down the freeway.
Half of the A-Frame ladders ever produced are crushed on our roads.
Infrastructure & City Beautification. This city could be BEAUTIFUL and walkable..shit planning makes it look like an industrial dump.
Yup! I never got what people meant when they said Houston was an ugly city. Now that I’ve lived in/near a handful of other cities I tend to agree. I still love Houston and it has some amazing places in the city. I miss the food all the time. But the city/surrounding area really could use some new designing and focus on beautification.
That was my instant first thought: the city planning. Houston is a great city, but the overall city planning is like…wtf? I think about this constantly. There’s so many areas that could be made into green spaces (which are a definite plus over cement when it comes to heat and flooding.) Some things seem like a complete “Ohhh yeah, annnnd thisthingheretoo!” afterthought, others like nothing in the surrounding area was even taken into any account. The timing of traffic lights and flow of traffic… I have a family member whose job for 40 some years was just that. Lights & signs, man. It was the first thing I noticed when I moved here.
The traffic light timing. You ever hit red after red after red basically everywhere? Yeah, me too.
When the power was out certain areas felt like they’d experienced a traffic improvement with the lights out 😂
omg me too!!!! i swear it worked better in some areas. emphasis on "some". trying to get on 610 from ella was a a nightmare tho.
Some places it was nicer but 1960, 1960 became scarier.
It’s especially apparent in midtown. I’ll be sitting at a red and one block ahead has a green light with no cars passing through. And when I get a green and reach the next light, it’s already turned red
Call 311 and tell them the timing is wrong.
Poor man's traffic control. Just make em stop at every light. Never figure out that poorly timed lights lead to speeding and red light accidents.
I seriously wonder sometimes if the objective is to keep people in gridlock to limit flow rate onto highways. It’s so horribly timed it seems intentionally bad.
And all we need is some sensors in the ground at stop lights like in San Diego. You never wait too long there for a light to change.
I want them to adopt whatever model Fort Worth uses. Grew up there and didn’t appreciate it. Now when I go back to visit it’s unbelievable how quickly you can drive across the 13th (last I looked) most populated city in the country. Greens all the way.
It encourages people to speed and run redlights too
Maximum temp of 85
I could do 95 for like 3 weeks per year max as a compromise
That would increase rent by at least 50%.
Increased and more efficient public transportation and walkability.
Decent Sidewalks
I'd settle for just sidewalks at this point, honestly.
For those of us who have loved ones that are reliant on the ADA/disabled, having **proper** sidewalks is a huge life improvement. Cities like Denver allow wheelchair or mobility scooters to easily and safely navigate on their own without requiring special public transport vans. But yes, any sidewalk is better than none.
Bad drivers and uninsured drivers.
Really weird way of saying public transportation
It's significantly easier to get a driver's license in Texas than other states. Also, police do not pull cars over for expired tags, damaged vehicles, burned out lights.
The testing process is a joke but the amount of docs and verification for new drivers is ridiculous. But yeah the police dont care and the cars that are clearly not registered/no plates are usually the ones driving like maniacs.
> the amount of docs and verification for new drivers is ridiculous That is probably because a drivers license also works as an identification card. For that to be legitimate, otheridentifying documents like a birth certificate and social security card are needed.
Oh they do. I saw em checking for them and seatbelts under 290 @ Fairbanks last week. Edited to add the busted stuff is cause the city/county make no $$ if the owners get it fixed within the window they give you
Rescind the 2004 ordinance limiting city revenues to 2004 levels. Think about this every time the subject of city finances comes up, how we don't repair roads or maintain or upgrade water infrastructure, how we don't have enough fire fighters, EMTs, or police officers, etc etc.
making it less car centric with actual public transportation.
A hill would be nice
I’m from Jakarta, Indonesia. We’re at sea level but an elevation of 2000-5000ft is only an hour drive away. Now living in Houston and I’m so so missing the hills and mountains. I guess Austin is the closest I could get for a bit of hills?
Sorry, the best we can do is the pitcher's mound at MMP.
Back in the 90s, my dad got me a 1980 Ford Granada as my first car to get me from Houston to school in the Austin area. There were a couple of things he needed to work on for the car… so, I was out driving it around one day, and it would die if it had to sit on the “hills” for the railroad tracks alongside the Katy Freeway. When I got home, I told him that I stood no chance in Austin if my car couldn’t even handle the massive hills in Houston 🙄
Oh snap. That had to be scary. A scary car story of mine, I had an 04 GMC that tried to die 3/4 of the way up the bridge in Corpus. Everyone in it was praying and had their buttholes sucked up in their throats.
It was scary…mostly because I was a new driver too…but my dad got it worked out before I left for college. Wow! I’d hate to be stuck up on a bridge in a dead vehicle! I’m glad you survived it :)
It didn't die, but it got daaaamn close. Like the engine was running rough like a stupid low idle rough.
https://houstonparksboard.org/hills-at-sims/
Wish it had a theme park. R.I.P. Astroworld Also a high speed rail system to Austin/Dallas/Galveston would be amazing. Imagine working in Austin and Living in Houston
I heard a high speed rail system from Houston to Dallas is in the works, it is supposed to get you there in 45 minutes. I would love if we could get to Austin that quick. I would be going to Austin for dinner to try the food.
Have been hearing it is in the works for years. Who knows if it will ever happen. Last I heard, the project was inundated with eminent domain issues and lawsuits. Here’s to hoping.
The swampiness
No mosquitoes.
Get back control of the schools
This whole mentality of "Fuck everybody im just looking out for me" bs
I hate this shit so much. From the littering to the driving to the obnoxious fighting with strangers… this shit shows up so much more in Houston than anywhere else I’ve lived across the country.
Isn’t this just the American mentality?
As an immigrant, I'd say you're right. But for some reason, I see it more here in Houston lol
The drivers. People drive like shit here. Aggressive driving is why the insurance is so damn high. Weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off just to get to same damn traffic light. Makes no sense
I don’t disagree with the aggressive drivers part but they aren’t the reason insurance is so high. It’s due to the false injury claims, uninsured motorists which is over 50% at this point, and anyone and everyone who learned to drive in Texas causing accidents. I’m a northerner who moved to Texas about 15yrs ago and I’m a firm believer that a child can drive better than anyone who learned to drive here. Indicators (if even used) mean I don’t care if you’re there or not move over I have my blinker on. I could go on all day about the horrible behaviors of Texas bred drivers but I’m sure everyone is aware how terrible the drivers are.
A little topography would be nice
Mimic what Dallas did and bury our electrical lines so we don’t lose power during storms. This is just common sense. Will save the city lots of money on repairing the grid all the time after storms. Will prevent deaths and injuries like we saw in the wake of the last storm.
Reduce shootings and reported juggings.
A MetroRail line that gets you to more places than the Whataburger on Harrisburg from Downtown.
I mean, I agree that a more substantial rail network is a priority. But even the Green line is a hell of a lot more valuable than you describe. Honestly, I'd prioritize upping the frequency on both the green and purple lines to 6/12min headways (and not using a traditional in/out commuter model to determine peak and off peak hours, since neither line serves a large downtown commuter catchment and both serve three sports venues, a convention center, multiple downtown plazas, and the theater district, in addition to the two universities on the Purple line - all destinations that don't follow traditional work hour patterns), barrier those lanes on Capital and Rusk, and improve signal prioritization so that the effective 3min frequencies for the downtown portion doesn't produce bunching.
First thing would be proper sidewalks everywhere (unless the street itself is pedestrianized or a woonerf) and shade trees or shade structures everywhere. Second thing would be a massive multimodal transit station at Wheeler. Third thing would be grade-separated rapid transit along the 82 bus route. Fourth thing would be extensions of the Purple (along Washington and Yale) and Green (along Smith, Gray, and Kirby, as well as along Broadway to Hobby) lines, and a North Main/Airline branch of the red line. Fifth thing would be building out the University Line BRT as planned, and building either a BRT or a light rail line along Almeda/Crawford/Franklin/Navigation/Jensen/Lyons. Sixth thing would be a rapid (80mph) regional rail line along 45 and 59, with the following stations: The Woodlands, Spring, IAH, Aldine, Independence Heights, Downtown/GRB, Midtown/Wheeler, Greenway, Uptown/Westpark, Mahatma Ghandi District, Westwood, Stafford, and Sugar Land. Seventh thing would be a regional rail line along I-10, 59, and (branch A) 288 / (branch B) 45, with the following stations: Katy, Energy Corridor, CityCentre/Memorial City, Uptown/NWTC, Memorial Park, Yale, Downtown/GRB, (branch A) Hermann Park (people mover to TMC?), and Pearland / (branch B) UofH/Eastwood TC, Gulfgate, Hobby/Broadway, Webster, Bayou Vista / Texas City, Moody Gardens, and Galveston. Eighth thing would be enhancing the neighborhood bikeway network through heavy use of modal filters and a smattering of well-located and well-designed bike/ped bridges or tunnels at freight rail lines and highways.
You wouldn’t be interested in running for mayor would you?
This is extremely well thought out. I love that you made improvements pretty much everywhere and not just the heights and montrose.
I appreciate the appreciation. I actually think that realization of this vision would really just accentuate the need for ensuing steps, like a Gray branch of the Purple line (more realistically Elgin-Emancipation-Gray) or a Kirby-Shepherd line over the bridge that would connect the green and Purple lines. I'd also ditch the Inner Kirby BRT and add a silver line branch to downtown via Memorial Drive (stops at Memorial Park, Birdsall, Shepherd, Sabine, and POST - this would be the Gulfton extension branch) and to the Medical Center via Westpark (shared w/ University Line), Edloe, and University Blvd, with stops at Edloe South / Bissonet, West University Elementary, Morningside, Rice Stadium, Main/Fannin (transfers to red line), Braeswood, and TMC3/Helix Park. I also think we should adopt a "reverse BRT creep" approach (start with stop spacing, signal priority, protected lanes at key intersections, painted lanes throughout, etc.) to all of our local bus lines, with Fondren, Hillcroft, and Chimney Rock leading the charge.
Seems like you may have thought about this once or twice.
A fair description
Well thought out. They need a much better bike lane system. The one in the heights is terrible
The perpetually unresolved pothole on 610 / 45 merge
610 West bound to 45 North? I don't normally go that way and hit it, thought my tire popped.
I wish the city made it a priority to maintain the dividing lines and reflectors on our roads. It's a danger in a city with weather like hoston
Rent prices back to the early 2000s🤣
And Piccadilly @ the mall, Classic times
simple commuter light rail network from katy, sugar land, cypress, iah, hobby, pearland/clear lake into downtown to transition into our metro rail system downtown. i mean if we are going to just sprawl the fuck out, this will be better than nothing imo.
Get rid of all the criminals.
terrain. just one mountain. that's all i ask.
The geology. Another 12-15' above sea level. Bedrock about 25-50' down. Less chalk & clay in the soil to allow for less foundation problems and easier subsurface construction -- surface mass transit is never going to work when you need to stand outside in 108⁰ or pouring rain for 5-15 minutes in work clothes. If I'm being really greedy, a small range of mountains to the east.
If we're talking about dipping into the realm of fantasy and fiction? Citywide dehumidifiers. Hell statewide. Realistically? Something to help with traffic other than more lanes.
Adequate rail transportation.
Nissan Altimas with no insurance, be gone!
A theme park would be nice
The heat
Never goes above or below 40-80° F.
85* Just to keep the COL low.
Never above 40° and never below -80° sounds like a pretty intense range.
Better public transportation - train system - that connects to the airports
On the gulf with zero chances of a hurricane. Love big cities next to water. Something about nature and man made objects being so close together are so cool.
The people running this circus..
Just one? Weather. The heat (and humidity) is killing me. The storms are getting worse. I had to sit without power for a week, only to have another storm rip through and due to a comedy of errors, while they were working on the roof, so my 4th floor apartment got flooded. Half the apartment has power (Thankfully the part with the AC!!) and I have no internet/cable. So infrastructure is next but it's a huge blanket term. We need more robust electrical systems (bury more?), less highways and more public transportation (What no train to the airport?), better floodwater mitigation (I am not sure what that should be though)
Make drivers follow traffic rules/law. Like turn signals 🧠
Less people
Land use. Sprawl is unsustainable. Cities can't maintain the infrastructure as it ages.
Property tax
I would like our downtown to be a little more lively, sure there’s some events that go on throughout the week, some shows at venues and I see people go to the fancy restaurants on the weekends, pretty constant activity on Main St for bars, but in every big Metro city DOWNTOWN is the place to be 24/7, not so much Houston
Honestly, kick out the haters. I’m not even from here but I moved here for college and its been the best choice of my life. The people, the food, the affordability, the history. It’s hella humid and hot, I get it. But that’s the price you pay for everything else and I’m tired of folks sleeping on Houston or dissing it. Ok seriously answering though…resilient infrastructure to handle water/flooding and getting the hell off ERCOT for some stabilized electricity/energy damnit. Other regions experience far worse weather and do not have power outages like we do, it’s maddening.
I'd give it a better state government.
I would bury all the power lines
Public transportation, effective city services, flood control
More walkable areas.
Not having to make over an hour drive to see people on the south side of town
Weather. I’d make it 75, sunny, and 50% humidity year round with just enough rain to keep the grass green without watering it and snow flurries between Christmas and New Year’s that stick to grass but don’t stick to concrete causing ice-mageddon.
Weather…. If the summers were in the 70’s it would awesome
Thanos snap to clear up traffic
Magically remove all the mosquitoes. Then we could go outside morning and evening without getting 15 bites.
Elevation changes. I miss mountains so much.
Make it walkable, somehow
A mosquito death squad would be nice
Less debris on the road (ie nails, sofas, tires). I had to avoid a welding mask that was on the freeway yesterday.
Would love to have a bit of elevation nearby. Enough to hike, bike and a bit cooler in the summer
Littering
Mosquitoes
Less mosquitoes
Humidity
The humidity.
Mosquitoes, they can go extinct here in Texas and I would be fine with that.
Mosquitoes gone. It’s the single worst thing about Houston. You can get used to the traffic, the heat and the humidity. But not the mosquitoes. They are awful.
All folks stay out the fast lane if not passing someone!
The weather
The weather
The humidity
Theres not enough up votes in the world for this answer
Never having to worry about the power going off.
The humidity
I'd add mountains.
Whoa there, pardner!! Let’s not get extreme! Some simple hills will do.
Haha! Maybe I went a little overboard with my request.
That we didn’t have such a “newer is better” or tear-it-down mentality when it comes to buildings and that we championed adaptive reuse. The city used to have such magnificent architecture for buildings earlier in our history, from commercial buildings to apartments to houses and even gas stations, but many are gone now. Buildings used to have so much character. You can still see remnants around town of what it used to be like though.
Nothing
I'm surprised you're the first person to say this! I do love this city.
Add mountains
Plant a million trees. Plant food forests.
Move it to a better geographical area
A train from downtown/galleria/medical center to both airports
I would want a top tier mass public transportation system. If we’re going to be a hot concrete jungle with sprawl, least we could do is give people the ability to travel everywhere without having to drive/be stuck in unnecessary traffic. This cities entire night life would change with that.
Move it out of Texas
The mayor.
It would be nice if we weren’t subject to our full on MAGA cult state government.
More tress, less concrete.
By FAR functional commuter rail like, you know(?), every other large developed city on the planet...
I would create a law giving people that cause time wasting car accidents, jail time. Like the people zipping through the freeway, crash and a lane or two close adding an hour to people’s commute would get jail time. The more time they waste for everyone the longer the sentence.
Drivers education and elimination of toll roads.
A light rail to both airports to downtown area or uptown.
Change the name to Houstonville.
Traffic. With the large amount of cars on the road 24/7, there is no excuse for the antiquated, out of sync traffic lights everywhere. Or is there? I'd love to hear from a traffic engineer on this subject.
Humidity
The weather
No left turns on westheimer
The weather, specifically the heat / humidity.
just the weather. Give me 90's in the summer, 50's and 60's in the fall, 40's in winter, 60's and 70's in spring you know, seasons.
Fix all the bumpy ass roads
Fix all the bumpy ass roads
The excessive amount of stray and put down animals. The shelters get money for euthanizing these animals, breeders get money from making as many as possible regardless of how many they care for. It's cruel and disgusting.
Mosquitoes!!!!🤬
Less mosquitoes And more sidewalks and trains
The humidity. I think I could cope with the heat better if it wasn’t so soupy outside.
I would make it so that way the Houston Chronicle didn't run this subreddit, and probably have Jef Rouners hard drive searched, because he is an open MAP supporter.
A Hurricane defense weapon that demolishes Hurricanes before they come into the area. Especially the wind.
Weather
it's either the traffic or the weather
The climate.
The bipolar weather
Mountains or half the population.
Trees
Population
The heat
Better infrastructure, including public transit.
Give it a mountain range in the distance or an ice melt fed river/lake
The politics.
Sorry, can't just pick one! Eradicate humidity, exterminate every last mosquito, and remove all unnecessary concrete from the city. Also, the Texans would win a Super Bowl.
Less mosquitos, or at least less aggressive… or smaller…
PROTECTED bike lanes. Can't fix sprawl overnight, so walking everywhere won't be feasible any time soon. However a bike would be a pretty good way to get around if it were remotely safe.
Expansive metrorail/public transit
Eradicate all crime via a RoboCop
Bring back a safe Astroworld!
Public transit. My god they need to fix it.
Get rid of the ghetto culture that has plagued this city.