1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

  2. Live Rockets Discussion
    Jalen Green looks like a legit star, Amen Thompson is shining and the Rockets have found something without Alperen Sengun. Clutch is talking about the 10-game winning streak at 11:00am as we talk Rockets live!

    Talking Rockets - LIVE!

Trapped: There Are No Simple Solutions to Houston's Traffic Crisis

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by da1, Mar 19, 2014.

  1. da1

    da1 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2008
    Messages:
    2,277
    Likes Received:
    101
    Houston is an incredibly diverse place with people from all backgrounds, races, walks of life and political persuasions. But nothing unites us like our shared disdain for the city's traffic nightmare. From pothole-filled streets and congested freeways to never-ending construction and poor planning, nothing inspires the kind of hatred you find when engaging a Houstonian about traffic.

    "Sitting in traffic is, to me, a complete waste of time," said George Kovacik, public relations manager at Houston Methodist Hospital and a longtime Houston commuter. "What I don't like about traffic is you are not constantly moving. I'll take shortcuts, even though it is probably the stupidest thing I could do."

    More...

    http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-03-20/news/houston-traffic/full/
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. LosPollosHermanos

    LosPollosHermanos Houston only fan
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2009
    Messages:
    28,577
    Likes Received:
    12,519
    why do you always post traffic stuff?
     
  3. davidio840

    davidio840 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2010
    Messages:
    7,999
    Likes Received:
    3,244
    [​IMG]


    Edit: Nothing against you Da1, but that is a book.
     
    #3 davidio840, Mar 19, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2014
    1 person likes this.
  4. kidcave9

    kidcave9 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2010
    Messages:
    3,062
    Likes Received:
    184
    When are they going to begin construction on 45 N ? I think you said it was going to be done for better traffic to bush.
     
  5. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2002
    Messages:
    55,887
    Likes Received:
    47,584
    These threads are really political and belong in the D&D.
     
  6. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2005
    Messages:
    27,892
    Likes Received:
    23,009
    Too short. Didn't read.
     
  7. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2001
    Messages:
    17,298
    Likes Received:
    11,763
    Did you type this up while stuck in traffic?
     
  8. Mr. Brightside

    Mr. Brightside Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2005
    Messages:
    18,949
    Likes Received:
    2,137
    Nice. I read this article about traffic while sitting in traffic.
     
    1 person likes this.
  9. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2009
    Messages:
    14,929
    Likes Received:
    12,160
    I tried reading the whole thing, but the scroll wheel fell off my mouse and I ended up getting carpal tunnel in the process. Thanks Obama.
     
  10. Spacemoth

    Spacemoth Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2007
    Messages:
    9,835
    Likes Received:
    4,484
    Residents don't want these streets fixed because they place a de facto limitation on traffic in the area. Affluence is all a part of it. They won't fix a road until a car breaks down on it usually. One time I was riding my scooter at night up Buffalo Speedway between Holcombe and Braeswood. Now THAT was a f--ed up road. I passed the worst of it and thought I was in the clear, but just as I made a lane change I hit this huge divit in the road where there was a 4-5in high separation in the middle of the lane. I wiped out and did a lot of barrel rolls--still the only accident I've had in my life, car or bike or otherwise. Yea, they fixed that road 3 months later.

    I have no problem whatsoever with traffic in Houston. I sit through 10-20 minutes each way depending on whether or not I get off work early (early = 5-5:30). Anyone who commutes 45+ minutes each way made the conscious decision to do that, by buying a house or renting property far away from the city. They have traded convenience and a sense of social responsibility (yes I am invoking the liberal term "carbon footprint") for the chance at comfort and more squarefootage in the suburbs or countryside. Or maybe the public schools are better in the suburbs. In that case you're a parent, and you've long ago sacrificed personal well-being for the well-being of your kids.

    The solution for such people is the same thing people do in every other city on earth. MOVE CLOSER TO THE CITY. Or get a job in the suburbs. People in New York or Chicago get to complain just like you do about traffic; but they don't get to blame the city for their decision to make their work and home far apart.

    And it gets even worse once you leave the country. Just try sitting in a cab in Bombay, walking through a Shanghai subway station, renting a hotel room in Tokyo. People don't have license to demand such space for themselves. They are forced to live in greater harmony with society. And you know what? Even in the developed, less crowded cities outside the US, people exhibit more decency. Look at the bicycling commuters in Copenhagen or Amsterdam. My point is, when it comes to transportation, we in Houston and the greater Texas area are among the most spoiled in the world. If lack of funding, stupidity of management, or sheer impracticality of physics means that automobile commuters will have to suffer, then so be it.

    Know this: before you die, the streets in many of the major cities around the world will start to have regions that ban cars. Some places already do this; many more will in the future. There are too many people on earth to continue to indulge in this practice of lugging around a 1-5 ton piece of metal as part of your personal entourage.
     
  11. htwnbandit

    htwnbandit Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2013
    Messages:
    3,202
    Likes Received:
    1,733
    I don't see a sign near Beechnut and H59 lol
     
  12. Blake

    Blake Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2003
    Messages:
    9,864
    Likes Received:
    2,821
    The obvious solution to all of this traffic is to keep building giant retail/residential buildings all over the inner loop. Oh, and a Whole Foods on Post Oak and San Felipe
     
  13. ChankMcStank

    ChankMcStank Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Messages:
    987
    Likes Received:
    94
    I used to work around the West U area. It usually takes me around 10 minutes without traffic to get home going up 610 N and then to I-10W. Leaving work at 6PM rush hour and especially in the holiday season, I was in traffic for an hour. **** that area in the ass.
     
  14. Kam

    Kam Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2002
    Messages:
    30,476
    Likes Received:
    1,322
    Dude. Ain't a damn person is gonna read that.
     
  15. Jontro

    Jontro Member

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2010
    Messages:
    34,300
    Likes Received:
    22,003
    I bike to work. I'm part of the solution.
     
  16. DFWRocket

    DFWRocket Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2000
    Messages:
    4,474
    Likes Received:
    2,002
  17. MoonDogg

    MoonDogg Member

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 1999
    Messages:
    5,167
    Likes Received:
    495
    [​IMG]
     
    1 person likes this.
  18. droopy421

    droopy421 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    Messages:
    2,280
    Likes Received:
    184
    Need more facts, I detect bias from the OP
     
  19. Spacemoth

    Spacemoth Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2007
    Messages:
    9,835
    Likes Received:
    4,484
    Dude, you and everyone else who knows this city needs to understand that 610 between 59 and I10 does not exist. Ok? You look at your google maps in that area and there's no highway. Just a parking lot whose hours run from 6am until 9pm each day. Hell I think I've seen that thing jammed at midnight. Then again I've seen I-10 inbounds at 45 jammed at 1am lol.

    Just know the streets better. Do not take 610 in that area for any reason at all. Use 59 to Westpark to Beltway 8 if you really need to get to the Memorial area. 59 to Westpark to Katy if you must. Or just use whatever other road you can find to get to I-10. But 610 over there is not an option.
     
  20. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2002
    Messages:
    6,027
    Likes Received:
    439
    Hoverboards
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now