Putting Houston on the Right Track

Tory Gattis, a Social Systems Architect from Houston, has some great recommendations for infrastructure projects that the City of Houston should undertake in the near future. I normally entertain these same ideas and I was pleasantly surprised to find some of my ideas in the mix.

One savvy strategy that FDR implemented during the Great Depression was to spend money on building infrastructures in the American communities because those investments would pay off for years to come.

When over 25% of the population of the Unite States was unemployed, instead of having them sit around waiting for big business to rebound, FDR put people to work and built the schools, libraries, roads and public venues many cities still use to this day.

Gattis has a similar approach and here are my favorite of the six:

• The Brain Train from College Station through Houston to Galveston - Today, cities gain much of their economic strength from their intellectual strength, from engineers, scientists, medical researchers and MBAs. So we can strengthen our region by connecting intellectual centers and employment centers. That's what regional rail can do: one line, connecting Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M, University of Houston-Clear Lake, the Johnson Space Center and UTMB-Galveston to the urban rail network that will include Downtown, Uptown, the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, Texas Southern University, and the University of Houston-Downtown and Central campuses. All that brainpower, connected by fast, convenient, Wi-Fi-enabled trains, creates one connected, more prosperous, region. And the same rail line also carries commuters to work.
• Greener, more effective bayous - In the 1950s and 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers lined Houston's bayous with concrete. Today, we know better. Natural banks actually handle floodwaters better, and they're not eyesores. Reconstruction of the bayous, and protection of upstream open space like the Katy Prairie, reduces flooding, reduces water pollution and creates wildlife habitat. Moreover, the crowds on the jogging path in Memorial Park, the families picnicking in Hermann Park and the kids filling the fountains at Discovery Green demonstrate that we need more parks. The bayous offer an opportunity to create new public parks all across Houston and its surroundings, as the unfunded master plan for Buffalo Bayou proposes. Projects like these are already underway on Sims and Brays bayou; we need similar improvements along the rest of our waterways.
• Complete streets - We've been upgrading our freeways for decades. But surface streets haven't gotten the same attention, as anyone who's driven to the Galleria knows. A good surface street moves cars effectively, safely accommodates bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders, provides access to homes and businesses, and beautifies the urban environment. To get there, we need to rebuild streets, upgrade intersections and add streets where there are gaps in the grid. That won't be cheap. But if surface streets are more effective, they'll actually reduce how far people need to drive and take loads off of freeways, reducing the need to spend money there.

Now for my turn:

• The Triangle - An expansion of the first proposal, when I was at UT, I always envisioned a commuter train from downtown Austin to San Antonio. It would travel down I-35, which if anyone has driven on lately will know that traffic is a nightmare no matter what time of the day. A Houston Train would connect via I-10 to San Antonio and an Austin Train would branch out where SH-71 and I-10 meet. The trains would take a load of our freeways and make a weekend to either destination much more practical.
• Plaza Mayor - Houston does not have a major mall inside The Loop. I repeat there is no major shopping center inside 610. I never understood this since it seems that Houston is booming inside The Loop. I envision a Plaza … a Square like in Venice or Madrid that hosts commercial venues on the first floor and residential quarters above. I literally envision it like St. Mark’s Square in Venice where people will congregate at local pubs, coffee shops, restaurants or a library in the Square. This venue will be like The Domain in Austin, TX where major retailers will be located. Imagine the Galleria but the middle (where the Ice Skating Rink is located) is open air and people meet and parlay. Now, for the location … I think the most practical place to put this Plaza would be near the University of Houston. The Plaza would ideally be located where the dilapidated old Foley’s Warehouse is currently located. That eyesore would not be missed plus it would be a boom for the local economy. A well-placed light rail train that connects to the nearby Downtown area would sweeten the deal.  An up and coming area close to downtown with a University within walking distance to supply the needed labor and consumers seems like a good bet to me.

Note: The Op-Ed was a joint effort by Tory Gattis, Carroll G. Robinson and Christof Spieler.