Andrew Burleson

Grand Parkway is ridiculous

Urban Designer & Real Estate Consultant, Mar 11, 09.

Tagged with transportation, environment, grand parkway, katy prairie

Ok, I couldn’t help myself. There’s been loads of hoopla surrounding the Grand Parkway recently. The most interesting piece, I think, is that the Sierra Club has now sued TxDOT to stop the Grand Parkway.

Now, most of the environmental issue with the Grand Parkway is that it tears right through the middle of a rich grassland area we know as the Katy Prairie. That, and it doesn’t actually go anywhere anyone lives or works. The only function of the Grand Parkway would be to open up the Katy Prairie to development. As it is today there is moderate development activity happening already, but things would sure go a lot faster if there was a new freeway out in the middle of all that grass.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and what I’ve decided is this: the whole Grand Parkway concept is ridiculous. The city doesn’t need to, and should not grow endlessly outward forever. Accelerating conventional suburban development activity on the Katy Prairie would generate absurd amounts of new traffic congestion on I-10 and 290, both of which are already at capacity (despite having just spent 3 billion dollars to widen I-10).

Full story: Grand Parkway
Source: neoHOUSTON, March 11, 2009

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