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Wellborn Rd traffic sucks
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Last: 1 yr ago by Hornbeck
All traffic in CS sucks.
Construction everywhere not to mention unbelievable amount of people who have zero effing clue how to drive.
I nearly had 2 head on collisions in the last month on Wellborn road near Millican reserve. One day a little red car drifted over the center line and nearly ran head into me.. for sure on cell phone.
Few weeks later a tan SUV traveling south drifted off the road to their right, overcorrected and came into my lane traveling north , I had to slam on brakes then they overcorrected back to the right, lost control and nearly rolled their vehicle . They ended up in the ditch.. it was mid age woman driving and again for sure likely on cell phone
Few weeks after that nearly saw another bad wreck as a small black car pulled right out in front of a Ford F-250 hauling hay on Peach Creek . Idiots didn't realize that cross traffic doesn't stop. They pulled straight in front of them and truck had to swerve nearly causing him to lose control… again a middle aged female driver not paying attention.
My family jokes about how many cars we will see driving at night in town with no lights on. It's a pretty much a daily occurance. How the hell can you drive at night and not know lights are not on?? Seen em even on HWY 6 by Santa wonderland.. there are no street lights there it's dark.. you have be special kind of dumbass not to realize your lights are not on.
Nobody knows what yield means. Cars merging onto a main road from a ramp have zero clue they merge to traffic, they don't have right off way. Cant tell you how many wrecks I've almost seen on bypass with cars getting on and not yielding to cars already on.
Roundabouts - glad we don't have many because so few people know you yield to cars in the roundabout
College station is home to without question the worst drivers .
I drive a lot, all over the state . When I'm not out of town I have a common commute through 3 counties all the way to Robertson county. Drive all over BCS very often.
Bryan/ College station is home to the worst drivers imaginable
Bigger cities like Houston and Dallas May have more aggressive drivers but they know how to drive. People in CS could not drive in bigger cities, they don't know how to handle a vehicle , don't know how to pay attention, always on phone and have zero common sense.
Construction everywhere not to mention unbelievable amount of people who have zero effing clue how to drive.
I nearly had 2 head on collisions in the last month on Wellborn road near Millican reserve. One day a little red car drifted over the center line and nearly ran head into me.. for sure on cell phone.
Few weeks later a tan SUV traveling south drifted off the road to their right, overcorrected and came into my lane traveling north , I had to slam on brakes then they overcorrected back to the right, lost control and nearly rolled their vehicle . They ended up in the ditch.. it was mid age woman driving and again for sure likely on cell phone
Few weeks after that nearly saw another bad wreck as a small black car pulled right out in front of a Ford F-250 hauling hay on Peach Creek . Idiots didn't realize that cross traffic doesn't stop. They pulled straight in front of them and truck had to swerve nearly causing him to lose control… again a middle aged female driver not paying attention.
My family jokes about how many cars we will see driving at night in town with no lights on. It's a pretty much a daily occurance. How the hell can you drive at night and not know lights are not on?? Seen em even on HWY 6 by Santa wonderland.. there are no street lights there it's dark.. you have be special kind of dumbass not to realize your lights are not on.
Nobody knows what yield means. Cars merging onto a main road from a ramp have zero clue they merge to traffic, they don't have right off way. Cant tell you how many wrecks I've almost seen on bypass with cars getting on and not yielding to cars already on.
Roundabouts - glad we don't have many because so few people know you yield to cars in the roundabout
College station is home to without question the worst drivers .
I drive a lot, all over the state . When I'm not out of town I have a common commute through 3 counties all the way to Robertson county. Drive all over BCS very often.
Bryan/ College station is home to the worst drivers imaginable
Bigger cities like Houston and Dallas May have more aggressive drivers but they know how to drive. People in CS could not drive in bigger cities, they don't know how to handle a vehicle , don't know how to pay attention, always on phone and have zero common sense.
The city, for the last few decades, has decided to use zoning laws and whatnot to make sure University compatible use/development is forced away from the University. That means students are forced further out. Trips to campus made longer means more car-miles per day. There's the big source of traffic. When TAMU was 30k and students could pack into old homes on Southgate, it wasn't so bad. But now that students are miles down Wellborn to make their 1+ trips each day, it's a problem.
Luckily for CSAN and the like, the city is making it more and more inconvenient for University compatible activity. I suspect that's a big reason why TAMU is looking more to grow out in Bryan. In time, the growth associated with TAMU will probably shift away from CS and it won't encroach as much on the large-lot bungalows surrounding the largest campus in the US.
Luckily for CSAN and the like, the city is making it more and more inconvenient for University compatible activity. I suspect that's a big reason why TAMU is looking more to grow out in Bryan. In time, the growth associated with TAMU will probably shift away from CS and it won't encroach as much on the large-lot bungalows surrounding the largest campus in the US.
Brian Alg
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
I have been fortunate for the last year to not have to travel on Wellborn Rd and when I needed to do so, I would take alternate routes. But today I had to travel from William D Fitch to Wellborn Rd to campus during morning rush hour. Yikes.
The city is fighting a losing battle to try to preserve the neighborhoods south of campus (McCulloch District, South Knoll) but in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever. As for Wellborn Road, neighborhood resistance in the 1980s and 1990s is why we don't have Welsh connecting to George Bush, or why Dexter is basically useless as a commuter route.
Now Welsh is exponentially more expensive because they slept on it while the old rentals were torn down, and everything else is considered historic.
Now Welsh is exponentially more expensive because they slept on it while the old rentals were torn down, and everything else is considered historic.
PS3D said:
The city is fighting a losing battle to try to preserve the neighborhoods south of campus (McCulloch District, South Knoll) but in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever. As for Wellborn Road, neighborhood resistance in the 1980s and 1990s is why we don't have Welsh connecting to George Bush, or why Dexter is basically useless as a commuter route.
Now Welsh is exponentially more expensive because they slept on it while the old rentals were torn down, and everything else is considered historic.
So the Welsh NIMBYs accomplished their mission?
Can somebody tell me what the hell and when the interchange at Bush and Welborn will be started? I've heard it was happening in 2017 and here we are in 2023 and we have the old apartments torn down and Aggieland Outfitters moving but can't find anything on the website for when it will happen and what it will result it. That will be a cluster fuk of epic proportions. I'd stay as far away from that as possible
The now famous wry quote "Every student has two cars and they drive both to the campus" seems to be trueBrian Alg said:
The city, for the last few decades, has decided to use zoning laws and whatnot to make sure University compatible use/development is forced away from the University. That means students are forced further out. Trips to campus made longer means more car-miles per day. There's the big source of traffic. When TAMU was 30k and students could pack into old homes on Southgate, it wasn't so bad. But now that students are miles down Wellborn to make their 1+ trips each day, it's a problem.
Luckily for CSAN and the like, the city is making it more and more inconvenient for University compatible activity. I suspect that's a big reason why TAMU is looking more to grow out in Bryan. In time, the growth associated with TAMU will probably shift away from CS and it won't encroach as much on the large-lot bungalows surrounding the largest campus in the US.
it is time...
I think we just became best friends.
Part of the problem in CS is all the different styles of driving and very little experience converging here.
I might be misunderstanding what "it" is when you are saying: "in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever."PS3D said:
The city is fighting a losing battle to try to preserve the neighborhoods south of campus (McCulloch District, South Knoll) but in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever.
If you are saying allowing sensible development around TAMU would not win the battle to preserve the large lot bungalows surrounding TAMU? Then yes. The only thing allowing sensible development in the area surrounding TAMU would do is lead to:
- big fat paychecks to incumbent bungalow owners who want to get away from the hustle and bustle so they could move to whatever kind of home/neighborhood they want with all the rules and whatnot they'd ever dreamed of, probably within a short driving distance from the university
- economic development surrounding the university by allowing entrepreneurs to take advantage of the amazing opportunities TAMU has to offer with respect to both customers and labor (profs and students). That would be super for the entrepreneurs, their customers, the labor, and the people outside of the center of town who wouldn't be here if it weren't for TAMU and the economic activity it spins off
- housing and job opportunities for single young professionals and anyone else with overlapping interests with the university crowd who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a place to live in the middle of town
- students saving a ton of time because instead of having to drive or take the bus for 15-30 minutes each time they go to campus, they can just walk or bike a short distance
- people living further out from campus wouldn't have to deal with so much traffic and the other issues from the students being forced out to the hinterlands
But yeah, most of the bungalows would probably be sold for amounts too-good-to-turn-down and the land would be used for more university-compatible purposes. I am pretty sure the only way CSAN can win in the long term is to nuke the University and pray nuclear remediation never becomes a viable option.
Brian Alg
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
Read a headline about HWY 6 construction beginning in 2024 and all I could think was "please can we just finish Wellborn…and Harvey… and Greens Prairie…" Wellborn is a headache.
Brian Alg is right on the money. The city should be encouraging significant development within 1-2 miles of campus that can accommodate 75%+ of the student population.
I'm so used to not being able to move on Wellborn that the other day I happened to be on there when traffic was light and wasn't paying attention and got a speeding ticket going 55 in the now-45.
boredatwork08 said:
Brian Alg is right on the money. The city should be encouraging significant development within 1-2 miles of campus that can accommodate 75%+ of the student population.
Have you seen what's happened to Northgate in the last 10-15 years?
Thousands of new beds dedicated directly at students. Not to mention all the new complexes off of 2818/Holleman
That's great! And the same needs to happen on the other two available sides of campus, but current zoning makes that difficult to impossible in the immediate vicinity.
I was unclear, I meant that traffic around town would not be significantly improved by having mega-apartments be slapped up in Southgate.Brian Alg said:I might be misunderstanding what "it" is when you are saying: "in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever."PS3D said:
The city is fighting a losing battle to try to preserve the neighborhoods south of campus (McCulloch District, South Knoll) but in no way would it be solved by slapping up some apartment blocks in Southgate or whereever.
If you are saying allowing sensible development around TAMU would not win the battle to preserve the large lot bungalows surrounding TAMU? Then yes. The only thing allowing sensible development in the area surrounding TAMU would do is lead to:
- big fat paychecks to incumbent bungalow owners who want to get away from the hustle and bustle so they could move to whatever kind of home/neighborhood they want with all the rules and whatnot they'd ever dreamed of, probably within a short driving distance from the university
- economic development surrounding the university by allowing entrepreneurs to take advantage of the amazing opportunities TAMU has to offer with respect to both customers and labor (profs and students). That would be super for the entrepreneurs, their customers, the labor, and the people outside of the center of town who wouldn't be here if it weren't for TAMU and the economic activity it spins off
- housing and job opportunities for single young professionals and anyone else with overlapping interests with the university crowd who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a place to live in the middle of town
- students saving a ton of time because instead of having to drive or take the bus for 15-30 minutes each time they go to campus, they can just walk or bike a short distance
- people living further out from campus wouldn't have to deal with so much traffic and the other issues from the students being forced out to the hinterlands
But yeah, most of the bungalows would probably be sold for amounts too-good-to-turn-down and the land would be used for more university-compatible purposes. I am pretty sure the only way CSAN can win in the long term is to nuke the University and pray nuclear remediation never becomes a viable option.
I'm confused what you mean by "university-compatible development"? You could probably fit more residential, but there does not seem to be sufficient demand for commercial space around the university--at least, not at the rent Northgate demands, and that only means more cars and traffic on the road as people mill around the already-crowded corridors.
Lack of transportation planning has left most of CS without continuous roads. The only roads that move north/south are Wellborn and Hwy 6. All others are disjointed or dead-end at some point. It's like the city said "nah, we don't need to extend Welsh (or any other road) because the city will NEVER go that far south).
Developers were allowed to put subdivisions in without extending major/minor collectors. Need another east/west south of Greens Prairie, too, but that doesn't seem like it'll ever happen due to subdivisions in the way. So they're widening GP, which will do nothing for the amount of cars using it.
Developers were allowed to put subdivisions in without extending major/minor collectors. Need another east/west south of Greens Prairie, too, but that doesn't seem like it'll ever happen due to subdivisions in the way. So they're widening GP, which will do nothing for the amount of cars using it.
We are just like Austin was on the late 60s and 70s...growing too fast. I told my friends in Austin then that they were going to have traffic issues and they sure do. I have a friend that live in Round Rock and works downtown and he is always posting from I35 at 5pm, "Well, I have been in the I35 parking lot for an hour and a half."
We will get there if we keep growing as fast as we are.Wellborn road really can't be widened from about Fitch to campus due the RR and building those buildings as close as they have. Even Texas Ave can't hardly be widened more. We really cannot build any more North/South streets.
We will get there if we keep growing as fast as we are.Wellborn road really can't be widened from about Fitch to campus due the RR and building those buildings as close as they have. Even Texas Ave can't hardly be widened more. We really cannot build any more North/South streets.
When I was working at the city I remember coming across a proposal from the 1980s that would make Dominik a six-laned avenue. Given the whole issue with the gate that they put up in the late 1990s, I doubt that would've gone anywhere.woodiewood1 said:
We are just like Austin was on the late 60s and 70s...growing too fast. I told my friends in Austin then that they were going to have traffic issues and they sure do. I have a friend that live in Round Rock and works downtown and he is always posting from I35 at 5pm, "Well, I have been in the I35 parking lot for an hour and a half."
We will get there if we keep growing as fast as we are.Wellborn road really can't be widened from about Fitch to campus due the RR and building those buildings as close as they have. Even Texas Ave can't hardly be widened more. We really cannot build any more North/South streets.
Austin IS similar in that the city grows north-south with inadequate major corridors. Wellborn probably could've been similar to Loop 1 via LoTrak, but that got defeated too...
What delayed Wellborn being developed sooner and greater was when the cities, county and state could not agree on costs with the RR to move it out along the Brazos river back in the late 1970s. That was before all the development occurring east of the river.PS3D said:When I was working at the city I remember coming across a proposal from the 1980s that would make Dominik a six-laned avenue. Given the whole issue with the gate that they put up in the late 1990s, I doubt that would've gone anywhere.woodiewood1 said:
We are just like Austin was on the late 60s and 70s...growing too fast. I told my friends in Austin then that they were going to have traffic issues and they sure do. I have a friend that live in Round Rock and works downtown and he is always posting from I35 at 5pm, "Well, I have been in the I35 parking lot for an hour and a half."
We will get there if we keep growing as fast as we are.Wellborn road really can't be widened from about Fitch to campus due the RR and building those buildings as close as they have. Even Texas Ave can't hardly be widened more. We really cannot build any more North/South streets.
Austin IS similar in that the city grows north-south with inadequate major corridors. Wellborn probably could've been similar to Loop 1 via LoTrak, but that got defeated too...
Austin's main issue is the lack of east/west corridors due to the much greater cost of road construction in the western hills.
bobinator said:
I'm so used to not being able to move on Wellborn that the other day I happened to be on there when traffic was light and wasn't paying attention and got a speeding ticket going 55 in the now-45.
Were there workers present? That can raise the fine amount quite a bit.
PS3D said:
was unclear, I meant that traffic around town would not be significantly improved by having mega-apartments be slapped up in Southgate.
If enough of the one-or-more-trips-per-day campus drivers moved miles closer to campus, that would eliminate a ton of the traffic issue right there. Especially if we were talking about shifting tens of thousands of students to walking/biking distance of campus - it would make a world of difference.
PS3D said:
I'm confused what you mean by "university-compatible development"? You could probably fit more residential, but there does not seem to be sufficient demand for commercial space around the university--at least, not at the rent Northgate demands, and that only means more cars and traffic on the road as people mill around the already-crowded corridors.
With respect to the commercial space thing. High rents are an indication that people value the space a lot. If people are willing to shell out big bucks for commercial space near campus, that is an indication it is very desirable.
For sure there are non-price reasons entrepreneurs avoid Northgate (and College Station generally) as well. This article from the Batt last year echoes stuff I have heard from people who have done business in College Station over the years.
https://www.thebatt.com/life-arts/local-businesses-share-journeys/article_3f1bc464-ab1a-11ec-8fd2-2bd7f21a7b3e.html
From the article:
Quote:
Bradway said the biggest struggle overall was College Station's regulations for businesses. New business owners should look up the rules and regulations for any city in which they want to create a business, Bradway said.
"My No. 1 challenge is dealing with the city, which I never found pleasant," Bradway said. "Northgate seemed like such a good idea, and we owned the property … Financially, it was difficult to do any renovations there unless you met these rigid requirements."
There's lots of room for improvement with respect to the city's policies. But we have so much going for us, I think the status quo is an unstable equilibrium. We've got too much going for us for this silliness to keep holding us back in the long term.
Brian Alg
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government
The first thing to do to slow the growth of traffic issues around campus is to immediately cap the enrollment at the current number. It is insane to have freshman classes of 400 to 500.Brian Alg said:PS3D said:
was unclear, I meant that traffic around town would not be significantly improved by having mega-apartments be slapped up in Southgate.
If enough of the one-or-more-trips-per-day campus drivers moved miles closer to campus, that would eliminate a ton of the traffic issue right there. Especially if we were talking about shifting tens of thousands of students to walking/biking distance of campus - it would make a world of difference.PS3D said:
I'm confused what you mean by "university-compatible development"? You could probably fit more residential, but there does not seem to be sufficient demand for commercial space around the university--at least, not at the rent Northgate demands, and that only means more cars and traffic on the road as people mill around the already-crowded corridors.
With respect to the commercial space thing. High rents are an indication that people value the space a lot. If people are willing to shell out big bucks for commercial space near campus, that is an indication it is very desirable.
For sure there are non-price reasons entrepreneurs avoid Northgate (and College Station generally) as well. This article from the Batt last year echoes stuff I have heard from people who have done business in College Station over the years.
https://www.thebatt.com/life-arts/local-businesses-share-journeys/article_3f1bc464-ab1a-11ec-8fd2-2bd7f21a7b3e.html
From the article:Quote:
Bradway said the biggest struggle overall was College Station's regulations for businesses. New business owners should look up the rules and regulations for any city in which they want to create a business, Bradway said.
"My No. 1 challenge is dealing with the city, which I never found pleasant," Bradway said. "Northgate seemed like such a good idea, and we owned the property … Financially, it was difficult to do any renovations there unless you met these rigid requirements."
There's lots of room for improvement with respect to the city's policies. But we have so much going for us, I think the status quo is an unstable equilibrium. We've got too much going for us for this silliness to keep holding us back in the long term.
Not until we reach 25x25
How much of the increasing enrollment numbers are due to the state's "top 10% guaranteed top tier school" policy? (Even though t.u. apparently requires at least top 8%, thus shunting more students off to A&M and Tech).
I ran some rough numbers, and the increase in enrollment over the last decade roughly tracks with the overall increase in state population.
I ran some rough numbers, and the increase in enrollment over the last decade roughly tracks with the overall increase in state population.
FAT SEXY said:
It really is a beating. During peak hours, from F&B road all the way down to Graham it's worse than anywhere in the Tine.
No. Just no.
I did a 55-minute commute in the mornings and 75-minute commute in the evening back when I worked in the Galleria area and commuted from Cypress. Let me know when you hit that mark my friend! I take any College Station traffic in stride after experiencing that painful 18 months of my life.FAT SEXY said:
It really is a beating. During peak hours, from F&B road all the way down to Graham it's worse than anywhere in the Tine.
I also drive a lot throughout the state (30K + per year) with 77840 as home base. I'd respectfully disagree with BCS being worse than the metro areas in the state.
Yeah, we have a lot of students who drive around here and they do dumb stuff. However, that is far outweighed by the aggressiveness, volume, and overall selfishness of what I experience in DFW, Houston, and Austin.
On top of that, I pay out my ass for toll roads in those areas.
Is Wellborn a mess? It sure is. That is one of the reasons my wife and I moved into town as she works on campus. I hate the southbound merge after Fitch and glad we (wife and I) don't have to mess with it anymore.
Does the current construction contribute to that? Absolutely. I also use Texas Ave a lot more these days as there are some back roads to at least keep moving.
Anyway, I don't disagree Wellborn has gotten a lot worse. We might need to tap the breaks on the hyperbole about comparing BCS (mainly College Station, but that's just my opinion) to the metro areas in the state.
Yeah, we have a lot of students who drive around here and they do dumb stuff. However, that is far outweighed by the aggressiveness, volume, and overall selfishness of what I experience in DFW, Houston, and Austin.
On top of that, I pay out my ass for toll roads in those areas.
Is Wellborn a mess? It sure is. That is one of the reasons my wife and I moved into town as she works on campus. I hate the southbound merge after Fitch and glad we (wife and I) don't have to mess with it anymore.
Does the current construction contribute to that? Absolutely. I also use Texas Ave a lot more these days as there are some back roads to at least keep moving.
Anyway, I don't disagree Wellborn has gotten a lot worse. We might need to tap the breaks on the hyperbole about comparing BCS (mainly College Station, but that's just my opinion) to the metro areas in the state.
TX A&M 2010 to 2022 49,129 to 74,289 51% increase ABOUT 3X the state's growthSmeghead4761 said:
How much of the increasing enrollment numbers are due to the state's "top 10% guaranteed top tier school" policy? (Even though t.u. apparently requires at least top 8%, thus shunting more students off to A&M and Tech).
I ran some rough numbers, and the increase in enrollment over the last decade roughly tracks with the overall increase in state population.
TX 2010 to 2022 25,240,000 to 30,029,572 18% increase
----------------
TX A&M 2000 to 2022 44,026 to 74,289 68% increase
TX 2000 to 2022 20,940,000 to 30,029,572 43% increase
-------------------
D_Wag97 said:
Lack of transportation planning has left most of CS without continuous roads. The only roads that move north/south are Wellborn and Hwy 6. All others are disjointed or dead-end at some point. It's like the city said "nah, we don't need to extend Welsh (or any other road) because the city will NEVER go that far south).
Developers were allowed to put subdivisions in without extending major/minor collectors. Need another east/west south of Greens Prairie, too, but that doesn't seem like it'll ever happen due to subdivisions in the way. So they're widening GP, which will do nothing for the amount of cars using it.
It's not lack of planning or developers fault, it's the NIMBYs that freak out when it comes time to connect the roads between subdivisions.
Plan before developing....BCS-Ag said:D_Wag97 said:
Lack of transportation planning has left most of CS without continuous roads. The only roads that move north/south are Wellborn and Hwy 6. All others are disjointed or dead-end at some point. It's like the city said "nah, we don't need to extend Welsh (or any other road) because the city will NEVER go that far south).
Developers were allowed to put subdivisions in without extending major/minor collectors. Need another east/west south of Greens Prairie, too, but that doesn't seem like it'll ever happen due to subdivisions in the way. So they're widening GP, which will do nothing for the amount of cars using it.
It's not lack of planning or developers fault, it's the NIMBYs that freak out when it comes time to connect the roads between subdivisions.
Of course people are going to push back when the city decides to change roadway classification or add new roads that were not proposed when they purchased their place. Look at what's going on in Pebble Creek recently.