Quiet morning, no unusual sounds or goings on. Wife in Austin on business. So I baclk down the driveway to go to work and three houses down is ringed by crime scene tape and there must be 30 cars in front of the house, at least a half dozen or so constables.

Area just going to pot.

are things really that bad over there? It could have been a murder/suicide or something, that **** could happen anywhere

I guess I've been here 10 years now & we've had a fair bit of crime. A lot of garage break-ins and theft. A few months ago we had 20-30 constables in the subdivision early one morning, jumping over fences chasing a young guy who broke into a house.

About 6-7 years ago we had the swat team in the subdivision when the man facing bankruptcy shot his wife and kids (all wounded but not killed, and they escaped the house) and holed up in the house for a couple hours.

I've heard rumors that this involved the man filing for divorce and possibly a suicide.

been alot of tire/rim thefts over the summer, Channel 2 did a remote in front of one of my buddies house about a month back.

buddy used to live over there but moved across 249 to Treeline. Never had any probs in Glennloch though.

been there for over a year and have never seen or heard of anything going on. only time I see a cop is when they are trying to catch people speeding on Champions Forest

Much of the crime is simply poors from south of FM1960 or from pockets of HUD type apartments going to where the money is for their property crimes.

The poors don't go to the ghetto to steal good shat...

This morning's incident was definitely not criminal. I live in the Hillcrest as well and have heard most of the story, at least second-handed.

The tire rim thefts were across the entire NW region, and I believe the main ring of guys were caught.

Every neighborhood is going to have its crime; I feel perfectly safe in GLF since moving here 3 years ago. Wouldn't think a thread singling out us with crime is very accurate in my opinion.

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are things really that bad over there?

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No.

I live in GLF as well and I'd agree. Almost all of the crime is related to opportunity theft (car break-ins, garages left open, etc.). I'm sure it's the poors from Kohrville and Boudreaux responsible.

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I feel perfectly safe in GLF since moving here 3 years ago. Wouldn't think a thread singling out us with crime is very accurate in my opinion.

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Oh I feel perfectly safe too. My statement, "area just going to pot" was a bit of a tongue in cheek inside joke directed at a friend of mine.

That said.........GF has had it's share of issues in the 10 years the wife and I have lived there, including one forced entry at gunpoint. But you're right, probably average for the area.

One of my patients teaches at Bleyl Junior High which feeds into my old high school, Cy Creek. She told me just last wekk that the admin took them on a tour of the area they draw from..........5.....yes 5 government subsidized apartments.

My point being, this part of town is fast changing.........and not for the better.

Wait until they build the grand parkway. That area will be the next 1960. Better move to Huntsville.

Cy-Creek '88 here. I have heard it has become a little rougher. Not quite like Klein Forest yet.

I know someone who lives in GLF and they told me there have been a couple of druG busts in the ditch between the golf driving range and the patio homes there. Surprised me to hear that.

Our 20 yr old next door neighbor got busted last Xmas for selling weed busted him in the playground in the Woods.

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Area just going to pot.

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Unintentionally punny?

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Wait until they build the grand parkway.

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That's no joke. When you look at what has historically been built along the freeways and beltways, it doesn't look good. Plus.........I think Champion Forest will be like a freeway for folks looking to access the GP from Champions, Memorial Northwest, and the like.

Respectfully disagree. As a traffic engineer, I could go on at length, but you've probably already read my words on Facebook and in The Stable articles.

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Wait until they build the grand parkway. That area will be the next 1960

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This isn't even close to being an accurate statement.

The biggest mistake in the history of all of Harris County in terms of long-term transportation planning was not constructing the SH 6 / FM 1960 corridor as a controlled-access freeway facility. It is the natural location of one from the IH 610 - Beltway 8 - FM 1960 spacing of freeways, but back in the 60s this foresight was never acted upon. (http://www.oscarmail.net/houstonfreeways/ebook/CH1_building_the_system_pp1-91_72.pdf)

Since the SH 6 / FM 1960 corridor never had controlled access, and before the TxDOT access management guideline were ever developed, driveways were allowed to be spaced at whatever spacing the developer wanted, in essence. The proliferation of "every business gets their own driveway" lead to the traffic congestion that FM 1960 has long been known for. Continuous traffic congestion on a major arterial leads to massive decreases in property values for the adjacent properties. The decreases in property values have lead to the proliferation of all the other negative characteristics that FM 1960 is now facing.

Building a highly controlled-access, 4-lane toll-only facility that is forward-thinking as opposed to reactionary is not an apples to apples comparison, and not even apples to oranges. It's completely different.

Sorry AN, neither the wife or I read The Stable, it usually goes straight in the trash and I'm not a facebook person at all. I'm sorry I missed your articles because I would have liked to read them.

I'll be totally honest with you, I'm very skeptical of road projects and all the benefits that our politicians and TxDot officials tell us the projects will bring. The reason I'm skeptical is that I've lived in Houston well over 40 years now and I've seen the difference between what is promised and what the reality is, time and time again.


I'm also in the camp that thinks that the way Houston has grown, through continual sprawl, has been a very good example of "how not to grow a city." I just see the Grand Parkway as another example of a project that will just encourage further outward growth and sprawl, and all the mess that sprawl brings.

Yes.........I grew up in this area dating back to the 1960s. It was a beautiful area of praries and forest. Now it's concrete and congestion.

Let me give you an example of my skepticism. I drive from Gleannloch to my office on Louetta 1.5 miles on the other side of 249. We were all told how wonderful the Spring Cypress expansion would be once completed. It was at first. Cut my commute to about 5 minutes. Now nearly 10 years later........takes me on average 22 minutes in the morning. Why? I can think of only 1 think. Once the expansion occured, developers started a renewed effort of building in the area. I imagine there are 2...3(?) times as many cars coming down Spring Cypress as there were 10 years ago. Twice in the last month a light was out on Spring Cypress and it took me over 45 minutes to get home after work.

My point being.......when politicians or TxDot types tell me a road project will be wonderful, they don't seem to consider the impact of the project on developers interests, and the developers impact in putting more cars on the road. Or if they do........they don't seem to tell us.

It's sad to me. I thought years ago I'd retire here. But now my wife (an east Texas native who I met at A&M) and I just hate the what the area has become............so retirement will not be here.

The developers are looking for ideal-sized tracts of land they can develop at a profit. They KNOW the infrastructure will follow based on demand and tax base, as will the commercial traffic. There's no master planning of development between government and developers other than some fundamental regulations that the developers must meet to get various permits. The developers don't ask the government where to develop...the governments must respond when the development occurs, or attempt to keep pace with it or get ahead of it as they may.

I've come to accept that constantly increasing traffic and congestion is going to be the norm, until the "front" for land development passes you by, and the area "matures".

I live in a matured area in Spring, and except on I45, traffic is not really getting worse because it's all built out in my area. When you move out into an area with lots of raw land, expect that it will be developed as population keeps growing and congestion will increase when it does.

You have to move WAY away from the city to escape that, and commute if you work in the city.

I grew up in Cypress in the middle of freakin nowhere. Now, there are masterplanned communities all around the large lot neighborhood where my parents live. When I was a kid, we'd be roaming around on cattle ranches and deer leases in the offseason. Now they're pasted over with tract homes.

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Neither the wife or I read The Stable, it usually goes straight in the trash

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Dang... there is all sorts of good stuff that comes in that magazine. In all the articles I have written about the Grand Parkway and traffic in general around the area, I keep all of my opinion (and even educated opinion) out of them and just keep them to facts about the construction schedule, locations, timelines and pertinent features such as the traffic control plans, roadway cross sections, etc. Don't throw them away!

i'd be interested in reading the articles on the grand parkway. is there a place online to read them? i don't get the stable, whatever that is.

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Don't throw them away!

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I promise.

The Stable is the Gleannloch Farms monthly magazine.

I read the last GP article in the Stable (wish those drawings were bigger) but I'm still concerned about traffic on Champions Forest once it is complete. In the last year I have seen an increas of cars using it to go between Spring Cypress and Boudreaux so people are figuring it out as a shortcut. I would hate to see that road used a main thrufare for those getting on and off the GP.

Also the traffic on Spring Cypress is going to get worse as they are making new developments inside GLF and there is a new development underway across from the Jr High.

Cibalo, I will post the figures I included with the article on here in a sec...

As for Champion Forest Drive, what everyone in GLF seems to forget is that it is classified as a major thoroughfare on the COH MTFP. There is no such thing as "cut-through" traffic on a major thoroughfare.

People are all for traffic being able to move and have mobility except when it comes to a roadway through their neighborhood. I understand cut-through traffic when the problem is on neighborhood collectors or distributors, but Champion Forest Drive is not one of these.

One point about folks from Memorial Northwest (the closest southern community to us, further communities to the south make this point even more valid) using Champion Forest as a "cut-through" to access the Grand Parkway. Take the typical AM peak period case of traffic generally headed south towards the CBD or other business centers... Why would those residents travel approximately 3 miles to the north (180 degrees out of their way), pay a toll, just to head west to SH 249 or US 290, then head back south? Or pay a toll, head east on the Grand Parkway, and intersect IH-45 near the Exxon campus, then head back south? It makes no sense, and that's not how the majority of people drive. Some of the same principals hold true for the typical PM peak period. Will some do these movements? Sure, of course, but to assume Champion Forest becomes this traffic monster with all sorts of "cut-through" traffic just simply is not rational thinking.





[This message has been edited by Anagrammatic Nudist (edited 9/10/2013 2:18p).]

Here is the typical cross-section I included in the article for the section of the GP just east of Champion Forest Drive.

Aggiedent, here is the text of the article in the most recent Stable mag:

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The ground-breaking for the Grand Parkway construction of segments F-1, F-2 and G was held on Tueday, July 23rd, in Montgomery County. Many stakeholders and dignitaries were present, for a video of the ground-breaking and for quotes from dignitaries about the project, please visit http://www.grandparkway99.com/news/SH99-Grand-Parkway-Construction-Breaks-Ground.

On the design front, recently 60% plans were submitted to TxDOT from the design-build team of Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders (ZOPB). While the design can change from the 60% level to the 90% and then 100% level, major changes at this point will not be occurring due to the sheer amount of due diligence already performed on this project. The following are a couple of notes of interest from the 60% plans, which again could change but not in a major way:
• The typical roadway cross-sections have been included for the first time, and one is included in this update for the section of roadway immediately east of Champion Forest Drive along the Grand Parkway. Of note is that the right-of-way width is 400 feet; this means that the outside paved edge of the Grand Parkway Eastbound Frontage Road will be approximately 350 feet south, or into the GLF side of Boudreaux Road.
• A new overpass has been included for Max Conrad Road, which will allow vehicles coming from the Hooks Airport hangars on Max Conrad Road to head back towards GleannLoch Farms (or back to the west in general) without being forced to go to FM 2920 and make a U-turn. Max Conrad Road will also align with Glenwillow Drive, which will allow that neighborhood on the north side of Boudreaux Road to go east on the Grand Parkway without being forced to come towards GLF and U-turn at Champion Forest Drive.
• The traffic control plans (TCP) have also been included for the first time in the 60% design plans. The TCP for the same cross-section mentioned above has been included in this update. The construction will be performed in three main phases:
o Phase 1: Begin construction of the Grand Parkway mainlanes and finish construction of the eastbound frontage road.
o Phase 2: Move the eastbound lane of traffic on existing Boudreaux Road to one of the new lanes of the eastbound frontage road; then build half of the new westbound frontage road while the existing westbound lane of Boudreaux Road is still open.
o Phase 3: Move the westbound lane of existing Boudreaux Road onto the new lane of the westbound frontage road constructed in Phase 2. Then, construct the other half of the westbound frontage road. After this is complete, both lanes of the eastbound and westbound frontage road will then be open to traffic.
o At no point in construction will there be a time when GLF residents cannot go east or west on either existing Boudreaux Road or a combination of the new frontage roads.
Finally, a new project website is now live. For any and all updates, detours, news and construction updates, please visit http://www.grandparkway99.com. A recently finished 3D animation video was shown at the ground-breaking ceremony but at the time of writing this update it was not on the website to share the URL with you. By the time you read this, the ZOPB team has promised me that it would be on the website quoted above.

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And here is the Traffic Control Plan for the typical section of the GP shown above:

Thanks AN.

As for your analysis of Champion Forest.............let me make this personal bet with you. I bet you when the GP is completed, far more people use Champion Forest than what you believe.

Why? While everything you wrote makes good sense, I've lived in Houston long enough to get a feel for these things. Yep, completely unscientific.............yet I think I'll be right. We'll see.

will there be an on and off ramp at stuebner airline? that's most convenient for me.

Ha, I figured this would come to a bet offer at some point. Every discussion I have with someone about traffic projections, traffic theory, driver behaviors and driver expectation always leads to this.

You can keep your money, that's not my intent with any of this. It's not a matter of me wanting to be right, or me wanting my opinion to matter more than anyone else's. It never is. But there are so many factors involved that people always just conveniently omit or completely ignore in their perceptions of "the world is going to end because of all this traffic" that trying to have a good conversation usually ends with the punt of the bet offer.

I get this all the time. Usually from my wife!

schmendeler, Stuebner-Airline will not intersect with the Grand Parkway. FM 2920 will, and there will be on and off ramps provided.

The Grand Parkway mainlanes will actually go under FM 2920 due to the vertical height restrictions for the Hooks runway approach.

where is it crossing 2920? i've looked at the website in the past but sometimes it's hard to tell close details. when will the stretch between 290 and 45 be complete? it looks like 10-290 is almost done.

Whoa............whoa.........I didn't say money. Just a personal bet. But.........if I lose I'll say the drinks are on me!!!!