Bolsover or not, Sonoma's coming

So there has been a continual push and pull around the new development by Randall Davis in the Village - funny advertisements, approval from the city for street abandonment, and the loss of some neat shopping places. Sonoma, however, is apparently still in the works despite growing concerns. That's right - for all of you million dollar hippies (or $30,000 millionaires), your residence in wait may be within reach (yes, Mr. Davis is taking names for condos).

Issues with the development - dear to many Houstonians - is whether or not there will be adequate parking and increased traffic congestion. Lamesa has ensured that there will be public parking included in the plans, and that there is enough parking planned for the development itself. Area resident Bill Faloon though, is still worried. He said that the developers repeatedly have said they'll build with or without seizing Bolsover St., and also that he hasn't heard of any tenants signing on yet - that means there isn't an accurate way to assess true parking needs and traffic flow. Andy Icken, the city's Deputy Director of Public Works, seems to feel differently:

"Not to say the traffic in Rice Village isn't a difficult situation for people to navigate," but, he said, Sonoma and the closing of Bolsover should not make it worse.

"The analysis we have done would say there is no substantial impact by that development on traffic in the area with the closing of the street," Icken said. "While the facility looks large, these studies said there is no measurable change on traffic in the area."

While we are all about more dense development (even if it may only cater to a handful of folks in the city), it will be interesting to see how this plus one less street will end up affecting the area. Traffic Engineers, Inc. conducted these studies.