Last Chance To See 600 sq mi: Hidden
Missed Connections: Gefilte Fish...and "Chain Connections"
H-Town Rock
Rock Talk, Vol. IX
Excellent work, gumshoes! Here's your first Top 10 list, made up of your suggestions and our opinions. If you didn't get a chance, be sure to go back and read the various comments made on the first Top 10ist, because there are a few gems. [Next step: contribute to next week's Top 10ist by commenting - below this post - in response to the new prompt, which you will find at the bottom.] Good work on contributing, now sit back and enjoy!
Top 10ist Question #1: What is the most satisfying driving experience in Houston?
Answer:
1. Memorial Drive between the Galleria & downtown
2. I-45 South through downtown
3. (S.) Main Street between Holcome and Bissonett
4. 610 East and the Ship Channel Bridge
5. Allen Parkway (Shepherd to downtown) + Kirby Drive (through River Oaks)
6. 288 North into downtown
7. Montrose/Studemont/Studewood Drive from 59 through the Heights
8. West Loop 610 past the Galleria
9. Westpark Tollway eastbound, exit ramp for 59
10. Smith St. through downtown
Honorable Mention: Westheimer. Because who doesn't have a cherished Westheimer intersection nuzzled somewhere in their heart? "Montrose for you, Voss for me. How about we meet somewhere near Kirby?' That's an old adage.
How nice! A map showing the Top 10ist most satisfying drives in Houston!
Yes, you can print it out and tape it to your dash. You made it - and you made Top 10ist the most talked about game in town! Strut your stuff in Round 2:
Houstonist Top 10ist Question #2:
(Because really, we all know this is the question we were all actually thinking of)
What is the least satisfying driving experience in Houston?
Specifics make Houstonist happy. Time, season, weather, year, etc. Have fun, debate with some pals, and then report back. We'll be in touch next week with your new Top 10ist.
Click the link for a sample response to Top 10ist prompt #2.
What is the least satisfying driving experience in Houston?
For example (as told to Houstonist by a reader): "8:45PM, 610 West Loop Northbound, in between 59 and I-10. You're trying to exit to go to I-10 west - but before that you see a sign on 610 N (around the Woodway exit) that says, "I-10 west ramp will be closed for road work from 9PM-5AM." It's 8:45PM. And you get there, and it's already closed. So then you have to go I-10 eastbound and exit at Washington street (with everyone else), and there's a line of people stopped in the right lane of the freeway to get into the exit ramp at Washington to effectively take two left turns and get to the I-10 westbound like they wanted to in the first place. And the worst part is when you are trying to decide if it is worth your life to poke your head out of line and get back on the freeway (I-10) eastbound and skip up to the Shepherd exit to u-turn without a line. But it's just so scary. You might die just trying to U-turn."
You've made your first Top 10ist list. You should be proud. Take your friends out for a drink. Show them the map. Then, make everyone feel miserable by asking them for their least satisfying driving experience in Houston. Once you have done this, steal away into the night, leaving only the faint scent of jasmine in bloom. This is what you must do. Then leave a comment in response to the prompt:
What is the least satisfying driving experience in Houston?
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nice work shannon! the map was a great addition to the post! thanks so much for starting this feature, can't wait to see what some of the topics will be!
worst drive, ANY WEEKDAY from 5:00pm-6:00pm. Particularly I-45 north, I-10 west, or 290 west. yuk!
List #2
Driving through "Idiot Alley" on Hilcroft (both north & south of Hwy 59) at any time, any day,any week, and any year!
Driving in the left lane on 59 N past the spur (because you want to exit to 45 in a second) and a bunch of people trying to move into your lane from the left because they realize all of a sudden that they need to stay on 59. Boooo.
I used to live in the Gallaria area. Quite often I spent weekends in Austin. It was pure hell getting from the Gallaria area out I-10 to Katy. By the time I would arrive in Katy I was so worn out from fighting the Friday afternoon traffic that I was ready to find a room for the night! ( my solution was to move to 290 & hwy 6 ! )
As far as a one time nightmare- the year they brought Mardi Gras back to Galveston. We headed back to Houston after the big parade and sat on Broadway for 3 hrs. We did learn from that experience. Every Mardi gras since , we would stay & close up the bars - no traffic - no problem!
Bissonnet, between Weslayan and Kirby. Be prepared to lose a filling when you hit one of the multitudinous potholes.
Any freeway intersection with clearly marked "This Highway, This Lane". Either there are an inordinate amount of illiterate persons here, or everyone else's time is worth more. Either way, it's rather irritating!
The "Death Trap" entering the 59 spur on Milam. Because it's AWESOME to enter fast moving traffic with no room to accelerate and no shoulder to move into, should, just hypothetically, other cars already be on the highway.
59 South when the Dept. of Transportation decides to SHUT DOWN THE ENTIRE FREEWAY IN ONE DIRECTION. Yes, I should've read the paper or watched the news, but sometimes I don't.
Then you end up driving off-road (with a truck) or driving the wrong way down an off-ramp (with a sedan).
Actually first place should be escaping Houston when a potential category 5 hurricane is on the horizon AND one of the worst hurricanes in modern history has JUST wrecked disaster along the Gulf Coast several weeks earlier.
Houston's own version of the Mixmaster - where 59 North meets 288 and then I-45. It's a guaranteed backup any time of any day.
Runner up: Bellaire, Bissonet, Richmond, or Westheimer from roughly Chimney Rock to Highway 6. Each street represents the worst of Houston: endlessly repeating sprawl, traffic, billboards, strip malls, gas stations, strip clubs, pawn shops, and other urban detritus.
Worst drives in Houston have to be
1.59 N or S at rush hour.
2.I-10 almost all the time...it is a parking lot during almost any daytime hour.
3. 610 right near the Galleria during almost any weekday daytime hour - ESPECIALLY on Saturdays.
I'd raise issue with Bellaire between Chimney Rock and Highway 6. I think that area highlights one of Houston's strengths: its diversity. I wouldn't put Chinatown on any "worst of Houston" list.
Beltway 8 exiting onto I-45 South, once you get on I-45. It sucks.
State Highway 6 North between FM 529 and Interstate 10...I'm convinced that the only time this roadway isn't choked with traffic is around 3:30 AM on a Sunday (listen carefully and you can hear AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" playing as you creep past the golf course).
You know that old axiom about "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line"? That's not true if, like me, you live near Highway 6 North (Copperfield) and work near Highway 6 South (Sugar Land). I actually get home faster by taking Highway 99 North to IH-10 West!