Can I-45 ever look nice? (Houston, Sugar Land: garden, suburban, parking)

[SouthernBoy205]

It's that bad???

[irishlover]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

It's that bad???

You ever heard of Google Maps Street View. Yeah, check it out.

[testmo]

i've personally never traveled down a major thoroughfare in a large city and gone to myself "now this is a beautiful roadway"

maybe lone stretches through nothing in N. Carolina are "pretty", but they are still roads. I don't foresee any roman ruins and beautiful fountains sprouting alongside the highway ever

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by dejamiller

Probably not. That area is such prime land considering its relatively closeness to downtown and the airport, plus it has its own business district like Greenspoint. Too bad that area will probably never be cleaned up.

If it is such "prime land" why is it usually either acres of vacant land, or crappy businesses with acres of parking? It seems to me that the land must be pretty cheap to support the businesses that it does.

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by testmo

i've personally never traveled down a major thoroughfare in a large city and gone to myself "now this is a beautiful roadway"

maybe lone stretches through nothing in N. Carolina are "pretty", but they are still roads. I don't foresee any roman ruins and beautiful fountains sprouting alongside the highway ever

I think most drives in most cities are unremarkable. It is only those drives that are especially dismal or scenic that we remember. People seem to remember I45 N and S, so that says something about those roadways.

[tropicsboy2000]

Originally Posted by irishlover

I think all that "stuff" adds to the character of Houston...I hope it stays the way it is minus the abandoned car dealership part...they should at least "clean" that up and open a super, mega adult cineplex

I noticed this so-called ugliness as I drove by on I-45 during my recent trip to Houston. I think the signs and strip malls are tacky in a fun and authentic way. I actually liked it. It reinforced my belief that Houston is a working, down-to-earth sort of place. Besides, I've seen much uglier in some parts of Miami.

[RocketSci]

Originally Posted by RocketSci

I think most drives in most cities are unremarkable. It is only those drives that are especially dismal or scenic that we remember. People seem to remember I45 N and S, so that says something about those roadways.

Another way of looking at I45 is to compare it to US59 thru Sugar Land, or I610 thru Bellaire. 610 and 59 may not be scenic, but they are a stark contrast to the majority of freeways in Houston. So, it CAN be done.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by RocketSci

Another way of looking at I45 is to compare it to US59 thru Sugar Land, or I610 thru Bellaire. 610 and 59 may not be scenic, but they are a stark contrast to the majority of freeways in Houston. So, it CAN be done.

Stark contrast? I don't see US59 to Sugar Land being renamed the Scarlett Johansson Freeway anytime soon.

I used to think US59 Sugar Land to 610 was the ugliest road I had ever seen. Then I drove down 45N.

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Stark contrast? I don't see US59 to Sugar Land being renamed the Scarlett Johansson Freeway anytime soon.

I used to think US59 Sugar Land to 610 was the ugliest road I had ever seen. Then I drove down 45N.

LOL.No freeway is beautiful, but 59S is certainly no glamour trip.

[ktk819]

Originally Posted by testmo

i've personally never traveled down a major thoroughfare in a large city and gone to myself "now this is a beautiful roadway"

maybe lone stretches through nothing in N. Carolina are "pretty", but they are still roads. I don't foresee any roman ruins and beautiful fountains sprouting alongside the highway ever

It's not meant to be a question of classical beauty. It's a question addressing the visual clutter, abandoned shops, and seedier, adult-oriented businesses that are particularly prominent along I-45. I don't think that freeways are meant to be beautiful (so much as functional), but I feel they also shouldn't be extensive collections of dilapidation and unabated blight.