is there a "downtown" of sugar land? (Houston: transplants, houses) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

chicagomama · 05-23-2008, 05:28 AM

This might be a weird question. In some of the burbs of Chicago they usually have a downtown where it is pedestrian-friendly and there are shops, the library, train station, park, etc. Is there something like this in Sugar Land? I really like to walk to the supermarket/library/schools vs. drive. Are there any walking/biking trails? Itried to find a map but it looked like in 2005 they were planning trails (but I couldn't find if they had been constructed).

Topaz · 05-23-2008, 06:06 AM

There are so many cars and so much traffic in Sugar Land, some of the areas seem too busy to be pedestrian-friendly. However, some of the most pedestrian-friendly places I've found here are Sugar Land Town Square and then there are extensive walking trails inside each master planned community. First Colony and New Territory both have trails winding through their developments.

First Colony is so centrally located, you could walk to more retail locations than you could from New Territory. In New Territory, residents walk to schools and parks and to the New Territory Club but there isn't much retail over here compared to First Colony.

tstone · 05-23-2008, 06:23 AM

Growing up in the 90s, the closest thing to "downtown" was by the sugar factory, post office & train tracks. Where Burney turns into Main (used to have a painted mural on the bridge), and the cross-streets are numbered 1st through 7th St, except for 3rd St which is Lakeview. There are very old houses here in nice shape worth a good penny.

jfre81 · 05-23-2008, 10:58 AM

The area tstone is talking about is off 90A between Highways 6 and 59.

Sugar Land was once very much its own town, and a lot of the outer exurbs have at least some reminders of the town's identity before it became "suburb of Houston."

tstone · 05-23-2008, 11:17 AM

I've been so far removed, I really don't recognize a good chunk of Sugar Land anymore. Down 6 from 90A to 59 used to be 3 traffic lights, and past Hwy 6 down 59S was nearly barren grassland. The First Colony Mall was fairly new (as the Westwood closed its doors). ''Downtown'' was the area I already mentioned, where all those streets are crammed by the traintracks. Some of those street names are named after folks who were important figures in establishing the town in the 1800s.

Compared to when I left for college in '96, it's a different town now. If transplants consider a cluster of parking garages and retail shops as "downtown," Sugar Land has officially lost its identity IMO.

Topaz · 05-23-2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstone

If transplants consider a cluster of parking garages and retail shops as "downtown," Sugar Land has officially lost its identity IMO.

Ouch. As one of those transplants, I should probably ignore this remark. But since other transplants may be reading this to make decisions about whether to come to Sugar Land, here's the alternative perspective on those parking garages and retail shops. Last month my husband and I had a rare date night when our children went to "Parents' Night Out" at their preschool. We went to Amici at Sugar Land Town Square for dinner, walked around afterward, and then sat outside drinking coffee and talking for awhile. Lots of people were out and around and they were friendly and it was NICE.

Sugar Land really isn't the type of small town with a Main Street, for sure. I didn't live here before so I don't know what has been lost but this version is quite pleasant in many ways, too.

chicagomama · 05-23-2008, 11:45 AM

Topaz- that sounds like what I was looking for. We have 2 preschoolers as well and I would LOVE a parents night out! There's no pricetag on that! Isn't it funny how- even on the rare occasion we are out alone as a couple- the conversation turns to the kids? We have to consciously talk about topics, ha ha. Our current topic is moving to Houston, so that is fun! I'm going to miss having my parents so close to watch the kids though!

tstone · 05-23-2008, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Topaz

Ouch. As one of those transplants, I should probably ignore this remark.

Wasn't a stab at you personally. Just putting that out there. I just read this for the first time a minute ago:

Sugar Land, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"...This town square is an ironic symbol of the recent surge in suburbs creating fake, corporate sponsored downtown areas. In the case of Sugar Land, the real town has been ignored and deconstructed by many of the recent transplants in the master planned subdivisions..."

Looks like someone hi-jacked that section with the exact same complaints.

Topaz · 05-23-2008, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstone

Sugar Land, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"...This town square is an ironic symbol of the recent surge in suburbs creating fake, corporate sponsored downtown areas. In the case of Sugar Land, the real town has been ignored and deconstructed by many of the recent transplants in the master planned subdivisions..."

Looks like someone hi-jacked that section with the exact same complaints.

This is a seriously subjective opinion masquerading as fact. I don't know how Wikipedia works. What is the process to challenge such a statement?

tstone · 05-23-2008, 12:10 PM

You can just go in there and change it. There are discussion boards for each article too. Look across the top of the page on those tabs. Some pages have problems being vandalized, and they are locked. (Wikipedia is not a good research tool for academia.) But growing up on the SW side and in Sugar Land, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement, but these things should NOT be in wikipedia. They should be on personal sites that come up when you google "fake downtown Sugar Land."