Pickles

Commentary has said that I am not familiar with the scooter scene in Downtown H-Town. I can’t speak about the issue or take sides. The following is an E-Board take today from Sharon Steinmann, a video journalist for the Houston Chronicle’s opinion team:

“It’s mayhem. It’s a menace. It’s a scourge.” 

That’s how one downtown resident described the scene around popular destinations such as Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center, capturing the sentiment of dozens of his neighbors at a packed meeting in City Hall.

They weren’t describing roving gangs of pickpocketers. They were talking about e-scooters, fat-tire e-bikes and electric trikes. Apparently, the apocalypse has arrived — not four riders on horseback, but youths on micromobility vehicles.

“At best, scooters are reckless recreation and at worst they are deadly,” said Todd Holloman, vice president of venues and live events at Houston First Corporation. “This is a public safety crisis within our convention campus.”

In a city with high homicide rates and some of the most dangerous roads in the country, scooters hardly seem like a crisis.

Houston city leaders are responding to the outcry and are considering a ban on electric scooters in all of downtown, east downtown and parts of midtown.  

I showed up at Discovery Green on recent Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to see what all the fuss was about. 

I half-expected to see a dystopian scene out of RoboCop II. Instead, I saw a park packed with young adults and whole families riding a myriad of electric vehicles. Hundreds in their weekend getups zipping around, their vehicles glowing in the night. It was lively but also uncomfortably crowded.

Here is the entire E-Board take: I witnessed the e-scooter ‘mayhem’ downtown. Let’s not overreact.

This is an op-ed in today’s Chron from the president of the Discovery Green Conservancy, Kathryn Lott:

Cities across America and abroad are restricting electric scooters after finding the promise doesn’t match the reality. Paris, France; Melbourne, Australia and Indianapolis, Ind. have all implemented bans or strict restrictions. Even scooter-friendly Austin created significant downtown limitations. Houston, it’s our turn to learn from their experience — and our own.

At Discovery Green, we’ve witnessed firsthand how electric scooters have transformed from a transportation solution into a public safety problem. Every weekend and most evenings, it seems, our 12-acre park becomes a high-speed playground for teens and young adults. Too many race across carefully maintained gardens, walkways and lawns with little regard for families, pets, elderly visitors or park safety rules.

The original vision was admirable: electric scooters as clean, efficient urban transportation. The reality in our downtown green space tells a different story. These aren’t commuters using scooters to get to work or appointments. They’re groups seeking entertainment, treating our public park like a private racetrack. Most concerning, groups of riders create grooves in our lawns through high-speed turns and stunts, causing damage.

Over the years, Discovery Green has invested heavily in trying to address this problem. We’ve spent hundreds of thousands on security personnel. My staff tells me that our guards and employees have faced verbal abuse and threats. When attempting to enforce park rules, riders have often responded with defiance. “No cop, no stop” has become a common refrain. When police arrive, the groups often scatter at high speeds, making enforcement nearly impossible.

The atmosphere of lawlessness that accompanies these large groups creates an environment that has become ever-more dangerous and violent. Discovery Green staff have witnessed fights break out among the teens and young adults on scooters. Some appear to take pride in their ability to damage property and “take over” the park, driving out others who are there for recreation. It’s created a culture that feels threatening to park visitors and staff.

The dollars we’ve spent on this issue represent more than maintenance expenses — they represent lost opportunities for our community. Every dollar spent on scooter damage repair is funding that cannot support the free concerts, art installations and educational programming that serve millions of Houstonians. As a nonprofit organization, these unplanned expenses directly impact our ability to fulfill our mission.

Discovery Green serves as Houston’s front door to visitors attending events at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Our friends at the surrounding hotels tell us their guests are afraid to leave at night because of the crowds. We should be showcasing our city’s commitment to safe, accessible public spaces. Instead, the current scooter situation presents an image of disorder that doesn’t reflect Houston’s values or aspirations.

Here is the entire op-ed: Why Discovery Green supports an e-scooter ban in downtown Houston.

Over the past 25 or so years, the City of H-Town has invested a lot into making Downtown a viable, attractive, go-to destination. We have Daikin Park, Toyota Center, Shell Energy Stadium, new convention center hotels, high rise living, Metro Rail, Discovery Green, you get the picture.  We need to listen to the voices of the stakeholders on this issue. We need to listen to the voices that are helping to contribute to a vibrant Downtown H-Town.

_____

“Today” did a segment on all things pickles this morning. See the featured photo. There were pickles on pizza, pickle flavored ice cream and Cheetos, and chocolate covered pickles to name a few. There was also a pickle festival that was visited. I am a dill pickle and kosher dill spear pickle fella. In sandwiches and burgers, and with bacon and refried beans flour tortilla tacos. I also don’t let the pickle juice go to waste after the last pickle slice leaves the jar.

_____

Alex Bregman returned to the ballpark yesterday. A nice two-minute highlight tribute video was shown before the game. Then he proceeded to hit a two-run dinger in his first at-bat. The Chron has a piece on Bregman’s return and here is the best part:

When he arrived back in Houston on Sunday night, the first thing he did was drive to Whataburger and order a triple-meat burger to, “get back in the Texas swing of things.”

“No. 3, no tomato. Large Dr. Pepper,” he recited.

We won the game last night and have a one-game lead with 43 games to play. It is Dollar Dog Night this evening.