Getting to work

[equiraptor]

I recently started working for The Planet at their headquarters in downtown Houston. As a result of being downtown parking is limited. Most of us have to pay for car parking (motorcycle parking is freely available under the building and there's a bike rack available). However, the company will pay for a bus pass for employees. So I can either pay

Comments

[sfida]

Wow, I drive by The Planet every day on my way home. Our company has a contract with you guys, actually, but for the Dallas facility.

I wish I could ride the bus in. Parking is free in the Galleria Area, yes, but gas isn't, and like you, the company would pay my bus fare. The problem is that my 25-minute (in the morning) commute would become a 90-minute commute simply because Metro is so badly organized. Leaving the house at 5:45 every morning? Let's see how many ways to say "NO" I can think of...

As far as the 'cycle goes, I can't do anything but reiterate just what you've said, but please give some more thought to safety. Houston drivers are crap, and I think they're worst of all in Midtown.

[equiraptor]

The Alpha Services group actually works on all the servers in the various datacenters. If it's the downtown facility you drive by, that's where I work. Almost none of the servers are here, though - the Houston ones are out further north and there are multiple locations (both with servers and without) in Dallas as well.

I'm thinking either Kirby-> Allen or Kirby -> Memorial. While Houston drivers are CRAP, the traffic loads at the time of day I'm on those streets isn't excessively high. It looks to me like I should still be able to find escape routes, etc. The restricted access nature of Memorial and Allen reduce the risk of being rearended while at a stop light (fraggin' idiots).

[sfida]

Yeah, I found a while ago that it's faster for me to take Memorial through Downtown to I-10 than to take any of the highways anywhere in the neighborhood of 4:45 in the afternoon.

You're right about the Parkways, but Kirby is worrisome, especially with all that construction right now. Granted, during the commute, you'll likely be driving with people who know what they're doing, but even still. After you clear San Felipe, you should be good either way, but I'd have the willies about it for sure.

[equiraptor]

Oh, construction's done on the part of Kirby I'd be on! It's all broad and smooth and nice. =)

[sfida]

I hope they move on to that part of Westheimer pretty swiftly, then. That area makes for an interesting study in speed control by potholes. Thank God for that lifetime-unlimited-alignment deal at Firestone.