Spring 2013 Newsletter
Welcome to the Rice Military Newsletter for Spring 2013. Take a look at all the happenings within the Rice Military area and please don't forget to give us feedback on any of the points raised - we really like to hear back from people.
New Parking Regulations coming to Rice Military
If you are a resident of Rice Military, or just visit us from time to time, then you need to read this as there are new parking regulations being discussed by the City of Houston.
Why the need for the new regulations?
There are currently many parking concerns around the Washington Avenue/Rice Military area and these include: ~ Parking is a scarce resource. ~ Patrons and employees parking in neighborhoods.
~ Parked vehicles blocking access to emergency vehicles.
~ Lack of long-term parking solution.
~ Valet operators storing vehicles on neighborhood streets.
What are the proposed plans?
1. New signage; or
2. New signage and meters; or
3. Establish a Parking Benefit District.
New Signage: ~ Parking remains free. ~ Areas that qualify for Residential Permit Parking (RPP) may file applications as needed.
~ Signage will mitigate traffic congestion in residential areas where streets are too narrow for RPP.
Parking Signs and Meters:
~ Install parking signs and meters based on Traffic Engineer’s recommendations.
~ Limit valet vehicles parked on-street.
~ Signage will improve traffic flow and mobility.
~ Create turnover early in the evening for restaurants.
~ Long-term parking for club/bar patrons at night.
Parking Benefit District (PBD):
~ Install parking signs and meters based on Traffic Engineer’s recommendations.
~ Limit valet vehicles parked on-street.
~ Signage will improve traffic flow and mobility.
~ Funding source for public safety and improvement projects.
~ Permit parking for businesses and residents where RPP cannot be applied.
~ RPP areas are studied to adjust timings to prevent negative impact.
What should I do if I am a resident & want to find out more?
At the time of print nothing is finalized until the city committee meet. To find out more visit the City of Houston website at www.houstontx.gov/parking
Why the need for the new regulations?
There are currently many parking concerns around the Washington Avenue/Rice Military area and these include: ~ Parking is a scarce resource. ~ Patrons and employees parking in neighborhoods.
~ Parked vehicles blocking access to emergency vehicles.
~ Lack of long-term parking solution.
~ Valet operators storing vehicles on neighborhood streets.
What are the proposed plans?
1. New signage; or
2. New signage and meters; or
3. Establish a Parking Benefit District.
New Signage: ~ Parking remains free. ~ Areas that qualify for Residential Permit Parking (RPP) may file applications as needed.
~ Signage will mitigate traffic congestion in residential areas where streets are too narrow for RPP.
Parking Signs and Meters:
~ Install parking signs and meters based on Traffic Engineer’s recommendations.
~ Limit valet vehicles parked on-street.
~ Signage will improve traffic flow and mobility.
~ Create turnover early in the evening for restaurants.
~ Long-term parking for club/bar patrons at night.
Parking Benefit District (PBD):
~ Install parking signs and meters based on Traffic Engineer’s recommendations.
~ Limit valet vehicles parked on-street.
~ Signage will improve traffic flow and mobility.
~ Funding source for public safety and improvement projects.
~ Permit parking for businesses and residents where RPP cannot be applied.
~ RPP areas are studied to adjust timings to prevent negative impact.
What should I do if I am a resident & want to find out more?
At the time of print nothing is finalized until the city committee meet. To find out more visit the City of Houston website at www.houstontx.gov/parking
Fire in the neighborhood & Lessons Learned
Fire in the Neighborhood & Lessons Learned
A recent fire in Rice Military made people realize that not knowing your neighbors, and not having contact telephone numbers, can lead to major problems when there is an issue such as a fire.
One of the Rice Military houses caught fire and was severely damaged inside. Unfortunately, their dog perished as a result of the fire as well. The fire also affected the adjoining houses, which can be expected when we live in a neighborhood such as this with its many closely built properties.
Read about the house fire below, written by the homeowners themselves. They offer some great advice!
A recent fire in Rice Military made people realize that not knowing your neighbors, and not having contact telephone numbers, can lead to major problems when there is an issue such as a fire.
One of the Rice Military houses caught fire and was severely damaged inside. Unfortunately, their dog perished as a result of the fire as well. The fire also affected the adjoining houses, which can be expected when we live in a neighborhood such as this with its many closely built properties.
Read about the house fire below, written by the homeowners themselves. They offer some great advice!
An added note for those with pets...
In order to help the fire department locate your pets, in such an incident as this, please put a sticker on your front door with the names (and any nicknames) of your pets and where they would hide or would 'hang out' within the house. This makes it easier and faster to locate pets which stops the lives of both the fire fighters and the pets being put at more risk.
Pet stickers can be ordered on the ASPCA website for free.
Pet stickers can be ordered on the ASPCA website for free.
The people, whose house unfortunately burned down, gave the newsletter some excellent words of advice that they would like to share with their Rice Military neighbors...
"Know your neighbors! We know that we could have put more effort into this ourselves. Fortunately, Gus (our dog) made a big enough impact on our neighbors for them to want to go completely above and beyond to help us and continue to help us through this whole process. I know I can't name everything they have done to help us, but just to name a few - they spent their Friday evening cleaning our china and crystal which were covered in soot, as well as take Gus to the emergency animal clinic, helped us find a new home, brought us water as we rummaged though our smoke-filled home, allowed us to use their garages for storage while we were in between homes... the list really goes on and on and on. We will be forever grateful!
When going out of town be sure to give neighbors a contact number. We were out of the country and our cell phones didn't work, so it would have been very helpful if we had left a working contact number in case of an emergency like this.
Get insurance coverage for EVERYTHING, not just petty theft. This should also include the costs for labor. We had pretty decent coverage as long as we only took account the value of everything in our house. When you add in how much it cost to have everything removed from the house, cleaned (if cleanable), and then brought back to the house, you're pretty much left with less than half of your coverage to manage the cost of re-purchasing. So don't just think about replacement value when picking your coverage plan!
Inventory household items; where they are from, when you bought them, and how much you bought them for! These are all things you need to know to create your inventory list for the insurance company. A few suggestions from our experience are to:
1. Keep receipts! The best option would be to keep these kinds of documents in a cloud or google docs, or some sort of off site storage where you can access them anytime, anywhere.
2. Take pictures of your house. We moved away from family and friends, which is why we had a whole album of house pictures, but that was very helpful to us while creating our inventory list.
3. SAVE REGISTRIES! Wedding, baby, whatever... Fortunately Ryan and I got married just over a year ago, so ours were still active in the stores. Again, this was very helpful in remembering what we had and also proving the value, that we did actually own it, and how long we had it. Last thing, thanks to Lauren Barrash [Rice Military Civic Club Secretary], we have had the pleasure of working with Doug Jones and his team at 281-FLOODED. They have been wonderful, and have made this process much easier for us than I think it is for others in our situation. I would definitely recommend them (but hopefully you will never need this information!)
I really hope this is helpful! Ryan and I are doing really well and feel the love all around us. We miss Gus every single day, but we are grieving together and have been a huge support for each other. His loss has really put a perspective on everything else, which although doesn't seem worth it, has made the rest of this craziness easier to deal with".
Mallory and Ryan Ciarrocchi.
When going out of town be sure to give neighbors a contact number. We were out of the country and our cell phones didn't work, so it would have been very helpful if we had left a working contact number in case of an emergency like this.
Get insurance coverage for EVERYTHING, not just petty theft. This should also include the costs for labor. We had pretty decent coverage as long as we only took account the value of everything in our house. When you add in how much it cost to have everything removed from the house, cleaned (if cleanable), and then brought back to the house, you're pretty much left with less than half of your coverage to manage the cost of re-purchasing. So don't just think about replacement value when picking your coverage plan!
Inventory household items; where they are from, when you bought them, and how much you bought them for! These are all things you need to know to create your inventory list for the insurance company. A few suggestions from our experience are to:
1. Keep receipts! The best option would be to keep these kinds of documents in a cloud or google docs, or some sort of off site storage where you can access them anytime, anywhere.
2. Take pictures of your house. We moved away from family and friends, which is why we had a whole album of house pictures, but that was very helpful to us while creating our inventory list.
3. SAVE REGISTRIES! Wedding, baby, whatever... Fortunately Ryan and I got married just over a year ago, so ours were still active in the stores. Again, this was very helpful in remembering what we had and also proving the value, that we did actually own it, and how long we had it. Last thing, thanks to Lauren Barrash [Rice Military Civic Club Secretary], we have had the pleasure of working with Doug Jones and his team at 281-FLOODED. They have been wonderful, and have made this process much easier for us than I think it is for others in our situation. I would definitely recommend them (but hopefully you will never need this information!)
I really hope this is helpful! Ryan and I are doing really well and feel the love all around us. We miss Gus every single day, but we are grieving together and have been a huge support for each other. His loss has really put a perspective on everything else, which although doesn't seem worth it, has made the rest of this craziness easier to deal with".
Mallory and Ryan Ciarrocchi.
Saying Hello to Your Immediate Neighbours
If you don't feel comfortable just knocking on your neighbors door, come along to the next Rice Military Civic Club meeting on April 9 and pick up some Rice Military Civic Club Business cards. This way you can meet your neighbors and hand them a card with your details on it.... and let them know about the fire and why you are doing this.
The Wave
Are you planning an event for a friend, company or family member? Want to do something other than dinner and drinks? Ever find yourself eating or going to the same spots?
Well, let The Wave team be your social heroes. Born & raised in Houston, the owner thought she knew Houston, but not until she started the Wave in 2009 did she know just how amazing Houston was & how
much there was to do here.
The Wave have tons of tours, events, packages, events you can choose from and can help you create a memorable experience. You can even take all the creative credit.
Or if you already have your event planned, include the Wave as your transportation provider. The Wave have seen it all from 6 year olds birthday parties, to food truck crawls, recruiting events and family nights out.
The Wave runs like public transpiration, Thursday through Sunday, so dinner and drinks can be safe and you don't have to worry about valet, moving your car, being towed, meters....
Find out more at: www.thehoustonwave.com
Well, let The Wave team be your social heroes. Born & raised in Houston, the owner thought she knew Houston, but not until she started the Wave in 2009 did she know just how amazing Houston was & how
much there was to do here.
The Wave have tons of tours, events, packages, events you can choose from and can help you create a memorable experience. You can even take all the creative credit.
Or if you already have your event planned, include the Wave as your transportation provider. The Wave have seen it all from 6 year olds birthday parties, to food truck crawls, recruiting events and family nights out.
The Wave runs like public transpiration, Thursday through Sunday, so dinner and drinks can be safe and you don't have to worry about valet, moving your car, being towed, meters....
Find out more at: www.thehoustonwave.com
Feedback
If you would like to contact the newsletter team, email us at: news@rice-military.org
