Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: THU 09/11/03

Section: ThisWeek

Page: 9

Edition: 2 STAR

What a difference a walk makes

By MASON LERNER, Houston Chronicle correspondent

Everyday millions of Houstonians plod their way throughbumper-to-bumper traffic that only seems to be getting worse as the years goby. It is impossible to stop at a stoplight and not see a woman hurriedlyfixing her eyeliner in her rear view mirror, or some poor guy with his head inhis hands because the merciless Houston sun is pounding away at him and makinghis morning cup of Joe beat out a conga against his stomach lining.

One question is going through all of these drivers' minds as theysuffer through yet another day of tortuous traffic congestion.

Is there any way to escape the daily energy-stealing process ofwading through Houston's traffic?

The answer is a resounding "yes" for anybody who worksand lives downtown.

As downtown continues to evolve, many residents are learning howbig of a difference the ability to walk to work and beyond can actually make intheir lives.

Ben Morris, an investment banker in the downtown area, figures hehas saved himself thousands of hours since he moved into the Rice Lofts fiveyears ago. Once their kids had all moved out of the family's Memorial home,Morris and his wife decided that a move to a downtown loft closer to his workwould allow them to do a lot of things that they had never had time forpreviously.

"It is 122 paces from my home to the door of my officebuilding," Morris said. "It takes me about two minutes to walk towork."

After nearly 30 years of commuting from the suburbs to his office,Morris - like a growing amount of people who are now walking to work in a NewYork Minute instead of driving in an H-Town Hour - has found that the time hesaves by walking to work has provided him with more energy in his leisure timeand, at the same time, has allowed him to maintain a tighter focus when he is atwork.

"It adds an hour-and-a-half a day. That's seven-and-a-halfhours a week, and that comes out to roughly 30 hours a month," Morrissaid. "That's a lot of time I save by walking to work. In addition, thetraffic would frustrate me. I was cramped for time before. It allows me to dothings, like exercise frequently, that I couldn't do before."

Work is not the only place downtown residents are walking to.

Gilad Lutfak, a 24-year-old real estate agent and resident of theKeystone Lofts at 1120 Texas, noted that being able to get around downtown onfoot has many social implications as well. Main Street is only a stone's throwaway from Keystone, and that means all Lutfak has to do is walk about ablock-and-a-half and he is at one of the hottest spots to party in the city.

"Walking to work is nice," Lutfak said. "But whenthe weekend rolls around, it is even nicer to be able to walk to the club andnot have to worry about driving or parking."

Lutfak added that there are many other advantages that his loftlocation provides.

"It's not just work and it's not just going out," Lutfaksaid. " I can walk just about anywhere I want, whereas everywhere I'veever lived before made it necessary to get in my car to do anything. I can walkto the movies. I can walk to Minute Maid Park. I rarely even have to get in mycar during the week, unless something business-related takes me out ofdowntown. It really has changed my life."