tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18395537922375223192024-03-05T18:36:49.190-08:00Sustainable Cy-FairUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-21485967304814315862019-07-07T16:33:00.001-07:002019-07-07T16:45:53.273-07:00Harris County beliefs about pedestrians and bicyclists must changeDear Judge Hidalgo:<br />
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In the early 2000s, I inquired into why there are basically no sidewalks out here in Unincorporated Harris County, where I have lived for more than 26 years. I talked to different people in the infrastructure department, as well as Pct. 3 and Pct. 4, and discovered that a core belief of Harris County has been that the County's role is to design suburban boulevards as inexpensively as possible, and that means skimping on "amenities" (yes, they used that word) like sidewalks and bike lanes, which in other jurisdictions are considered standard features. This belief is codified into the engineering cross-sections for suburban boulevards, and in the funding. There are no sidewalk funds, but the County apparently can provide a match to MUD districts and real estate developers, or so I have been told.<br />
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I was also told after pursuing this topic by a top bicycle / pedestrian expert in City of Houston public works who is no longer with the City, to "not bother trying to change anything while Art Storey was in charge, because Harris County doesn't do bikes".<br />
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After a while, I just gave up engaging with people in the County about this topic. I mean, you can only bang your head against a brick wall so many times.<br />
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But Art Storey has retired, and Harris County government turned over in November 2018. I have decided to write to you, not so much for me because I don't ride my bike much any longer, but on behalf of the cyclists and pedestrians for whom safety is a daily concern... for schoolkids and people who don't have any access to automobiles. We're talking about increased safety for working class often immigrant people who must bike or walk, not only for privileged upper-middle-class recreational bike riders, although their interests do intersect. Also I am writing for future potential transit users, because the lack of walkable / bikeable roads in the Unincorporated County means the development of METRO transit routes is suppressed... basically forever, if there is no right-of-way left over for paths. People will not use transit if they can't walk to it; no one drives to use local transit; once you start a journey in a car, you'll just stay in your car and complete the journey without making the transfer. Mostly I am writing for walkers and bikers who have lost their lives on Harris County roads, and there must be hundreds upon hundreds of victims. H-GAC tells us that each crash fatality has a $2 million impact on the Region... what number do you get when you multiple $2 million times hundred and hundreds of times? <u>Ah, but we're used to it... so we don't perceive it as a danger</u>. But if ISIS or Al Qaeda killed as many people in Harris County as who die as bicycle and pedestrian (vulnerable) road users, there would be a hue and cry to bomb and invade wherever they came from. Where is the outrage over vulnerable road user deaths? Where is the funding prioritization?<br />
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We've heard for years that Houston-Galveston MPO is the most dangerous region in the Nation for vulnerable road users. As the Chief Executive of the County, I am asking that you demand answers from your infrastructure staff, and put the question to the Commissioners as well. Ask them why we build boulevards the way we build them, and challenge them to get a better result for vulnerable road users. The County has been configured so wrongly for so long, and the beliefs have literally been "set in stone" (concrete), I don't think the outcome can be truly fixed within my lifetime. It's up to you young people to fix the messes we older people have made. Thank you and Good Luck.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-66413561761014005492015-08-26T14:15:00.001-07:002015-08-26T14:15:53.495-07:00Comments on Greater West Houston Sub-Region Mobility Plan, presented at TPC on 8/28/15<div style="text-align: justify;">
Comments on Greater West Houston Sub-Region Mobility Plan, presented at TPC on 8/28/15</div>
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The main challenge facing Greater West Houston is one of basic math and geometry; there is no more room for automobiles on the roadways, given the way we have used automobiles in the past, which has been in single occupant mode.</div>
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Adding more capacity to support VMT is not a measure of success in the war against congestion, any more than buying a bigger pair of pants is a measure a success in the war against obesity, as Stephen Klineberg points out. </div>
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Harris County, METRO, the Management Districts, and nearby cities like Katy have to collaborate, design, fund, and execute a multi-decade strategy to bring higher-density transportation solutions to West Houston. Transit also demands pedestrian and bicycle friendly infrastructure. We have very little of that.</div>
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I have lived in unincorporated Harris County for almost 23 years, and have been paying METRO taxes all that time, and I see nothing in the way of local transit after paying all of that money, which I think is shameful. METRO is to blame for the way it has operated over the decades, and local governments and politicians are also for blocking and bleeding away funding that might have gone to expanding the transit network. There is plenty of blame to go around.</div>
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I refuse to believe that “suburban transit” is an oxymoron. I recently rode from Denver to Boulder and back again, on Denver's RTD suburban motorcoach, and the bus was full at 10 pm on a weekday.</div>
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Sitting at the Wiehle-Reston East METRO train and bus station near suburban Herndon, Virginia this summer, I watched buses bring in people from the suburbs who then make their way by train to their jobs at Tyson's Corner, or anywhere in and around Washington DC. The train will be built out all the way to Dulles Airport. Where is the train to Bush Airport, or to Hobby?</div>
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Denver and Washington DC had plans, conceived decades ago. We have no plan for suburban transit in West Houston. It's high time to get one.</div>
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Transit in Houston has degraded into a “divide and conquer” political symbol or device, wielded by both between Democrats and Republicans, who tend to live inside Loop 610, away from us “common folk”. We who live in the suburbs are not interested in politics, we just want solutions. Thank you.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-58456385818540546362015-03-01T08:43:00.002-08:002015-03-01T08:43:20.753-08:00Please oppose HB 1998<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear Rep. Elkins,</div>
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Please oppose House Bill 1889 by State Rep. Will Metcalf, which would make it difficult or maybe impossible to build high-speed passenger rail from Houston to Dallas.</div>
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I-45 is chock full from Houston to Dallas, they have no money to expand it, it's dangerous to drive on it, it's a pain to go through the TSA ''groping'' line and very costly to fly, and who wants to take Greyhound bus from Houston to Dallas? Yes, we absolutely need high-speed passenger rail in Texas!</div>
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Last year on vacation I had the chance to take the HSR train from Beijing to Shanghai in China. That was that amazing. Fast, clean, smooth, on time, and less costly than flying.</div>
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Why China, and why not Texas?</div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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Peter Wang</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-52803755618146108572015-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:002015-01-13T15:50:00.698-08:00Happenings in the I-35 Corridor<br />
Open House - Lone Star Regional Rail<br />
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Where: Carver Cultural Center<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> 226 N. Hackberry St.<br /> San Antonio, TX 78202 <br /> </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">When: Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015<br /> 5 pm - 8 pm</span><br />
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Purpose: The purpose of the Lone Star Regional Rail project is to
improve mobility, accessibility, transportation reliability, modal
choice, safety and facilitate economic development along the I-35
corridor in central and south Texas.</div>
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Description: The Lone Star
Rail District (LSRD), in partnership with the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) and TxDOT, is proposing a regional passenger rail
service connecting communities along the I-35 corridor between the
metropolitan areas of Austin and San Antonio. As envisioned, the Lone
Star Regional Rail Project would span approximately 120 miles across
Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Hays, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Bexar
counties. FHWA and TxDOT welcome all comments from interested
individuals, organizations, or businesses regarding alternative
alignments and station locations, as well as any social, economic, or
environmental impacts related to the Lone Star Regional Rail Project.</div>
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Contact: Rail Planning Section Manager<br /> 125 E. 11th St.<br /> Austin, TX 78701<br /> (512) 486-5137</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-41112609043386444602014-11-26T06:34:00.002-08:002014-11-26T06:34:13.484-08:00[AARP] Dangerously Incomplete Streets<div style="text-align: justify;">
Look at these photos and read about what you see. Then think about the roadways near you. There's a good chance you're encountering similar sights and scenes. <i>Thank you Harris County and TxDOT!</i></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1ATLy0n">http://bit.ly/1ATLy0n</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-70820715618535198032014-07-27T07:19:00.000-07:002014-07-27T07:40:36.531-07:00More carpools, vanpools needed for West Houston sub-region<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The news is officially in from the Greater West Houston Subregional Transportation Plan, conducted by H-GAC. Traffic congestion, as measured by throughput at 25 key intersections in the sub-region, is already bad, and it is going to get worse. Under any of the four growth scenarios considered, intersection performance is going to go to “F” (Fail) for almost all of the intersections by 2040. Congestion, pollution, and crashes are going to have a worsening effect on our quality of life and economic growth in this most important job and GDP creating sub-region which includes The Energy Corridor, the Westchase District, and the Memorial City District.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This traffic tsunami is coming at a time, of course, when government transportation agencies at all levels are strapped for cash. Only the most severe needs are being addressed at present, and since the gasoline tax revenues are being eroded away by inflation and fuel efficient vehicles, some of which burn no gasoline, even on-going maintenance of existing facilities is threatened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But even if we had a deep pot of transportation money, what would we do with it? The congestion is occurring all over the sub-region, throughout the local road and street grid. The classic Houstonian response would be to widen the streets and add more lanes, grade separate them, and make them faster. But this would have an effect reminiscent of the remarks an American major made in 1968 concerning the Vietnamese village of Bến Tre. “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it”. If you widen streets, taking away sidewalks, parking lots, and structures, and put tall ugly bridges and dig underpasses everywhere, you will harm the very neighborhoods, towns, and cities you are trying to serve. Also, if you turn every road into a fast semi-freeway, the corridors become deserts, devoid of people and vitality. If no one can walk, if no one can bike, then a place will become undesirable over time, and increasing low-rent and slummy; “beautiful freeway” is an oxymoron, after all. So if massively widening streets and roads would be harmful, and it’s a moot point since we don’t have the money anyway, does that mean we should perhaps be using more buses and trains (transit) in the sub-region?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So is transit the answer for the Greater West Houston Sub-region’s congestion? Probably not, at least not in the short-to-medium term. The study clearly shows what everyone knows already, that many of the workers in The Energy Corridor, the Westchase District, and the Memorial City District commute in from suburban homes. There are no plans in existence at METRO at this time to allow people to commute on traditional transit vehicles (bus or train) from Cy-Fair or Sugar Land to work. Also, the western half of the sub-region has no local METRO service, and there are no plans to expand the local transit footprint west of State Highway 6. Also, many communities oppose the establishment of transit routes through their neighborhoods, whether their fears are based in reality or not, perception is reality, so even if METRO had the money and the desire to expand, local communities might very well block expansion. So really, there is no immediate relief to come from METRO to local neighborhoods in the western half of sub-region, nor for suburban commuters coming into the sub-region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what then? No money to widen existing roads and grade separate them, and local communities will often oppose this anyway. No help from METRO. Are we just going to stew in our own worsening traffic for the foreseeable future?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think there is another way out of the mess, which could be implemented relatively quickly and at low cost. That is, for the past 60 years or so, we adult Americans have grown accustomed to riding solo in our cars whenever possible. Many of us drive SUVs, but more of us drive SOVs (single occupant vehicles). Somehow, we have to be convinced that the way to face this traffic emergency in West Houston is to voluntarily ride in with neighbors from our neighborhoods in Cy-Fair, Katy, Fort Bend to our work sites. The vast majority of cars on the road in West Houston today are SOVs. What if we would change that mix, so that 50% of cars would at least two people in them during peak commuting times? That would make a huge difference. Going from very few carpools to 50% carpools would result in a marked reduction in cars on the road, and reduce the need for more engineering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So how can we get more people to voluntarily carpool, or participate in METRO’s Star vanpool service?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First and foremost, I think elected officials, the public, and corporations need to wake up and realize the severity of the traffic tsunami which is already breaking around us, especially in West Houston. Congestion will have an increasing effect on quality of life, economic growth, and public safety. Elected officials need to set aside the “competent manager” hat and put on the “inspirational leader” hat. Harris County Judge Emmett plays a visible, personal, and compelling role in motivating the public to respond to hurricane risk. A similar PR outreach is needed for congestion and carpooling. It won’t be free, but it will be much faster and less expensive to execute than building infrastructure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Secondly, we need to upgrade the carpooling technology which government agencies make available to the public. NuRide and METRO’s RidePro carpool and vanpool ride matching services function, but they are now obsolete because they are not mobile applications. Another fundamental problem is that there are two places where people have to search, there should just be one master carpool / vanpool app for the entire H-GAC region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Imagine an app that does the following things:</span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It only contains background-checked riders and drivers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It only contains insured drivers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The app knows where drivers are, their end destination, and the route they are taking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Riders can hail rides from drivers nearby who are going their way</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The rides offered would be free, but a small monthly fee would be changed by the technology provider to pay for the background checks, the app, the servers, etc.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think it’s very important that rides be offered for free. Once you charge someone money to ride in your car, you’ve violated the terms of your personal auto insurance, and you are immediately not insured any longer; you then require commercial auto insurance. If you’re just giving a neighbor a ride for free, that’s allowable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Free” parking plays a role in the economics of carpooling. Building a parking structure next to an office tower involves a huge cost. Office workers, however, park for “free”... their employers shield them from the cost of parking. Note that this does not happen in Downtown Houston, however, and Downtown has a high number of transit and carpool commuters. This is not a coincidence; this is commuters responding to the economics of parking, where users have to pay cash. They literally vote with the seat of their pants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I suggest a cafeteria benefits approach to parking, where an employee could elect one of several options which would have the same cost to the employer:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Free parking, as usual, or,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Increased pay</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Increased compensation, but in the form of a larger employer 401(k) contribution </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Free lunch in the company cafeteria every day</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Contribute to the employee’s participation in a METRO Star vanpool</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carpools would also get the preferred parking spots. This would have a large effect on encouraging employees to carpool. Free lunch? Increased compensation? Are you kidding? That would make get everyone’s attention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The traffic congestion is not coming to West Houston, it is here. It will have increasing effects on quality of life, economic growth, and public safety. There is no quick, low-cost-fix on the horizon either in the building of infrastructure, nor in the establishment of transit networks which reach into the bedroom communities where West Houston workers reside. Carpooling and vanpooling are underutilized modes which could quickly and at relatively low cost reduce or hold steady the numbers of vehicles on our roads and streets. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-55408564318874949412014-05-18T14:41:00.003-07:002014-05-18T14:42:00.203-07:00Dignified transportation for seniors<a href="http://itnamerica.org/">ITNAmerica.org</a> Helping Seniors Stay Mobile<br />
<br />
<i>Our Mission</i><br />
<br />
Support sustainable, community-based transportation services for seniors throughout the world by building a senior transportation network through research, policy analysis and education, and by promoting lifelong safety and mobility.<br />
<br />
A transportation solution for America's aging population<br />
dignified transportation for seniors<br />
<br />
Across America, communities large and small are struggling to meet the transportation needs of seniors. Everywhere, the issues are the same:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>How to provide the kind of door-through-door service older people want and need</li>
<li>How to recruit enough volunteer drivers, and how to manage insurance</li>
<li>How to arrange rides, especially in rural and suburban communities</li>
<li>How to pay for it all</li>
</ul>
<br />
ITNAmerica provides its affiliates with a proven sustainable business model to solve these issues.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-16137511844924386212014-05-08T10:30:00.002-07:002014-05-13T20:00:27.815-07:00Wal-Mart, please install a bike rack here!<b>LATE UPDATE, 13 May 2014, 9:14 PM Central Time</b>... Anne Hatfield Wal-Mart tweeted me to let me know that a bike rack is going in to this location! <br />
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Hello, I heard from Facebook that you are building a Wal-Mart neighborhood market in Houston, TX 77095, at the corner of Barker-Cypress Road and Longenbaugh Rd.<br />
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This store is adjacent to a neighborhood which has good sidewalks, and where bike trails have been developed.<br />
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It would be very good for your store and for the neighborhood to have a BICYCLE RACK at this Wal-Mart, so that shoppers and your employees can access this store without making yet another short-distance car drive.<br />
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Walgreens directly across Barker-Cypress from your future store already has a bike rack.<br />
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Thank you<br />
Peter Wang<br />
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<b>Walmart Neighborhood Market coming to Cypress</b><br />
<br />
by Marie Leonard<br />
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May 7, 2014<br />
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A new Walmart Neighborhood Market is planned for the northeast corner of Barker Cypress Road and Longenbaugh Drive.<br />
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Construction is expected to begin on the 41,000-square-foot store in about a month, said Anne Hatfield, director of communications for Walmart.<br />
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The neighborhood market will carry fresh produce, groceries, health and beauty supplies and other household items. The new Cypress location will also have a gas station and pharmacy.<br />
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Walmart Neighborhood Market stores typically bring about 95 new jobs to the community, in addition to construction jobs. <br />
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Hatfield said the future store is on track to open by early 2015. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-37954722508155647482014-05-07T20:39:00.004-07:002014-05-07T20:39:49.768-07:00New carpoolMy carpooler drops me off at Westheimer and CityWest, and I ride my Dahon folding bike 1.5 miles to work at 10001 Richmond Ave.<br />
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We start on Western Pass Lane, 77095.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-29487414538632565692014-04-28T19:38:00.002-07:002014-04-28T19:40:52.964-07:00Why Ridesharing Is a Way Bigger Deal for Suburban Seniors Than Urban Millennials<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a follow-up to my first post about the lack of senior citizen transportation options in our area, which is going to become an increasingly urgent problem as the years roll by. This <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/04/why-ridesharing-way-bigger-deal-suburban-seniors-urban-millennials/8930/" target="_blank">TheAtlanticCities.com article</a> discusses the use of ridesharing apps as a possible coping mechanism.</div>
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"Transportation for America's recent report, "Aging in Place: Stuck Without Options," shows that as we grow too old to drive safely, alternative transportation options are a necessity but often hard to find. Based on recent surveys, 88 percent of older adults continue to drive at age 65, but that percentage drops to 69 percent by age 75. This means that by age 75, 31 percent of seniors must seek alternative ways to get around."</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-17407969975762990532014-03-22T12:23:00.003-07:002014-03-22T12:23:52.509-07:00Elder transportation a big missing piece in Cy-Fair (part 1)Someone who has lived and worked in Cy-Fair might reasonably expect to look forward to a bright and happy retirement. Maybe they worked in the lucrative energy industry for their career, bought an affordable home and paid off the mortgage long ago; their property taxes would be capped from further increases after age 65; an excellent Cy-Fair ISD school system, continued affordable housing, and an abundance of jobs which would tend to bring the children and grandchildren back to the Houston area.<br />
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Yet the big missing piece in Cy-Fair retirement is... <u>what do I do when I cannot drive myself around any longer</u>?<br />
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Everyone ages at different rates, but eventually we all can't drive any longer. There is really no such thing as someone who can safely drive their whole entire life, despite exceptional stories we may hear about so-and-so's Grandpa who is still driving at 90. That's great for him, but even he is going to have to quit someday, and what does he do for the rest of his life if he lives in Cy-Fair? He might be of sound mind, able to walk, but if he can't see well enough or react fast enough to drive a car, he might as well be in <b>jail</b> as far as our motorized culture is concerned.<br />
<br />
We pay the METRO sales tax in our area, but METRO long ago decided, and it continues to affirm, that it does not want to or cannot afford to provide local transit to our neighborhood. Also, many people in our area oppose transit because of their belief that transit breeds crime. I personally don't agree with this view*, but given that they often let METRO know how they feel, this makes METRO even less inclined to bring local transit out here. We also have no paratransit (METRO LIFT on-demand services to the disabled), because Federal law requires that METRO only provide paratransit within the regular transit service area. In Cy-Fair, we are outside of the regular transit service area.<br />
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So what do we do? How do we prepare to live through that portion of our lives when we or our parents can no longer drive a car for ourselves / themselves?<br />
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More installments to come. If you have ideas, write to me at pwang01@gmail.com<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">* Criminals long ago (since Bonnie & Clyde) discovered the tactical advantages of using cars to commit crimes. They steal cars if they have to. I ride METRO when I can in the city, and I don't see people carrying stolen HDTVs on the bus or light rail.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-65915432042403467312014-01-04T07:02:00.000-08:002014-01-04T08:13:48.370-08:00Houston's "Lifestyle centers" - little islands of walkability in a raging car sea<span style="text-align: justify;">The Houston vision of "lifestyle centers", or mixed-used commercial developments, seems to be one of isolated islands of walkability in a raging, boiling, frothing, crashing seascape of cars only... no bikes, pedestrians, or transit, no independent transportation for people who can't drive (under 16, the elderly, seriously handicapped, etc).</span><br />
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The very best jobs and closest jobs for people in Bridgeland will always be in the Energy Corridor and Westchase, so if Mr. Peter Houghton of West Houston Association is really concerned about getting his residents to the best, closest, highest paying jobs without getting on a freeway (or tollway), he should become an aggressive advocate for suburban transit modes, which will get them from Bridgeland and communities like it to the famously high-paying Houston energy jobs. In the short term, this will be cost-effective, quick deployment modes like vanpool and bus rapid transit, with commuter rail slated for the long term (vanpool and BRT use roads, but at least you can surf on your phone while someone else drives, and they use the road and energy resources much more efficiently).</div>
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Let's admit it - the jobs in a lifestyle center are not at all likely to match up in quantity or quality with the jobs at BP's WestLake campus, or ConocoPhillips and Shell Woodcreek north of I-10. A lifestyle center will have retail & restaurants, a real estate broker (affiliated with the developer itself), personal services like massage, yoga, hairstylist, nails, dentistry, family practice medicine, a small law office... <b>and lots of unleased space</b>, most likely.</div>
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Additional food for thought - minimum wage workers in a lifestyle center's retail & restaurants might not be able to afford a car in order to report to work. How is that staffing plan supposed to work? These people need transit also. No transit = no workers = no services delivered = no revenue = no profit = rents not paid = someone's asset is going to be "non-performing".</div>
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- Peter Wang</div>
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Houston Chronicle, January 2, 2014</div>
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By Lindsay Peyton</div>
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He {Peter Houghton} said mobility issues affect the quality of life for residents - adding that their expectations have changed over the years.</div>
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"The days of endless rows of houses and having to get on a freeway to shop are over," Houghton said. "Consumers and homebuyers demand more than that. They want shopping developments in their own neighborhoods and to go to work without getting on the freeway."</div>
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He said "lifestyle centers" - or mixed-used commercial developments - have become central features in master planned communities.</div>
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"You see them happening in The Woodlands, Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch," Houghton said. "The next ones will be in Cy-Fair."</div>
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Already restaurants and shops are popping up along U.S. 290, he added.</div>
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"We're seeing the Cy-Fair area start to dip its toes into the water," he said. "Once you get offices, retail and restaurants follow suit. I'm very excited about what the area will see in the next 20 years."</div>
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Houghton expects more businesses to locate in the area - now that the development of the Grand Parkway is moving forward.</div>
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"As people start to drive the Grand Parkway, they will realize they can get quickly to both sides of town," he said.</div>
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In the meantime, the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce plans to foster further discussions addressing infrastructure in the community, Martone said. "We're the entity that supports growth," she said.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-14920381883736046282013-11-27T07:08:00.001-08:002013-11-27T07:08:25.297-08:00Top Job CentersHouston Tomorrow sent me a really nice graphic, attached.<br />
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What it shows is that even our here in the suburbs we're really in the "hot" zone for proximity to jobs; of course, we who've lived here for twenty years and have worked in the Energy Corridor and Westchase have always know that, which is why we came... but it also shows that a minimum-investment (Bus Rapid Transit) system going north from I-10 up State Highway 6 could be very useful in connecting Cy-Fair / Copperfield to the employment centers, and it would greatly debottleneck State Highway 6 and I-10.<br />
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Bus Rapid Transit would be a faster service more like Park & Ride buses than like slow local services.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-3828459911763530242013-10-15T21:00:00.000-07:002013-10-16T09:12:00.516-07:00Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Public Meeting FeedbackThe sub-region is pretty much choking on single-occupant vehicles (SOVs), and vehicular miles traveled (VMTs). Both the local arterial grid and the freeway / tollway traffic are getting absolutely unmanageable. The stress and delay and impact on personal life and business are growing exponentially.<br /><br />We need to stop confusing Persons (Passengers) and Cars/Trucks. They are not the same. A Car/Truck is not a Person. We have to increase Passenger (People) Miles Traveled, while decreasing or at least keeping VMT level, while expanding the Passenger (People) carrying capacity of the transportation system overall.<br /><br /><br />Transit<br /><br />It's pretty amazing (not in a good way) that we have a huge commercial district, the Energy Corridor District, with more jobs than the San Diego CA central business district, and it's impossible to get to it from the NW, NE, and SW corners of the study area using transit. When you consider the massive local congestion around the I-10 at commute times, and when you look at the construction cranes building more space for thousands of workers who will be driving SOVs if nothing is changed, then you can see it's a recipe for a gridlock.<br /><br />I have lived in the study area for twenty years, and have paid the METRO 1% sales tax all that time, and I have no local transit, and no prospects for ever getting any that I know of. I am seriously considering leaving this area after having made my money in the energy industry. This has to be addressed. By the 2040 time horizon of this study, I will be 79 years old. Clearly, absent changes, this won't be an area where I can “age-in-place” after my car driving days are over. <br /><br />Westchase has better local transit along Westheimer, Richmond, and Gessner, but it suffers from the same handicap as Energy Corridor in getting people in from the NW, NE, and SW corners of the study area.<br /><br />I can only speak as someone who lives close to SH6, but I think there is so much potential for high-speed, high-capacity transit along SH6 / FM1960. It could eventually go from Sugar Land and wrap around all the way to Bush IAH airport. <br /><br />I don't want to be caught in the debate about bus vs. train for this transit line. Obviously, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Personally I think, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) would be much faster and less expensive to initially deploy, and would be more appropriate for testing demand in places that have never had any transit before. <br /><br />But the main point for SH6/FM1960 transit are: (1) infrequent stops, (2) fast accelerating vehicles, and most important of all, (3) dedicated guideways for the vehicles. We want to transit vehicles to make way down SH6 at 50 MPH when the SOVs are stopped in gridlock. Drivers will think, “Man, how do I get on that one! I gotta get out of this traffic!”. That's how you build demand and ridership.<br /><br />This SH6/FM1960 line would connect to the transit grid at the Addicks P&R and at Briarforest (let's extend the 53 all the way to SH6), and Westheimer. <br /><br />At Addicks P&R, we need a really frequent and fast set of circulators to get people from the P&R to local businesses quickly. The #75 bus is a crosstown, not a circulator. A bike station and bike rental would allow some to get to work by the mode. No one will be walking; the distances are too great.<br /><br />At Briarforest and/or Westheimer, we definitely need shelters for bus riders, who will be waiting to connect, possibly in rain, for connection to the SH6 BRT.<br /><br />Speaking of Westheimer, Westheimer also needs to be a BRT corridor, from SH6 all the to at least the Galleria, if not all the way Downtown, with a dedicated guideway for the transit vehicle. In it's full elaboration, the BRT could run out to SH99 Grand Parkway, and take commuting travlers off of the completely clogged Westpark Tollway to important work destinations (Energy Corridor via #75 bus, Westchase, Galleria, Midtown, Downtown).<br /><br /><br />Bike/Ped<br /><br />The Terry Hershey Trail and George Bush Park trails are huge cycling assets. The TxDOT FM529 bikeway is pretty good, not bad. Both of those assets run E-W.<br /><br />The sub-region is just starving for N-S bike/ped connectivity, especially north of I-10. Fry, Greenhouse, Barker-Cypress, Queenston, SH6, Eldridge are as bike/ped unfriendly as you can get, although Fry is OK where it has wide shoulders north of FM529.<br /><br />The real problem is a political one, and that is that Harris County has been absent on purpose from the issue of incorporating bike/ped as a roadway design element... Because they think they are “done” when they design for cars alone. They only build “Incomplete Streets”.<br /><br />In 1960, seatbelts were an “amenity” that you could order as an option on cars. You had to pay extra for them, and then GM or Ford would be happy to install them. This is pretty much the attitude that Harris County has towards sidewalks; an amenity that improves quality of life, but not strictly necessary. The decades will show, and they are showing in our bulging waistlines and the Harris County Hospital District expenditures on diabetes, that sidewalks are strictly necessary. Harris County will not even consider on-street bike accomodations, even though there are newer and safer ways to do this by segregating the flows to some degree. This out-moded thinking has to end if the region is to move away from SOVs.<br /><br />If you don't have widespread bike/ped accomodation, you can't feed a transit system. If you can't feed a transit system, you can't move out of SOVs. If you can't move out of SOVs, the sub-region will continue to choke on the traffic, and personal lives and businesses will be harmed. That's the “do nothing” scenario. If we aren't going to do anything, why have this study? Just to feed transportation consultants in 2014?<br /><br />A real emphasis on bike/ped in the sub-region should be on feeding the transit grid, and overall the West Houston sub-region has to adopt a Complete Streets approach.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-18113207466314266972013-10-02T15:47:00.003-07:002013-10-02T15:51:37.998-07:00Subregional Planning Comes to Greater West HoustonThe Greater West Houston area, home to nearly 660 thousand residents and 388 thousand jobs, has seen significant growth over the last 20 years.<br />
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H-GAC has initiated a comprehensive transportation and land use study for West Houston. The Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative will examine strategies for improving travel on the region's freeways, toll roads and surface streets, as well as transit, pedestrian and bicycle systems. H-GAC invites the public to a meeting on October 15.<br />
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Greater West Houston Public Meeting<br />
Tuesday, October 15, 2013<br />
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.<br />
Wolfe Elementary Gym<br />
502 Addicks-Howell Road.<br />
Houston, TX 77079<br />
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The study will collect information to analyze existing land use and envision future land-use scenarios (including protection of environmentally sensitive areas and green spaces). A series of short, medium and long range projects will be identified to help improve mobility throughout the study area, which is bound by FM 529 to the north including the US 290/Beltway 8 interchange area, SH 99/Grand Parkway to the west, the Campbell/ Blalock/Fondren corridor to the east and Bellaire Boulevard to the south.<br />
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The public will have an opportunity to participate through public meetings scheduled over the next seven months. An online survey is available at <a href="http://www.mywesthouston.com/">www.mywesthouston.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-31283761043147396602013-08-31T13:13:00.003-07:002013-08-31T13:29:41.649-07:00Bridgeland Shell on Fry Road destroys shoulder usability for cyclists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Notice how Bridgeland Shell on Fry Road has continued the grass actually into the shoulder of Fry Road, thereby forcing bicyclists to move into the lane of heavy 50 MPH car traffic? If they try to ride through the grass, they risk a fall, especially if they have narrow road bike tires.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is entirely unsuitable, it's similar to what Cy-Ranch High School did a few years ago to the same shoulders, and they fixed it. Shell needs to fix it also.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Timewise Shell</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">10902 Fry Rd.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Cypress, TX 77433</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(281) 213-3268</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Open 24 Hours!</span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-42160016207526391102013-08-21T09:51:00.001-07:002013-08-21T19:13:52.011-07:00Donate money NOW to save the Deer Park Prairie! Three week extension granted<b>I just donated $100 !!!</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.bayoulandconservancy.org/#!save-deer-park-prairie/c19cm">http://www.bayoulandconservancy.org/#!save-deer-park-prairie/c19cm</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Overtime for Deer Park Prairie!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Prairie-grass-roots” fundraising effort gets reprieve</span><br />
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In the most ambitious conservation land fund drive of its kind ever launched in Texas, $3.2 million dollars was raised from individuals to help save the Deer Park Prairie - in less than one week!</div>
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Led by Bayou Land Conservancy, with its prairie partners, the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, the fundraising blitz of the past week has gone into “overtime” for this special 53-acre piece of “platinum-quality” prairie.<br />
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Due to the record number of individual donors who came forward, the Deer Park landowner has agreed to extend the deadline from August 20th to September 10th, providing Bayou Land Conservancy with 3 more weeks to raise the remaining $800,000 necessary for the $4 million purchase.</div>
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Jaime Gonzalez, Education Director for the Katy Prairie Conservancy, said “For the landowner to provide this extra grace period, when so many people were just hearing about this special prairie for the first time, is a true blessing.”<br />
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“The turnout of individual donors in such a condensed time period has been nothing less than phenomenal,” said Jennifer Lorenz, Executive Director of Bayou Land Conservancy. In her 20 years of land conservation fundraising experience “there has been no comparison to the donors of this campaign who expressed genuine shock that such an ancient prairie still existed, and that conservation organizations were trying to compete with hot housing market development pressure. Their enthusiasm was palpable.”</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-42013471472314483412013-08-17T17:43:00.000-07:002013-08-25T17:44:08.803-07:00Solar price trend is sunny<a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Solar-price-trend-is-sunny-in-Texas-4739633.php" target="_blank">Texas out in front as costs for residential systems decline</a> - payback is about a dozen years
By Zain Shauk, Houston ChronicleUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-83175020936362368242013-06-08T04:24:00.002-07:002013-06-08T04:26:43.124-07:00Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative<br />
The <a href="http://www.h-gac.com/taq/sub_regional/gw_houston.aspx" target="_blank">Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative</a> is a comprehensive multi-modal transportation study that will explore different land use and transportation scenarios for the Greater West Houston region. The study will examine improved transportation strategies for freeways, toll ways, local streets, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle networks. A series of short, medium and long range projects will be identified to help improve mobility throughout the study area.<br />
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This study will identify short, medium and long-range transportation investments in the Greater West Houston region as well as encourage responsible development choices, in a manner that will ensure the enhancement of the quality of life within the region.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WsOkiuBQ1Gc/UbMUXbsoMLI/AAAAAAAAG4Q/wventvjntko/s1600/Barker_Addicks_Study_Area550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WsOkiuBQ1Gc/UbMUXbsoMLI/AAAAAAAAG4Q/wventvjntko/s400/Barker_Addicks_Study_Area550.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-25260690884896526022013-05-23T18:21:00.001-07:002013-05-23T18:21:51.651-07:00Highway 6 / FM 529 intersection public meeting<p>State Highway 6 / FM 529 intersection public meeting by TxDOT. June 18, 2013, Langham Creek High School, 6 -8 pm Houston TX 77095</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-16368198170450192522013-04-07T02:05:00.003-07:002013-04-07T02:05:53.653-07:00Next Step in State Highway 6 Improvements, from I-10 to US290 in Cy-Fair<div data-canvas-width="75.49952225006103" data-font-name="g_font_p1_3" dir="ltr" style="left: 26.88px; top: 192.827px; transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px; transform: scale(0.848309, 1);">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TXDOT Houston has proposed $2.6 million for the 2013-2016 Transportation Imp<span style="font-size: large;">rovement Program (TIP) </span>for more</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">environm<span style="font-size: large;">ental </span>analysis and design of implementation projects from the SH 6 Access
Management study <span style="font-size: large;">wh<span style="font-size: large;">ich was</span></span> completed awhile ago (meetings were at Copperfield Church).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The major components will likely
include raised medians and intersection improvements. Additional
elements could include ped/bike enhancements (in this corridor, probably
sidewalks), driveway consolidation and other access management treatments.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the public comment period has<span style="font-size: large;"> ju<span style="font-size: large;">st en<span style="font-size: large;">de<span style="font-size: large;">d. Funding for<span style="font-size: large;"> this work<span style="font-size: large;"> is s<span style="font-size: large;">een as "likely"<span style="font-size: large;"> (green status<span style="font-size: large;"> on H-GAC website).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-14645230282371912222012-12-13T19:39:00.000-08:002012-12-13T17:40:42.936-08:00US 290 Corridor Public Meetings<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>FALSE ALARM! Oh well, it's good to let them know we're still out here.</b></span></div>
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TO: hou-piowebmail@txdot.gov</div>
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Dear TxDOT,</div>
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Thank you for having the public meeting tonight at the Berry Center, Cypress, Texas.</div>
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I learned that the bicycle improvements listed in the original FEIS for the Hempstead Highway Corridor will be discussed in the future, and were not a part of tonight's meeting, which focused solely on US290.</div>
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The bicycling, alternative transportation, and sustainability communities in Houston are very interested in the bicycle pathway planned for Hempstead, therefore we will be at the future meeting, whenever that is.</div>
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Thank you very much.</div>
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Peter Wang</div>
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League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor #1420</div>
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Date: 12/13/12</div>
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Texas Transportation Code SS201.811(a)(5) DISCLAIMER: I am not employed by TXDOT, I do not do business with TXDOT, and I will not benefit monetarily from the TXDOT project upon which I am commenting.</div>
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<b>NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS</b></div>
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<b>US 290 CORRIDOR</b></div>
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<b>FM 2920 to IH 610, Harris County, Texas</b><br />
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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in association with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), will conduct two Public Meetings to discuss a proposed interim design phase project for approved transportation improvements for the US 290 Corridor in Harris County, Texas. Two meetings are being held in order to accommodate the length of the corridor and those persons who would be interested in attending. The same material will be presented at both meetings.<br />
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The US 290 Corridor project extends from Farm-to-Market (FM) 2920 to Interstate Highway (IH) 610 in Harris County, Texas. The proposed interim design phase project includes: 1) additional general-purpose lanes on US 290 and reconstruction of US 290 frontage roads, which were included as part of the Selected Alternative approved in the Record of Decision (ROD) (August 25, 2010) for the US 290 Corridor Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) (March 2010), and 2) the addition of an interim reversible managed lane/toll facility in the center of US 290 from the future Grand Parkway (SH 99) to IH 610. The proposed interim design phase project was developed to improve mobility in the corridor<br />
in the near future, as there is a lack of funding to construct the entire Selected Alternative at this time. The Harris County Toll Road Authority would partner with TxDOT to fund construction of the interim design, and would operate and maintain the reversible managed lane/toll facility. Minimal right-of-way would be required to incorporate the interim design phase project on US 290.<br />
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An Open House will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to allow for questions and review of project exhibits. TxDOT staff will be available to answer questions during the Open House. A Formal Presentation will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m., followed by a public comment period. The Public Meetings will be held at these locations:<br />
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012<br />
Sheraton Brookhollow<br />
3000 North Loop West<br />
Houston, Texas 77092<br />
Thursday, December 13, 2012<br />
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Thursday, December 13, 2012<br />
Berry Center<br />
8877 Barker Cypress Road<br />
Cypress, Texas 77433<br />
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The purpose of these Public Meetings is to discuss the proposed interim design, which would incorporate a reversible managed lane (toll) facility on US 290 from SH 99 to IH 610. The US 290 managed lane facility is expected to be in operation until the Hempstead Tollway portion of the Selected Alternative (identified in the ROD for the US 290 Corridor project) is constructed. FHWA and TxDOT are preparing an FEIS Re-evaluation to assess the potential impacts of the proposed interim design.<br />
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Attendees are encouraged to view the displays and ask questions before the Formal Presentation. Representatives from TxDOT will be available to answer questions and provide information. The Formal Presentation will discuss the proposed interim project and the issues that will be evaluated in the FEIS Re-evaluation.<br />
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These Public Meetings are being held in order to give interested persons an opportunity to express their views concerning the proposed interim design for the US 290 Corridor project. All interested persons are invited to attend this meeting to either speak or submit their comments in writing. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or persons interested in attending the meetings who have special communication needs are encouraged to contact the TxDOT Houston District Public Information Officer at (713) 802-5072.<br />
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The Public Meetings will be conducted in English. Any requests for language interpreters or other special communication needs should be made at least two (2) days prior to the Public Meetings. TxDOT will make every reasonable effort to accommodate these needs.<br />
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Written and verbal comments from the public regarding the proposed interim design may be presented at the Public Meetings. Written comments will also be accepted via mail or email through January 2, 2013. Written comments may be mailed to TxDOT Houston District, Attention: Director of Project Development, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, TX 77251-1386. Comments will be accepted by e-mail at: www.HOU-PIOWebmail@txdot.gov. Written comments submitted after the Public Meetings must be emailed or postmarked on or before Wednesday, January 2, 2013 to be included in the Public Meetings record.<br />
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A digital version of the FEIS, ROD, and engineering schematics of the Selected Alternative and proposed interim design may be viewed and downloaded from the US 290 Program website at www.my290.com. These items are also available for viewing at the US 290 Program Office located at Brookhollow Central III, 2950 North Loop West, Suite 1150, Houston, TX 77092 (713-354-1500). The US 290 Program Office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding<br />
federal holidays. Copies are available for the cost of reproduction. Additional information about the project may be obtained by contacting the US 290 Program Office at (713) 354-1500.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-51729867514991599752012-12-11T17:44:00.002-08:002012-12-11T18:15:11.659-08:00Not Cy-Fair, but... West Houston anyway<b>Inner West Mobility Study Meeting, December 11, 2012</b><br />
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I was highly disappointed to see that Bicyclist comments concerning San Felipe Rd. from Briar Oaks Lane to Willowick were not taken into account in the study draft.
This currently challenging section of road could be a good conduit for cyclists coming from W. Alabama, and Willowick who wish to journey onwards to Memorial Park, the NW Transit Center, or the Galleria. The study draft concludes that this stretch of road has only motor and pedestrian factors.<br />
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One only observes motorized traffic and minor ped traffic because the road is so badly done. Demand is artificially suppressed. There is potential for bicycle utilization along this route, which is obvious to anyone who has taken up the challenge to ride it in its current condition. It is a gem in the rough.<br />
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I hope the authors will take another look at their report and write bicycles into the story.
At the very least I insist that the writers of the document make 110% certain that sidewalk mitigations on both sides of San Felipe are recommended, so that the Briar Oaks Lane to Willowick bicycle journey can be made safely and slowly on the sidewalk; something we League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructors do not recommend routinely, but sometimes it is the only way.<br />
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{Why I attended... I wanted to see how the COH would address the problem of bicycle connectivity across I-610, the West Loop. They didn't address it}Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-22272965039321414002012-12-09T11:59:00.000-08:002012-12-09T12:03:15.259-08:00Bridgeland Farmer's MarketWe picked up some free-range chicken and duck eggs, tomatoes, and a gigantic cauliflower. The market is returning January 2013, <a href="http://www.bridgeland.com/calendar">check the calendar for the exact date</a>, or <a href="mailto:farmersmarketatbridgeland@gmail.com">send an email inquiry</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1839553792237522319.post-40990277004383709152012-11-04T02:59:00.001-08:002012-11-04T02:59:11.672-08:00Vote NO in the METRO referendum<div><p>On November 6, vote NO in the METRO referendum. A no vote stops the diversion of METRO money away from transit projects.</p>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0