The Woodlands Edition | January 2022

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*Areas in Harris County Precinct 4 will become Precinct 3, but current work will be completed by the original precinct.

Transit oers solutions Whileplans towidenarea roads con- tinue, experts say other approaches are also needed to cope with a grow- ing population and changes in com- muting habits. “Certainly now with remote work, people have more options as to where they can live; you’re not beholden to a particular place or region,” French said. “All of that has really shaped and changed a lot of the conversations around transportation.” Commuting patterns are also sub- ject to changes in where businesses are headquartered. In The Wood- lands, a pilot service for a new The Woodlands Transit park and ride bus service to the Energy Corridor o I-10 launched Jan. 4. With 80% funding from an HGAC grant, the township’s annual cost is about $70,000. Ruthanne Haut, deputy director of community services in The Wood- lands, said programs such as the park and ride help to take cars o the road and ease congestion without road construction. However, it takes about three years to establish riders on a new service and gauge its success, she said. Haut said her department operates as a concierge service to residents to answer questions about the many overlapping entities they must deal with regarding transportation needs and services. “It’s complicated up here, so we have folks on the sta that help our residents navigate the complexities of the government structure,” she said. Andrew Christman, Anna Lotz and Jishnu Nair contributed to this report.

KUYKENDAHL ROAD

RESEARCHFORESTDRIVE& GROGANSMILLROAD

Project: widening from 2 to 4 lanes from Lake Woodlands to Research Forest Drive Timeline: January 2021-early 2022 Cost: $3.57 million Funding source: Montgomery County Precinct 3

GROGANS MILL RD.

RESEARCH FOREST DR.

Project: A project has not been determined for needs at this intersection, but it is located where Montgomery County precincts 2 and 3 meet. Timeline: N/A Cost: N/A Funding sources: Montgomery County precints 2 and 3

SOURCES: MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 3, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

MATT STEPHENSCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

boundary change in Harris County, where the portion located in The Woodlands will change from Precinct 4 to Precinct 3 in 2022. According to Precinct 4 ocials, litigation on the matter is before the Texas Supreme Court, but the new precinct lines are scheduled to take eect in late March. Victoria Bryant, assistant director of the Precinct 4 infrastructure division, said the two precincts are working together to ensure a smooth transition pending the nal outcome of redis- tricting litigation. “[Precinct 3] Commissioner Tom Ramsey and [Precinct 4] Commis- sioner R. Jack Cagle are often heard referring to their areas of service as being ‘Precinct 7’ to emphasize that all of the 2.3 million people that have been transmigrated from either Precinct 3 to 4 or from 4 to 3 will be served,” Bryant said. In The Woodlands area, Harris County projects aecting Gosling

Road are underway, including an $8.2 million joint project with Mont- gomery County Precinct 4 to widen the road and build a bridge over Spring Creek. Additional widening will take place between West Rayford Road and Creekside Forest Drive. Precinct 4 ocials have stated cur- rent projects will be completed by the teams currently working on them. The 3-2 vote to change the pre- cinct boundaries was split along party lines Oct. 28, with Cagle and Ramsey opposing the measure and joining a lawsuit against the county alleging the new map violates voters’ rights. Transportation experts say these dis- agreements can complicate collabora- tive eorts. “There’s a lot of tension because of [redistricting],” French said. “When there’s tension bubbling, it’s dicult to have those partnership conversations.” Collaborations can also be seen

outside The Woodlands in the expan- sion of David Memorial Drive in Shenandoah to Hwy. 242. An $8 mil- lion project funded by the cities of Conroe and Shenandoah as well as Montgomery County, it has been in discussion for more than four years, said John Bleyl, Bleyl Engineering president and CEO. The project was slated to begin con- struction in early 2022, and Bleyl said as of Jan. 4 the project is expected to be funded and ready for bids in March or April with a June construction date. Bunch said while this and other projects may relieve congestion, traf- c volumes will likely rise in the com- ing years. “Pandemic changes to driving patterns [are] masking the inevita- ble gridlock our area will face when population growth, high-density projects get constructed and work- ers eventually return back to their oces,” he said.

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

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THE WOODLANDS EDITION • JANUARY 2022