TRANSPORTATION
Top transportation stories to watch in 2023
2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
Input sought on Montrose Boulevard improvement plan
OTHER PROJECTS TO FOLLOW IN 2023
A DRIVE DOWN MONTROSE Engineers working on the Montrose Boulevard reconstruction are seeking public feedback on proposed lane con gurations for three di erent segments.
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
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O cials with the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone are seeking feedback on plans to make street and drainage improvements along Montrose Boulevard between Allen Park- way and I-69. Plans focus on widening sidewalks and making intersec- tion crossings safer, said Moham- med Ali, principal with Gauge Engineering, which is designing the project.
Dallas Street to Allen Parkway • Wider median with center turn lanes • 6-foot-wide sidewalk added on the west side • East side sidewalk turned into 11-foot-wide shared- use path for walking and biking
ALLEN PKWY.
CROCKETT ST.
WHITE OAK BAYOU GREENWAY
SAWYER ST.
10
Westheimer Road to Dallas Street • 30-foot-wide median narrowed to 20 feet • 4-foot-wide sidewalks widened to 10 feet
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Groups seeks park designation as leaders reach agreement on I-45 Plans by the Texas Department of Transportation to widen portions of I-45 from Beltway 8 to downtown Houston remain on hold heading into 2023 as the project remains under investigation by the Federal Highway Administration. FHA o cials launched an investigation in 2021 into whether the project, which calls for adding four managed express lanes, violates the civil rights of the predominantly Black and Latino communities that would be displaced as part of the widening process. In the meantime, advocates with Stop TxDOT I-45 and the Make I-45 Better Coalition—two groups ghting against the project as it is currently designed— are leading an e ort to have parts of the White Oak Bayou Greenway designated a park, an action they said would force TxDOT to rethink its plans. A petition to designate the park had garnered more than 3,600 signatures as of early January. Now, advocates said they are hoping the city considers the idea. The land has multiple owners, including the city of Houston, Harris County, TxDOT and two railroad companies. However, Michael Moritz with the Stop TxDOT I-45 group said there is legal precedent for protections that apply to city land to also be extended to nearby land that “contributes to the park experience,” even if the city does not own it. “The law is relatively broad in terms of what land it protects,” Moritz said. “Land that contributes to park experience or wildlife preservation can be incorporated into the protection even if it’s not part of the park designation.” The city of Houston and Harris County announced a memorandum of understanding with TxDOT over the I-45 project after the state agreed to a series of demands over drainage, community cohesion and reducing the footprint. In a statement, Stop TxDOT I-45 said it will continue to advocate for a project that relieves tra c and is based on community engagement.
WESTHEIMER RD.
I-69 to Westheimer Road • 11-foot center turn lane replaced with 14-foot median with trees • 4-foot-wide sidewalks widened to 10 feet with a 6-foot bu er
O cials said they want to have “safe crossings” at roughly every two to three blocks, meaning crossings with pedestrian refuges in the median and ashing beacons indicating when to cross. Crews will also install 10-by-10-foot box culverts under- ground to meet city drainage criteria, Ali said. Hard construction costs are estimated at $52 million. Although the TIRZ has the funding capacity to nance the 69
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SOURCE: MONTROSE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE COMMUNITY IMPACT
project, TIRZ board Chair Joe Webb said it plans to apply for federal grants. A public meeting will happen at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1805 W. Alabama St., Houston.
Heights bikeway on 11th Street set for spring nish
Houston faces road striping backlog in 2023
BY LEAH FOREMAN
610
Center line Lane line
W. 25TH ST.
Roads without adequate striping to identify lanes are raising concerns about safety for several members of Houston City Coun- cil. Public data from the city of Houston showed more than 300 calls to the city’s 311 line to address inadequate striping dating back to March 2020. However, Erin Jones, interim com- munications director with the Houston Public Works Depart-
ELLA BLVD.
20TH ST.
W. 18TH ST.
T. C. JESTER BLVD.
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
W. 11TH ST.
Work is slated to be completed in the spring on a $600,000 project to reduce car lanes and add bike lanes to 11th Street in the Heights. The project is expected to increase safety and multimodal connectivity and add safer crossings and on-street barriers for separated bike lanes. Crews are working to add refuge islands at Nicholson Street, Columbia Street and Northill Boulevard as well as high-visibility crosswalks on Oxford Street and Beverly Street.
WHITE OAK DR.
W. 6TH ST.
WASHINGTON AVE.
10
MEMORIAL PARK
N G T O N
MONTROSE BLVD.
45
ALLEN PKWY.
610
W. GRAY ST.
BUFFALO BAYOU
527
W. ALABAMA ST.
WESLAYAN ST.
RICHMOND AVE.
69
N
288
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SOURCE: HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
ment, said some proposed pavement projects may not have met a “service level agreement”—a time frame that has been agreed upon among the mayor, City Council and the city departments on how long they have to ful ll those requests. At a Nov. 9 meeting, Mayor Sylvester Turner said it was the rst he had
heard of the issue. “I’m a little embarrassed by this conversation, I will tell you,” Turner said. Jones said the public works department had over 700 requests for pavement markings in March 2020. Since then, 2,476 pavement markings have been completed.
WHITE OAK DR.
STUDE PARK
10
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SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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