TRANSPORTATION
2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
COMPILED BY ASIA ARMOUR
Fulshear downtown plans to create connection
Katy Boardwalk extension nears completion Katy Boardwalk District engineers estimated the second phase of its extended trails system will be com- pleted in the summer. The work began in late August to build out one of the four paved trail experiences along the outerloop of the area. Bordered on both sides with a wooded landscape, the trail features boardwalk paths and a steel pedestrian bridge. It is estimated to cost $3.3 million, said Bernard Kaplan, public information o cer for the project. The Katy Boardwalk has been a highly anticipated feature to the landscape of Katy since 2017. The 90-acre development is multiuse with retail space, a nature preserve, o ces, apartments, a hotel and conference center, which is planned to open in the fall near Katy Mills. The four trail loops circling the Boardwalk Lofts apartments range from a half-mile to 2.3 miles long. Work still in progress includes a $4.7 million extension of Katy Fort Bend Road from Kingsland Boulevard directly to Boardwalk Drive, which will serve as the main entrance and thoroughfare for the Boardwalk District. Kaplan said this work is also slated for completion in the summer. The Katy Fort Bend Road project includes a bridge over a drainage channel and a new tra c signal at the intersection of Kingsland Boulevard, Katy Fort Bend Road and Boardwalk Drive.
Changes to Fulshear’s Downtown District will make the area more accommodating to pedestrians and promote economic development, o cials said. DREAMS FOR DOWNTOWN
The city of Fulshear is planning for a reimagining of its downtown streetscape. Several projects are in design with the intent to improve north- and southbound tra c, ensure the streets are walkable for pedestrians and preserve its small-town charm, city o cials said. Fulshear Assistant City Manager Zach Goodlander said the city will start construction to transform Wallis Street and Main Street into 80-foot one-way roads with similar designs by 2024. Wallis Street will take on southbound tra c, and Main Street will take north. Goodlander said Harris Street, which is nestled between the two, will serve as a catalyst to economic develop- ment—becoming a pedestrian corridor to hold space for events and commercial development. All east- and westbound streets will provide parking and large pedestrian walkways, meant to bring foot tra c throughout Fulshear’s Downtown District, according to documents for the streetscapes master plan. In addition to creating a backbone to the downtown district, changes to Wallis and Main streets are meant to promote commercial development along the major
Bicycle zone Planting zone
Pedestrian zone Amenity zone
Parallel parking zone Tra c zone
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thoroughfares, Goodlander said. Improvements to Wallis and Main streets are a joint venture between Fort Bend County and Fulshear with the city incurring 50% of the $5.2 million cost. Fulshear plans for the design of all three projects to nish by the spring.
TxDOT FM 529 widening project awaits funding to start construction
The FM 529 widening project spearheaded by the Texas Depart- ment of Transportation is in the nal stages of development, with environmental clearance and nal- ization of the project’s schematics expected to come in the rst half of received during the public com- ment period, which occurred from Aug. 30 to Sept. 15, 11 comments were in favor, and 11 comments were questions about the project, TxDOT Public Information O cer Emily Black said. “Principal concerns included intersection safety, the project’s 2023, TxDOT o cials said. Of the 22 total comments
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along a 12-mile stretch on FM 529 from the Grand Parkway to FM 362, and it would cost $123 million to construct. A funding source has yet to be identi ed for the work. Construction will be scheduled once funding is identi ed and will take three years to complete.
interaction with tra c from other o -system roads in the area, and speci c right of way or access con- cerns related to the commenter’s property,” Black wrote in an email. Community Impact previously reported the project is designed to improve mobility and safety
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KATY EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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