Heights - River Oaks - Montrose Edition | May 2022

TRANSPORTATIONUPDATES Houston City Council approves newMidtown parking proposals Houston City Council voted to approve an ordinance April 6 that creates a Parking Benet District and desig- nates Midtown as a Community Parking Program area, both eorts to address parking concerns while also raising funds for other improvements in the area. Under the Community Parking Program, the Houston Administration and Regulatory Aairs Department will ensure Midtown residents will receive authorized permits that exempt them from on-street parking restrictions, such as metered parking and time limits for parking that occurs after 6 p.m. According to the ordinance, the CPP will be used in areas that rely on the curb space, such as residen- tial, commercial, small businesses and museum districts. With the creation of the Parking Benet District, the city will split net revenue that is made through city parking meters after 6 p.m. as well as CPP permit revenue. The ordinance species that 60% of net revenue will go into a PBD fund, and 40% will go to the city’s ParkHouston special revenue fund. Shared revenue must be used for other infrastructure

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SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER raise funds for improvements in the area. A new Parking Benet District will be applied to meters throughout Midtown to

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Westheimer Road at Bagby Street improvements Improvements for the intersection where Westheimer Road and Elgin Street meet at Bagby Street were completed April 6. The project added curb extensions, took away an extra turning space, and restriped the road- ways to improve bicycle and pedestri- an safety as part of a quick action plan that aligns with Houston’s Vision Zero. Timeline: March 24-April 6 Cost: $25,000 Funding source: Houston City Council District C service funds

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Management District will manage the PBD. The CPP and PBD were discussed at multiple town hall meetings with the management district and super neigh- borhood stakeholders. Over the course of a 30-day public comment period, 62% of respondents supported the PBD while 60% supported the CPP. As previously reported by Community Impact News- paper , data from seven surveys that were conducted in Midtown in early 2021 by the city of Houston showed that parked cars take up roughly 85% of free parking on more than 40% of streets in the study. According to the ordinance, the permit will be eective on June 5, 60 days from its adoption.

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improvement projects within the district, which is bordered by Hwy. 59, Spur 527 and I-45. The Midtown EastboundMemorial Drive tunnel lanes are nowopen to cars

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ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS UPDATED AS OF APRIL 27. NEWS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE OR OTHER LOCAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS? EMAIL US AT HRMNEWSCOMMUNITYIMPACT.COM. punchlist items remaining. The project also involved widening bike lanes and sidewalks. Timeline: April 2021-April 2022 Cost: $3.3 million Funding sources: Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, Harris County Precinct 1 Waugh Drive and Commonwealth Street reconstruction A project that involved milling and overlaying work on portions of Waugh Drive and Commonwealth Street was mostly nished in March with

The eastbound lanes of the new Memorial Drive tunnels opened March 28, allowing for one-way trac to travel through. The westbound lanes were not open as of press time April 27, but ocials with Memorial Park Conservancy estimated they would open around late April or early May. Stopping and pedestrian travel are prohibited in the tunnels, but in the future, a multimodal commuter trail

is expected to be implemented. The bridge, once complete, will create a full land crossing of Memorial Drive, which ocials said presents an opportunity to connect habitats from the south side of the park to the north side, facilitating drainage and accommodating wildlife movement. The tunnel design includes light wells, which let daylight in at certain intervals. Memorial Drive will feature three

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lanes in each direction once fully opened. The Memorial Park Land Bridge and Prairie project will be completed late this year, according to the release.

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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • MAY 2022