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UH, MY NAME'S DAVID ROBINSON.[Special Joint Regulatory and TTI Committee]
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE AT LARGE POSITION TWO AND CHAIR OF THE TTI COMMITTEE.I'M HERE WITH MY COLLEAGUE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF THE REGULATORY AND NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, BOTH FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
TODAY IS THE 23RD OF AUGUST, UH, TUESDAY MORNING, AND IT'S 10:00 AM JUST PASSED.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 5 1 0.127 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE THAT'S APPLICABLE TO A GOVERNMENTAL BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, BUT RESTRICTIONS REGARDING MASKS, ALLOWABLE ROOM CAPACITY AND SEATING ARRANGEMENTS MAY BE IN.
PLEASE, I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE, UH, IN THIS CASE THAT INCLUDES THE AFOREMENTIONED COUNCIL MEMBER, SALLY ALCORN, UH, VICE CHAIR AMY PECK, UH, STAFF FROM THE MAYOR PRO TEM DAVE MARTIN'S OFFICE IN THE DISTRICT E COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CIRES HAS JOINED US FROM DISTRICT H AS WELL AS HER STAFF HERE IN PLACE.
AND STAFF FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX IN OUR AT LARGE POSITION ONE, I THINK.
WITH THAT, I'D ALSO WANT TO WELCOME, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE TURNING IN VIRTUALLY AND WHO WE'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THE MEETING.
AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ONLINE AND HERE IN THE CHAMBER WITH US COUNCIL MEMBERS PARTICIPATING VIRTUALLY, IT'S PLEASE A REMINDER TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON WHEN YOU ARE SPEAKING AND IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD WHO HAVE NOT ALREADY SIGNED IN.
THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET IN THE FRONT TABLE, UH, THERE WITH JULIA.
AND WITH THAT, TODAY'S AGENDA WILL INCLUDE PRESENTATIONS ON, UH, THREE ITEMS. FIRST IS THE PROPOSED SIDEWALK IN LIEU OF FEE BY THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND THERE WILL BE Q AND A DIRECTLY FOLLOWING THAT, UM, AND PUBLIC COMMENTS.
AND THEN WE WILL HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS RELATED TO OUR HIGHWAY SYSTEM.
FIRST, THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS FROM, FOR I 10 FROM HEIGHTS BOULEVARD TO I 45.
UH, AND THAT WILL BE, WILL BEGIN WITH TXDOT, WHICH WILL ALSO BE FOLLOWED BY, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER Q AND A AND THE INNER KATY CORRIDOR PROJECT WILL BE PRESENTED TODAY BY METRO, UH, ALSO FOLLOWED BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER Q AND A.
AND THEN PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR BOTH HIGHWAY ITEMS. AS A REMINDER TO THE PUBLIC, THE PRESENTATIONS IN THEIR ENTIRETY HAVE BEEN POSTED ON BOTH THE RNA AND THE TTI WEBSITES.
IF YOU ARE VIRTUAL, PLEASE REMEMBER TO UNMUTE YOUR MICROPHONE BY PRESSING STAR SIX.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN SPEAKING, I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TWO MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS HAS ENDED.
AND WE HAVE THREE PUBLIC SPEAKERS WHO SIGNED UP BEFORE YESTERDAY'S 5:00 PM DEADLINE.
AND NOW WITH THAT, UH, TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST PRESENTATION ON THE PROPOSED SIDEWALK, UH, ORDINANCE.
UM, I'M GONNA TURN TO COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
THANK YOU CHAIR AND WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME, UM, DIRECTOR MARGARET WALLACE BROWN AND MOOSE SHANE FANG TO PRESENT OH, AND DAVID FIELDS, SORRY, DAVID FIELDS TO PRESENT ON THE SIDEWALK FEE IN LIEU OF, SO THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
BEFORE WE DO, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLS.
AND I DID SEE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN ONLINE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S OTHERS, OTHER STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US THIS MORNING.
UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO COME TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE PROPOSED SIDEWALK IN LUIE.
UM, I'M TRYING TO INTRODUCE, UH, MY COLLEAGUE, HIN FANG, WHO IS OUR PLANNER MANAGER, UH, FOR POLICY IN THE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING DIVISION IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
SHE'LL WALK THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND BE READY AND ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE AT THE END.
UH, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO PRESENT, PROVIDE YOUR, UH, BRIEF PRESENTATION FOR THE PROPOSED FREE AND NEW TODAY.
SO COUNCIL MEMBERS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, SIDEWALK HAS CREATED SAFETY OF SIDEWALK, HAS CREATED SERIOUS CHALLENGE FOR HOUSTONIANS, LACK OF SIDEWALK, AND MANY STREETS HAVE NO SIDEWALK.
AND IN THIS BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED THE CYBER ORDINANCE WITH, UH, UH, WALKABLE PLACES AND CHANCE ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE BACK TO AUGUST, 2020.
OVER ALMOST TWO YEARS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDINANCE, WE REALIZED THAT IS, UH, THE SIDEWALK OPTIONS PROPOSED BY THE, UH, CURRENT ORDINANCE ARE NOT, UH, SUFFICIENT TO ADJUST.
THE CHALLENGE WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THIS BACKGROUND, UH, PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH, UM,
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CITY ENGINEERS OFFICE, UH, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, THE MASS OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY TO EXPLORE MORE OPTIONS, WHICH IS THE PROPOSED FEE IN INNU.UM, FIRSTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, PROVIDE YOU A QUICK REFRESHER ABOUT THE CURRENT SIDEWALK STANDARDS.
UM, ACCORDING TO THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE, MINIMUM FOR SAFETY BUFFER IS REQUIRED ALONG ALL PUBLIC STREETS.
AND THE MINIMUM SIDEWALK RISK IS ESTABLISHED BASED ON THE ADJACENT STREET CLASSIFICATION OR THE LOCATION.
IT IS LO UH, WHERE IT IS LOCATED.
SO WITHIN THE CBD, THE MINIMUM SIDEWALK WIDTH IS EIGHT FEET.
UH, ALONG THE MAJOR CIRCUIT, THE MINIMUM WIDTH IS SIX FEET, ALONG ALL OTHER LOCAL STREETS IS FIVE FEET.
UH, FOR THE PROPOSED, UM, UH, FOR THE DESIGNATED ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT STREETS OR THE WORKABLE PLACE STREETS, UH, THEY MAY HAVE SPECIAL SIDEWALK REQUIREMENT BASED ON THE LOCAL CONTEST.
SO WITH THE PROPOSED FEE IN NEW OPTION, THERE WILL BE THREE OPTIONS, UH, TO COMPLY WITH THE SIDEWALK REQUIREMENTS.
THE FIRST OPTION IS TO CONSTRUCT A REQUIRED SIDEWALK.
THE SECOND OPTION IS TO SUBMIT A SIDEWALK, UM, STANDARD MODIFICATION APPLICATION TO THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE, UH, TO ALLOW, MODIFY THE SIDEWALK RISK AND SAFETY, BUFFER RISK, OR EXEMPTING THE SAFETY BUFFER RISK REQUIREMENT.
WHEN THERE'S EXISTING PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS PREVENTING THE PROPERTY OWNERS FROM COMPLIANCE.
THESE TWO OPTIONS CREATED BY THE CURRENT ORDINANCE DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDINANCE, WE REALIZE THAT THEY ARE NOT SUFFICIENT, UH, TO HELP THE CITY CREATE A COMPLETE SIDEWALK NETWORK.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE ALL KNOW THERE ARE MANY STREETS IN HOUSTON HAVE NO SIDEWALKS IN THOSE EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE SEE MORE AND MORE REDEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WHEN THE PROPERTY OWNERS, THEY COME TO RECONSTRUCT THEIR HOME.
AND RIGHT NOW THE SIDEWALK ORDINANCE REQUIRE THEM TO CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALK.
HOWEVER, THE SIDEWALK WILL BE CONNECTED TO NOWHERE.
AND WE HAVE HEARD CONCERNS FROM THE PRODUCT OWNERS.
THIS DOESN'T QUITE HELP TO, UH, IMPROVE THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN THE CITY.
UM, THERE ARE OTHER SCENARIOS, LIKE THERE ARE PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS IN FRONT OF THE PROPERTY.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE ARE OPEN DITCH IN FRONT OF THEIR PROPERTY.
THERE ARE EXISTING, UH, LIKE PHYSICAL RESTRICTIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, POWER POLE UTILITY BUS IN FRONT OF THE PROPERTY IS JUST I FEASIBLE FOR THEM TO CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK.
RIGHT NOW, THE ORDINANCE, UH, ALLOW THEM TO SUBMIT APPLICATION, UH, TO NOT PROVIDE THE SIDEWALK.
IF THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE DECIDES THAT YES, IT'S INVISIBLE AND APPROVE THE APPLICATION, THEN THE PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING.
BUT BY DOING SO, IT WILL CREATE MORE GAPS FOR THE SIDEWALKS IN THE CITY.
SO, TO ADJUST THESE CONCERNS AND THE CHALLENGE WE HAVE EXPERIENCED, WE PROPOSE THE THIRD OPTION, WHICH IS THE FEE IN NEW.
SO THE PROPOSED THE THIRD OPTION ALLOWS THE PRODUCT OWNERS OR DEVELOPERS TO PAY THE FEE IN NEW, IF THE DEVELOPMENTS MISS ONE OF THE FOLLOWING, UH, THE FIRST ONE IS IF THE PROPERTY OWNER IS BUILDING A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL HOME ON A LOT, WHICH IS NOT FURTHER SUBDIVIDED, AND THE DEVELOPMENT MEET A CERTAIN CRITERIA, THE PROPERTY OWNERS IS AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR PAYING THE FEE RESULTING THROUGH THE ANY APPLICATION PROCESS.
THE, THOSE CRITERIA INCLUDE, UH, THERE'S NO EXISTING SIDEWALK IN THE SAME BLOCK, THERE'S NO SCHOOL ON THE SAME BLOCK, ET CETERA.
UM, THIS OPTION IS MAINLY TO ADJUST THE SIDEWALK TO KNOW WHERE CONCERN.
UH, THE SECOND SCENARIO BE WHEN THE PRODUCT OWNER OR DEVELOPER, UM, THEY FIND THAT IT'S INFEASIBLE FOR THEM TO CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK, AND THEN THEY, UH, SUBMIT A REQUEST TO THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE, AND THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE APPROVES THE REQUEST, THEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO, UM, UH, CHOOSE TO PAY THE FEE.
UM, BUT I WANT TO REITERATE THAT THE SIDEWALK IN NEW FEE IS JUST ONE OPTION.
PROVIDE, UH, FOR THE PROPERTY OWNERS, THEY'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO CONSTRUCT THEIR OWN SIDEWALK, BUT WE JUST WANT TO PROVIDE ONE MORE OPTION SO THAT WE DON'T LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A COMPLETE SIDEWALK NETWORK IN THE CITY.
UM, THE INTENT OF THE, UH, SIDEWALK
THE ESTIMATED COST FOR THE CITY TO CONSTRUCT OUR IS ABOUT $30 PER SQUARE FEET.
THE PROPOSED, OUR NEW FEE WILL BE LIKE, WE HAVE PROPOSED TWO, UH, FEE, UH, STRUCTURE.
ONE IS $12 PER SQUARE FEET FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT INCREASING LOT DENSITY.
THIS APPLY TO THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME, UM, RECONSTRUCTION ON EXISTING LOT OR A NEW HOME
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CONSTRUCTION ON VACANT LOT, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN FURTHER SUBDIVIDED SINCE OCTOBER, 2020.UH, FOR ALL OTHER DEVELOPMENT, THE FEE IS $30 PER SQUARE FEET.
THERE ARE THREE EXISTING CYBER PROGRAM, UH, IN THE CITY.
THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS ABOUT $3.3 MILLION.
UH, BASED ON THE SO PERMIT DATA WE HAVE ISSUED SINCE OCTOBER, 2020, WE PROJECTED THE ANNUAL REVENUE FOR THE, SO FUND IS ABOUT $1.8 MILLION.
I WOULD LIKE TO GO OVER THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, UH, FOR THE, SO A NEW FEE.
SO THE FIRST SCENARIO IS A PRODUCT OWNER WANTS TO CONSTRUCT A NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOME ON A EXISTING LOT.
THE LOT IS 30 FEET WIDE, UH, LOCAL, LOCATED ALONG A LOCAL STREET WITH NO EXISTING SIDEWALK, AND IT IS AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR PAYING THE FEE.
UH, THE REQUEST SIDEWALK WITH ALONG THE LOCAL STREET IS FIVE FEET.
THEREFORE, UM, THE SIDEWALK FEE WILL BE 50 TIMES FIVE TIMES $12 PER SQUARE FEET, WHICH IS $3,000.
THE SECOND SCENARIO IS A PROPERTY OWNER WANTS TO SUBDIVIDE HIS LOT INTO TWO AND CONSTRUCT A SINGLE FAMILY HOME ON EACH OF THE NEW LOT ALONG A LOCAL STREET.
UM, THERE ARE EXISTING RESTRICTIONS, UM, ALONG THE STREET AND, UH, PROPERTY OWNER REQUESTS, UH, TO SUBMIT A REQUEST TO PAY THE FEE AND, UH, ASSUME THE, UH, SIDEWALK COMMITTEE APPROVE THE REQUEST.
THEN THEY CHOOSE TO PAY THE FEE.
THEN THE FEE WILL BE 25 TIMES FIVE TIMES $30 PER SQUARE, WHICH WILL BE 37 $50.
THE THIRD SCENARIO IS A PROPERTY OWNER WANTS TO DEVELOP A COMMERCIAL BUSINESS ON A CHECK ALONG A MAJOR SOFTWARE.
UM, THERE ARE EXISTING RESTRICTIONS IN FRONT OF THE PROPERTY, AND AGAIN, THEY REQUEST TO PAY THE FEE AND THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE APPROVE THE REQUEST.
THEN THEY, UM, THEY COULD CHOOSE TO PAY THE FEE AT THE MINIMUM.
SIDEWALK IS A LONG, MAJOR SURFACE, SIX FEET.
UM, THE, THE CHECK HAS A 100 FEET FRONTAGE ALONG THE MAJOR SURFACE.
SO THE FEE WILL BE 100 TIMES SIX TIMES 30, WHICH IS $18,000.
WE PROPOSE TO NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
YEAH, WE PROPOSE TO CREATE 17.
SO SERVICE AREAS WITHIN THE CITY LIMIT THE PROPOSED.
THE PROPOSED, SO, UH, SERVICE AREA BOUNDARIES, UM, WE CONSIDER THAT BASED ON, UH, MULTIPLE FACTORS INCLUDING THE POPULATION, THE SIZE OF THE DEVELOPER AREA, AMOUNT OF RECENT SIDEWALK PERMIT ACTIVITIES, THE FREEWAY LOCATION, WHICH CREATE SOME SORT OF PHYSICAL BARRIERS AND THE APPROPRIATE SIZE FOR EFFECTIVE FUND MANAGEMENT.
WE, WE BELIEVE, UH, THIS PROPOSED CYBER SERVICE AREA BOUNDARY WILL HELP US TO BALANCE THE CYBER FUND AND, UH, HELP US TO, UH, PROMOTE A COMPLETE OUR NETWORK EQUITABLY IN THE CITY.
SO THE GOAL, UM, THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED OUR FUND IS NOT TO CREATE A POT OF MONEY.
UH, THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A SAFE, COMFORTABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE SA NETWORK FOR ALL HOUSTONIANS.
THE PROPOSED, OUR FUND IS PROPOSED IS COMPOSED OF 18 COST CENTERS.
WE WILL ESTABLISH ONE COST CENTER FOR EACH CYBER SERVICE AREA AND ONE COST CENTER FOR CITYWIDE SIDEWALK PROJECTS.
WE ARE PROPOSING A 70 30 SPLIT BETWEEN BUILDING CYBER IN THE AREA WHERE THE FEE WAS CONNECTED AND THE A CITYWIDE SIDEWALK NETWORK BASED ON THE NEED.
THE INTENT OF THE 70 30 SPLIT IS TO, UH, ACHIEVE A COMPLETE SIDEWALK NETWORK, UH, IN THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, AND NOT JUST IN CERTAIN AREAS.
WE ALL KNOW THERE ARE AREAS, UM, IN THE CITY WITH LESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.
THEREFORE, THESE AREAS MAY, UH, HAVE LESS, UH, REVENUE FOR THE SIDEWALK FUND.
SO THE 73RD SPLIT WILL HELP TO BALANCE, UM, THIS SIDEWALK FUND, UH, AND CONSTRUCT THE SOUTH PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
IN ADDITION, THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE ALSO ALLOWS OTHER SOURCE OF FUNDINGS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CYBER WAR FUND, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S OFFICE, FROM, UH, THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, UH, THE S OR EVEN METRO.
SO, SO THAT WE WILL HAVE MORE, UH, REVENUES FOR THE CYBER WAR FUND.
AND SO THAT CITY COULD CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALKS.
THE SIDEWALK FARM WILL BE MANAGED BY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND IMPLEMENTED BY HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
ONCE THE, WE HAVE ENOUGH CYBER FUND, UH, THE CHIEF TRANSPORTATION PLANNER, AND WE WILL COORDINATE WITH, UH, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, THE MASS OF OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY TO
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PRIORITIZE THE CYBER PROJECTS BASED ON FIVE MAJOR FACTORS.THEY ARE THE SAFETY, UH, EXISTING TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES SUCH AS, UM, BICYCLE LANES, BUS STOPS, UH, THE PRESENCE OF MAJOR CHIP GENERATORS LIKE LIBRARIES, SCHOOLS, CHURCH PARKS, ET CETERA.
UH, DEMOGRAPHICS AND EQUITY AND, UM, AVAILABLE FUNDING.
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WE HAVE PRESENT THE PROPOSED OUR NEW FEE IDEA, UH, TO DIFFERENT GROUPS, UH, INCLUDING THE PLANNING COMMISSION, THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, UH, GREATER HOUSTON BUILDER ASSOCIATION, HOUSTON REAL ESTATE COUNCIL, ET CETERA.
UH, WE ALSO POST THE, UH, PROPOSED ORDINANCE LANGUAGE BACK TO, UH, MAY, UH, THE, DURING THE, UH, 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, WE HAVE RECEIVED 151 PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ABOUT 71% OF THEM SUPPORT THE PROPOSED FEE NEW, UH, TO PROMOTE A COMPLETE OUR NETWORK, UH, 19% REQUESTING CLARIFICATION, SUCH AS LIKE, HOW DO WE, UH, PRIORITIZE THE PROJECTS, HOW DO WE MANAGE THE FUNDS, ET CETERA.
AND ABOUT 10% OF THE COMMENTS OPPOSE THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE, UH, SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION.
WE SAID, I, UH, CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION AND WE ARE READY FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF CO UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, UH, WHO'D LIKE TO INQUIRE, UM, WITH VARIOUS QUESTIONS.
AND WE'LL START WITH CHAIR SALLY ALCORN FROM THE RNA COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND I APPLAUD YOUR WORK ON ADDRESSING CONNECTING HOUSTON MORE BY PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE SIDEWALKS.
I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR MORE PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN SIDEWALKS FOR A WHILE, SO THAT'S GOOD.
AND I ALSO AM GLAD THAT WE'RE NOT PICKING FIGHTS WITH NEIGHBORHOODS THAT DON'T WANT SIDEWALKS AND, YOU KNOW, WOULD RATHER NOT BUILD A SIDEWALK.
MY QUESTIONS HAVE TO DO, LIKE EVERYTHING IN THE CITY, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO MONEY.
SO WHAT I'VE BEEN HEARING, UM, ABOUT OUR SPECIFIC FEES, I GUESS I'M JUST GONNA NEED MORE INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC WORKS ON HOW THAT, THOSE NUMBERS, THAT $30 AND THAT $12 NUMBER, UM, CAME ABOUT.
BECAUSE WHAT I'M, AND I KNOW FROM IN THE PAST AS COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON HAS INDICATED IN OUR BRIEFING, THERE WAS A PILOT PROGRAM AT ONE POINT THAT THE CITY WAS TRYING TO LINE UP CONTRACTORS TO HELP PEOPLE DO SIDEWALKS AND NOBODY WANTED IT.
IT COSTS THE CITY MORE TO BUILD SIDEWALKS THAN IT COSTS PRIVATE DEVELOPER.
SO I THINK, UM, WE'RE GONNA NEED SOME MORE INFORMATION ON HOW, WHAT'S BAKED INTO THOSE $30 AND THAT $12, BECAUSE WHAT I'M HEARING FROM SOME IN THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS THAT THAT'S WAY HIGHER THAN HOW THEY, WHAT, WHAT THEY COULD PAY TO BUILD A SIDEWALK.
AND, AND I THINK WE JUST NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT.
AND IF THERE'S A WAY TO REALLY KIND OF BALANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, A MORE, UH, YOU KNOW, MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT SOMEBODY COULD BUILD A SIDEWALK FOR, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY, THEY'LL ALREADY BE PAYING A FEE FOR SOMETHING THAT'S HOPEFULLY GONNA BE SEEN IN THEIR AREA.
NOT, NOT RIGHT THERE, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE PAYING ANYTHING AND GETTING ANYTHING.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO CHARGE THE FULL CITY LOAD, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO, TO BUILD A SIDEWALK.
SO A LITTLE MORE CLARITY ON THAT.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IT RIGHT NOW, BUT, UM, BUT TO THE EXTENT YOU DO HAVE INFORMATION ON WHAT'S BAKED INTO THOSE NUMBERS NOW, I'D LIKE TO HEAR IT.
SO, UH, REALLY BRIEF, UM, THE NUMBER, THE $30 IS BASICALLY CALCULATED TO COVER THE COST, UH, FOR CYBER CONSTRUCTION ALONG BOTH THE CURB AND GUTTER STREETS AND OPEN DITCH STREETS.
AS WE ALL KNOW, THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS ALONG OPEN DITCH STREETS ARE MUCH HIGHER, UM, BECAUSE IT IS ALSO RELATED TO THE DRAIN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, ALL THOSE THINGS.
UM, THE CALCULATION IS BASED ON THE, THE ESTIMATION, BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE OF THE OPEN DISTRICT IN THE, UH, CITY, THE PERCENTAGE OF THE, UH, CARBON GUT STREET, AND THEN THE, EACH OF THE CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND DO THE FORMULA CALCULATION.
AND WE COULD HAVE IT, UM, LIKE IT IS PROVIDED BY PUBLIC WORKS.
SO BASICALLY IT'S BASED ON WHAT IT COSTS THE CITY TO BUILD A SIDEWALK ALONG ON AN OPEN DITCH STREET.
AND LIKE, IT IS A, LIKE A COMBINATION, A FORMULA IS TO COVER BOTH THE OPEN DITCH AND, UH, CARBON GUTTER IS NOT EXACTLY, BECAUSE THE COST FOR OPEN STREET IS MUCH HIGHER THAN $30 PER SQUARE FEET.
I, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE GREAT IS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF COMPARISONS, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT IT COSTS THE CITY AND WHAT IT COSTS, THE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT IT, YOU KNOW, FOR A SIMILAR THING.
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ACROSS THE BOARD AT, AT THE NUMBERS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT POTENTIALLY REALLY CRIPPLING SOMEBODY AND OVERCHARGING FOR WHAT, WHAT THEY, AND LIKE IF THEY WOULD'VE BUILT IT, IT WOULD'VE BEEN A LOT CHEAPER THAN PAYING OUR FEE.AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A OPTION PROVIDE FOR THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
IF THEY DECIDE THEY COULD CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK MUCH CHEAPER BY THEMSELVES, THEY'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK BY THEMSELVES.
AND THIS IS THE CAUSE WE GOT, WE HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS FOR A FEW MONTHS TO COME OUT THIS NUMBER THAT IS THE, THE CAUSE CITY RIGHT NOW,
COMES MEMBER, IF I CAN ADD THOSE WERE THE COSTS FROM THE EXISTING SIDEWALK PROGRAM.
SO THEY'RE VERY, VERY SPECIFIC TO WHAT IT IS COSTING THE CITY TO BUILD TODAY.
AND THEN RECOGNIZING THAT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROPERTIES, UM, MAY NEED TO BE LOOKED AT DIFFERENTLY IS THE, THE TWO TIER, THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AT THE $12, UM, WHICH IS TENDS TO BE INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, FAMILIES OR PROPERTY OWNERS.
AND THEN SEPARATE FROM THE, THE LARGER OTHER PROJECTS, UH, WITH THE DIFFERENT RATE.
BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO PROVIDE ALL THE BACKUP OF THAT MATH.
OH, AND I THINK THE, UH, THE POINT IS WELL MADE COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ARE HEARING, AND WE ARE GETTING QUITE A BIT OF MAIL ON THIS IS, UH, THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS, UM, SAYING THAT THAT PRICE IS HIGHER THAN THEY CAN AFFORD IT, RIGHT? SO IF RATHER THAN, UH, SAY OUT LOUD THAT THAT'S THE CITY'S COST OR THAT'S WHAT WE'VE FOUND, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE PROVE THAT UP IS, UM, IS NEEDS TO BE ESTABLISHED, I THINK FOR COUNCIL TO BE CONVINCED.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, OUR VICE CHAIR IS NEXT IN QUEUE.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO THE CURRENT SIDEWALK MODIFICATION APPLICATION FEE, UM, GOES TO COVER THE STAFF'S COST TO PROCESS AND REVIEW THE SIDEWALK MODIFICATION APPLICATIONS.
SO IF WE'RE DOING AWAY WITH THAT APPLICATION, AND NOW THIS, THERE'S THIS FEE IN LIEU OF HAVE WE FACTORED IN THE COST FOR STAFF INTO THIS FEE? 'CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S JUST LIKE THE SQUARE FOOTAGE AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO BUILD THE SIDEWALK.
SO WHERE IS THAT MONEY COMING FROM AND TO PAY FOR STAFF? SO THIS SIDEWALK NEW FEE ONLY COVER THE SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION COST.
IT DOESN'T COVER STAFF'S, UM, TIME OR IT DOESN'T COVER THAT.
WE WILL, UM, HAVE OTHER FUNDING TO COVER STAFF, UM, COST.
SO IT'S NOT GONNA COME FROM THIS FEE IN LIEU OF ALL OF THAT MONEY'S GOING INTO SIDEWALKS AND THE MONEY FOR STAFF IS GONNA HAVE TO COME FROM THE DEPARTMENT IN SOME OTHER FORM? YES.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I ASKED THE DIRECTOR A QUESTION ABOUT OPEN DITCHES AND THANK YOU DIRECTOR THAT, UM, ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS PROVIDED A LOT OF CLARITY FOR ME.
BUT I GUESS ONE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS WHEN THERE'S AN OPEN DITCH AND IT'S JUST NOT FEASIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO BUILD A SIDEWALK, UM, WHICH DOES HAPPEN IN DISTRICT A PRETTY OFTEN, UM, AND I WAS TOLD THAT THERE'S STILL AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR AN EXEMPTION WHEN THAT HAPPENS.
SO WILL THERE STILL BE SOME KIND OF SIDEWALK MODIFICATION APPLICATION IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE IT'S JUST NOT FEASIBLE AT ALL TO DO ANY KIND OF SIDEWALK? RIGHT? YEAH, THE SIDEWALK MODIFICATION IS STILL AN OPTION.
FOR EXAMPLE, UM, I'M, IT'S NOT FEASIBLE TO CONSTRUCT A FIVE FEET SIDEWALK, BUT MAYBE FOUR FEET.
UM, AND THEN YOU, THEY COULD SUBMIT A MODIFICATION APPLICATION.
IF IT'S APPROVED, THEN THEY COULD CONSTRUCT FOUR FEET SIDEWALK.
UM, SO ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO CONSTRUCT SIDEWALK AT ALL, THEN YOU COULD REQUEST, UM, TO PAY THE FEE IN NEW, YEAH.
SO THERE STILL WILL BE SOME KIND OF MODIFICATION APPLICATION THAT IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES PEOPLE COULD APPLY FOR? YES.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO JUST, JUST FOR CLARITY, I GUESS IN REGARDS TO THE 1.8 MILLION, YOU'RE ANTICIPATING THIS FEE ANNUALLY, THE CITY WILL BE COLLECTING 1.8 MILLION? CORRECT? THAT'S A PROJECTION BASED ON THE SIDEWALK PERMITS WE HAVE ISSUED SINCE OCTOBER, 2020.
AND THEN THIS MONIES WILL BE USED BY DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, UH, BUILD NEW SIDEWALKS IN AREAS WITHIN THEIR DISTRICTS.
THE, YOU'RE DIVIDING IN AMONGST DIFFERENT AREAS? YEAH.
THE SERVICE AREA, LIKE THE, SO $1.8 MILLION WE PROJECTED FOR CITYWIDE.
UM, SO THE 70% OF THE COLLECTIVE FEE WILL STAY IN EACH OF THE PROPOSED.
SO SERVICE AREA, 30% WILL GO TO THE CITYWIDE PROJECTS BASED ON NEED.
AND, AND THERE'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR THE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE IN COUNCIL, AND I'M HOPING WE CAN AMEND THIS TO MAYBE THIS MIGHT BE AN, A SOLUTION, UH, WITH, WITH REBUILD HOUSTON.
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AS YOU KNOW, BEFORE NEIGHBORHOODS HAD TO GO DO A PETITION TO GET NEW STREETS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.UH, AND SO, SO NOW YOU DON'T DO THE PETITION.
NOW IT'S REBUILD HOUSTON, SO FIR WORSE FIRST SUPPOSEDLY.
UH, BUT THE, BUT THE, THE CITY IS OUT THERE BUILDING NEW STREETS IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS THAT IN TIME, AFTER THE CITY HAS MADE AN INVESTMENT IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WITH NEW STREETS, NEW CURBS, NEW SIDEWALKS IN TIME, THE CURBS ARE, ARE BEING BROKEN BY POSSIBLY SOLID WASTE.
WHEN THEY'RE PICKING UP HEAVY TRASH, THEY ACCIDENTALLY BREAK THE CURB, UH, IN TIME BECAUSE OF OUR SOIL HERE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE SIDEWALK STARTS LEANING, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A BRAND NEW SIDEWALK.
WHEN, WHEN I SAY BRAND NEW, 10, 15, 20 YEARS, YOU KNOW, UH, BUT, BUT IT'S DETERIORATING AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY FOR THE CITY TO GO BACK AND REPAIR THAT CURVE.
BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T REPAIR THAT CURB, IT'S GONNA CONTINUE DETERIORATING.
AND, AND BEFORE YOU KNOW WHAT THE INVESTMENT THE CITY HAS DONE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA LOSE IT.
SO I WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY WHERE THE CITY, LET, LET, LET'S SAY YOU HAVE A, YOU'RE, YOU'RE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE YOU'VE GOTTEN NEW STREETS 15 YEARS AGO NOW, NOW SOLID WASTE CAME AND TORE UP YOUR CURB.
UH, IS THERE A WAY WHERE THE HOMEOWNER CAN PAY HALF OF GETTING THE CURB FIXED AND THEN THE CITY PAYING THE OTHER HALF TO GET THE CITY FIXED FROM THIS FUNDS? OR, OR, OR A SIDEWALK, LET'S SAY THE SIDEWALK STARTS LEANING, UH, WHERE THE HOMEOWNER CAN PAY HALF TO GET THAT SECTION OF THE SIDEWALK REPAIRED AND THE CITY PAYS THE OTHER HALF TO GET IT REPAIRED.
UM, SO TO BE CLEAR, FOR THIS PROGRAM, WE DO HAVE TO STAY WITH, UH, NEW SIDEWALKS IN, UH, P THE IN LU FEE TO BUILD NEW SIDEWALKS, UM, TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
WE ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO WORK WITH COUNCIL AND STAFF ON ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS TO HELP THAT NETWORK.
AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.
CAN YOU PUT ME BACK IN THE QUEUE? WE CAN PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE.
AND NEXT SPEAKER IS COUNCIL MEMBER CARLA CISNEROS.
UM, I WANTED TO, TO GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE MODIFICATIONS.
SO IF THERE IS A REQUIREMENT FOR A FIVE FOOT WIDE SIDEWALK AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM, AND IT CAN ONLY BE A FOUR FOOT WIDE SIDEWALK, DOES THE OWNER THEN IS, WOULD THEY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING THE ONE FOOT LENGTH WIDTH THAT THEY THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY THE WHOLE FEE IF THEY COULD, IF THEY COULD ONLY PUT IN A FOUR FOOT WIDE SIDEWALK AND IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FIVE FEET, ARE THEY PENALIZED BY THE JUST ONE FOOT OR NO? OKAY.
IN THE CASE IT IS INFEASIBLE FOR A PROPERTY OWNER TO CONSTRUCT A FIVE FEET.
THEY, UH, THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE APPROVED THE APPLICATION, ALLOW THEM TO CONSTRUCT A FOUR FEET.
SO THEN THEY JUST CONSTRUCT THE FORFEIT BY THEMSELVES.
UM, THERE'S NO NEED FOR THEM TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE, THE COST, AND, BUT SUBMITTING THE MODIFICATION APPLICATION, UH, THERE'S A FEE, APPLICATION FEE IS ABOUT $1,100, BUT THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE SIDEWALK FEE IN LIEU.
UM, AND THEN I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE PROPOSED SIDEWALK SERVICE AREAS THAT, UM, HOW WILL FUNDING BE STRUCTURED FOR THEM OR ALLOCATED? IS IT EQUAL FUNDING FOR THE AREAS OR IS THERE SOME FORMULA FOR THAT OR WHAT? SO, UM, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO, UM, MAYBE SLIDE 10 OR 11.
SO WE DO THE ANALYSIS, UH, BASED ON THE POPULATION IN THE AREA, THE NUMBER OF, UM, LIKE THE, THE DEVELOPER AREA AND THE NUMBER OF, UH, PERMIT, UH, ACTIVITIES, UM, THE PERMIT, THE SIDEWALK PERMITS, WE HAVE ISSUE.
THOSE FACTORS ARE THE ONE WE CONSIDER.
WE, SO WITH THESE FACTORS, WE KIND OF, WE THINK WE BALANCE THE SIDEWALK FUND, UH, PRETTY EQUALLY IN THE CITY LIMIT MM-HMM
BUT I'M HEARING YOU SAY THE FUNDING WILL BE EQUAL FOR THOSE, THOSE YEAH.
AS, UH, AS MUCH AS WE COULD, WE TRY OUR BEST, UH, EFFORT TO BALANCE THAT.
AND, UH, WE'LL HEAR AGAIN FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
UH, SO YEAH, IF YOU CAN REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE, I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS.
I MEAN, UH, AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE CHASING OUR TAIL HERE.
IF, IF, IF, IF WE'RE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS REDOING STREETS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEN 10, 15 YEARS GO DOWN THE ROAD AND THEN THE CURBS START BREAKING AND, AND THE SIDEWALKS START LEANING, UH, WE NEED TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT HOW TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM ALSO, UH, BECAUSE YOU O OVERALL YOU HAVE NICE STREETS IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SOIL IN OUR CITY, THE SIDEWALKS ARE LEANING AND THE CURBS GET BROKEN BECAUSE OF SOLID WASTE, POSSIBLY BREAKING THE SIDEWALKS, PICKING UP HEAVY TRASH.
SO WE CAN FIGURE THAT WHAT TO DO, UH, WHAT WHAT WE CAN OFFER ALSO.
WE'LL REACH OUT TO YOUR STAFF.
[00:30:01]
UH, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, WE, WE GOT YOU.WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD RIGHT NOW THEN.
UM, I, CAN WE GO BACK OVER? AND FIRST OFF, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS, THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
THIS HAS A VERY, UM, STRONG IMPACT IN DISTRICT C, RIGHT? WE HAVE SOME AREAS IN GARDEN OAKS, OAK, FOREST, UM, THAT HAVE NO SIDEWALKS.
AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE IN A STATE OF A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT WHERE WE HAVE A PATCHWORK OF SIDEWALKS AND WE NEED MORE.
UM, CAN YOU GO BACK OVER WHO WILL QUALIFY? MY CONCERN BEING, UM, GOING BACK TO THOSE IN TRANSITION NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT? LET'S SAY WE HAVE A STREET WITH 10 HOMES AND THREE OR FOUR OF THEM NOW HAVE SIDEWALKS.
DEVELOPERS GONNA COME IN, REDEVELOP THAT AREA.
WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR FEE IN LIEU OF THEREBY LEAVING THAT PATCHWORK IN PLACE? COUNCIL MEMBER IN THAT CASE, UM, THEY ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFIED BECAUSE, UH, ON THE BLOCK, IF THEIR EXISTING SIDEWALK, UH, ON THAT BLOCK, THEY, THEY ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE.
BUT IF THEY DO THEN, UH, IS INFEASIBLE FOR THEM TO CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK, THEN THEY COULD SUBMIT A REQUEST TO THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE, AND THE SIDEWALK COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW THE REQUEST CASE BY CASE AND MAKE THE DECISION AT THAT TIME.
AND WHEN WE'RE DETERMINING WHETHER SOMETHING IS FEASIBLE, AGAIN, I'M LOOKING AT, LET'S SAY SINGLE FAMILY LOTS THAT ARE BUNGALOWS, RIGHT? AND A DEVELOPER IS COMING IN AND PUTTING A SIX PACK, SOMETIMES EVEN A 12 PACK ON.
IS THE FEASIBILITY BASED ON WHAT IS CURRENTLY THERE OR BASED ON THEIR PLANS OF DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY COULD IN FACT MODIFY, UM, TO PUT THAT SIDEWALK IN? MAINLY IT'S BASED ON THE, UM, THE EXISTING CONDITION OR WHETHER IT WILL, LIKE THE EXISTING CONDITION, BASICALLY IN FEASIBLE OR WHETHER, UH, REQUIRING THE SIDEWALK WILL CREATE SAFETY CONCERNS.
UM, WE ALSO CONSIDER LIKE WHETHER THERE'S A UPCOMING, UH, CIP PROJECT, WHICH HAS FINISHED DESIGN MORE THAN 60%.
IF THERE'S A CIP PROJECT COMING, UH, ALMOST FINISHED DESIGN, AND THEN MAYBE THAT'S ANOTHER SCENARIO THE COMMITTEE WILL CONSIDER.
UM, THEY DON'T NEED TO CONSTRUCT SIDEWALK.
THEY COULD PAY THE FEE BECAUSE, UH, IF REQUIRING THEM TO CONSTRUCT SIDEWALK THAT MAY BE CONTRADICT WITH THE DESIGN FROM THE, UM, UH, THE CIP PROJECT.
YEAH, THOSE ARE THE SCENARIO, UM, LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE.
AND I, I KNOW WE HAVE TO STRIKE A BALANCE, UM, ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT, UH, CHAIR ALCORN SAID.
UM, I DON'T WANT TO OVER PENALIZE SOMEONE THAT CAN'T PHYSICALLY PUT A SIDEWALK IN OR IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE THERE ARE NONE.
BUT I ALSO DON'T WANNA INCENTIVIZE, UM, OR MAKE IT EASIER FOR SOMEBODY TO NOT PUT A SIDEWALK IN WHERE ONE REALLY SHOULD BE GOING.
UH, SO, AND IN SOME INSTANCES, I, I NEED TO PULL THE CDSF AND I CAN GET BACK WITH THE DEPARTMENT, BUT I KNOW WHEN WE'VE HAD REQUESTS TO DO SIDEWALK REPAIRS IN FRONT OF SOMEBODY'S HOME, UM, IT'S A LOT MORE THAN $3,000 AT LEAST IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE BEING TOLD AS A DISTRICT OFFICE TRYING TO FUND IT THROUGH CDSF.
UM, I CAN GET Y ALL THOSE NUMBERS AND MORE SPECIFICS, BUT AGAIN, I'D BE INTERESTED IN HOW WE'RE COMING UP WITH, UM, THOSE COSTS.
I WOULD'VE EXPECTED FOR SOME CIRCUMSTANCES THOSE TO ACTUALLY BE HIGHER.
UH, BUT I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE IF SOMEONE CAN GET BACK TO ME THAT WE ARE NOT, UM, SETTING IT UP OR THAT A VARIANCE CAN'T NECESSARILY BE OBTAINED JUST BECAUSE OF THE NEW DESIGN OF A, UM, YOU KNOW, TOWN HOME DEVELOPMENT GOING IN.
UH, SO WHAT ARE KIND OF OUR SAFEGUARDS FOR THAT AS WELL? 'CAUSE AGAIN, UH, WE'RE ALREADY SEEING SUCH A PATCHWORK AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO HELP CREATE, UH, AN ENTIRE COMPLETE SIDEWALK NETWORK.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TOWARDS THAT.
WE'VE GOT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN BACK IN THE QUEUE.
REMIND ME HOW WE HANDLE CORNER LOTS WITH SIDEWALKS, WHAT WE REQUIRE.
SO, UM, THE CORNER LOT IS ONE OF THE CRITERIA.
UM, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT, UM, A PROPERTY OWNER WANTS TO CONSTRUCT A NEW HOME AT THE CORNER LOT.
THERE IS NO EXISTING SIDEWALK ALONG THE STREET, BUT BECAUSE IT'S A CORNER LOT, UH, THIS PROPERTY OWNER WILL NOT BE AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR THE FEE IN LIEU BECAUSE, UM, FIRST THE SIDE STARTS FROM THE INTERCESSION AND, UM, WE EXPECT MORE PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITIES AT THE CORNER, THE, AT THE INTERCESSION BECAUSE PEOPLE ACROSS THE STREET, ET CETERA.
AND IT ALSO IS MORE IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE THE PROTECTION SAFETY.
SO IF IT'S A CORNER LOCK, IT WILL NOT BE AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR THE FEE, BUT OKAY.
SO, BUT IT MIGHT JUST BE ON ONE SIDE
[00:35:01]
OF IT.I MEAN, YOU WOULD JUST REQUIRE A SIDEWALK ON THE SIDE WHERE THERE'S MAYBE A THOROUGHFARE OR, OR MORE CONNECTIVITY ON A SIDE OF IT, EVEN LIKE IT IS A CORNER OF TWO PUBLIC STREET.
UM, THE PROBLEM OWNER WILL BE REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT THE SIDEWALK ALONG BOTH STREETS.
I BELIEVE THAT, UH, COVERS IT.
FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE IN THE QUEUE, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED, UH, SINCE THE OUTSET BY COUNCIL MEMBER DR. CAROLYN EVANS SHABAZZ FROM THE DISTRICT OF DESTINATION, DISTRICT D, AS WELL AS STAFF FROM TARSHA JACKSON'S OFFICE AND DISTRICT B.
I WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT, UH, CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
WE DO HAVE TWO SPEAKERS THAT, UM, WE WOULD, UM, LIKE TO WELCOME TO THE PODIUM AND AS WE DO THAT, WE'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THERE ARE, UH, VISUAL MATERIALS AT THE FRONT TABLE THAT YOU CAN PICK UP ANYONE IN THE CHAMBER WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PRESENTATIONS AND HAVE A HARD COPY OF THAT.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE, UH, ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO I BELIEVE IN THIS CASE IS A, UH, CITY PLANNING COMMISSIONER AT LEAST.
UH, SUSAN ALLMAN, ARE YOU THERE, PLEASE? ONLINE VIRTUALLY.
AND CAN YOU YES, I THINK WE GOT YOU.
ARE YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME? COMMISSIONER? I MEAN OUR COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON.
UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON SAID, MY NAME IS SUSAN ALLMAN.
I'M ON THE HOUSTON PLANNING COMMISSION, AND I SUPPORT THE PROPOSED FEE IN LIEU OF AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING SIDEWALK.
ORDINANCE, NOT ONLY IS A PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBER, BUT ALSO AS A CITIZEN OF HOUSTON, SIDEWALKS ARE A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT PROVIDES MOBILITY FOR HOUSTONIANS.
PEOPLE NEED SIDEWALKS TO SAFELY TRAVEL TO SCHOOL, WORK, TRANSIT STOPS, RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND PARKS.
HOWEVER, THE EXISTING SIDEWALK NETWORK IS NON-EXISTENT OR WOEFULLY INADEQUATE IN MANY AREAS OF THE CITY.
THE FUNDING THAT IS AVAILABLE TO THE CITY TO CONSTRUCT SIDEWALKS CANNOT ADDRESS THE NEEDS.
I LIVE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN HOUSTON THAT DOES NOT HAVE SIDEWALKS AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HOMES IS SPOTTED AS STATED BY IAN EARLIER IN OUR PRESENTATION.
REQUIRING A PROPERTY OWNER OWNER TO CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK ON A LOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD RESULT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A SIDEWALK TO NOWHERE THAT BENEFITS NO ONE, WHICH IS NOT SOUND.
PUBLIC POLICY ADOPTION OF THE FEE IN LIEU OF WILL THEORETICALLY TAKE THOSE PIECES OF SIDEWALK THAT WERE NOT CONSTRUCTED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND FILL AN EXISTING GAP IN THE SIDEWALK NETWORK, OR CONSTRUCT A SIDEWALK ALONG AN ENTIRE BLOCK PLACE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY SO THAT PEOPLE CAN WALK SAFELY TO A BUS STOP, UH, TO GET TO WORK, SCHOOL, OR OTHER DESTINATIONS.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SIDEWALK FUND AS PROPOSED WILL ALLOW THE CITY TO LEVERAGE EXISTING SIDEWALK FUNDING AVAILABLE TO CONSTRUCT A QUALITY SIDEWALK NETWORK FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UM, APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY.
AND WE, WE THANK YOU FOR THAT STATEMENT.
WE HAVE HAD ONE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UH, APPEAR TODAY AND SIGN UP TO SPEAK.
SO, UH, WITH THAT, I WANT TO THANK YOU TWO FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UH, WE WILL AGAIN, AS MENTIONED, HAVE YOUR PRESENTATION ONLINE ON BOTH WEBSITES FOR TTI AND RNA.
AND WITH THAT, MIRIAM WRIGHT IS HERE, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
MS. WRIGHT, IF YOU'D APPROACH THE PUDDING THEM, UH, THE FLOOR WILL BE YOURS.
UM, ASK
SO IN THE WOODLAND HEIGHTS ON WATSON, WE HAVE BUS STOPS.
THEY ARE NOT HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY DROPPING PEOPLE OFF IN DITCHES.
I HAVE A NEIGHBOR WHO FELL IN, ACTUALLY ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO RIDE THE BUS TO GO TO THE VA.
I'VE SPOKEN TO Y'ALL ABOUT THIS FOR OVER FIVE YEARS.
MS. CISNEROS SAID THAT SHE WAS AT ONE POINT THINKING ABOUT USING SOME OF HER DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO GO AHEAD AND TO FILL IN THE DITCHES AND TO MAKE SIDEWALKS.
THAT'S WHAT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME IN YOUR OFFICE ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO.
I'VE SPOKEN TO MR. LAMBERT, HE ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH ME FROM METRO.
HE CALLED ME AND SPOKE WITH ME.
I'VE GONE INTO PRIVATE MEETINGS WITH HIM AND THREE OR FOUR OTHER PEOPLE FROM METRO.
THEY REFUSED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
METRO SAYS IT'S THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY.
THE CITY SAYS THAT IT'S METRO'S RESPONSIBILITY.
SO WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU'RE GONNA GET FUNDING TO DO SOME OF THESE THINGS, ADDITIONAL
[00:40:01]
FUNDING FROM METRO, MR. LAMBERT, AS SOON AS HE HEARD THAT, TURNED AROUND TO THE OTHER GENTLEMAN SITTING NEXT TO HIM AND THE TWO OF THEM LOOKED AT EACH OTHER AND STARTED WHISPERING IN EACH OTHER'S EARS.SO WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET EXTRA MONEY FROM METRO TO HELP OUT WITH THIS, NO ONE'S WILLING TO DIG IN THEIR POCKETS WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO.
IT'S LIKE, MOMMY TELLS YOU TO GO TO DADDY TO GET THE MONEY, DADDY TELLS YOU TO GO TO MOMMY.
AND THEY HAVE THINGS THAT ARE NOT HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE AND YOU'RE DROPPING PEOPLE OFF IN DITCHES.
I UNDERSTAND BEING CONCERNED ABOUT OTHER SIDEWALKS BEING REPAIRED THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED AFTER THEY'RE THERE, BUT WE HAVE AREAS THAT DO NOT EVEN HAVE SIDEWALKS THAT HAVE BUS DROP-OFFS.
WE NEED TO AT LEAST GET THE PLACES THAT YOU'RE DROPPING OFF BUSES TO BE HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE.
I MEAN, THAT'S AT A BARE MINIMUM AND THAT'S JUST ABOUT IT.
BUT I'VE BEEN SPEAKING ON THIS TOPIC.
I KNOW THAT ANY OF Y'ALL HAVE BEEN HERE FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME, HAVE HEARD ME SPEAK ABOUT THIS MULTIPLE TIMES.
AND MRS. ROS JUST LOOKED AT ME LIKE SHE HAS NO IDEA OF WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, BUT YOU CAN'T DROP OFF PEOPLE FROM BUS STOPS IN A DITCH.
SO THAT, FIRST OF ALL, IF Y'ALL ARE GONNA HAVE THIS MONEY TO FIX THINGS, I'D REALLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU AT FIRST AT LEAST ADDRESS THE BUS STOPS.
IT'S COUNCIL MEMBER OR COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS, WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
AND, AND TRUST ME, I HAVE A BROTHER IN A WHEELCHAIR, SO I'M SYMPATHETIC IN, IN IN THAT RESPECT.
AND I APPRECIATE WHAT METRO IS DOING IN REGARDS TO, THEY'RE OUT THERE, UH, BUILDING SIDEWALKS AND IMPROVING BUS STOPS.
UH, SO, UH, THAT, THAT PROJECT STARTED, UH, I THINK ABOUT WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, I BELIEVE.
UH, SO I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THEY COME AND SPEAK TO SEE IF MAYBE THEY HAVE PLANS TO MAYBE ADDRESSING THAT NOW WITH THIS NEW PROGRAM THAT THEY HAVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND NOW WE'LL HEAR FROM, UH, COUNT, UH, COMMISSIONERS AFTER HERE, WHO'S ALSO SIGNED UP AND WITH US IN THE AUDIENCE.
S IF YOU'D LIKE TO APPROACH THE PODIUM, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE A STATEMENT OR A COMMENT.
UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR DOING THE, THE, THE WORK, UH, DOING, DIGGING INTO THE DETAILS AND COMING UP WITH THIS PLAN.
I LIVE IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE I THINK CONNECTIVITY IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, AND, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER P DISTRICT, UH, I'M JUST VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT EVERYBODY IS DOING AND I HOPE THAT, UH, THIS WILL GO THROUGH THE COUNCIL AND WE GET TO IMPLEMENT THIS THING.
OF COURSE, THERE ARE GONNA BE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WILL BE MADE, YOU KNOW, THERE'LL BE FEE STRUCTURES, UH, THERE WILL BE, UH, PROCEDURES FOR MAYBE, UH, SOME KIND OF VARIANCE VARIANCES AND EXCEPTIONS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE.
AND I THINK THIS IS A GOOD START FOR HOUSTON.
WE APPRECIATE THE GOOD WORK YOU ARE DOING AS WELL AS THE OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONERS AND CERTAINLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THE HARD WORK OF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
AND I BELIEVE WITH THAT, THAT WILL CONCLUDE THE FIRST AGENDA ITEM ON TODAY'S, UH, LIST OF TOPICS.
AND NEXT WE WILL TURN TO THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS FOR I 10 FROM HEIGHTS BOULEVARD TO I 45 WITH US TODAY.
THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ENGINEER FOR THE HOUSTON DISTRICT FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IS MR. VARUNA SINGH.
THANK YOU VARUNA FOR BEING HERE.
ALONG WITH YOU IS MS. TANISHA SMITH, ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE HOUSTON DISTRICT.
AND, UH, YOU'RE ALSO WITH TXDOT.
SO FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, LOVE TO HEAR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY.
AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, TO PRESENT THE PROJECT TODAY WITH MY COLLEAGUES TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE RNA AND THE TTI COMMITTEES.
UM, AS THE CHAIR SAID, I'M THE DEPUTY DISTRICT ENGINEER FOR THE HOUSTON DISTRICT OF TXDOT
UM, I'M JOINED TODAY BY TUNISIA HARDY SMITH, UM, ONE OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM MANAGERS IN THE DISTRICT.
UH, ALSO WITH ME TODAY IS JAMES, JAMES KOCH, OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMMING AND DEVELOPMENT.
AND STEVE ER, UM, HE IS A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT WITH HNTV AND HE'S PROVIDING THE ENGINEERING SCHEMATICS SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT.
WE'RE GONNA BRIEF THE COMMITTEE ON.
UM, AND FINALLY, UM, DANNY PEREZ IS ONE OF OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS, UM, AND, AND HE'S JOINING US TODAY IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
UM, WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO TUNISIA.
SHE'S GOT, UH, THE SLIDES TO PROVIDE THE BRIEFING OF THE PROJECT, AND THEN WE WILL, UH, TAKE QUESTIONS FROM THE, THE JOINT COMMITTEES.
THANK YOU UNA FOR THE LOVELY INTRODUCTION.
AND WE'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND JUMP RIGHT IN.
SO THIS PRESENTATION WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION
[00:45:01]
ON THE PROPOSED INTERSTATE 10 PROJECT FROM HEIGHTS BOULEVARD TO INTERSTATE 45.UM, WE HAD A PUBLIC MEETING THAT WAS HELD THURSDAY, JULY 28TH, UM, JUST WEST OF THE PROJECT ACTION AREA AT THE T DO HOUSTON DISTRICT, UM, AUDITORIUM.
UM, WE CAN GO BACK TO THE LAST SLIDE.
JUST BEFORE WE HAD THE PUBLIC MEETING, WE ALSO PUBLISHED ALL OF THE MATERIALS THAT WERE SHARED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING ON OUR TEXTILE WEBPAGE TWO DAYS PRIOR ON THE 26TH.
SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS A SUBSET OF THAT SAME SLIDE DECK THAT WAS SHARED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING THIS MORNING.
WE HAD ABOUT MAYBE 60, JUST OVER 60 PEOPLE THAT ATTENDED THE PUBLIC MEETING.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON WAS ONE OF THEM.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ATTEND.
UM, THE WAY THAT WE NOTIFY FOR THE PUBLIC MEETING IS A MASSIVE EFFORT.
IT TAKES ABOUT TWO TO THREE MONTHS, UH, FOR THE PROJECT TEAM IN MANAGEMENT TO GEAR UP FOR THE PUBLIC MEETING.
SO THE WAYS IN WHICH WE NOTIFY PEOPLE ARE AS LISTED AS FOLLOWS.
WE HAD THE INFORMATION POSTED ON THE TEXTILE WEBSITE ROUGHLY ON JUNE 20TH THAT JUST STARTED WITH A LANDING PAGE.
AND THEN THE, THE NOTICE AFTER THAT WE NOTIFIED 24 ELECTED OFFICIALS.
THEY WERE NOTIFIED VIA MAIL OR EMAIL AND THEY WERE NOTIFIED BEFORE JULY 1ST.
WE ALSO DO PUBLISH, UM, THE PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE TO ENGLISH AND SPANISH PUBLICATIONS THAT SERVE THE AREA.
UM, THE JULY EDITION OF THE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER RAN SOMETIME BETWEEN JULY 2ND AND THE SIXTH.
THE LEADER WAS PUBLISHED ON JULY 9TH AND THEN WE PU PUBLISHED TO THE SPANISH PUBLICATION LAVOS ON JULY 13TH.
FLYERS WERE ALSO DISTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND APARTMENT COMPLEXES.
NOTICES WERE MAILED DIRECTLY TO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS ON JULY 7TH.
WE ALSO DEVELOPED POSTCARDS THAT WERE MAIL DELIVERED VIA EVERY DOOR DIRECT ON JULY 14TH.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO RAN SOME PORTABLE MESSAGE BOARDS ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR NEAR YALE AND TAYLOR STREET THE WEEK OF JULY 18TH.
SO THIS HERE IS THE AGENDA IN WHICH THE PRESENTATION FOLLOWS, AND I'M GONNA FOLLOW THE EXACT SAME, UM, FLOW AS PRESENTED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING.
WE'LL START WITH THE OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT AND GIVE A BRIEF HISTORY AND DE DESCRIBE THE PROJECT'S NEED AND PURPOSE.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT I'LL TRANSITION TO SOME OF THE ENGINEERING DETAIL.
UM, I'LL SHARE SOME EXISTING AND PROPOSED TYPICAL SECTIONS AND GO OVER THE PROJECT SCHEMATIC.
AND THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE AREAS THAT WILL BE EVALUATED UNDER THE NEPA PROCESS, WHICH I AM THE COORDINATOR FOR THAT DOCUMENT FOR THE DISTRICT.
AT THAT POINT, WE'LL TRANSITION OVER TO THE PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING AND THEN I'LL GO OVER SOME TIMELINE NEXT STEPS AND THEN I'LL GO OVER, FOLLOWED UP WITH THE MEETING MATERIALS AND HOW TO ACCESS THEM AND HOW THE PUBLIC, UM, CAN SUBMIT COMMENTS.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH SOME, UH, CRITICAL TEXT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ANYONE THAT HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT.
SO THIS HERE IS A PROJECT OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT STUDY LIMITS STARTING AT HEIGHTS BOULEVARD AND EXTENDING, UM, RIGHT JUST AT I 45.
THE BLUE AREA TO THE NORTH OF THE GREEN LINE IS WHERE THE PROPOSED DETENTION POND WOULD BE.
SO THE PROJECT IS ROUGHLY, I THINK IT'S JUST UNDER A MILE AND A HALF IN LENGTH.
SO I 10 PROJECT HISTORY IN NEED.
WHY IS THIS PROJECT NEEDED? I 10 IS A HEAVILY TRAVELED INTERSTATE HIGHWAY THROUGH HOUSTON.
AND WHAT THIS SLIDE REALLY DIDN'T TOUCH ON AT THE TIME IS JUST THE REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF I 10.
THE I 10 CORRIDOR ALONE IS ONE OF TEXAS BUSIEST AND MOST IMPORTANT HIGHWAYS.
NOT ONLY DOES IT SPAN THE STATE EXPANDS THE NATION AND IT'S A CONNECTIVE LINK BETWEEN CITIES AND COMMUNITIES AND PROVIDING A DIRECT PATHWAY FOR CONTINUED ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.
THIS SEGMENT OF I 10 WE HAVE DUBBED AS AN INNER KD CORRIDOR AND IT IS A CRITICAL LINK IN THE REGION'S TRANSPORTATION NETWORK AND IT SERVES MULTIPLE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, INCLUDING VEHICULAR TRANSIT AND FREIGHT, WHICH I LIKE TO CALL GOODS MOVEMENT PERSONALLY.
SO WHEN YOU'RE MOVING GOODS, YOU'RE DRIVING THE ECONOMY.
SO TRUCK TRANSPORTATION IS HEAVILY RELIANT ON I 10 AND FREIGHT INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR SUPPORT JOBS AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, NOT JUST IN THE HOUSTON AREA BUT ALSO IN THE ENTIRE STATE.
I THINK THERE'S ROUGHLY ABOUT 70,000 FREIGHT INTENSIVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOCATED ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR ALONE.
AND THESE BUSINESSES ARE MAJOR PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS, AND GENERAT GENERATORS OF GOODS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
ADDED TO THAT, THE PROPOSED END LIMIT IS DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, WHICH SERVES AS A CENTRAL BUSINESS HUB AND A HIGH ACTIVITY AREA FOR THE NATION'S FOURTH LARGEST CITY HOME TO MAJOR CITY ATTRACTIONS, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES, A THEATER ARTS DISTRICT, THE CONVENTION CENTER, GREEN SPACES, RESIDENCES, BUSINESSES, AND MORE SO RELATIVE TO THE ITS REGIONAL SIGNIFICANCE, I TENS MAIN LANES
[00:50:01]
HAVE FLOODED WITHIN THE PROPOSED PROJECT LIMITS DURING PAST MAJOR STORM EVENTS THAT RENDER THE INTERSTATE IMPASSABLE, TROPICAL STORMS, ALLISON AND MALDA COME TO MIND, AND ALSO HURRICANE HARVEY.AND AT THAT TIME, WATER FROM WHITE OAK BAYOU OVERTOP THIS BANKS AND ESSENTIALLY FLOODED THE FACILITY.
SO THIS IN ESSENCE IS A RESILIENCY PROJECT, WHICH IS SETTING OUT TO IMPROVE THIS SEGMENT OF I TENS RECOVERY FROM FLOAT, EXCUSE ME, FROM FLOODING DURING MAJOR STORM EVENTS.
SO THAT LEADS US TO THE PROJECT PURPOSE AND THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT THIS PROJECT SETS OUT TO DO IS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FLOODING OF THE I 10 FACILITY AND REDUCE THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN THE ROADWAY WILL BE IMPASSABLE DUE TO MAJOR RAINFALL EVENTS.
AND THAT PICTURE HERE IS A PERFECT ILLUSTRATION OF HOW THE AREA CAN LOOK AFTER A MAJOR RAIN.
SO HERE, UM, IS THE EXISTING TYPICAL SECTION.
SO THIS ESSENTIALLY A CROSSCUT OF THE FACILITY, I'M GONNA SAY SOMEWHERE NEAR TAYLOR STREET.
SO THE EXISTING SECTION HAS FIVE LANDS IN EACH DIRECTION.
I BELIEVE WESTBOUND IS VISUALIZED TO THE LEFT AND THEN WE HAVE EASTBOUND LANES OFF TO THE RIGHT AND THERE'S AN AUXILIARY LANE ON THE WESTBOUND FROM THE DIRECT CONNECTOR AT I 45 TO THE TAYLOR STREET EXIT.
THE EXISTING HOV LANE, WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE CBD, THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT CONNECTOR HAS ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION AND NO BARRIER BETWEEN THE TRAFFIC DIRECTIONS.
SO THIS IS THE PROPOSED TYPICAL SECTION AND LET ME JUST ADD THAT THIS, THESE ARE ARE CARTOON VISUALS THAT WE DEVELOP AS PART OF OUR PUBLIC MEETING.
SO THEY'RE NOT TO SCALE, IT'S JUST A VISUAL REPRESENT REPRESENTATION TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR THE PUBLIC MEMBERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO.
SO THIS JOB, UM, PROPOSES TO ELEVATE THE I 10, UM, VIA BRIDGE OR A GRADE SEPARATION WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF LANES FIVE IN EACH DIRECTION WITH THE WESTBOUND AUXILIARY LANE, MOSTLY ALL WITHIN EXISTING TXDOT OPERATIONAL RIGHT OF WAY ARE GONNA RAISE THE HOV TO MAINTAIN THE CLEARANCES WHERE IT OVERHANG OVERHANGS I 10 AND PROVIDE ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION WITH A CENTER BARRIER BETWEEN THOSE DIRECTIONS.
AND ADDED TO THAT IT'S PROPOSED TO ADD SHOULDERS TO ACCOMMODATE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT RESPONSE AND REFUGE FOR DISABLED VEHICLES.
ADDED TO THAT, THERE'S A PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCOMMODATION ELEMENT THAT'S PROPOSED UNDER THIS PROJECT AND THAT'S TO PROVIDE A 10 FOOT WIDE SHARED USE PATH ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF WHITE OAK BAYOU AROUND THE DETENTION POND AND PROPOSED UNDER THE BRIDGES, THE AREA UNDER THE NEW BRIDGES WILL BE EXCAVATED TO PROVIDE THAT 21 PLUS ACRES OF DETENTION.
SO THIS IS A COPY OF THE SCHEMATIC THAT WAS SHARED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING.
IT IS COLOR CODED AND IT HAS LOTS OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS TO IT.
SO THIS IS AVAILABLE, UH, ALSO ON OUR TEXTILE WEBPAGE IF YOU WANT TO ZOOM IN AND SEE MORE DETAIL.
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THIS PRESENTATION, THIS IS AN AERIAL OF THE ENTIRE SCHEMATIC FROM LIMIT TO LIMIT THE I 10 BRIDGE OVER THE MONT WHITE OAK BAYOU AND MKT TRAIL WILL BE RECONSTRUCTED GENERALLY AT A SIMILAR ELEVATION AS EXISTING WITH THE RAISED MAIN LANES EXTENDING FROM MONT TO JUST EAST OF HOUSTON AVENUE I 10 GOING OVER TAYLOR STREET WILL BE AT ABOUT THE SAME ELEVATION AS THE EXISTING HOV.
AND THEN THE HOV WILL BE RAISED FROM EXISTING BETWEEN 15 AND 30 FEET ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE PROJECT.
CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE SCHEMATIC PLEASE? TWO SLIDES BACK THERE.
THE HOV ENTRANCE TODAY IS JUST EAST OF THE STUDENT MIND BRIDGE AND WILL BE ADJUSTED SLIGHTLY TO THE WEST WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE NEW BRIDGE.
THE AREA FROM HEIGHTS TO MONT IS TO TRANSITION AND TIE BACK TO EXISTING I 10 PAST HOUSTON AVE I 10 WILL TIE TO THE EXISTING MAIN LANES AND DIRECT CONNECTORS AND THE HOV WILL TIE BACK TO THE EXISTING H-O-V-C-B-D CONNECTOR.
HOUSTON AVENUE IS PROPOSED TO BE RECONSTRUCTED AND THE PROFILE LOWERED APPROXIMATELY FIVE FEET TO REDUCE THE HEIGHT OF I 10 AND THE HOV OVER THE TOP.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, HOUSTON AVENUE BRIDGE WILL BE, UM, WILL INCLUDE ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN BIKE ACCOMMODATIONS ON BOTH SIDES WITH FIVE FOOT BUFFERS, FIVE FOOT BIKE LANES, AND SEVEN FEET SIDEWALKS.
AND LET ME ADD, ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS ARE PROPOSED AND WILL BE CONSTRUCTED UNDER THIS PROJECT.
WE ALSO PROVIDED, UH, AN EXHIBIT TO SHOWCASE THE SHARED USE PATH, WHICH IS HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS LOVELY GREEN COLOR HERE, STARTING AT ABOUT DELMONT NEAR THE MKT TRAIL AND THEN WRAPPING AROUND THE DETENTION, PROPOSED DETENTION POND SITE AND THEN CONNECTING ON THE EAST SIDE OF I 45 THERE, THERE'S APPROXIMATELY 10,335 FEET OR ROUGHLY TWO MILES OF NEW SHARED USE PATH PROPOSED FROM THE MKT
[00:55:01]
TRAIL AT MONT ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE WHITE OAK BAYOU.AND THEN IT'LL RECONNECT WITH THE MKT TRAIL UNDER I 45 NEAR HOGAN STREET.
SO ENHANCING CONNECTIVITY OF THE EXISTING TRAIL SYSTEM WAS A SUPER IMPORTANT, UM, PURPOSE SET OUT TO ACCOMPLISH UNDER THIS PROJECT.
SO T DOES PLAN TO LOOK AT THE PROPOSED DETENTION SITE AND REFOREST, UM, TREES ALONG THE, THE PROPOSED POND.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WERE, UH, MADE EVIDENT AT THE PUBLIC MEETING.
LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC MEMBERS THAT THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN MAINTAINING AS MANY OF THOSE TREES AS POSSIBLE.
SO WE LISTEN AND WE'VE DECIDED TO INCORPORATE THAT AS PART OF OUR PROJECT AND IT'S BEEN CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE DONE UNDER SIMILAR PROJECTS UNDER THE GREEN, UM, RIBBON PROGRAM.
SO THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THAT INPUT.
SO I SAID EARLIER TODAY THAT THE PROJECT IS MOSTLY WITHIN TEXT EXISTING RIGHT AWAY.
THERE IS A SMALL SLIVER OF RIGHT AWAY THAT IS BEING PROPOSED IS NEW AS MARKED IN THAT BLUE DASH LINE AND IT'S CO UM, WRAPPED AROUND WITH THE GOLD BOX.
IT'S JUST A LITTLE OVER HALF AN ACRE THAT'S BEING PROPOSED AND THAT RIGHT AWAY IS OWNED BY THE HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT.
SO RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITION WILL BE LIMITED BETWEEN TWO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AND THERE'S NO IMPACTS TO RESIDENCES OR BUSINESSES FROM THE RIGHT OF WAY.
SO THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS, UM, AFTER WE'VE CONCLUDED THE PUBLIC MEETING PROCESS, WE WILL EMBARK ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND ONE OF THE KEY AREAS THAT WERE MADE EVIDENT TO ME AT THE PUBLIC MEETING WAS THE INTEREST IN NOISE.
HOW IS THE RAISING THE MAIN LANES GOING TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS? SO I'M HERE TO SAY THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE TAKING AN AT GRADE CELL, UH, EXCUSE ME, FACILITY AND RAISING IT INTO THE SKY, THAT DOES TRIGGER THE NEED FOR A NOISE ASSESSMENT AND RESULTING OF THAT NOISE ASSESSMENT.
IF NOISE WALLS ARE DEEMED AS A A MITIGATION SOLUTION TO THAT, THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A NOISE WORKSHOP OUTSIDE OF OUR STANDARD PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS AFTER NEPA CLEARANCE TO VOTE ON THOSE WALLS AND HOW THEY SHOULD LOOK.
BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT ROW WHEN WE GET THERE.
BUT ASIDE FROM NOISE, THESE ARE THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE WILL LOOK AT.
WE'LL ALSO LOOK AT ARCHEOLOGY, ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORIC, UM, BIOLOGY.
THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST IN THE TAKING OF THOSE TREES.
SO IF THEY ARE FOUND TO BE ANY CRITICAL HABITAT TO STATE OR FEDERAL LISTED SPECIES, OUR DOCUMENT WILL BE SURE TO NOTE THAT.
UM, ALSO WE'LL LOOK AT WATERS OF THE US ANTICIPATED IMPACTS TO WHITE OAK BAYOU ITSELF, UM, AS FAR AND ALSO COMMUNITY IMPACTS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AS WELL.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID DEVELOP AS PART OF THE PUBLIC MEETING WAS TO COME UP WITH AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS MAP THAT'S JUST LOOKING AT THE EXISTING LAY OF THE LAND AND KIND OF NOTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL POINTS OF INTEREST.
AND ONE OF THOSE AREAS OF INTEREST WAS OLIVE WOOD CEMETERY.
UH, THE CEMETERY IS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF THE PROJECT LIMITS, UM, AND IT'S A CULTURAL RESOURCE, UH, THAT WE HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF.
UM, OLIVE WOOD, AS WE COME TO LEARN, IS ONE OF THE OLDEST KNOWN PLANET AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN HOUSTON.
WHEN WATER OVERTOPS THE BANKS OF WHITE OAK BAYOU, THIS CEMETERY SITE IS IMPACTED.
AND BECAUSE OF THAT, IT'S RESULTED IN EROSION.
AND BECAUSE OF THIS, THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION HAS LISTED OLIVE WOOD CEMETERY AS ONE OF 11, EXCUSE ME, AMERICA'S 11 MOST ENDANGERED HISTORIC PLACES.
SO THE PROPOSED RAISING OF I 10 IN PROPOSED DETENTION POND MAY NOT SOLVE THE EROSION PROBLEMS AT THE CEMETERY SITE.
HOWEVER, THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS ANTICIPATED TO NOT INCREASE FLOOD WATER LEVELS OR EXACERBATE EROSION ON THE HISTORIC CEMETERY PROPERTY.
THAT KIND OF CONCLUDES THE ENVIRONMENTAL PORTION AND WE'LL GO OVER INTO THE FUNDING AND AND PLANNING FOR THE PROJECT.
SO THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE TRANSPORTATION POLICY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE 25, EXCUSE ME, 2045 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WHICH IS THE 20 YEAR LONG RANGE PLAN THAT'S DEVELOPED AND PUT TOGETHER BY HGAC.
AND THEN PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION, THE PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE FIRST FOUR YEARS OF THAT 20 YEAR LONGER PLAN, WHICH IS THE SHORT RANGE PLAN THAT PUTS FUNDING TO THE PROJECT.
UM, THE TOTAL PROJECT COST IS ESTIMATED NOW AT 347 MILLION AND IS EXPECTED TO RECEIVE BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING.
SO THIS IS, UM, THE PROCESS AND THE TIMELINE FOR THE I 10 PROJECT.
WE ARE STILL HERE, UM, JUST AT THE END OF SUMMER 22, WHERE WE JUST HAD OUR PUBLIC MEETING AND WE'VE ENGAGED THE PUBLIC AND WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF GATHERING INPUT.
WE WILL USE THAT INPUT TO INFORM THE PROJECT, UM, THAT'S TYPICAL OF THE STANDARD, UM, PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
AND AFTER THAT, WE'LL BEGIN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF IT.
[01:00:02]
SO AFTER THE COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES, TEXTILE WILL REVIEW THE COMMENTS RECEIVED AND PREPARE A PUBLIC MEETING SUMMARY REPORT TO, WHICH WILL BE POSTED ON THE SAME WEBPAGE THAT I WILL REFER YOU TO A FEW SLIDES DOWN FROM HERE.UM, BY WINTER 23, WE SHOULD HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION.
IT'S ROUGHLY GONNA TAKE US ANOTHER YEAR TO GET THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS, GO BACK OUT FOR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.
'CAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE EVERYONE'S GONNA BE CURIOUS WHAT THE FINDINGS OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WAS.
SO WE'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT, UM, WHEN THAT TIME PRESENTS ITSELF.
AND THEN BY SUMMER 24, WE ANTICIPATE GROUNDBREAKING ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN CONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN.
AGAIN, THE SUBJECT IS APPROXIMATE, IT'S SUBJECT TO CHANGE, BUT AS IT IS STANDS TODAY, THIS IS OUR SCHEDULE.
SO, AFTER THE PUBLIC MEETING THAT WE HAD IN JULY, I SPENT TWO AND A HALF HOURS AT THE PUBLIC MEETING JUST TALKING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND ONE THING THAT BECAME VERY CLEAR TO ME IS THAT WE NEEDED TO EXTEND THE COMMENT PERIOD, DATE.
UM, A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS FELT THAT J JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO EITHER HEAR ABOUT THE PROJECT, GO OVER THE MATERIALS, GET TO THE PUBLIC MEETING ITSELF, AND I HEARD THE MESSAGE AND I QUICKLY TALKED TO MY DISTRICT MANAGEMENT AND WE PUT AN EXTENSION IN PLACE.
SO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD END DATE WAS ORIGINALLY FRIDAY, AUGUST 12TH.
WE HAVE NOW EXTENDED THAT TO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH.
SO STATE GUIDANCE, UM, REQUIRES THAT WE ALLOW A 15 DAY COMMENT PERIOD FOR OUR PUBLIC MEETING.
SO WE ARE GIVING THIS ONE SIX WEEKS.
SO IT'S THREE TIMES THE USUAL.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, THE TEXTILE WEBPAGE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THAT NEW END DATE.
AND I ALSO, UM, NOTIFIED ELECTED OFFICIALS, UM, ON AUGUST 12TH WITH THE NEW END DATE INFORMATION.
AND I ALSO REACHED OUT TO THREE CITY OF HOUSTON SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACTS, UM, CONTACTS FROM 1522 AND 51 WERE NOTIFIED BY ME PERSONALLY ABOUT THE, UH, EXTENDED COMMENT PERIOD, END DATE.
SO THIS HERE IS JUST A LIST OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE DEVELOPED FOR THE PUBLIC ME MEETING THAT WERE ACCESSIBLE AT THE TIME OF THE MEETING, AND THAT ARE STILL ACCESSIBLE TO, TO TODAY.
AND, AND WE'LL CARRY ON FOR PROBABLY THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
UM, THERE WAS A PRESENTATION IN SCRIPT.
THE PRESENTATION WAS ALSO TRANSLATED IN SPANISH.
SO THOSE ITEMS, UM, ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE ALONG WITH THE EXHIBIT BOARDS THAT WE SHARED.
WE HAVE THE UPDATED COMMON CARD THAT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR TEXTILE WEBSITE.
THERE'S A MEETING HANDOUT THAT WAS PHYSICALLY HANDED OUT TO MEETING PARTICIPANTS AT THE TIME OF THE MEETING.
THERE'S A COPY OF THE SCHEMATIC IF YOU WANNA ZOOM IN FOR DESIGN DETAILS AND SUCH.
AND THEN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS MAP.
SO, HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WRITTEN COMMENTS.
SO THIS IS JUST TO REINFORCE THAT ALL COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED OR POSTMARKED BY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2022.
AND THERE'S A MULTITUDE OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN GET A A COMMENT TO US ABOUT THIS PROJECT.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD A COMMENT CARD FROM THE TEXTILE WEBPAGE, FILL IT OUT.
YOU CAN EITHER EMAIL IT TO US OR YOU CAN SNAIL MAIL IT TO US.
UM, JUST BE SURE TO REFERENCE THE CSJ THERE AND TS THOSE ARE MY INITIALS.
SO THOSE COMMENTS DO COME TO ME, I COMPILE THEM.
AND ONCE THE COMMENT PERIOD IS OVER, I'LL WORK WITH MY PROJECT TEAM AND MY DISTRICT MANAGEMENT TO DEVELOP RESPONSES TO EVERY COMMENT THAT'S RECEIVED ON THIS PROJECT.
YOU CAN ALSO JUST EMAIL, UH, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE COMMENT CARD, YOU COULD JUST DRAFT UP AN EMAIL AND SUBMIT IT TO HOU DASH PIO WEB MAIL@TEXTDOT.GOV.
AND IF YOU JUST WANNA WRITE IT A, A LETTER OR HANDWRITING, YOU CAN ALSO MAIL IT IN AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE THE WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN GET A COMMENT TO US.
ALSO, UM, I JUST WANNA REDIRECT AND REINFORCE EVERYONE HOW YOU GET TO ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS VIA OUR TEXTILE WEBPAGE.
UM, I HAVE HEARD THAT GOOGLE WAS USED, BUT THIS IS THE BEST SUREFIRE WAY IS TO GO TO TEXT.DOT GOV AND ENTER THIS KEYWORD JUST AS IT'S LISTED I 10 FROM HEIGHTS BOULEVARD BOULEVARD, UM, IS ABBREVIATED.
AND THEN THERE'S NO PERIOD, UM, FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SMARTPHONES.
YOU ARE ALSO ABLE TO SCAN THE QR CODE THAT'S SHOWING AND THAT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE PAGE.
THESE ARE THE CONTACTS THAT TEXT DOT THAT YOU CAN, UM, REACH OUT TO.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT AND IT'S NOT LIMITED TO, UH, THE COMMENT PERIOD, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO REACH US AT ANY TIME DURING THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
BUT IF YOU WANT YOUR COMMENT RECORDED IN THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE PUBLIC MEETING, YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET YOUR COMMENT IN BY THAT SEPTEMBER 9TH, UH, DEADLINE.
BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I AM THE ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS IT RELATES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS, UM, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME.
I HAVE AN ENGINEERING COUNTERPART, HER NAME IS AMANDA AUSTIN.
IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIGN RELATED QUESTIONS, SHE IS THE PERSON THAT YOU CAN CONTACT WITH THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT IT EITHER ONE OF US IS GOOD.
IF YOU HAPPEN TO COME TO ME FIRST WITH ENGINEERING, I'LL REDIRECT YOU TO HER NO PROBLEM.
UM, AGAIN, EMAIL IS HOU DASH PIO WEBMAIL@TEXTDOT.GOV,
[01:05:02]
AND YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO FOLLOW US ALONG ON OUR TWITTER AND FACEBOOK PAGES.I GUESS THAT WRAPS THE PRESENTATION THAT I HAVE FOR YOU THIS MORNING.
I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT BEFORE THE COUNCIL, AND JUST A REMINDER TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS BY SEPTEMBER 9TH TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PUBLIC RECORD AND DOCUMENTATION.
GREAT PRESENTATION, AND WE DO APPRECIATE YOU, UM, HEARING THE PUBLIC AND EXTENDING THE DEADLINE TO SEPTEMBER 9TH.
AND TO, TO MR. SING AND TO TXDOT IN GENERAL, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE TO ASK A QUESTION OR SPEAK WITH YOU.
AND FIRST, WE'LL HAVE, UH, ONE OF THE TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS WHOSE, UH, DISTRICTS ARE, UH, COVERED BY YOUR PROJECT TODAY.
AND THAT'S, UH, FIRST FROM, UH, DISTRICT C COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
AND MR. SINGH, THANK YOU FOR, UM, EXPANDING THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, ALL THE INFORMATION YOU'RE PROVIDING, AND THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THIS, UM, PROJECT SEEK TO MITIGATE FLOODING SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR ME IN MY DISTRICT.
UM, I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, AND MS. SMITH, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING OLIVE WOOD AND THE IMPORTANCE OF IT.
UM, EROSION IS, IS PUTTING THIS CEMETERY AT RISK, UM, AND THIS HISTORY AT RISK, SO I APPRECIATE THAT THAT IS ON YOUR RADAR.
UH, A FEW QUESTIONS, AND SHERRY MAY NEED TO GET BACK IN QUEUE.
DO WE KNOW HOW FAST WITH ALL THE FLOODS THAT YOU, UM, MENTIONED HOW FAST THE WATERS RECEDED OFF OF OUR FREEWAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, DURING HARVEY AND AMELDA? JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE ASKING HOW, HOW THE TIME IT TOOK FOR THE WATERS TO RECEDE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW THAT WE, AND YOU ALL HAVE INVESTED VERY HEAVILY IN CERTAIN PARTS OF I 10, THE PUMPING SYSTEMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I KNOW IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN THE BANKS OVERFLOW, BUT HOW QUICKLY DID THE WATERS RECEDE, UM, ON THIS SEGMENT? THAT, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT, UM, WITH ME TODAY.
YEAH, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, IF WE COULD FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
AND THEN, UM, A FEW OTHER QUESTIONS.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OTHER INNER KATIE PROJECTS INCLUDING METRO, UM, AND OTHER MANAGED LANES? YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I'M GONNA ASK, UM, OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC, UM, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT TO JAMES KOCH TO SPEAK TO THE COORDINATION WE'VE BEEN HAVING, UH, WITH METRO, UH, ON METRO'S BRT IN THE INNER KATY, AS WELL AS TDOT'S, UM, INNER KATY PROJECT AND THIS PROJECT.
AND LET ME, UM, BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, LET ME JUST ASK MY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD SO Y'ALL CAN DETERMINE WHO NEEDS TO ANSWER THEM.
UM, THIS, UH, PROJECT WILL ADD, I JUST WANT IT STATED CLEARLY FOR THE RECORD, WILL ADD NO VEHICLE CAPACITY.
THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND ANY PROJECT FOR THIS SEGMENT THAT WOULD PROPOSE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK AS A SEPARATE PROJECT? CORRECT.
AND, UM, I JUST ALSO CHAIR FOR THE RECORD, THE DETENTION AT THE BEND OF WHITE OAK BAYOU.
I BELIEVE THAT'S CURRENTLY A LOT OF NATURAL HABITAT IN WETLANDS.
SO, UM, I'M PRETTY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THAT EIS IS GONNA BE SHOWING ON THAT.
AND IF WE COULD KEEP AN EYE ON THAT, UM, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
I THINK AS MR. KOCH COMES TO THE PODIUM, IF YOU COULD STATE YOUR NAME, UH, FOR THE RECORD.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR TXDOT HOUSTON DISTRICT.
SO, UM, YES, UH, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT EXPANDING TOO MUCH ON
WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS ENTIRE CORRIDOR, BASICALLY FROM SIX 10 IN INTO 45.
UH, IT'S A VERY CONGESTED CORRIDOR.
IT'S, UH, VERY COMPLEX WITH THE NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, WITH, WITH BOTH THE GENERAL PURPOSE LANES, THE HOV, THE TRANSIT.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY FOR MANY MONTHS NOW WITH METRO.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE OUR TWO CONSULTANT FORCES ARE JOINT FORCES AND, AND WORKING THROUGH THESE ISSUES.
AND AS WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN BEST FIT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, FOR, FOR BENEFITING FOR THIS FACILITY, FOR THE COMMUNITIES, UM, APPLAUD ALL ITS EFFORTS ON THE SIDEWALK THING.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE ISSUES HERE IS IF WE TOUCH THIS CORRIDOR, THIS IS A FREIGHT CORRIDOR FOR THE STATE, WHICH MEANS WE'VE GOTTA GET 18 AND A HALF FOOT OF VERTICAL CLEARANCE FOR ALL ANYTHING THAT CROSSES THE INTERSTATE, WHICH WOULD MEAN EVERY CROSSROAD THAT GOES ACROSS I 10 IN THIS, IN THIS STRETCH WOULD HAVE TO BE RAISED AS WELL, WHICH PROVIDE,
[01:10:01]
WHICH WOULD PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR WIDENING THOSE STRUCTURES IF THE CITY'S INTERESTED IN, IN HIKING BIKE LANES, UH, TO, TO GO ACROSS THE FACILITY.UM, SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THOSE AVENUES AS WELL FOR DISCUSSION.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PARK DOWN ON THE WEST END.
UH, THE PARK IS INTERESTED IN NOISE ABATEMENTS AS WELL FOR THE PARK.
THERE'S SOME DRAINAGE ISSUES GOING ON IN THE PARK AS WELL THAT WE'D LIKE TO ADDRESS.
UM, SO A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS GOING ON WITHIN THAT CORRIDOR.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS AND THINGS, UM, UH, WITH METRO IN PARTICULAR.
SO I'M SURE YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM THEM NEXT.
AND DIRECTOR, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT AS WE LOOK AT, UM, ASSISTING THE PARKS WITH THEIR DRAINAGE, WE ALSO LOOK AT SOME POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT OLIVE WOOD CEMETERY, UM, WITH WHAT THEIR CHALLENGES ARE.
UH, AND WHO WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE PERSON FOR ME TO SPEAK TO? WE HAVE, UM, WITH THE HELP OF Y'ALL, BEAUTIFUL GROWTH OF OUR TREES ALONG OUR FREEWAYS, UM, IN T RIGHT OF WAY BECAUSE OF THE DROUGHT.
I KNOW IT'S BEEN RAINING THE PAST FEW DAYS, BUT BECAUSE THE DROUGHT, A LOT OF THOSE TREES ARE STRUGGLING.
PARKS DEPARTMENT IS COUNCIL MEMBER CAN HAVE ING THEY CAN TO HELP WATER THOSE.
WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
UH, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT QUESTION, MR. COOCH, IF YOU'D, IF YOU'D LIKE TO RESPOND TO THAT LAST PART.
SO IS THIS ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE OF THE TREES THEMSELVES? SOUNDS LIKE IT'S A BIT ABOUT THE WETLANDS, I THINK.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAN REACH OUT TO ME.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE'LL PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE IF YOU'D LIKE TO REITERATE THE QUESTION, BUT WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE ADJACENT THANK YOU COUNCIL DISTRICT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND THAT'S CARLOS RO FROM, FROM DISTRICT H.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'VE BEEN SHARING THE TEXT T TOT LINKS AND, UM, TWO INFO ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL.
UM, UH, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSTITUENTS TO ATTEND BOTH THE, THE VIRTUAL AND THE IN-PERSON MEETINGS.
AND ALSO HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY ENCOURAGING, UM, UH, CONSTITUENTS TO SUBMIT COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSAL.
UM, AND AS PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN BACK TO ME, NOT ONE SINGLE CONSTITUENT HAS INDICATED TO ME THAT THEY'RE IN SUPPORT, THEY'RE IN OPPOSITION.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE INDIVIDUALS I'VE HEARD FROM, AND IT'S BEEN ABOUT A DOZEN OF INDIVIDUALS, BUT I'VE ALSO HEARD FROM SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 22 AND THE FIRST WARD CIVIC CLUB THAT THEY HAVE ALSO COMMUNICATED THAT THEY ARE AGAINST IT.
SO, UM, THEIR COMMENTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO TDOT.
SO THIS SHOULD NOT BE NEWS TO YOU, BUT I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS I'M HEARING ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE DETENTION POND ON THE ENVIRONMENT, ON THE WETLANDS, ON, ON THE PARK, YOU KNOW, I HOPE YOU WILL GET BACK AND ADDRESS THEM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, TO TALK TO THOSE PEOPLE BECAUSE I, I NEED TO HEAR SOMEONE WHO THINKS THIS IS A GOOD IDEA AND I'M NOT.
I, I HAVEN'T HEARD ONE PERSON SAY THEY THINK IT IS.
SO, I MEAN, YOU'RE, THE, THE PRESENTATIONS HAVE BEEN VERY THOROUGH, BUT, BUT, BUT PEOPLE ARE NOT, UM, FEELING COMFORTED BY THE INFORMATION YOU'RE SHARING.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME MORE WORK TO DO.
AND I THINK IT WAS A VERY WISE DECISION TO EXTEND THE, THE COMMENT PERIOD.
UM, I WILL, UM, PUT LINKS, YOU KNOW, WITH IN MY NEWSLETTERS TO, TO THE PRESENTATION.
SO THEY'LL HAVE THAT AND I'LL CONTINUE TO SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, AND HELP GET THE WORD OUT.
BUT, BUT I ALSO REALLY DO HOPE THAT YOU REACH BACK TO PEOPLE AND THAT THEY FEEL HEARD.
THAT APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU'RE GETTING FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
UM, THE EACH COMMENT WILL BE RESPONDED TO AS PART OF THE DOCUMENT AND THE, THE RESOURCES THAT TUNISIA MENTIONED EARLIER WILL, ONE OF THE RESOURCES IS THE NATURAL RESOURCES WHERE WE WILL DO A TECHNICAL ANALYSIS ON, UM, THE HABITATS OF, THAT'S WITHIN THE PROJECT BOUNDARIES.
SO INCLUDING ANY AREAS FOR WETLANDS, UM, AND IMPACTS TO THOSE AREAS.
AND THEN WHAT PROPOSED MITIGATIONS WOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS THAT IS FORTHCOMING.
AND, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD ONE, ONE OF THE ISSUES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE END OF THE COMMENT PERIOD.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES WE GET COMMENTS THAT ARE CONFLICTING AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO RESPOND TO SOMEBODY AND SAY, YES, YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE COULD DO THIS, BUT THEN SOMETHING ELSE SHOWS UP AND CREATES ANOTHER ISSUE.
SO WE, WE WILL RESPOND TO FOLKS.
SO, SEEMS TO BE SOME TRUST ISSUES AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, CAN DO TO HELP MEND THAT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE WORTH YOUR TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, WE HAVE ONE MORE COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE QUEUE, AND THAT'S, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, FOR CLARIFICATION, IS THIS PROJECT HERE PART OF SEGMENT THREE OF THE I I 45 PROJECT, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE REDOING I 45, I 69 AND I 10 AROUND SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN? NO, IT IS NOT.
[01:15:01]
IF, IF, IF, IF THE I 45 PROJECT MOVES FORWARD, UH, AND, AND, AND YOU'RE ANTICIPATING, THIS PROJECT THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO WILL START IN THE SUMMER OF 2024.SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TWO MAJOR PROJECTS RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER SIDE BY SIDE.
SO THE PORTION OF THE I 45 THAT IS ADJACENT TO THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT BE IN THAT SAME TIMEFRAME IF IH 45 DOES MOVE FORWARD, UM, THE ADJACENT PORTION IS ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR TO THE EAST, AND THAT IS PUSHED OUT IN THE LATER 2020S.
SO WE WOULD START ON THE 69 PORTION THROUGH MIDTOWN AND THIRD WARD, AND THEN WORK TOWARDS THE CONVENTION CENTER, UM, WHICH WOULD NOT BE IN THIS AREA OF THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR.
AND THEN, UH, UH, IN REGARDS TO THE, UM, UH, THE, UH, SINGLE, LET'S SEE HERE.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, A NEW RAY.
IS IT GONNA BE A NEW RAISED 14 FOOT WIDE HOV LANE ON EACH SIDE? OR YOU'RE GONNA BE USING THE EX THE EXISTING RAISED HOB LANES? SO THE PROPOSAL FOR THE, UM, FOR THE CENTER STRUCTURE THAT'S RAISED IS A FULL REPLACEMENT OF WHAT'S OUT THERE TODAY.
SO TODAY IT'S A NARROWER STRUCTURE.
SO TRAFFIC GOING IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.
THERE IS NO POSITIVE, UM, STRUCTURAL BARRIER.
UM, THE, THE PROPOSED PROJECT, UM, WE ARE PROPOSING HERE WOULD WIDEN THAT STRUCTURE.
SO WHERE YOU HAVE A CENTER BARRIER AS WELL AS SHOULDERS, WHICH ALSO DO NOT EXIST TODAY.
SO IT'S STAY SAME, KEEPING ONE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION IS JUST A WIDER STRUCTURE.
SO, SO WHAT WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS METRO IS WANTING TO BRING IN THE INTER KATY PROJECT WITH A A, A BUS RAPID TRANSIT, UH, HOPEFULLY USING THAT RAISED LANE THAT'S THERE CURRENTLY.
BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA BE REMOVING IT AND BUILDING A BRAND NEW ONE, WHY AREN'T Y'ALL INCLUDING DEDICATED LANES FOR METROS PLUS RAPID TRANSIT? I MEAN, I HEARD YOU DIRECTOR WHERE YOU SAID YOU'RE VETTING THROUGH THE ISSUES WITH METRO.
UH, AND A BIG ISSUE IS THAT WE, WE HAVE TO BRING PEOPLE TO AND FROM THE KATY CORRIDOR.
UH, SO IF TEXTILE IS SPENDING MONEY TO BUILD A BRAND NEW RAISED SECTION, WHY ARE Y'ALL NOT INCLUDING A DEDICATED LANES FOR METRO'S BUS RAPID TRANSIT? OKAY.
SO IT'S A VERY COMPLEX QUESTION, AND WE HAVE BEEN COORDINATED VERY CLOSELY WITH METRO.
UH, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE IS DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN HOV TRAFFIC AND THE TRANSIT TRAFFIC.
AND METRO WOULD LIKE FOR THEIR BRT FACILITY TO BE BUS ONLY.
AND SO WE'VE GOTTA, WE'VE GOTTA FIND WAYS OF, OF MANAGING BOTH SETS OF TRAFFIC.
AND, AND PART OF THE QUESTION HERE GOES BACK TO TIMING.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT GETS BUILT FIRST, YOU KNOW, WHAT CONNECTS TO WHAT AND AT WHAT TIME.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH METRO, WE'RE BASICALLY CREATING SOME STORYBOARDS.
WE'VE GOT, WE KNOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT'S IN THIS AREA.
AND AS THINGS GET BUILT, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW IS THE TRAFFIC IMPACTED? HOW ARE WE MAINTAINING THE HOV AND THE, AND THE BUS TRAFFIC THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION? SO IT, IT IS A TIMING ISSUE, LIKE WHAT YOU BROUGHT UP WITH N-H-H-I-P, YOU KNOW, IF N-H-H-I-P COMES LATER, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS THERE? BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE BEING DEVELOPED SO THAT THEY WORK TOGETHER OVER TIME AS THEY ARE IMPLEMENTED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, SIR? THANK YOU.
WE'LL PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE.
AND NEXT WE, WE WILL HEAR FOR SECOND ROUND OF QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN.
AND UH, GENTLEMEN, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSES.
UH, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UH, YOU ALL ARE HERE AND WE CAN ENGAGE WITH YOU ONE-ON-ONE.
UM, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS.
UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH YOU ALL.
UM, MY OFFICE HAS ONLY RECEIVED, UM, OPPOSITION, UH, COMMENTS ON THIS PROJECT.
I DON'T HAVE THE COUNT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT WE HAVE NOT HEARD ANYONE IN SUPPORT OF IT.
UM, THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THE FLOOD MITIGATION ASPECT OF THIS ISN'T IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE, UM, CRITICAL FOR YOU ALL IN WORKING WITH OUR OFFICES FOR US TO GET THE RESPONSES AND ANSWERS BACK THAT WE NEED.
UM, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HOW QUICKLY THE WATER'S RECEDED AND WHAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS AND THE LIST GOES ON.
UM, I DID CHAIR WANNA JUST CLARIFY MY QUESTION REGARDING, UM, TDOT RIGHT OF WAY, UH, AGAIN, SEPARATE ISSUE, UH, BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF FLOODING, WE'RE ALSO DEALING WITH DROUGHT.
AND, UH, THE TREES ALONG THESE CORRIDORS THAT HAVE TAKEN, YOU KNOW, A DECADE PLUS TO GROW ARE NOW DYING.
THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS DOING EVERYTHING THAT THEY CAN IN LIMITED CAPACITY TO HELP WATER THEM.
BUT I WOULD AM ASKING DIRECTOR WHO, AND I COULDN'T HEAR, SOMEONE SAID, YOU CAN TALK WITH
[01:20:01]
ME.I DIDN'T KNOW WHO THAT WAS 'CAUSE THEY WERE OFF SCREEN.
WHO I CAN SPEAK TO ABOUT HOW WE AS A CITY WORK WITH YOU ALL TO, UM, PROTECT THE INVESTMENT THAT'S ALREADY THERE.
SO I, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW THE PROCESS, BUT, UM, THAT WAS VARUNA SINGH, UM, THAT WAS, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO, AND MS. SMITH TOO HAS ALSO OFFERED HER SERVICES TO EXPLAIN.
BUT I THINK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, THAT'S, THAT'S FOR MR. SINGH.
UH, HE'S, HE'S OFFERED TO OKAY, PERFECT.
GIVE YOU A CALL PERSONALLY TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTIONS.
AND WE'LL HEAR NOW FROM STAFF, FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX'S OFFICE.
UM, ON YOUR SLIDE HERE, YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR SCHEDULE SUMMER 24 BEGIN CONSTRUCTION WHEN IS PROPOSED CONCLUSION OF CONSTRUCTION.
SO I THINK THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IN THE SCOPE AS PRESENTED, UM, ROUGHLY ABOUT THREE CALENDAR YEARS, UM, TO, SO FOR FREEWAY CONSTRUCTION, THAT MEANS, WHAT, FIVE OR SIX YEARS?
THREE SIX, I WOULD SAY THREE, SIX TO 42 MONTHS TO CONSTRUCT THE PROJECT.
AND DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY WHEN YOU SAID WITH THIS PROJECT, YOU'RE GOING TO RAISE THE CURRENT HOV RAMP THAT GOES FROM TAYLOR TO DOWNTOWN? CORRECT.
SO THE, THE REASON FOR THAT IS THE RIGHT OF WAY IS CONSTRAINED.
AND SO IN LIEU OF WIDENING, UH, WE NEED TO TAKE THE HOV STRUCTURE, THE CBD CONNECTOR, UM, AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, RAISE IT UP BECAUSE WE NEED TO RAISE THE GENERAL PURPOSE LANES OF I 10, THE MAIN LANES OF I 10.
UH, THERE IS AN OVERHANG, UM, OF THE HOV STRUCTURE OVER THE I 10 MAIN LANES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY THE HOV NEEDS TO GO TALLER TO ACCOMMODATE THE MAIN LANES COMING UP UNDERNEATH IT.
SO WITH THIS PROJECT, WILL THERE BE A CONNECTOR TO DOWNTOWN AS THERE IS CURRENTLY? YES.
THIS, THIS REPLACEMENT BRIDGE, UM, THAT, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS QUESTION DOES TIE INTO THE EXISTING BRIDGE INTO DOWNTOWN.
AND I BELIEVE WITH THAT, THAT IS THE EXTENT OF OUR QUESTIONS FROM OKAY, WE APPARENTLY GOT, WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS.
UM, SORRY FOR BEING SKEPTICAL ON THIS PROJECT, BUT YOU, YOU'RE SPENDING $347 MILLION AND WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT YOU'RE NOT ADDING VEHICLE CAPACITY, UH, BUT YOU'RE RAISING UP THE FREEWAYS, YOU'RE RAISING UP THE CENTER LANES, UH, TO ADDRESS FLOODING ISSUES, WHICH IS GREAT.
UH, IN THAT RESPECT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, OVER THERE AT THE GULF FREEWAY, UH, TXDOT CAME IN AND BUILT A RAMP TO GO TO 59 SOUTH AND 59 NORTH.
UH, IF, IF YOU GO THERE DURING RUSH HOUR, THAT RAM IS RAMP IS PACKED WITH VEHICLES.
IT DIDN'T USED TO BE THAT WAY.
NOW IT'S CRAMPED WITH VEHICLES DURING RUSH HOUR WHEN YOU'RE GOING DOWN THROUGH THE GULF FREEWAY, GOING TO THE PIERCE ELEVATED, THAT IS PACKED WITH VEHICLES THAT DIDN'T USED TO HAPPEN.
BUT THESE ARE IMPROVEMENTS THAT Y'ALL DID, MONIES THAT Y'ALL SPENT TO CAUSE PROBLEMS. SO, TO, TO, TO TELL ME THAT YOU'RE GONNA BUILD A NEW LANE IN THE CENTER OF A, BUT YOU'RE TALKING TO METRO, BUT YOU'RE NOT REALLY SAYING, YES, THEY CAN HAVE A, A, A DEDICATED LANES FOR THEIR BUS RAPID TRANSIT TO COME FROM KATY INTO DOWNTOWN, WHICH BY THE WAY, WILL ALSO GO TO THE, THE NEW BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL PARK, WHICH WILL BE A MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
BUT Y'ALL ARE NOT SITTING DOWN TO TRY TO SOLVE THAT.
UH, AND, AND, AND, AND THAT JUST IRRITATES ME THAT TEXDOT DOES NOT WORK LIKE OTHER STATES IN SEATTLE, THEY'RE BUILDING A BRAND NEW, ALONG THEIR FREEWAY GOING, UH, NORTH IN SEATTLE.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUILDING A BRAND NEW, UH, UH, UH, BB UH, UH, NOT A BRT, BUT A LIGHT RAIL LINE ALONG A FREEWAY ALONG SEATTLE IN CALIFORNIA, IN LOS ANGELES.
THEY'RE DOING THE SAME THING HERE.
FOR SOME REASON, TEXAS DOES NOT, DOES NOT PARTNER WITH METRO IN, IN, IN SOLVING ISSUES IN REGARDS TO SOLVING PROBLEM FOR OUR TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
UH, SO, SO, SO I I'M JUST REALLY, REALLY, REALLY
UH, BUT AGAIN, IT'S NOT TO ADD MORE VEHICLE CAPACITY, AND Y'ALL ARE, AS OF RIGHT NOW, HAVE NOT SETTLED SOMETHING WITH, WITH, WITH METRO.
AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT METRO'S, UM, UH, PRESENTATION'S GONNA BE ON THIS INNER CITY INNER KATIE PROJECT, UH, TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO HOPEFULLY FOR METRO AND TEXDOT TO SIT TOGETHER AND FIGURE THIS OUT.
WELL, I, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THAT AND I HEAR YOUR FRUSTRATION AND CONCERNS.
I WOULD OFFER TO YOU THAT THE, UH, METRO CIVIL RBRT ON THE WEST LOOP IS
[01:25:01]
A, UH, BLUEPRINT OF WHAT THAT COORDINATION LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT IS CURRENTLY GOING ON ONGOING IN THE ARDI CORRIDOR.TEXO COORDINATED THAT STRUCTURE AND THE CIVIL RBRT WITH METRO, WITH TEX O BUILDING THE PORTION OF THE BRT THAT IS IN WITHIN AN OVERHANGING SIX 10, AND THEN METRO BUILT THE PORTION ALONG POST OAK ITSELF.
SO I WOULD OFFER THAT, UM, AS WHAT THAT COORDINATION LOOKS LIKE WITH A PROJECT THAT'S NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THE SAME COORDINATION IS CURRENTLY ACTIVELY ONGOING ON THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR FROM SIX 10 WEST TO THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
BUT I DEFINITELY HEAR YOUR CONCERN AND FRUSTRATION AND, UM, WE CERTAINLY, UM, AS TWO DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, WE ALWAYS CAN DO BETTER WITH COORDINATION, AND YOU'VE GOT OUR COMMITMENT TO, TO CONTINUE THAT.
IF I COULD ADD BARNO, UH, THERE IS AN ISSUE WITHIN THIS SECTION, AND WHEN WE WERE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS WITH METRO, THE BRT WON'T FIT AS, AS PROPOSED WITHIN THESE LIMITS WITHOUT THIS JOB.
ONE OF THE THINGS THIS JOB IS DOING IS SHIFTING THE MAIN LANES OVER TO ALLOW ROOM FOR THE METRO BRT.
SO WE ARE COORDINATING VERY CLOSELY WITH METRO TO GET ALL OF THIS STUFF IN A VERY COM CONFINED COMPLEX AREA.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, MR. KOCH AND, AND FOR YOU, DEPUTY SINGH, UH, VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
WE APPRECIATE THAT THAT IS THE EXTENT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF IN THE QUEUE FOR THIS TOPIC, AS WELL AS THE NEXT TOPIC.
WE'LL TAKE THE PUBLIC QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
BUT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WE WANT TO THANK, UH, THE SPEAKERS FROM TEXDOT AGAIN AND BRING TO THE PODIUM, UH, OUR FRIENDS FROM METRO, AND WE WILL HEAR NEXT FROM, FROM THEM ON THE INNER KATY CORRIDOR PROJECT.
UH, LIKE TO RECOGNIZE FIRST, UH, THE CHAIR OF THE METRO BOARD IS MR. SANJAY ROM.
AND, UH, SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE, SANJAY AND AMMA, UH, BINNA, YOU ARE HERE AS WELL, AND AS THE SENIOR PLANNING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR METRO, I WANT TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE, FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS PRESENTATION AND FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.
AND THE FLOOR IS HERE AS SANJAY.
UH, CHAIR ALCON, COUNCIL MEMBERS, GOOD MORNING.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AND TALK ABOUT THE INNER KATIE BRT CORRIDOR.
UH, BUT BEFORE I GET THERE, UH, LET ME, UH, PRESIDENT AND CEO TOM LAMBERT AND JOSE POLITO, GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS MANAGER, JOIN US TODAY.
UM, BEFORE WE GET TO THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR, I DO WANT TO ADDRESS, UH, THE, UH, PUBLIC CONCERN THAT WAS BROUGHT UP, UH, AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER GEICO, THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT METRO'S WORK ON UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY.
LEX FRIEDEN, OUR BOARD MEMBERS' LEADERSHIP, UH, METRO'S EMBARKED ON A SIGNIFICANT INITIATIVE ON UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY THAT TAKES COMPLIANCE BEYOND JUST THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
AND AS YOU RIGHTLY POINTED OUT IN MAY OF 2022, WE CELEBRATED COMPLETING 2,500 BUS STOPS THAT ARE BEING, UH, UPGRADED TO NOT JUST BE COMPLIANT WITH A DA, BUT GO BEYOND THAT AS WELL, INCLUDING SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS IN THE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE BUS STOPS.
AND WE, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ABOUT 9,000 BUS STOPS.
SOME OF THEM DON'T HAVE, UH, UH, CURB GUTTER ROADS, WHICH THEN MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR SIDEWALKS.
BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO IMPROVE AS MANY OF OUR BUS STOPS TO BE UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE.
SO THAT'S ON THAT, UH, AND THAT, UH, EFFORT WILL CONTINUE NOT JUST ON THE UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY PROJECTS, BUT ACROSS THE METRO NEXT PROGRAM.
EVERYTHING THAT WE BUILD WILL BE UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, INNER K-D-B-R-T RA.
I'LL GIVE YOU ALL AN INTRODUCTION BEFORE AMMA, UH, WALKS YOU THROUGH THE SLIDES.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS A CRITICAL EAST WEST CONNECTIVITY FOR OUR REGION, MUCH NEEDED ALONG THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR.
WHAT IT WILL DO, THE PROJECT ITSELF RUNS FROM THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER, UH, ALONG THE KATY CORRIDOR INTO DOWNTOWN AND LEVERAGES AN INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE ALREADY MADE ON CAPITAL AND RUSK WITH A LIGHT RAIL GREEN AND PURPLE LINES.
CONNECTS US TO THE GEORGE R. BROWN CONVENTION CENTER.
JUST GOES A LITTLE BIT BEYOND TO THE SOCCER STADIUM AND COMES BACK.
UH, THAT'S THE EXTENT OF THE PROJECT, BUT WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THE REGION? IT BENEFITS JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY THAT'S COMING IN FROM THE WEST ALONG THE KD CORRIDOR AND FROM THE NORTHWEST ALONG TWO 90, AND IT CONNECTS OUR SILVER LINE BRT THAT OPENED DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.
UH, IT CONNECTS THAT, UH, BRT, UH, LINE ALSO TO DOWNTOWN AND TO THE CONVENTION CENTER.
UH, THE SLIDES THAT AMMA IS GONNA WALK YOU ALL THROUGH ARE DIAGRAMMATIC AND SCHEMATIC IN NATURE.
THIS IS THE ASPIRATIONAL LOOK AT WHAT, UH, THIS CORRIDOR WILL LOOK LIKE.
UH, IT'S A CONCEPTUAL, UH, PLAN THAT Y'ALL WILL, UH, THAT WE WILL ELABORATE ON AS WE
[01:30:01]
GO THROUGH DESIGN AND THEN INTO CONSTRUCTION.UH, IT WILL ALSO SHOW YOU TWO OPTIONS.
UH, OPTION ONE IS THE USE OF THE EXISTING, UH, CBD RAMP OR A VERSION OF IT THAT WILL EMERGE IN OUR COORDINATION WITH TEXT.
AND LET ME, UH, MAKE SURE I POINT OUT, UH, THE ENTIRETY OF THE INNER KD BRT CORRIDOR TILL WE GET INTO THE, UH, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IS WITHIN OUR FRIENDSHIP T DOTS RIGHT OF WAY.
SO WE ARE COORDINATING WITH THEM ALL, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE ARE DOING WORKS WITH WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS WELL.
OPTION TWO THAT YOU WILL SEE SHOWS A SEPARATE DEDICATED BRT GUIDE, UH, SHOULD THE CBD RAMP OPTION NOT EXIST SO THAT THERE'S A DEDICATED BRT GUIDE INTO DOWNTOWN.
LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DEDICATED GUIDEWAY AND WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT.
THIS BRT CORRIDOR IS NOT JUST FOR OUR BRT BUSES, BUT IT'S ALSO FOR OUR REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES.
EVERYBODY THAT'S COMING IN FROM, UH, THE WEST ON I 10 AND ON TWO 90, ALL OF THOSE REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES WILL ALSO USE THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR, BRT.
AND HAVING IT BE A DEDICATED GUIDEWAY IS CRITICAL TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT GIVES US SAFE WAY OF GETTING FROM THE TRANSIT CENTER INTO DOWNTIME, BUT ALSO RELIABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY, WHICH IS WHAT FOLKS ARE LOOKING FOR WHEN THEY WANT TO CHOOSE TRANSIT AS A MODE OF, UH, GETTING FROM POINT A TO POINT B.
THE OTHER REASON THE DEDICATED GATEWAY IS REALLY IMPORTANT IS WE KNOW THAT ONCE YOU OPEN UP LANES TO SINGLE OCCUPANCY CARS, TAKING IT BACK, UH, WILL REQUIRE, UH, AN ACT OF CONGRESS OR MOVING MOUNTAINS.
SO PRESERVING THAT FOOTPRINT AND HAVING THE DEDICATED RIGHT OF WAY FOR OUR BRT IS IMPORTANT FROM A SAFETY, RELIABILITY, AND PREDICTABILITY POINT OF VIEW.
AND IT'S ALSO MAKING IT FUTURE READY.
WHY DO I SAY FUTURE READY? IT'S BECAUSE AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WE ARE GONNA HAVE AUTONOMOUS BUSES, CONNECTED BUSES HAVING A DEDICATED CORRIDOR, A FOOTPRINT THAT THEY CAN USE, WHAT THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES IN TERMS OF COMMUTE RAIL, WE ARE A REGION OF DISTANCES.
OUR HOV LANES WILL FUNCTION ALONG THOSE LINES IN THE YEARS TO COME.
SO PRESERVING THAT FOOTPRINT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR US.
UH, WE, UH, WILL ALSO BE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF, UH, FUEL OPTIONS FOR THESE BRT BUSES IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
UH, WE ALL KNOW THAT, UH, IN JULY AND AUGUST IN HOUSTON, IT GETS TO BE PRETTY DARN WARM OUTSIDE.
AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, TO BE SURE THAT BATTERY TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS FOR THESE BUSES TO NOT JUST GO FROM ONE END OF THE ROUTE TO THE OTHER END OF THE ROUTE, BUT ALSO KEEP IT COOL INSIDE THOSE BUSES.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON.
UM, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE LOTS OF QUESTIONS THAT WILL COME UP.
UH, WITH THIS, I'M GOING TO, UH, TRANSITION THE PRESENTATION TO AMMA AND TO GET INTO THE DETAILS AND ON THOSE SLIDES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR RAM.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT OVERVIEW.
I'M THE, UM, UM, PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE METRO RAPID INCA PROJECT.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THE COMMITTEES WITH AN UPDATE OF THE METRO RAPID ACA PROJECT.
I'D LIKE TO START WITH AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT, INCLUDING THE ALIGNMENT AND STATIONS THAT COMPRISE A LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE ALONG WITH OUR PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK, AND WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WILL LEAD TO THE OPENING DAY.
SO IN TERMS OF, UM, PROJECT BACKGROUND, THE METRO RAPID INDICATED PROJECT BEGAN WITH THE METRO NEXT MOVING FORWARD PLAN, WHICH WAS PASSED BY VOTERS IN NOVEMBER OF 2019.
THE PROJECT WAS IDENTIFIED AS A REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT AND HIGH PRIORITY PROJECT, AND WAS AWARDED FUNDING THROUGH THE CONGESTION MITIGATION AND AIR QUALITY FUNDS WORK.
WORK ON THE PROJECT BEGAN IN LATE 2020.
THE PROJECT WOULD INCLUDE A 7.6 MILE TRANSIT BUSWAY THAT PROVIDES A FREQUENT FAST AND RELIABLE BUS RAPID TRANSIT OR BRT SERVICE CONNECTING TWO OF HOUSTON'S LARGEST EMPLOYMENT AND ACTIVITY CENTERS DOWNTOWN AND UPTOWN.
ALSO SERVING AS A KEY LINE ON THE METRO NETWORK, ENHANCING REGIONAL ACCESS TO JOBS, SCHOOLS, RECREATION, AND SOCIAL OPPORTUNITIES ALONG THE CORRIDOR AND BEYOND.
IT WILL CONSIST OF AN ELEVATED GUIDEWAY THAT RUNS ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE I 10 CORRIDOR BETWEEN, UH, SIX 10 AND THE I 45 I 10 SPLIT BETWEEN THE MAIN LANES OF THE FREEWAY AND THE EASTBOUND FRONTAGE ROAD WITHIN DOWNTOWN.
THE BART WILL SHARE THE SAME LANES AND STATIONS WITH THE GREEN AND PURPLE LRT LINES AND END WITH A NEW STATION, ATS EMANUEL IDO.
SO, THIS MAP SHOWS THE STUDY CORRIDOR BETWEEN I THE SIX 10 LOOP FROM THE WEST TOWARDS DOWNTOWN
[01:35:01]
ALONG I 10 CORRIDOR.ONE OF THE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THIS PROJECT IS CLOSING THE MAJOR GAP IN THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION NETWORK ALONG I 10.
CLOSING THIS GAP WILL IMPROVE REGIONAL MOBILITY AND PROVIDE A FASTER AND MORE RELIABLE COMMUTING TIMES FOR METRO'S BUS, UH, UH, PARKING RIDE TRIPS FROM US TWO 90 CORRIDOR AND OUT OUT OF KATY, UM, AS WELL AS A NEW BRT SERVICE.
SO THE NEW IN KBRT WILL FUNCTION AS AN EXTENSION OF THE METRO RAPID SILVER LINE, WHICH IS IN PLACE NOW PROVIDING A HIGH FREQUENCY ONE SEAT RIDE BETWEEN DOWNTOWN AND UPTOWN.
WITHOUT HAVING TO TRANSFER OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS WILL ENJOY A COMFORTABLE ONE-SEAT RIDE FROM THE NEW WEST PARK, LOWER UPTOWN TRANSIT CENTER TO THE GALLERIA AND UPTOWN DISTRICT NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER, THE NEIGHBORHOODS ALONG THE KATY FREEWAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH DOWNTOWN TO THE IDO COMMUNITY, AND ENDING AT THE PNC STADIUM.
TRANSFERRING TO THE REST OF METRO RAPID TRANSIT NETWORK WILL BE EASY IN DOWNTOWN.
OUR CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER IT TO THE RED GREEN AND PURPLE LIGHT RAIL LINES IN, IN THE, IN THAT CORRIDOR AT THE WEST PARK LOWER UPTOWN TRANSIT CENTER.
A DIRECT CONNECTION WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE UNIVERSITY BRT LINE, ALSO SHOWN HERE IN BLUE.
ONE OF THE OTHER MAJOR BENEFITS OF THIS PROJECT IS ACCOMMODATING ALL OF METRO'S PARK AND RIDE TRIPS FROM THE WEST ALONG I 10 AND NORTHWEST ALONG US TWO 90, ALL OF WHICH RUN THROUGH THE INDICATED CORRIDOR AND ARE SUBJECT TO THE SAME DELAYS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT MOTORS PHASE DUE TO THE, DUE TO THE FOUR MILE, UM, SEGMENT THAT HAS NO HOV LANE.
SO THIS PROJECT GOES TO SHOW, UM, THE IMPACT OF JUST, UM, THE EXTENT THE THIS PROJECT, UH, UH, GOES TO SHOW HOW IMPACTFUL IT WOULD BE BEYOND ITS SEVEN MILE LENGTH.
SO IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, THE METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS ADOPTED WHAT WE CALL THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
THIS INVOLVED AN EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF ALIGNMENT AND STATION LOCATION OPTIONS.
UM, ALIGNMENT AND STATION OPTIONS WERE ANALYZED IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL FIT, ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, RIDERSHIP COSTS AND CONNECTIONS TO METRO BUS NETWORKS, AND, UH, HOUSTON'S PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE NETWORKS AS WELL.
THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT DEPENDS ON HIGH SPEED SERVICE AND A COMPETITIVE TRAVEL TIME.
AND WE HAVE BEEN MINDFUL OF THE, OF THIS IN OUR ANALYSIS.
THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ADOPTION, UM, ALLOWED US TO ADVANCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN WORK ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT.
IN OUR PROJECT STUDY, THE CORRIDOR WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO MAJOR SEGMENTS, THE SEGMENT ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR BETWEEN THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER AND DOWNTOWN, AND THE SEGMENT THAT RUNS THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR AS PART OF THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
TWO DESIGN OPTIONS ARE PROPOSED ALONG THE I 10 CORRIDOR.
BOTH OPTIONS ONE AND TWO RUN ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE I 10 FREEWAY, GENERALLY BETWEEN THE MAIN LANES OF THE FREEWAY AND THE EASTBOUND FRONTAGE ROAD.
SO THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPTIONS ONE AND TWO IS OPTION ONE WILL USE THE EXISTING HOV CONNECTOR, ALSO KNOWN AS THE KATIE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, OR CBD RAMP INTO DOWNTOWN, WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KATY FREEWAY.
CURRENT PLANS FOR THE NORTH HOUSTON HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT OR THE N-H-H-I-P PROJECT WOULD, COULD LEAD TO PARTIAL REMOVAL OF THAT CBD RAMP LIMITING THIS OPTIONS FEASIBILITY.
SO OPTION TWO IS PROPOSED INSTEAD TO CONTINUE THE ELEVATOR, ELEVATOR TRANSIT GUIDEWAY ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE FREEWAY FROM STUDIO MON STREET TO THE I 10 I 45 SPLIT ALONG BETWEEN BINGHAM AND DART ROADS.
THIS OPTION IS PROVIDED TO AVOID ANY IMPACTS FROM THE N-H-H-I-P PROJECT, WHICH AGAIN, UH, ASSUMES PARTIAL REMOVAL OF THE K-D-C-B-D RAMP.
AS A NOTE, THESE OPTIONS ARE CARRIED AS PART OF THE LOCALLY PREFERRED OPTION THROUGH THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS TO PROVIDE METRO THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADAPT TO THE VARIOUS OUTCOMES OF THE N-H-H-I-P PROJECT.
ANOTHER KEY DECISION OF THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE WAS DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF STATIONS AND THE BEST COMBINATION OF STATION LOCATIONS ALONG
[01:40:01]
I 10.SO LIKE THE STATION, LIKE THE ALIGNMENT OPTIONS, WE ALSO ANALYZE VARIOUS COMBINATION OF STATION LOCATIONS AND DETERMINING THAT THREE STATIONS WILL PROVIDE MAXIMUM RESULTS IN TERMS OF NEIGHBORHOOD ACCESS AND OPERATING SPEEDS OF THE BRT BUSES.
AND THESE STATIONS ARE AT MEMORIAL PARK, SHEPHERD, DURHAM, AND STU.
THE FOLLOWING SLIDES WILL SHOW SOME OF THE STATION RENDERINGS.
AND AS A NOTE, THESE ARE, THESE ARE ONLY RENDERINGS AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
THE FIRST STATION IS A MEMORIAL PARK STATION, WHICH WILL BE LOCATED WHERE WASHINGTON AVENUE AND WESTCOT MERGED AT I 10 NEAR THE EASTBOUND EXIT RAMP.
THE STATION WILL BE NEAR THE, THE NORTHEAST ENTRANCE TO THE MEMORIAL PARK AND WOULD NOT INFRINGE ON PARK PROPERTY.
THIS LOCATION WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE PARK, WHICH CONTINUES TO GROW AS A POPULAR RECREATION DESTINATION AND ENHANCE REGIONAL ACCESS TO THE PARK RELIEVING PRESSURE OR PARK PARKING, AS WELL AS CONNECTING TO ROUTE 85 ON WASHINGTON, WHICH WOULD BE SERVED BY A NEW BOOST ROUTE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
THE SECOND STATION ALONG I 10 WILL BE THE SHEPHERD DURHAM STATION, WHICH WOULD ALSO BE THE BUSIEST STATION BETWEEN THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER AND DOWNTOWN.
IT WOULD INCLUDE A TRANSIT CENTER TO ACCOMMODATE TRANSFER BETWEEN THE IN K-D-B-R-T AND THE EXISTING NORTH SOUTH METRO METRO BUS ROUTES, INCLUDING THE ROUTE 27 SHEPHERD.
IT WILL ALSO CON, UH, CONNECT TO THE PLANNED MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLISTS ON SHEPHERD AND DURHAM DRIVES.
THE FINAL STATION ALONG I 10 WILL BE THE STUDIO MON STATION, WHICH WILL BE ACCESSIBLE FROM SIDEWALKS ON THE STREET AND THE WIDE OAK BAYOU TRAIL.
THE SURROUNDING AREA HAS BEEN REDEVELOPING WITH NEW RETAIL AND RESIDENTIAL ACTIVITIES.
METRO'S NEWEST BOOST ROUTE 56 AIRLINE MONTROSE RUNS ALONG THE STUDIO MON UM, STREET AND WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TRANSIT CONNECTIONS TO THE, TO THAT CORRIDOR.
THE SECOND, SECOND SEGMENT OF OUR PROJECT STUDY IS THE DOWNTOWN SEGMENT.
AS THE ALIGNMENT APPROACHES DOWNTOWN, THE IN KATIE GUIDEWAY WILL TRANSITION FROM AN ELEVATED BUSWAY TO ON STREET OPERATIONS.
SO THIS MAP, UM, SHOWS THE RECOMMENDED ALIGNMENT FOR THE IN KBRT IN DOWNTOWN, WHICH PRIMARILY USES CAPITAL AND RUSK AND ONLY APPLIES TO THE BRT OPERATIONS WITH NO CHANGES TO THE ALIGNMENT OF THE PARK AND RIDE SERVICES AND EXPRESS SERVICES IN DOWNTOWN THE METRO.
NEXT CONCEPT AND VISION THAT THE INDICATED BRT WILL TRA WILL TRAVEL ON CAPITAL AND RUST AND USE THE EX, USE THE SAME RIGHT OF WAY AND STATIONS USED BY THE METRO RAIL, GREEN AND PURPLE LINES, WHILE PROVIDING A TRUE EAST WEST CONNECTION BETWEEN UPTOWN AND DOWNTOWN.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ADVANTAGES TO THIS OPTION.
IT IS AN ESTABLISHED CORRIDOR AND IT MAXIMIZES THE USE OF EXISTING TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE BRT WILL SHARE THE SAME, UH, RIGHT OF WAY AND STATIONS USED BY THE METRO RAIL, GREEN AND PURPLE LINES AT THEATER DISTRICT CENTRAL STATION AND CONVENTION DISTRICT STATIONS.
THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR EASY TRANSFERS TO THE GREEN AND PURPLE LINES TO ACCESS DESTINATIONS IN HOUSTON'S EAST AND SOUTHEAST SIDE, ALONG WITH TRANSFER TO THE RED LINE, WHICH SERVES AS A MAJOR, UM, EMPLOYMENT AND ACTIVITY CENTERS, WHICH SERVES MAJOR EMPLOYMENT AND ACTIVITY CENTERS SUCH AS THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER.
SO THROUGHOUT OUR PLANNING PROCESS, METRO HAS ENGAGED, UH, UM, MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS SUCH AS THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOWNTOWN ALIGNMENT, COORDINATION OF THE CITY, COORDINATION WITH THE CITY FOCUSED LARGELY ON DOWNTOWN OPERATIONS TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF ADDING BRT TO THE LIGHT RAIL, TO THE LIGHT RAIL LANES ON CAPITOL AND RUS, AND LOOKING AT HOW TRAFFIC FLOWS AND TURN MOVEMENTS AND AS WELL AS SAFETY WOULD, UH, WOULD BE OPERATED.
SO BASED ON OUR PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER REQUESTS, WE CONSIDER THE POSS THE POSSIBILITY OF ADDING ADDITIONAL STATIONS BEYOND THE ONES ON THE GREEN AND PURPLE LINES.
THE FIRST STATION IS AT FRANKLIN AND BA, BAGBY STREET, SERVING THE
[01:45:01]
NORTHWEST PORTION OF DOWNTOWN, INCLUDING THE NEW POST OAK, UH, NEW POST, UH, HOUSTON DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS, UH, CULTURAL AND RECREATION DESTINATION IN THE COURT IN THAT PART OF THE DOWNTOWN.THIS LOCATION IS ALSO CLOSE TO THE AM THE HOUSTON AMTRAK STATION.
THE SECOND AND END OF LINE STATION IS A SAL E CLOSE TO THE SOCCER STADIUM.
THE ANALYSIS OF, UH, OPTIONS AND PREFERRED ALIGNMENT AND STATION DECISIONS WERE ALSO DEPENDENT ON A ROBUST PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH PROGRAM.
IN TERMS OF OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, WE HELD A SERIES OF VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS SHOWN HERE, AND SEVERAL TARGETED MEETINGS WITH NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AND STAKEHOLDER GROUPS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
IN CONTINUING WITH OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TEXT OUT, AS JAMES, UM, ALLUDED TO, TO DETERMINE THAT, UM, OPTIONS THAT ARE OPTIMAL FOR BOTH THE INDICATED BRT AS WELL AS TECHSTARS FUTURE PROJECTS SUCH AS THE WIDE OAK BAYOU, N-H-H-I-P, AND OTHER PROJECTS WITHIN THE, UH, INDICATED CORRIDOR.
METRICS GOALS ARE, ARE TO CONTINUE COLLABORATION WITH TECHSTAR TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS TO THE CORRIDOR, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO HAVE IN PLACE BY 2027, AN ALTERNATIVE FOR COMMUTERS WITH FAST AND RELIABLE REGIONAL EXPRESS SERVICE, AS WELL AS FREQUENT BRT SERVICE BETWEEN UPTOWN AND DOWNTOWN.
IN TERMS OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL WORK, THE INCA PROJECT HAS ALSO INVOLVED IN EXTENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS HAS COVERED SEVERAL TOPICS SHOWN HERE AND ISSUES, AND THE RESULTS HAVE DETERMINED THAT THE IMPACTS OF THIS PROJECT ARE MINIMAL IN OUR COORDINATION WITH NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
NOISE IS A CONCERN OF RESIDENTS, GIVEN THAT THEY LIVE ALONG AN ALREADY VERY NOISY FREEWAY.
WE HAVE BEEN IDENTIFYING NOISE IMPACTS AND LOOKING AT A RANGE OF POTENTIAL NOISE MITIGATION MEASURES.
SO A, A A BIT ABOUT OUR PROJECT BENEFITS ONCE IMPLEMENTED, THE INDICATED PROJECT WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR TRANSIT USERS IN THE REGION AS A WHOLE.
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR QUANTITATIVE BENEFITS.
THE BENEFITS WERE, UH, PROJECTED FOR THE HORIZON YEAR OF 2045, INDICATING THAT BY THEN THE INDICATED GUIDEWAY WOULD CARRY 42,000 DAILY PASSENGER TRIPS.
AND THE TRIP FROM THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER TO DOWNTOWN WOULD TAKE ABOUT 19 MINUTES.
REGIONAL EXPRESS OR PARKING RIDE PARKING RIDE RIDERS WOULD FIND A SAVINGS OF ABOUT 25% IN TRAVEL TIME.
ON THE IN KATIE GUIDEWAY, THE SILVER LINE WILL ALSO BENEFIT WITH A 50% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BOARDINGS.
IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT WOULD ACHIEVE A REDUCTION OF ABOUT 81,000 VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED PER DAY AND A REDUCTION OF, OF, AND A REDUCTION IN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS BY 26,000 KILOGRAMS EACH DAY.
SO WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE OUR PRESENTATION BY SHOWING A FLY OVER VIDEO OF OUR INDICATED PROJECT STARTING FROM THE NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER RUNNING THROUGH THE INDICATED CORRIDOR TO DOWNTOWN.
[01:51:53]
THANK YOU.UM, IN TERMS OF OUR NEXT STEPS, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THE SCHEDULE SHOWS WHERE WE ARE NOW, UM, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE TO ACHIEVE THE START OF SERVICE.
AND, UH, WE HAVE COMPLETED OUR CONCEPTUAL PLANNING AND ARE NEARLY DONE WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND ABOUT TO START ADVANCED, UM, DESIGN.
AT THIS POINT, WE ARE WORKING CLOSELY WITH TEXTILE ON, UM, MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THIS PROJECT.
CONSTRUCTION WILL TAKE PLACE IN ABOUT THREE YEARS, AND WITH OPENING DAY PROJECTED TO START, UH, 20 IN IN 2027.
AND THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I WELCOME QUESTIONS AT THIS, THIS TIME.
THAT'S A COMPELLING PRESENTATION.
I KNOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, AND BEFORE ADDRESSING THEM, I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER'S OFFICE.
UH, SO WITH THAT, OUR FIRST COUNCIL MEMBER IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
UM, AND TO OUR METRO CHAIR AND THE ENTIRE TEAM, UH, FIRST I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ALL ON THE FEDERAL GRANT THAT WAS JUST ANNOUNCED, UM, IN THE PARTNERSHIP ON THE ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND AS WE MOVE TOWARDS ELECTRIC.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR INVESTMENT AND WORK AND TIME IN THAT IN A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO METROS AND COUNCIL LIAISONS WHO DO A TERRIFIC JOB.
UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS MENTIONED.
UH, JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO, UH, THE FACT THAT, UH, THE PROPOSAL IS FOR SPECIFICALLY ALONG INNER KATIE, UH, DEDICATED LANE WITHOUT GENERAL PURPOSE TRAFFIC.
UM, HIS TDOT IS T IN ALIGNMENT ON THAT.
WHAT HAVE THEY COMMUNICATED TO YOU ALL ON THAT? THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
WE, WE'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATIONS WITH TDOT RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
IN FACT, IF YOU GO BACK TO THE GENESIS OF THIS PROJECT, UH, TECHSTAR WAS GONNA BE DESIGNING THIS WITH US, UH, COORDINATING WITH THEM.
BUT DUE TO SOME SCHEDULE, UH, ISSUES A COUPLE OF THREE YEARS BACK, UM, WE ENDED UP TAKING THE LEAD ON THE DESIGN OF THIS.
AND, AND, AND WE BELIEVE THAT, UH, AS THE REGION GOES IN POPULATION FROM FIVE AND A HALF TO 10 AND A HALF, 10 AND A HALF OR 11 MILLION, WHETHER THAT HAPPENS BY 2040 OR 2050 OR 2055, IT'S STILL GONNA DOUBLE IN POPULATION.
AND SO WE HOPE THAT HAVING THE RELIABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY AND FREQUENCY FOR BOTH OUR REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES AND FOR THE BRT WILL ALLOW US TO TRANSFER THE MODE OF TRAVEL FROM THE GENERAL PURPOSE LANES TO BRT OR EXPRESS BUSES.
THEREBY, UH, ONE COULD SAY CREATING CAPACITY ON THE GENERAL PURPOSE LANES FOR THOSE THAT DO WANT TO DRIVE A CAR OR AS, UH, UH, AS TANIA POINTED OUT FOR GOODS MOVEMENT FOR FREIGHT AS WELL.
UH, I, I THINK BOTH AGENCIES SEE THE BENEFIT
[01:55:01]
OF, UM, THE DEDICATED LANES, UH, UH, AT LEAST IN THAT SEGMENT FROM NORTHWEST TRANSIT CENTER UNTIL WE GET TO SCHUMANN.AND THAT'S THE REASON YOU SEE THOSE TWO OPTIONS AS WE STILL WORK OUT HOW WE NAVIGATE GETTING FROM THAT POINT INTO, UH, THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
AND, UM, BECAUSE OF THE, IN, WELL, I, I THINK I'VE COMMUNICATED THIS TO Y'ALL, I THINK IT GETS REALLY CONFUSING, RIGHT? WE HAVE T ENTER KATIE AND THEN WE HAVE METRO ENTER KATIE.
UM, BUT WITH T DOT'S, UH, PROPOSED PLANS, DOES THAT PUSH Y'ALL'S SCHEDULE BACK BECAUSE IT WAITS ON A DETERMINATION OF WHAT OPTION YOU ALL HAVE TO GO WITH? OR HOW IS THAT TIMING, HOW IS THAT INTERPLAY WORKING WITH THE TIMING RIGHT NOW? UH, FANTASTIC QUESTION.
SCHEDULE IS SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US, AND SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO SEE THOSE PARTS OF THE PROJECT THAT CAN GO INTO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
WHILE THE REST OF THE DETAILS ARE BEING WORKED OUT, WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT WOULD BE THAT PORTION, SAY FROM WASHINGTON TO THE, UH, THE WHITE OAK DRAINAGE PROJECT THAT TECHSTARS TALKING ABOUT.
AND IF TECHSTARS LOOKING AT DOING, UH, SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS, UH, FROM, UH, THE, THE TECHSTAR INNER KATIE PROJECT, AS YOU CALLED IT, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE END CUSTOMER WANTS IMPROVEMENTS TO MOBILITY, THEY FRANKLY, UH, NOT MY PLACE TO SAY THIS, BUT I WILL.
UH, THEY DON'T CARE WHETHER WE ARE BUILDING IT, THE CITY IS BUILDING IT OR TECH DOT'S BUILDING IT.
THEY WANT MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
SO COORDINATING WITH TECH.TO INCLUDE THOSE COMPONENTS THAT CAN BE BUILT AS PART OF ONE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, UH, IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE HAVING DISCUSSIONS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ON.
UH, IT, THIS PROJECT IS, UH, EVOLVING AS WE SPEAK, AND THAT'S ALSO PART OF THE REASON WHY I, UH, MENTIONED THAT THESE ARE SCHEMATIC AND CONCEPTUAL IN NATURE.
UH, THE END GOAL IS FOR US TO HAVE, UH, A DEDICATED CORRIDOR FOR REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES AND FOR OUR BRT UH, VEHICLES AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, UH, TIMING IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT.
WE HAVE THE MAJOR INVESTMENTS GOING ALONG THAT CAN SHEPHERD CORRIDOR, WE CAN BACK IN Q THANK YOU CHAIR, PUT YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE.
AND, UH, NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ROBERT GALLEGOS.
THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, IN, IN, IN REGARDS TO OPTION ONE OR OPTION TWO, EITHER ONE THAT Y'ALL END UP GOING WITH, WE'LL TAKE PEOPLE TO MEMORIAL PARK, CORRECT? YES, SIR.
RIGHT THERE AT MEMORIAL PARK WILL BE A STATION NO MATTER OPTION ONE, OPTION TWO? YES.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT FOR ME, THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, AND THEN HOPEFULLY THERE IS A CONNECTIVITY IN DOWNTOWN AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE GEORGIA BRONCO CONVENTION CENTER.
SO THAT WAY TOURS CAN TAKE, MAKE, MAKE A CHOICE.
DO YOU WANT TO GET ON THE BRT, UH, GO TO MEMORIAL PARK OR DO YOU WANNA GET ON THE GREEN LINE TO GO TO THE BOTANIC GARDEN? UH, WHICH IS A BIT MAJOR, MAJOR, UH, UH, UH, TOURIST ATTRACTION FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, UH, IN REGARDS TO REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES, YOU SAY THAT, UH, COMING IN FROM TWO 90 AND I 10 WILL ALSO SHARE THIS, UH, BUS RAPID TRANSIT LANE, SO WHEN IT COMES INTO DOWNTOWN, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THESE BUSES ALSO GETTING OFF ON RUS AND, AND USING RUSK AND CAPITAL OR, BECAUSE IF SO, THEN THAT'S GOING TO, IN MY OPINION'S, GONNA DELAY THE LRTS BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ALL THESE BUSES ON RUST CAPITAL.
SO I CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
SO THE, THE PARKING RIDES WHEN THEY GET TO DOWNTOWN WILL DO WHAT THEY DO TODAY.
THE BRT IS THE ONLY LINE, THE BRT SERVICE WILL BE THE ONLY ALIGNMENT THAT WILL SHARE THE, UM, EXISTING, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE WITH THE GREEN AND PURPLE LINE.
SO WHATEVER THE TWO 90, UM, THE, UH, I I 10 BUSES AND THE TWO 90 BUSES ARE DOING TODAY, IS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING WHEN IN THE START OF OPENING OF THIS BRT.
THEY, THEY WILL NOT BE SHARING WITH R THEY'LL NOT BE SHARING.
SO THEY, THEY WILL BE SHARING THE BRT CORRIDOR ALONG THE INNER KATY CORRIDOR, BUT ONCE THEY GET INTO DOWNTOWN, THEY PEEL OFF AND GO DOWN SMITH OR GO DOWN TRAVIS OR WHEREVER THEY CURRENTLY GO BE.
THE CAPITAL AND RISK, UH, CAPITAL AND RUST INNER LINING WILL BE ONLY FOR THE BRT AND THE LIGHT RAIL SO THAT WE CAN USE THE EXISTING INVESTMENTS AND PLATFORM STATIONS, SO ON SO FORTH.
AND, AND THEN, UH, UM, UH, ALSO, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A STATION THERE AT ST.
I'M NOT A ST WELL AT SAINT EMANUEL BY THE SOCCER STADIUM, WHICH IS GREAT.
YOU'RE GONNA HAVE ONE AT FRANKLIN AND BAGBY.
UH, WHICH IS GREAT FOR THE THEATER DISTRICT.
UH, AND ALSO THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR THE NEW LYNN WYATT, UH, UH, PLAZA WITH THE FORMER JONES PLAZA.
SO THAT, SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR THAT AREA AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY CONCERN IS NOW THAT YOU'LL BE BRINGING BRT ONTO RUSKIN CAPITAL WITH THE LIGHT RAIL LINES,
[02:00:01]
A PURPLE LINE IN THE, IN THE, UH, UH, GREEN LINE RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK.IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT AT THE BALLPARK, TRAFFIC IS HIDEOUS, UH, GETTING OUT OF THE GARAGES, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN I SAW THE, THE, WHAT YOU WERE SHOWING HERE IN REGARDS TO THE BRT GOING PAST 59 AND THEN COMING AROUND AND COMING BACK UP, UM, RIGHT IN THERE.
THAT, THAT, THAT'S WHERE IT'S BUMPER.
TO BUMPER WITH CARS, UH, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF THE LRT ALSO COMING THROUGH, SO THEY HAVE TO STOP AT AND, AND, AND IT JUST, IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE.
UH, SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT? I DON'T METRO POLICE, EVEN NOW, IF Y'ALL CAN USE METRO POLICE AS WE SPEAK NOW TO TRY TO HELP WITH THE TRAFFIC TO GET THE TRAFFIC MOVING ALONG THE FEEDERS ON 59 THERE ALONG THE, THE BALLPARK.
UH, COMPLICATED, UH, SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT.
UH, IF, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT MOST OF THE FOLKS THAT DON'T COME INTO DOWNTOWN ON A REGULAR BASIS THAT JUST COME INTO A CONFERENCE OR TO A BALL GAME, THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT ARE THE MOST CONFUSED WHEN THEY SUDDENLY SAW, SEE A LIGHT RAIL VEHICLE IN THEIR REAR VIEW.
UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DOWNTOWN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, CITY OF HOUSTON TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THOSE LANES BE FOR JUST BRTN LIGHT RAIL SO THAT IT AVOIDS CONFUSION.
UH, IT, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, AS AN ENGINEER, I CAN SAY THERE'S LOTS OF FOLKS WILL GO DO MODELING, BUT ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS GO STAND AT AN INTERSECTION, UH, ALONG KA AND RUSK AND SEE THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE RAIL ACTUALLY HAS THE WHITE BAR TO MOVE, BUT THERE'S A CAR STANDING IN FRONT OF IT BLOCKING ITS WING.
UH, SO TO REMOVING THAT CONFUSION ADDS TO SAFETY, ADDS TO RELIABILITY AS TO ADDS TO PREDICTABILITY, NOT JUST FOR BRT AND LRT, BUT ALSO FOR THE CARS THAT ARE ON CAPITAL AND RUST.
SO, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
UH, DURING A BALL GAME THESE DAYS, WE HAVE TO USE MPD TO MAKE SURE THE LIGHT RAIL CAN, UH, CONTINUE TO MOVE, UH, AT BEGINNING OF A GAME AND THE END OF THE GAME.
SO, UH, WE ARE WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE CON CONFUSIONS ARE ELIMINATED, UM, AND THAT, UH, WE ARE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE THE THROUGHPUT ALONG CAPITAL AND ROS.
AND NEXT IN QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS S THANK YOU.
UM, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THE OVERALL PLAN.
I THINK IT'S EXCITING AND IT'S DEFINITELY GONNA MAKE, UM, SOME BIG IMPROVEMENTS THAT'LL, UM, MAKE LIFE HERE BETTER.
YOU KNOW, TRAFFIC FLOW AND MOVING PEOPLE.
UM, NOT CARS SO MUCH, BUT MOVING PEOPLE.
UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS I WANT TO KIND OF DRILL DOWN IN AND, AND THAT'S LOOKING AT OPTION ONE AND TWO.
AND SO I WANTED TO MORE CLEARLY UNDERSTAND, UM, IS, IS METRO ALREADY LEANING MORE TOWARDS ONE OPTION? THE OTHER, IT, IT DOES KIND OF APPEAR THAT OPTION ONE WOULD REQUIRE MORE COORDINATION WITH TDOT.
UM, I, I'M HEARING FROM, UM, MY CONSTITUENTS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN FIRST WARD THAT THEY, THEY, THEY DON'T LIKE OPTION TWO BECAUSE IT TAKES, UM, LAND AWAY FROM THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND.
AND, AND, AND JUST THAT YOU, THAT YOU STARTED YOUR COMMENTS BY SAYING, THAT PROJECT IS EVOLVING AS WE SPEAK.
AND SO AS WE'RE, AS IT'S NOT FIRMED UP YET, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT, UM, THIS COMMUNITY HAS A, HAS A VOICE IN THE, IN THE, UM, THE EVOLUTION OF THIS PROPOSAL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.
I THINK, UH, LET, LET ME STEP BACK A LITTLE BIT, COUNCILMEMBER, WHEN I ADDRESS THIS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR, WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, THE CITY TEX METRO, FINDING A WAY TO MOVE FOLKS, ESPECIALLY AS THE POPULATION CONTINUES TO BOOM.
UH, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOKED AT PRE PANDEMIC, UPWARDS OF 30% OF THE DOWNTOWN, UH, WORKFORCE CAME INTO DOWNTOWN ON A METRO ASSET, AND THAT'S AT FIVE AND A HALF MILLION.
IF YOU GO TO 11 MILLION FOLKS, WHAT DOES THAT DO TO THE NUMBER OF FOLK PEOPLE THAT WE'LL HAVE TO MOVE? THE REASON IT IS EVOLVING IS AT ONE POINT IN TIME, ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED THIS PROJECT, UH, WITH A GAC FUNDING SCORED AS THE TOP PROJECT, UH, IN THE CALL FOR PROJECTS AT THAT POINT IN TIME WAS CONCEIVED, KEEPING IN MIND THAT WE WOULD UTILIZE THE EXISTING CBD RAMP CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT RAMP AS IT STANDS GIVEN.
THINGS THAT ARE CHANGING IS THE REASON WE, UH, ADDED OPTION TWO.
SO WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THE PROJECT WHILE, UH, EVOLVING ISSUES ARE RESOLVED.
UH, THAT'S THE REASON YOU SEE OPTION ONE AND OPTION TWO.
YES, OPTION TWO DOES HAVE SOME, UH, PRIVATE RIGHT OF WAY, UH, UH, ACQUISITIONS THAT WOULD BE NEEDED.
AND I THINK EVEN OUR FRIENDS AT TECHSTAR WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS, EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO SEE HOW DO YOU MAXIMIZE THROUGHPUT, PUTTING THE, USING THE EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY WITH MINIMAL TO NO ADDITIONAL RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS, SHOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE.
AND THEN THAT'S THE SOLUTION THAT EVERYBODY'S WORKING TOWARDS.
UH, NEXT IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
[02:05:01]
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR, TO EVERYONE AT THE METRO TEAM.UM, THIS IS A REALLY EXCITING, I LOVE A RENDERING AND I LOVE A VIDEO, SO THAT WAS REALLY GREAT.
UH, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT RIDERSHIP.
UM, I OFTEN AS BEING A BIG PROPONENT OF METRO, UM, GET, UH, THAT THEY OVER PREDICT THEIR RIDERSHIP, UM, OVER PREDICT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE OFF THE, OFF THE HIGHWAYS.
UH, BUT TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MODELING AND ABOUT THOSE PREDICTIONS AND, AND HOW SOLID YOU FEEL THEY ARE AS PROJECTIONS.
I'LL, I IMMA TALK ABOUT THE MODELING, BUT I DO HAVE A RESPONSE TO RIDERSHIP.
SO THE MODELING TAKES INTO ACCOUNT A NUMBER OF, UH, CHARACTERISTICS.
ONE IS OUR GROWING POPULATION.
SO WHAT WE'RE PREDICTING THAT IN THE YEAR 2045, UM, WHEN WE'RE IN PLACE, THAT, UM, OUR DAILY BOARDINGS WILL INCLUDE, UM, ALL THE, UM, ALL THE RIDERS COMING FROM US TWO 90 CORRIDOR, THE PARKING RIDE, UM, TRIPS COMING FROM US TWO 90 CORRIDOR AS WELL AS I 10.
AND AS YOU KNOW, THIS, I 10 CORRIDOR IS EXPANDING.
IT'S, YOU KNOW, GROWTH IS CATCHING UP WITH US.
AND SO THERE ARE SOME, UM, CERTAIN INPUTS THAT ARE, UM, IN INCLUDED IN THE MODELING THAT A GAC LEADS IN, IN PROVIDING US THESE NUMBERS.
AND THIS IS WHERE, THIS IS WHERE THE NUMBERS ARE GENERATED FROM, BUT IT'S INCLUSIVE OF THE PROJECTED GROWTH AS WELL AS, UM, CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
THERE IS A FACTOR THAT GOES INTO CALCULATING ALL OF THAT.
AND THAT'S, THAT THAT'S RIGHT, RIGHT AFTER CONSTRUCTION THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE FOR LIKE RIGHT AFTER IT'S LIKE READY AND OPEN TO GO, OR IS THAT BUILT OVER TIME? SO THE A GAC MODEL SAID IN 2045, AND THAT'S WHY 25 YES, I MADE MENTION OF THAT.
AND IF I MAY, UH, SO THIS MODELING AND THE RIDERSHIP, UH, PROJECTIONS ARE NOT, UH, DONE BY METRO ENTIRELY IN A VACUUM.
IT IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH A GAC AND A LOT OF THE DATA THAT THEY HAVE STARTING FROM NOW THROUGH 2045.
UH, THE OTHER COMMENT THAT I WOULD MAKE, UM, REGARDING RIDERSHIP, UH, IS THE RIDERSHIP THAT WE DO ON ALL OF OUR CORRIDORS IS BASED ON ALL OF THE PARTS OF THE CORRIDORS, RIGHT? ARE ALL PARTS OF THE METRO NEXT PLAN BEING BUILT.
UH, AND YOU DON'T SEE THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT OF MULTIPLE CONNECTED CORRIDORS RIGHT.
AND I'VE HEARD YOU MAKE THAT CASE BEFORE, AND I I'VE TRIED TO MAKE THAT CASE TOO, THAT THAT, THAT IT'S JUST A SINGLE SEGMENT OF THE WHOLE DEAL ONCE YOU GET THE WHOLE THING CONNECTED.
AND TO MY FRIENDS AT TEXAR, WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION WHEN THEY BUILD THE KATY FREEWAY, IT'S A 22 MILE CORRIDOR.
WHEN YOU BUILD THE FIRST TWO MILES, YOU DON'T SEE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE OTHER 20 MILES.
YOU'VE GOT TO BUILD A FULL 22 MILES.
SO WE'VE GOT TO BUILD A FULL METRO NEXT PLAN TO SEE THE FULL VALUE OF RIDERSHIP GO UP ON MULTIPLE COMPONENTS OF THE METRO NEXT PLAN.
AND NEXT IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
UM, JUST WANTED TO VERIFY THE TIMELINE.
UM, THE EIS HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED.
AND SO THEN THAT WILL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC FOR VIEWING AS WELL? YES, MA'AM.
AND THEN, UM, ALL I WAS SAYING EARLIER IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE IS ESPECIALLY WITH THE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT THAT HG THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND PARTNERS HAVE MADE ON THAT DURHAM SHEPHERD CORRIDOR, UM, GETTING THAT STATION AND IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
UM, SO I HOPING THAT THIS STAYS ON TRACK, UM, AND WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO HELP, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, ARE FULLY IN FAVOR OF IT, BUT LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS, UM, REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S IMPROVEMENTS AND BENEFITS FOR THE RESIDENTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, BUT ALSO IN THE AREA, BUT THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, TAKING AWAY PROPERTY OR HARMING RESIDENTS THAT ARE IN THAT IMPORTANT CORRIDOR RIGHT THERE.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX'S OFFICE.
UM, Y'ALL DO YEOMAN'S WORK AT METRO.
IT'S, IT'S TOUGH IN A CITY THAT'S SO SPREAD OUT WITH SO MANY BUSINESS DISTRICTS.
UM, COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
UM, WAS THERE ANY CONSIDERATION MADE TO HAVE THIS ELEVATED BRT RUNNING DOWN THE CENTER OF I 10? YES.
SO YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BUY UP SO MANY PROPERTIES? YES, WE ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING LIKE, UH, UH, TEXT DOT HAD MENTIONED BEFORE.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH TDOT TO EXPLORE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS, INCLUDING ONE THAT WILL RUN
[02:10:01]
THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY.HOWEVER, ME, UH, T DOT ALSO HAS YEAH.
MANAGED LIENS PROJECT, WHICH IS UPCOMING.
SO THAT KIND OF, UM, MOVED US TO ANOTHER OPTION FOR CONSIDERATION.
UM, AS WE ALL KNOW, THERE'S HOV AND TOLL LANES ON I 10 WEST OF THE LOOP.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY CONSIDERATION TO EXTEND THEM FROM SIX 10 TO 45? THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR, UH, THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
I BELIEVE WE, WE, WE, WE, I I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE METRO DOES NOT HAVE ANY PLANS OF, UH, E EXPANDING HOT LANES IN THE SPIRIT BEFORE TIME, OTHER THAN TO SAY THAT WE ARE INVESTING IN BIDIRECTIONAL HOV AS PART OF THE METRO NEXT PLAN, BECAUSE ALONG THAT SAME I 10, UH, KATIE RADOR TDOT'S INVESTMENT HAS PROVEN TO US THAT THERE IS TRAFFIC GOING BOTH WAYS ON THOSE ABSOLUTELY HOT LANES.
IN THE, IN THE SPIRIT OF, UH, COLLABORATION, WE'RE GONNA ALLOW, UH, MR. SINGH TO SPEAK FOR TXDOT.
NO, NO, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION.
UM, SO TDOT, UH, WITH ITS INNER KATY MANAGED LANES CONCEPT THAT WE'RE EVALUATING AND COORDINATING WITH METRO, UM, THE TOLLING COMPONENT IS NOT BEING EVALUATED.
UM, THE WHY NOT THE CURRENTLY OUR DIRECTION FROM OUR POLICYMAKERS IS, UH, NO TOLLING.
UM, SO IT'S HIGH OCCUPANCY ONLY CARPOOL HIGH OCCUPANCY? CORRECT.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT AND THE, THE POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE INNOVATIONS FOR FREIGHT, AUTONOMOUS AND CONNECT VEHICLES, KIND OF THAT MIX OF VEHICLES OF CARPOOLING, HOV AND FREIGHT MOBILITY, UM, OR EVEN SINGLE PASSENGER, UH, CONNECTED AUTONOMOUS JUST TO, TO MOVE, UH, THROUGHPUT, UH, IS BEING LOOKED AT FOR THE MANAGED LANES IN A NONT TOLD MANNER.
ON THE BRT PROPOSALS, I, I THANK YOU THAT IT'S EVOLVING AS YOU STATED.
IS THERE ANY PROPOSAL TO HAVE, UM, OTHER VEHICLES BESIDES BRT ON THESE MASSIVE RAMPS SHELL ARE GONNA BE BUILDING? SO THE, THE THE CAN'T JUST FORCE EVERYBODY ON BUSES, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
NO, WE, WE, WE UNDERSTAND AND, AND, UH, UM, TWO, TWO-PRONGED ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
THE DEDICATED CORRIDORS THAT WILL RUN SOUTH OF THE MAIN LANES OF I 10, UH, AS YOU SAW IN THE VIDEO THAT AMMA SHOWED YOU, WE WANT THOSE TO BE DEDICATED LANES FOR THE BRT VEHICLES AND FOR OUR REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES, THE HOV BUSES THAT COME IN FROM, UH, FROM THE WEST AND FROM THE NORTHWEST.
THE REASON IT IS NOT, UH, PLANNED FOR THAT TO BE OPEN TO SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES IS AT SUCH TIME IN THE FUTURE WHERE WE WILL HAVE AUTONOMOUS BUSES OR PLATOONING BUSES, WE WANT THAT CORRIDOR TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THAT.
THE SECOND YOU PUT, I'LL TAKE MYSELF AS THE EXAMPLE, YOU WOULD PUT A DRIVER LIKE ME, UH, NEXT TO AN, UH, UH, AUTONOMOUS BUS.
I'M THE ONE THAT'S GONNA MAKE THE MISTAKE.
SO THE SAFETY, RELIABILITY, AND PREDICTABILITY FOR THE BRT AND THE REGIONAL EXPRESS BUSES IS THE REASON WE ARE PRESERVING THOSE AS A DEDICATED CORRIDOR.
UH, WE ARE NOT, UH, THE HYPOTHESIS IS NOT REMOTELY CONVINCING EVERYBODY TO GET ON THE BUS.
IF AS A REGION WE CAN CONVINCE FIVE TO 10% TO THINK ABOUT THE MODE OF TRAVEL, IT'LL MAKE, UH, THE LIFE OF THE OTHER 90% MUCH, MUCH EASIER.
UH, IN FACT, THE OTHER 90% WILL BE ABLE TO BREAK SPEED LIMITS, NOT THAT I'M ADVOCATING FOR THAT.
UH, IF YOU GET FIVE TO 10% MOVE TO REGIONAL EXPRESS AND BRT, IT IMPROVES MOBILITY FOR THE OTHER 90% AS WELL.
UM, UM, ANOTHER COMMENT IS THE CURRENT RAMP GOING FROM TAYLOR TO DOWNTOWN, THE ELEVATED RAMP.
I KNOW I'VE BEEN IN DISCUSSION WITH MR. LAMBERT AND YOUR PREDECESSOR ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS THAT IS SO UNDERUTILIZED CURRENTLY, AND AS WE ALL KNOW, TRAFFIC STACKS UP AS YOU APPROACH DOWNTOWN WITH ALL THE INTERCHANGES.
IS THERE ANY WAY Y'ALL CAN OPEN THAT UP FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES JUST TO RELIEVE SOME PRESSURE RIGHT AT THAT INTERSECTION? I KEEP ON HEARING, WELL, THE FEDS WON'T ALLOW IT.
HAVE Y'ALL APPROACHED THEM RECENTLY ABOUT THAT? 'CAUSE IT'S, AS WE ALL KNOW, IT'S UNDERUTILIZED.
UH, IT, IT, IT, THE UTILIZATION CAN DEFINITELY BE HIGHER.
UH, I DON'T THINK THERE IS A SIMPLE ANSWER TO THAT.
UH, WE CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL.
WE DO HAVE OUR OTHER HOVS, OUR, UH, HOTLINES, UH, WELL, I'M WORRIED ABOUT THIS ONE.
IT CURRENTLY EXISTENCE UNDERUTILIZED.
BUT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE APPROPRIATE, IF WE WERE TO CONVERT IT TO A HOT LANE, WE NEED TOLLING EQUIPMENT ON THAT TO BE ABLE TO, UH, FACILITATE THAT.
IF YOU JUST OPEN IT UP FOR ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY THAT WANTS TO USE IT AND CHARGE A TOLL, IF YOU NEED TO DO THAT TOO, PLEASE, PLEASE LET HIM RESPOND THAT THAT'S THE PORTION THAT WE
[02:15:01]
WOULD NEED TO EVALUATE.CAN WE PUT IN TOLLING EQUIPMENT? THE OTHER IS WHERE DOES IT DROP OFF? IT DROPS OFF ONTO FRANKLIN.
ALL YOU ARE DOING IS MOVING A BUNCH OF FOLKS, AND NOW THEY'RE GONNA BE SITTING ON AN ELEVATED SECTION WAITING FOR A TRAFFIC SIGNAL WHEN YOU COME OUT.
SO IT, YES, THE, IT CAN, SOME THINGS CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE FLOW, BUT THE BOTTLENECK IS STILL GONNA BE ON THE, UH, DOWNSTREAM END OF IT BECAUSE IT'S A TRAFFIC LIGHT THAT'S CONTROLLING WHETHER OR NOT YOU GET OFF AT THE END.
SO INSTEAD OF HAVING FOUR LANES ON MAIN LANES, AND AGAIN, I'M WAITING INTO TEXT DOTS TERRITORY, UH, YOU'LL NOW HAVE AN ELEVATED LANE THAT'S ALSO BACKED UP BECAUSE THE TRAFFIC LIGHT ON THE END IS WHAT'S GOING TO GOVERN HOW MANY CAN ACTUALLY GET INTO DOWNTOWN OR HOW MANY CANNOT.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE, UH, CONCLUDE THE PUBLIC OFFICIALS, UH, PORTION OF THE SPEAKER LIST.
AND WE WANT TO THANK YOU MR. RAHM.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE ONE COMMENT YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE, IF I MAY MAKE ONE MORE COMMENT.
AND I THINK AS, AS A REGION, WE'VE ALWAYS LOOKED AT THIS AS WORK TRIPS AND, AND WHAT METRO AND TO COUNCIL MEMBER GUY'S POINT AS WELL.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS MOBILITY, NOT JUST FOR WORK TRIPS, IT'S ALSO TO GET TO SCHOOL, ALSO TO GET TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE UNIVERSITIES, TO PARKS TO YOUR GROCERY STORE.
WHAT THE PANDEMIC HAS SHOWN US WITHOUT CHANGING TRAVEL PATTERNS IS THERE'S CONGESTION THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
SO FOLKS IN THE REGION ARE WORRIED ABOUT CONGESTION, WHETHER IT'S TO GO TO WORK OR TO GO TO A GROCERY STORE OR TO GO TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE.
SO THAT'S THE APPROACH THAT WE ARE TAKING, IS PROVIDING CONNECTIVITY FOR ALL TRIPS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR RAM BACHMAN.
AND, UH, THANK YOU MS. KAVANA FOR BEING HERE.
UH, I'D ALSO LIKE TO AGAIN, THANK, UH, JOSE PULIDO FOR BEING HERE AS WELL AS METRO'S, CEO AND PRESIDENT MR. TOM LAMBERT, WHO'S HERE WITH US IN THE CHAMBERS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE DO HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAVE SIGNED UP AND, UH, LET US KNOW THAT THEY'D LIKE TO SPEAK TODAY.
AND THE FIRST SPEAKER IS A FRIEND TO THIS COMMITTEE AND OUR FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF, UH, P PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, NOW WITH LINK HOUSTON, UH, SPEAKING ON THE TDOT PROJECT WILL BE MR. GABE CASRE.
MR. CASRE, IF YOU WOULD APPROACH THE PODIUM, IT'S GREAT TO, UH, HAVE YOU WITH US, UH, FORMER DIRECTOR, IF I MAY CALL YOU THAT.
AND, AND EAGER TO HEAR, UM, YOUR QUESTION OR COMMENTS, UM, YOU COUNCIL MEMBER, IT'S, UH, GREAT TO BE BACK WITH FOR ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS, BUT I'M HERE SPECIFICALLY TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT, UM, TDOT AND IF YOU WILL, ALLOW ME CHAIR TO MAKE A QUICK COMMENT ON THE SIDEWALK AND FEE FEE IN LIEU OF ABSOLUTELY.
SO, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UH, I USED, I WAS A FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
I'M NOW THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LINK HOUSTON LINK HOUSTON ADVOCATES FOR A ROBUST AND EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK SO THAT ALL PEOPLE MAY REACH OPPORTUNITY.
AND I WANNA PARTICULARLY COMMEND COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, WELL COUNCIL MEMBERS, ROBINSON AND ALCORN FOR HOSTING THIS, UH, JOINT MEETING, BUT ALSO TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, CAYMAN AND, AND CISNEROS AND GALLEGOS, UH, FOR YOUR HEALTHY SKEPTICISM, UH, TOWARDS TDOT AND ITS PROJECT.
THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LINK HOUSTON, WHO YOU WILL HEAR FROM LATER, WILL DIS WILL DISCUSS OUR COMMENTS IN FULL.
BUT REGARDING THE FEE IN LIEU OF, UH, ORDINANCE BEING PROPOSED TO COUNSEL, WE SEE THIS AT LINCOLN HOUSTON AS ONE SOLUTION TO HOUSTON'S, UH, PROBLEM OF LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE TO PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT SIDEWALKS ARE A CRITICAL COMPONENT, UH, TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UH, AND INVESTMENTS MUST BE MADE, UH, TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF ABILITY, CAN PARTICIPATE FULLY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
UH, AS THE COUNCIL CONTINUES TO REVIEW THE FEE IN LIEU OF PROCESS, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REVIEW THE COMMENTS THAT LINK HOUSTON SENT, UH, IN AS PART OF THE COMMENT PROCESS.
WE'LL MAKE SURE EVERY OFFICE GETS A COPY OF THAT.
UM, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO BE A RESOURCE TO YOU BOTH ON THE TX.PRO UH, PROJECT AND ON THE FEE IN LIEU OF, UH, I ALSO WANNA THANK METRO AND, UH, ITS BOARD CHAIR, THE BOARD, THE PRESIDENT, AND ALL OF METRO STAFF FOR THE WORK ON THE INNER KATIE PROJECT.
WE ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT PROJECT AS WELL.
YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM OUR DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUT IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE HERE WITH YOU AGAIN.
COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON, IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE AND I'M JUST GONNA KEEP CALLING YOU DIRECTOR RE
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE WITH US.
UM, APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND
[02:20:01]
I KNOW, UH, UH, ALL OF THAT WAS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY.OUR OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MR. KEVIN STRICKLAND, UH, WHO'S WITH, UH, UH, THREE GROUPS MENTIONED HERE IN HIS SIGNING IN WITH CURBS WITH THE STOP TEXT I 45 PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE STOP I 10 ELEVATION, UH, PROGRAM.
AND I BELIEVE ALSO WITH SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 15, UH, MR. STRICKLAND, I THINK YOU'RE ONLINE.
AND IF YOU'D UNMUTE THE FLOOR IS YOURS FOR THREE MINUTES.
MR. STRICKLAND, WE SEE YOU ONLINE THERE.
THANK YOU FOR THE STAR SIX AND THE INTRODUCTION.
UM, I'D LIKE TO, UM, START BY SAYING I'M SPEAKING ABOUT THE I 10 ELEVATION PROJECT, NOT THE METRO BRT.
THE I 10 ELEVATION PROJECT IS TERRIBLE.
WHAT TET IS TRYING TO SELL US IS SOLUTION TO FLOODING AND A BIKE PATH.
WHAT THEY WANT US TO BUY IS, UH, FREEWAY EXPANSION, UH, SO FAR, PRECINCT ONE IS OPPOSING THE PROJECT.
SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD 22 HAS ISSUED A LETTER OF OPPOSITION.
COTTAGE GROVE HAS ISSUED A LETTER OF OPPOSITION AND SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD.
15 IS WORKING ON OPPOSITION, THE NUMBER OF ISSUES WITH THE PROJECT, BUT LET'S START WITH 347 MILLION TO ELEVATE 1.7 MILES OF FREEWAY IS A TERRIBLE WAY TO SPEND OUR MONEY.
JUST THE NUMBER OF SIDEWALKS THAT WE COULD GET FOR THAT AMOUNT WOULD COVER HALF THE CITY.
UM, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ISSUES.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE WEIGHED IN ON THE PROBLEMS. I'D REFER YOU TO THE WIDE OAK BIO ASSOCIATION LETTER WHERE THEY LIST, UM, SEVERAL ISSUES WITH THE PROJECT.
LET ME CONCLUDE BY SAYING ON SATURDAY, THIS SATURDAY AT 6:00 PM IN STU PARK, WE'RE HAVING AN EVENT SO THE COMMUNITY CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT THE, UM, PROJECT.
WE, IF I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO INVITE, UM, YOU SPECIFICALLY, AND I'M REFERRING TO CITY COUNCIL, YOUR, UM, THIS IS NOW YOUR INVITATION.
I HOPE YOU CAN MAKE AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE SHORT NOTICE, BUT TXDOT DIDN'T ANNOUNCE THIS PROJECT UNTIL, UM, JULY 27TH.
THE COMMENT PERIOD HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 8TH.
SO WE'RE HOPING ONCE THE COMMUNITY LEARNS MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT, THAT THEY CAN WEIGH IN WITH THEIR COMMENTS.
UH, MR. STRICKLAND, I KNOW THAT WAS YOU.
IF YOU COULD PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
I THINK YOU ALSO, UH, MISSTATED THE DEADLINE FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SEPTEMBER 9TH.
BUT WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT TODAY.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, I THINK OUR FINAL SPEAKER TO THE TODAY IS, UH, REFERRED TO ALREADY MS. C AS SIGEL IS WITH US IN CHAMBERS.
AND WE'LL PAUSE A MOMENT FOR HER TO APPROACH THE PODIUM.
MS. SIEGEL, IF YOU WOULD STATE YOUR NAME AND UH, ORGANIZATION FOR THE RECORD.
UH, MY NAME IS INA SIEGEL AND I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR WITH LINK HOUSTON LINK HOUSTON ADVOCATES FOR EQUITY AND TRANSPORTATION, SO THAT ALL PEOPLE CAN REACH OPPORTUNITY.
I'M ADDRESSING YOU TODAY REGARDING THE INCA CORRIDOR.
HOUSTON'S RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES DESERVE A COHESIVE APPROACH BY ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT WHEN IT COMES TO THE INCA CORRIDOR.
THERE IS METRO'S REGIONALLY SUPPORTED FUNDED, VOTER APPROVED METRO RAPID INCA PROJECT PROJECT TO BUILD A DEDICATED BUSWAY FOR BRT LOCAL EXPRESS AND PARK AND RIDE ROUTES, WHICH IS NOT BYPASS COMMUNITIES, BUT CONNECTS THEM TO THE REGION.
AND THERE IS TECH DOTS CONFUSING WEB OF PROJECTS CLAIMING TO IMPROVE FLOOD RESILIENCE OFF TO HIGHWAY FACILITY AND WHICH DOUBLE DOWN ON HIGHWAY EXPANSION FOR, UH, UNMANAGED EXPRESS LANES, WHICH DO BYPASS COMMUNITIES.
THE TECH SIDE PROJECTS PRESENT CONFLICTING VISIONS FOR HOW PEOPLE IN GOODS WILL MOVE IN HOUSTON'S FUTURE, LET ME BE CLEAR.
HOUSTON'S BEST FUTURE IS NOT TO DOUBLE DOWN ON THE PAST LINK.
HOUSTON DOES NOT SUPPORT EXPANDING HIGHWAYS, INCLUDING BY ADDING FOUR MANAGED LANES AS PLANNED BY TDOT FOR I 10, I 45, 6, 10 I 69, AND US TWO 90 AS PART OF THE REGIONAL EXPRESS ACCESS LANES PLAN.
RATHER, WE SUPPORT THE CITY OF HOUSTON'S PARADIGM SHIFT TOWARD TRANSFORMATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT CONNECT PEOPLE TO OPPORTUNITY
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BY TRANSIT, WALKING, ROLLING, AND BIKING.THE OVERARCHING IMPERATIVES FOR TEXTILES, TRANSPORTATION FOCUSED WORK IN THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA OR NOT BE ADVANCED AT ALL.
T PROJECTS MUST NOT IN ANY WAY IMPEDE A REGIONALLY SUPPORTED METRO RAPID INNER KATIE, BUSWAY AND TRANSIT STATION.
T PROJECTS MUST NOT BE SPLIT INTO PIECES TO AVOID FULL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW, BUT SHOULD INSTEAD BE STUDIED AS A WHOLE SO THE PUBLIC CAN UNDERSTAND THE OVERALL IMPLICATIONS, DETAILED IMPACTS, AND THE STATE'S FULL MITIGATION TEXT MUST DESIGN FRONTAGE AND CROSSING ROADS AS CITY STREETS DESIGNED FOR LOWER SPEEDS AND SAFE DIGNIFIED ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WALKING, BIKING, AND ROLLING IN TEXT THAT MUST PRESERVE AND IMPROVE GREEN SPACES AND PARK ACCESS, INCLUDING BY PLAN, UH, PLANTING TREES BETWEEN DRIVE LANES AND THE REALM FOR PEOPLE WALKING, BIKING, AND ROLLING LINK.
HOUSTON SUPPORTS THE METRO RAPID INTER KATIE PROJECT.
WE URGED TDOT TO CONSIDER FULLY SUPPORTING THE METRO PROJECT AS THE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE CAPACITY IN THE CORRIDOR AND RE-ENVISION THEIR OWN MAIN LANES BY CON BY CONVERTING THE LEFTMOST LANE IN EACH DIRECTION INTO A DEDICATED HOV LANE.
SOMETHING THE AGENCY SHOULD HAVE DONE IN THE TWO THOUSANDS WHEN THEY MADE THE KATY FREEWAY THE WIDEST HIGHWAY IN THE WORLD.
WE ALSO EXPECT TDO TO BE FULLY RESPONSIVE TO THE DETAILED COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, AND IDEAS WE KNOW THEY'RE RECEIVING FROM RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS IN THE VICINITY OF THE INNER KATIE CORRIDOR.
WE'RE GLAD TO KNOW THAT THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED AND WE WILL BE SUBMITTING OUR FULL DETAILED COMMENTS TO TEXT LAB.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. SIEGEL FOR BEING HERE AND FOR YOUR COMMENTS TODAY.
AND WITH THAT, THAT COMES TO THE END OF OUR SPEAKERS TODAY.
UH, BOTH PUBLIC OFFICIALS AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
AND WITH THAT AND BEFORE ADJOURNING, I'D LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE NEXT, UH, REGULATORY AND NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS MEETING, UH, COMMITTEE WILL MEET ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH AT 10:00 AM TO TALK ABOUT DEED RESTRICTIONS.
AND THE NEXT MEETING OF THE TTI COMMITTEE FOR TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE WILL MEET ON THURSDAY, THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER AT 10:00 AM.
THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.