[Bicycle Advisory Committee on April 24, 2024.]
[00:00:16]
ALL RIGHT.I THINK WE MAY HAVE, UH, QUORUM CHAIR THOMPSON.
SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
I'VE GOT 2 34 ON THE CLOCK, AND I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYONE TO TODAY'S MEETING OF THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UH, FOR THOSE THAT HAVEN'T COME TO ONE OF THESE MEETINGS BEFORE, THE BACS MISSION IS TO ADVISE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMISSION AND THE DIRECTOR ON ISSUES RELATED TO BICYCLING IN THE CITY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO AMENDMENTS, TO THE BIKE PLAN, BICYCLE SAFETY AND EDUCATION IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BIKE PLAN, DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES FOR FUNDING PROJECTS RELATED TO BICYCLING, AND PROMOTING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN BICYCLING WITH THE VISION THAT BY 2027, THE CITY OF HOUSTON WILL BE A SAFER, MORE ACCESSIBLE AND GOAL LEVEL BIKE FRIENDLY CITY.
SO, WE'LL START WITH ROLL CALL.
UH, IF YOU ARE HERE, UM, PLEASE.
AND WE'LL ALSO USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEST THE MICS.
SO PLEASE HIT THE BUTTON TO TURN THE MIC ON.
AND OUR EX OFFICIO MEMBERS, UH, FROM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.
JENNIFER OSLAN HERE FROM HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
IAN EK HERE AND FROM PARKS AND REC.
ALSO WANT TO GREET COMMANDER YA, DID I SAY IT RIGHT? YADIRA ESTRADA FROM, UH, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO, AS YOU REMEMBER, UH, CHRISTINE ANTHONY WILLIAMS, RETIRED AND COMMANDER JAMES DALE WAS SENT TO, UH, PARTICIPATE IN BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S MEETING SINCE THEN.
UM, AND HAS HAD TO MOVE AROUND.
SO HE, HE ENDED UP GETTING ANOTHER ROLE.
UM, SO NOW WE HAVE COMMANDER ESTRADA AND STAFF WILL WORK, UM, TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THE RECOMMENDATIONS MEMORANDUM CHANGED SO THAT WE CAN GET HER, UM, HOPEFULLY OFFICIALLY APPOINTED IN THE SEAT THAT, UH, CHRISTINE ANTHONY MILLER HAD.
AND ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, LEAH CHAMBERS, WHO'S JUST COME IN.
UM, COULD YOU CHECK YOUR MIC REAL QUICK JUST TO MAKE SURE WE GOT IT? CERTAINLY.
SO, TODAY'S AGENDA, I WILL NOTE THAT ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WAS TO BE ON THE AGENDA WAS A, A PRESENTATION FROM METRO.
UM, THEY HAVE DECIDED THAT THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT PRESENTATION WENT TO THE NEW BOARD FIRST.
SO THAT IS ONE THAT, THAT WILL NOT BE ON THERE, BUT WE WILL LOOK TO GET THEM TO COME AND SPEAK TO THE BAC IN JULY.
UM, SO WE HAVE, WE'LL HAVE THE REPORTS FROM THE DIRECTOR AND THE CHAIR APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY MINUTES PUBLIC COMMENT.
UH, WE'LL DO A VOTE FOR VICE CHAIR AND SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS, AND THEN GO INTO OUR QUARTERLY UPDATES, FOLLOWED BY OPEN FORUM AND ANNOUNCEMENTS.
AND AS A REMINDER FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO SPEAK FOR UP TO TWO MINUTES EACH AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
NOW WITH THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M JENNIFER OSLAND, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AND HAPPY TO BE SITTING HERE TODAY.
UM, IT'S BEEN A FEW YEARS SINCE I, UM, ATTENDED, UH, THE BAC MEETING.
UM, AND THAT BRINGS ME TO MY, MY SAD NEWS THAT MONIQUE
[00:05:01]
JOHNSON HAS RESIGNED HER POSITION WITH THE CITY AS OF LAST WEEK.AND WE ARE REALLY SORRY TO SEE HER GO.
UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATED AND DEPENDED ON HER LEADERSHIP AND HER THOUGHTFUL APPROACH TO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.
UM, AND SO, UM, YEP, THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY.
SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL BE GETTING ME FOR, FOR THE, FOR THE TIME.
UM, OUR, OUR TRANSPORTATION TEAM, UM, IS BRIAN AND SOPHIA AND BRANDON RIGHT NOW.
SO THEY'VE TAKEN A, A BIG HIT IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, UM, LOSING SOME VALUABLE TEAM MEMBERS, BUT WE, UM, I AM WORKING TO, UH, BRING THEM BACK UP TO CAPACITY.
UM, SO YOU, UM, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WE'LL BE SEEING SOME NEW FACES ON THE TEAM SO THEY CAN CONTINUE THEIR, THEIR REALLY GOOD AND IMPORTANT WORK.
UM, SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES MY DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
SO FOR MY REPORT, I'M, I'M GIVING A BOOK REPORT TODAY.
UH, THE BOOK IS CALLED BIKE BATTLES.
IT'S BY JAMES LONGHURST, WHO IS THE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LACROSSE.
AND IT IS WRITTEN IN A SOMEWHAT ACADEMIC, BUT VERY ACCESSIBLE FASHION.
THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT HE STARTS TIME-WISE, UH, IN THE 1880S WITH THE, UH, UH, BIG WHEEL, YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT THEY CALL PENNY FARTHINGS, ARIES, WHATEVER, HIGH WHEELERS.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE BATTLE STARTED.
THEY STARTED WITH FARMERS OUT ON RURAL ROADS WHO DIDN'T WANT THOSE BIKES OUT THERE, BUT THE BIKES WERE USUALLY PASSING THE FARMERS BACK IN THOSE DAYS.
'CAUSE THE HORSES WERE KIND OF SLOW.
BUT IT CONTINUED WITH THE ADVENT OF THE SAFETY BICYCLES, WHICH WERE A LOT CHEAPER AND A LOT MORE ACCESSIBLE, AND CERTAINLY A LOT SAFER.
BUT THE STRUGGLES, THE THEMES HAVE NOT CHANGED A WHOLE LOT SINCE THEN.
THE, THE PEOPLE ON BIKES BACK THEN, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY DAYS WHEN THE, THE HIGH WHEELERS WERE SO EXPENSIVE AND REALLY ONLY AFFORDABLE FROM RICH FOLKS, UH, CYCLISTS WERE PROBABLY JUSTIFIABLY CHARACTERIZED AS ELITIST.
UM, YOU KNOW, THINK OF YOUR ADJECTIVE, UM, IF YOU'VE HEARD IT NOW, THEY PROBABLY HEARD IT BACK THEN.
I WILL RELATE ONE REALLY INTERESTING LEGAL NOTE ON THIS.
UM, HE POINTS OUT THAT THE PRECEDENT THAT ESTABLISHED BICYCLES AS VEHICLES WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE QUEEN'S COURT OF ENGLAND.
THERE WAS A CASE BROUGHT BY A GUY ON A BIKE.
SO BACK IN THE 1880S, UH, HE HAD BEEN ARRESTED, UM, FOR DRIVE OR RIDING RECKLESSLY.
I CAN'T THINK HE HAD HAD A MUCH MORE COLORFUL ENGLISH WAY OF PUTTING IT IN THERE.
BUT ANYWAY, HE APPEALED HIS CONVICTION TO THE COURT ON THE, ON THE BASIS THAT BIKES AREN'T VEHICLES.
YOU, I'M NOT SUBJECT TO THAT LAW, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT WAS SUB IT WAS ESSENTIALLY APPLICABLE TO VEHICLES.
HE LOST THAT CASE, AND WE CERTAINLY WON BECAUSE THE, UH, THE COURT RULED AGAINST HIM AND SAID, YES, THAT IS THE VEHICLE.
THE LAW IS BROAD ENOUGH TO ENCOMPASS MORE THAN JUST HORSES AND BUGGIES.
AND, UH, OF COURSE THAT'S CONTINUED THROUGH THE YEARS.
AND WE KIND OF FOLLOW, FOLLOW THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW, UM, PRACTICE WHERE WE GO BY PRECEDENT.
AND SO THAT SET THE PRECEDENT IN ENGLAND, AND WE ESSENTIALLY FOLLOWED THAT HERE.
SO WE DO HAVE THIS GUY IN ENGLAND WHO BROUGHT THIS CASE AND LOST IT TO THANK FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BIKES AND, AND AS, UH, VEHICLES, I GUESS I BRING THAT UP TO SHOW THAT ONE THING, WHAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH IS NOTHING NEW.
IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A HUNDRED YEARS, IF NOT WELL, MORE THAN THAT, RIGHT? 140 YEARS.
UM, AND, UH, THERE'S, UH, THE PENDULUM SWINGS BACK AND FORTH.
AND SO, UM, I KNOW WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING THESE DAYS, UH, BUT WHAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE IS STAY THE COURSE.
LET'S KEEP GOING AT THIS STUFF.
AND, UH, IT WILL SWING BACK AT SOME POINT.
WE CAN, UM, REST ASSURED TO THAT.
SO, AND I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.
IT'S ACTUALLY MY DAUGHTER BROUGHT IT HOME FROM THE LI FROM THE LIBRARY THINKING I WOULD, UH, APPRECIATE IT AND I CERTAINLY DO, AND IT'S VERY TIMELY.
SO NEXT IS THE APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 24, 24 BAC MINUTES.
AND I MUST SAY, I DO APOLOGIZE.
I KNOW USUALLY I DO SEND THE MINUTES OUT WHEN I SEND OUT THE AGENDA, UM, JUST AS A REFRESHER TO EVERYONE.
SO, UH, MY, MY APOLOGIES IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THEM SINCE JANUARY, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FROM THE COMMITTEE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
[00:10:03]
SO NOW IT'S PUBLIC COMMENT.AS A, AS A REMINDER, ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS CAN COME TO THE BAC C EMAIL ADDRESS, UH, BAC AT HOUSTON TX DOT COV.
AND AS LONG AS THEY ARE THERE BY 5:00 PM THE DAY BEFORE A BAC C MEETING, WE WILL READ THEM INTO THE RECORD, LIVE HERE AT THE MEETING.
AND THE PUBLIC IS ALSO INVITED TO COME IN PERSON, UM, AND PROVIDE A COMMENT CARD AND GIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
SO, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE, UM, ONE WRITTEN COMMENT, AND I DO HAVE COMMENT CARDS FOR TWO SPOKEN COMMENTS TO COME IN TODAY.
SO THE WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT COMES FROM JACOB RUSSELL.
DEAR BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, I AM SUBMITTING THE FOLLOWING TO BE READ ALOUD AS A PUBLIC COMMENT AS THE MEETING OF THE BAC.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THE ADMINISTRATION CURRENTLY HAS A PAUSE ON ALL STREET SAFETY PROJECTS.
IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TIME TO GET UP TO SPEED ON THE PROJECTS IN THE CITY, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS PAUSE WILL RESULT IN PROJECTS PERMANENTLY LOSING TIME SENSITIVE FEDERAL FUNDING.
TWO PROJECTS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY WORRISOME ARE NORTHLINE FROM PARKER TO CANINO AND WEST LITTLE YORK BETWEEN TC JESTER AND WHEATLEY.
TOGETHER, THESE PROJECTS RECEIVED $800,000 AS PART OF THE FEDERAL HSIP PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY TEXDOT.
THIS $800,000 WILL BE FORFEITED IF TEXDOT DOES NOT PRO APPROVE A FINALIZED DESIGN BY AUGUST 31ST.
THE DESIGN OF BOTH PROJECTS SHOULD BE NEARLY COMPLETE, BUT TEXDOT REQUIRES AT LEAST ONE PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE DESIGNS CAN BE FINALIZED.
TDOT'S APPROVAL PROCESS ALSO OFTEN TAKES A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
SO IF THE CITY'S PAUSE CONTINUES MUCH LONGER, THERE WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TIME FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND FINALIZING DESIGN BEFORE SUBMITTING TO TDOT THIS SUMMER.
THE LOSS OF FUNDS WOULD BE A COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE LOSS OF INVESTMENT FOR SOME OF HOUSTON'S HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED, UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS.
AT A TIME WHEN THERE'S GREAT CONCERN ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THESE PROJECTS? DOES THE CITY PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD SOON? OR WILL THEY USE THE PAUSE AS A DEFACTO CANCELLATION OF THESE PROJECTS WITHOUT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC INPUT? I DID PROVIDE A WRITTEN COPY, A COPY TO THE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, INTERIM DIRECTOR OSLAN.
AND I'LL ALSO SEND A PDF TO THE BAC.
UH, WHEN WE SEND THE MINUTES, BRIAN, UH, WILL SOMEBODY BE RESPONDING TO HIS EMAIL? SO THE, THE EMAIL ITSELF DIDN'T, DIDN'T ASK FOR A REPLY BACK.
UM, BUT AS WHEN WE GET INTO THE BIKEWAY PROJECTS UPDATE, UH, YOU WILL SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN AT ADMINISTRATIVE PAUSE FOR FURTHER REVIEW FOR A LOT OF THE BIKEWAY PROJECTS THAT WE'VE NORMALLY SEEN, UH, ON THE TRACKER, THE ONES THAT WE KNOW OF I'VE COLOR CODED.
UM, AND I, AND WHEN WE GET TO THOSE CHANGES, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN GO THROUGH AGENCY BY AGENCY.
OUR FIRST IN-PERSON PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE BRIAN DOTSON.
DO I NEED TO PUSH THE BUTTON? NO, IT'S ALREADY, IT'S GOOD TO GO.
UH, I'M DISAPPOINTED TO BE HERE TODAY AND FIND THAT THE P FOUR P PROJECTS ARE TABLED, UM, BECAUSE THE BAC ISN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO HEAR WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AND BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD FOR THE COLIN PARK PROJECT, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HEAR ABOUT THE FRUITFUL COLLABORATION I HAD WITH PUBLIC WORKS JUST LAST FRIDAY, WHERE WE REDEFINED THE PROJECT TO MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR THE 2024, UH, DESIGN SO THAT WE CAN DO A 2025, UH, FULL PROJECT.
UH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HEAR ABOUT THAT.
UM, ONE IN THE LAST, UH, COUPLE DAYS, ONE CREEK WEST HAS GONE TO LOCAL MUDS, UH, FOUR OF THEM.
THEY'RE ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS, UH, THIS APPROACH.
BUT, UH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO, TO HEAR ABOUT THIS FOR PIPING ROCK.
IT MEANS YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO CONSIDER A PROJECT THAT WHERE WE HAD 35, 30% DESIGN.
WE HAVE A APPLICATION AT THE CORE OF ENGINEERS MADE BY HARRIS COUNTY BACK IN 2022, AND WE APPLIED FOR THE FEDERAL LANDS ACCESS PROGRAM, UM, UH, UH, GRANT, WHICH, WHICH WAS UNSUCCESSFUL.
UH, THERE WERE FOUR FATALITIES AND TWO SERIOUS INJURIES FOR PEDESTRIAN CYCLISTS ON THE PARALLEL SEGMENT OF HIGHWAY SIX THERE.
AND WE TALKED TO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIANIS LAST FALL TO, TO TRY TO GET A HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAM FUNDING FOR THIS.
SHE SAID, GO, GO DO THE P FOUR P THIS YEAR.
THIS IS AN AREA, IT'S NO MAN'S LAND.
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DISTRICTS, THERE'S NO TOURS.THE ONLY PLA THE ONLY PEOPLE CAN MAKE AN APPLICATION IS THE CITY OF HOUSTON 32ND.
UM, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HEAR ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BAC IS ONLY A BODY THAT CAN RECOMMEND.
UH, SO IN THE TIME REMAINING BEFORE THE JUNE 7TH APPLICATION, I'LL BE ASKING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE MAYOR TO MAKE AN APPLICATION FOR P FOUR P ON THESE TWO PROJECTS.
BRIAN, COULD EITHER YOU OR JENNIFER PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY WE STRUCK IT? I MEAN, I'LL JUST START, BUT I, BRIAN PROBABLY KNOWS MORE THAN I DO, BUT I THINK IT'S, UM, AFTER MEETING WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UM, WE DETERMINE THAT MORE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECTS IS NEEDED IN ORDER FOR STAFF TO, TO, TO SPEND TIME REALLY MOVING THEM FORWARD.
UM, BRIAN, DO YOU WANNA ADD DE ANY DETAILS OR, UH, YES.
SO, UM, ONE, UH, FROM THE, FROM THE CONVERSATION WITH PUBLIC WORKS, USUALLY THE P FOUR P, UM, THE IMPLEMENTATION APPLICATIONS REQUIRE A PROJECT TO BE AT A CERTAIN LEVEL OF DESIGN BEFORE GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND SO ONE, THAT WAS WHAT BRIAN WAS MENTIONING AS FAR AS THE PLANNING APPLICATION GOES.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TO THAT POINT, WE STILL NEED TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT, UH, THE PROJECTS ALIGN WITHIN THE, UH, THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION'S GUIDELINES FOR HOW THEY SEE THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION.
SO WE WANT TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND ALSO HAVING SOME OTHER CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE BUDGET IN GENERAL, UM, ABOUT THE BIKEWAYS.
WE WANTED TO, WE GAVE THE RECOMMENDATION TO TABLE IT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T THINK THAT A BAC DECISION AT THIS TIME WOULD NECESSARILY MEAN ANYTHING BECAUSE IT'S STILL, WE STILL HAVE TO DO THE STAFF ANALYSIS ON IF IT FALLS WITHIN THE MAYOR'S PRIORITIES, IF WE DO HAVE THE STAFF TIME TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
AND TO ANSWER THE QUESTION ON WHO WOULD SPONSOR AND LEAD THE APPLICATION.
COULD I ASK A FOLLOW UP ON THAT? THANKS FOR THAT EXPLANATION, BRIAN.
I REALIZE YOUR TEAM IS SHORTHANDED, AND I REALIZE THAT PUBLIC WORKS IS ALSO SHORTHANDED, GIVEN THAT WE DON'T HAVE A DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND DRAINAGE OPERATIONS.
WHO IS IT AT PUBLIC WORKS, WHO'S MAKING THESE CALLS? I AM NOT SURE.
I DON'T KNOW IF IAN CAN ANSWER THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS A NECESSARILY A PUBLIC WORKS DECISION FULLY.
I THINK THIS WAS A PARTNERSHIP DECISION BETWEEN PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS FOR THIS PARTICULAR, I, I THINK WHERE PUBLIC WORKS MADE A DECISION WAS THROUGH THE PARTICULAR DESIGN CONCEPT REPORT, INTAKE PROCESS THAT WE USED, THAT WE HAD A PRESENTATION, UH, MADE.
I, I WAS NOT PART OF THAT, BUT I, I'M, I'M AWARE THAT IT HAPPENED AND THAT THAT PUBLIC WORKS MADE THE DETERMINATION THAT THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THE, UM, THE, THE PROJECT DID NOT MEET THE, THE, A MINIMUM THRESHOLDS FOR SPONSORSHIP AND DESIGN, UM, UH, CAPACITY FOR THAT PROCESS.
BUT THAT DIDN'T NECESSARILY, UM, THAT WAS NOT THE END OF THE STORY.
THERE'S MORE, THERE'S, I MEAN, THAT DID NOT NECESSARILY LEAD TO IT, THE DECISION TO TABLE THE ITEM.
AND, AND I JUST WANNA, YEAH, CON FOLLOW UP ON IAN.
IT WASN'T PUBLIC WORKS, IT SAID TO TABLE IT, I THINK, UM, YEAH, SO ALSO WITH THE, I UNDERSTAND WITH THE PLANNING APPLICATION, THERE'S LESS OF A, THERE'S LESS, LESS OF A THRESHOLD FOR ONE, HOW MUCH MONEY IS RECEIVED, AND TWO, HOW MUCH THE LOCAL MATCH IS.
SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO MR. DODSON WAS TO UTILIZE SOME OF THAT MONEY THAT WAS ALREADY EXISTING IN ESCROW AS PART OF THAT LOCAL MATCH, UM, AND TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT A MUD WOULD BE WILLING TO SPONSOR THAT PLANNING APPLICATION TO GET THOSE, UH, PROJECTS TO A CERTAIN LEVEL OF DESIGN.
AND THEN HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY AND THE ADMINISTRATION ABOUT IT.
AND WE DO HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC COMMENT FROM ED PETIT.
I AM FOUNDER OF FRIENDS OF COLUMBIA TAP AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THIRD WARD SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, I HAVE ONE ISSUE AND THEN I HAVE A COUPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
UM, WE ARE NOT SURE WHERE WE STAND WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY INTERSECTION.
IT'S NOW ALMOST A YEAR AND A HALF SINCE RODNEY ATKINS, UH, WAS KILLED AS, AS WELL AS THE MOTORCYCLISTS THAT RAN INTO HIM, UH, AT THE COLUMBIA TAP TRAIL ALONG
[00:20:01]
MCKINNEY.AND WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THAT INTERSECTION.
THERE IS A ZERO SETBACK WAREHOUSE THAT PREVENTS CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS ON THE TRAIL FROM SEEING VEHICLE TRAFFIC AND VICE VERSA, PREVENTS VEHICLE TRAFFIC FROM SEEING ANYONE APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION ON THE TRAIL, UH, FROM THE SOUTH.
AND THERE'S FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC, VERY HIGH SPEED, AND THERE'S NO RESTING MEDIAN.
IT'S ALSO CONFUSING BECAUSE THAT'S THE SAME INTERSECTION THAT THE PURPLE LINE CROSSES MCKINNEY.
AND SO VEHICLES THINK THAT THEY'RE CROSSING A RAILROAD TRACK AND THAT ALL THE SIGNAGE AND WHATEVER ZEBRA STRIPES ARE THERE ARE FOR THE RAILROAD.
AND SO IF THERE'S NO LIGHTS ON FOR THE RAILROAD AND THE ARMS ARE UP FOR THE RAILROAD, THEY THINK THEY HAVE FREE CLEARANCE.
AND SO WE NEED SOMETHING THAT SHOWS PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE ALSO CROSSING A HIKE AND BIKE PATH.
JUST A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM PICKING UP MY BICYCLE FROM THE IDO BIKE, CO BIKE SHOP.
AND I WAS DRIVING IN MY JEEP, UH, HEADING EAST ON MCKINNEY.
AND FORTUNATELY I WAS GOING SLOWER THAN THE SPEED LIMIT 'CAUSE UM, I WAS CHECKING OUT WHAT IF ANY CHANGES WERE HAPPENING AND A FIVE-YEAR-OLD KID RAN RIGHT OUT IN FRONT OF ME.
UM, AND HIS FATHER FRANTICALLY, UH, WAS CHASING AFTER HIM.
BUT BY THE TIME THE FATHER CAUGHT HIM, HE WAS ALREADY IN THE MIDDLE OF MCKINNEY.
AND WHO KNOWS HOW MANY TIMES THAT HAS HAPPENED THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN IT.
AND SO WE REALLY NEED SOME UPDATES FROM THE HARRISBURG TOURS NUMBER 23.
THEY ONLY OWN THAT LITTLE SECTION OF THE TRAIL.
AND I HAVEN'T HEARD AN UPDATE.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM THE HARRISBURG TURS HERE? I DON'T THINK SO.
I, I CAN ADD A, A FEW, UH, ADD A LITTLE BIT OF A RESPONSE IF THAT'S ACCEPTABLE.
UH, WE, WE ARE PROBABLY WORKING, JUST WORKING WITH THE HARRISBURG TURS ON THAT PARTICULAR INTERSECTION, UH, BECAUSE SOME OF THE WORK THAT WOULD TO, UH, TO RESOLVE SOME OF THE CONCERNS OF THAT CROSSING, IT WOULD TAKE MONEY THAT PUBLIC WORKS DOES NOT HAVE ALLOCATED TO THAT KIND OF PROJECT.
SO WE ARE REACHING OUT TO THE TOURS, UM, AND WE WILL HAVE UPCOMING MEETINGS SCHEDULED TO, TO RESOLVE SOME OF THE ISSUES AND IDENTIFY WHAT THEY ACTUALLY HAVE RESOURCES TO DO.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE A A SET TIMELINE AT THIS POINT, BUT WE DO, WE DO HAVE AN ACTIVE CONVER, UM, COMMUNICATION OPEN WITH THEM.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO SPEND HERE.
UM, BUT, BUT THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION AND SCHEDULE HASN'T BEEN DEFINED YET.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? I I DO SEE THEN ON EITHER SIDE, ON THE NORTH SIDE, ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER AND THE SOUTHWEST CORNER, THERE IS A, UH, UH, ELECTRIC LIGHT POLE.
AND POTENTIALLY, AT LEAST IF YOU CAN GET THE LIGHTING ON ONE OF THE TWO POLES, UH, THAT MAY ADDRESS, UH, SOME OF THE COM, UH, ADDS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THERE, AT LEAST THAT WILL LIGHT THAT INTERSECTION, UH, ESPECIALLY DURING THE LATE, UH, DURING THE EVENINGS AND NIGHT TO CONSIDER.
I'LL HAVE SOMEBODY TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
THEY SHOULD BE, IF THERE REALLY ARE POLLS THAT ARE ALREADY THERE, THAT'S PRETTY EASY TO OFFER.
YEAH, I JUST SAW IT ON THE AERIAL.
DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT FROM ANYBODY WHO'S COME IN OR, UH, ANY ADDITIONAL RESPONSES FROM THE BAC? UM, NOTHING HEARD.
SO NEXT IS THE VOTE FOR THE VICE CHAIR AND SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS.
SO, JUST AS A REMINDER OF WHO WE HAVE IN THE SEATS, OUR CURRENT CHAIR, OUR CURRENT VICE CHAIR IS ALEJANDRO PEREZ AND OUR SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS, UH, JOE COFO CHAIRS THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE, AND LEAH CHAMBERS CHAIRS THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
WE ALSO, AROUND THIS TIME, MAKE A CALL FOR BAC MEMBERS TO JOIN THESE SUBCOMMITTEES.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ADDRESSES TOPICS RELATED TO SELECTING, DESIGNING, AND IMPLEMENTING THE BIKE PLANS, PROPOSED NETWORK OF BIKE WAYS, AND THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE ADDRESSES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND TOOLS NEEDED TO INCREASE SAFETY FOR VULNERABLE ROAD USERS.
UM, THE CHAIR AND, UH, THE CHAIR'S POSITION IS ACTUALLY APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR.
AND IT COMES OUT WHEN, WHEN WE WILL RECEIVE THE BAC APPOINTMENTS AND REAPPOINTMENTS MEMORANDUM.
WE'RE STILL WAITING FROM THE, UH, FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ON THAT TO CONFIRM, UH, REAPPOINTMENTS AS WELL AS NEW APPOINTMENTS POSSIBLY FOR THE THREE VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE.
UM, WE'LL ALSO LET YOU KNOW IF, IF YOU ARE PENDING REAPPOINTMENT, YOU STILL, UH, ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE LEGALLY IN, UH, THE BAC UNTIL WE REACH THAT.
[00:25:01]
UM, SO JUST ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.SO FOR THE VICE CHAIR, OF COURSE, PERFORMS ALL DUTIES OF THE CHAIR WHEN THE CHAIR IS ABSENT, UM, OR UNABLE TO PERFORM SUCH SUCH DUTIES.
AND OF COURSE, OUR SUBCOMMITTEE, CHAIRS, LEAD AND CHAIR, THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, ALL OF THOSE POSITIONS PLAY ROLES, UH, COLLABORATING WITH STAFF ON PLANNING AGENDAS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, ALL NON-STAFF PRESENTATIONS MUST GO THROUGH THE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIR OR, UH, CHAIR THOMPSON, DEPENDING ON WHICH MEETING THEY WANNA PRESENT AT.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, THE ROLE TO, YOU KNOW, LEAD AND FACILITATE DISCUSSION, UH, DURING THE MEETINGS.
AND, UH, HAND IT OVER TO THE CHAIR THOMPSON TO BEGIN DISCUSSION.
UM, UM, IT'S TOO BAD ALEJANDRA ISN'T HERE.
I, I, I'VE APPRECIATED HIS, UH, PARTNERSHIP AS THE VICE CHAIR, UH, AND HE HAS FILLED IN MY ABSENCE IN THE PAST AND, AND DONE A GREAT JOB DOING.
UM, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, IN, UH, UH, TAKING THAT ROLE.
UM, BUT, UH, I WOULD BE HAPPY WITH HIM CONTINUING TO, AND THERE, THERE MAY WELL BE TIMES WHEN I AM UNAVAILABLE, UH, TO FILL, UH, THIS ROLE, UM, AT BAC MEETINGS.
SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT CAN DO THAT.
ROBIN HAS, HAVE EITHER OF YOU SPOKEN WITH ALL? SORRY, I CAN TAKE THIS OFF.
HAVE EITHER OF YOU SPOKEN WITH ALEJANDRO? DO WE KNOW IF HE WANTS TO CONTINUE AS VICE CHAIR? I HAVE NOT.
I HAVEN'T, UH, I HAVEN'T HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM YET.
I, I ASSUME HE WOULD LIKE TO, BUT I, I HAVE NOT CONFIRMED IS IT POSSIBLE TO TABLE THIS UNTIL HE'S ABLE TO SAY WHETHER HE WOULD LIKE TO BE NOMINATED OR NOT? ABSOLUTELY.
SO THAT LEADS US TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS CURRENTLY, JOE AND LEAH.
UM, ARE YOU WILLING TO CONTINUE IN THOSE ROLES? UH, I AM WILLING, LEAH, I'M ALSO WILLING, BUT ALSO WILLING FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEAD.
SO IS ANYONE ELSE WANTING TO, UH, RUN FOR ANY OF THOSE? WELL, THEN I WOULD MOVE FOR A VOTE THAT THE, UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE TERM IS, BUT THAT THESE TWO POSITIONS BE ESSENTIALLY FILLED.
IS IT ACCLIMATION? I DON'T KNOW.
UH, UNLESS, UNLESS ANYONE OBJECTS.
DO WE NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SLATE OF CANDIDATES FOR SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS? YEAH, THAT SOUNDS BETTER.
I'LL, I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THE SLATE OF SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS AS PROPOSED WITH JOE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND LEAH FOR EDUCATION.
HAVE WE FOUND OUT IF THERE'S AN ALLOWANCE FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEES TO BE HYBRID AT THIS POINT? SO THAT MIGHT BE A FACTOR IN SOME OF US EVEN, UM, SIGNING UP FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEES.
WE DID GET AN OKAY TO KEEP THESE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS IN A HYBRID STATUS.
I WAS ACTUALLY WAITING FOR THE END OF THE MEETING TO SAY THAT.
SO YOU'RE GONNA END, IT'S, IT'S IN THE SLIDES.
IT'S, IT'S TOTALLY IN THE SLIDES THAT WE'RE GOING BACK.
NEVER WAIT FOR GOOD NEWS
SO, UM, YEAH, SO WE'LL STILL RETAIN THE, UH, MICROSOFT TEAMS LINK FOR THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, AND WE WILL STILL, OF COURSE, HOST THEM IN PERSON AT SIX 11 WALKER IN THE JOHN B REA ROOM AND, AND JUST GETTING BACK TO ALEJANDRA.
SO I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO VOTE ON THAT AT THE JULY MEETING THEN, RIGHT? YEAH, SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE IT AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE, UH, FOR THE JULY BAC MEETING.
IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL REACH OUT TO 'EM IN HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
AND ONE MORE CLARIFYING QUESTION ON ATTENDANCE.
UM, SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRS ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN PERSON, OR IS THAT NOT REQUIRED? I CAN'T REMEMBER.
IT'S EXPECTED, BUT IT'S NOT REQUIRED.
UM, SO BECAUSE THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS DO NOT REQUIRE QUORUM IN ORDER TO RUN THEM, UM, WE DON'T, WE AREN'T SUBJECT TO THE SAME RULES, UH, PER THE ORDINANCE LIKE WE ARE FOR THE BAC MEETINGS.
SO NOW WE WILL GO TO THE QUARTERLY UPDATES.
FIRST WE'LL START WITH BICYCLE FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES.
[00:30:01]
REPORT, WE ARE LOOKING A WHOLE LOT BETTER THAN WHAT WE DID IN APRIL OF 2023.AND LIKE YOU SAID, NO, UH, NO HESITATION FOR GOOD NEWS.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE STILL DID HAVE ONE FATALITY, SO IT'S NOT 100% GOOD NEWS BECAUSE ANY, ANY LOSS OF LIFE IS, IS NOTHING WORTH CELEBRATING.
BUT WE ARE AT LEAST TRENDING DOWNWARDS, AND IT WAS A, A, A NIGHT FATALITY.
SO THESE ARE THE YEAR TO DATE STATS, SO I WILL GET WITH, UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE, UH, FATALITY WAS IN THE SOUTHEAST DISTRICT, BUT THE TOTALS DIDN'T SUM UP AT THE TABLE AT THE BOTTOM.
SO YOU CAN LOOK INTO THE INDIVIDUAL DIVISIONS AND, AND SEE THE FATALITY THERE.
UM, ANY, UH, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I KNOW THESE WERE, THESE WERE GENERATED BY, BY HPD, UM, AND THE, THE OFFICER WHO PROVIDED THE REPORT IS NOT, IS NOT HERE TODAY.
SO I'M NOT GONNA PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, UH, COMMANDER.
I WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD, EXCEPT THAT THE NUMBERS, SOME OF THE NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP.
UM, WE CAN PROBABLY FIND OUT THE EXACT PLACE, AND I KNOW IT WAS, LOOKS LIKE IT WAS AT NIGHT.
UM, BUT WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION, UM, AS TO THE EXACT DETAILS.
AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING BROKEN RECORDY, I WANNA, I WANNA TAKE UP SOMETHING I'VE HEARD REQUESTED BEFORE.
AND, AND THIS MAY BE, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER IT BECOMES PLANNING RESOURCE OR POLICE RESOURCE, BUT IT WOULD BE, IT IS VERY HARD, I THINK, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE TO WRAP THEIR HEAD AROUND A VAST CITY.
AND THEN THERE'S ONE DEAD HUMAN.
I MEAN, THE SERIOUS CRASHES MATTER TOO, BUT I THINK IT'S VERY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO PERCEIVE THE URGENCY OF THE PROBLEM WHEN WE PRESENT THE DATA THAT WAY.
AND I'VE HEARD IT SUGGESTED A COUPLE OF TIMES THAT THIS HORSESHOE, AND I'D, I'D LIKE TO BRING IT UP AGAIN AND, AND SEE IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT MAYBE BETWEEN NOW AND THE JULY MEETING, IF THIS DATA CAN BE AVAILABLE IN A GIS FORMAT THAT WE THEN OVERLAY WITH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT THIS BECOMES INFORMATION THAT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, OR COUNCIL MEMBER CASTEX TATUM, OR SO ON, CAN GO.
THIS IS HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED IN MY DISTRICT.
I THINK THE STORYTELLING AROUND SOLVING THE SERIOUS AND FATAL CRASH PROBLEM IN OUR CITY'S GONNA GET A WHOLE LOT EASIER FOR EVERYONE TO TELL.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST BACK TO STAFF AND FOR YOU TO TAKE BACK TO THE DEPARTMENT.
SO I THINK WE HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT.
AND IT MIGHT JUST BE A, BRIAN, ARE YOU SITTING ON THE GOOD NEWS AGAIN? SO WE, YOU KNOW, THROUGH VISION ZERO, WE DO HAVE THE DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS THIS DATA, UM, AND YOU'RE ABLE TO INCLUDE OTHER LAYERS.
I BELIEVE COUNCIL DISTRICTS ARE PART OF THOSE LAYERS.
SO HOW ABOUT IF IT, IF IT'S GOOD WITH AN, IF IT PLEASES THE CHAIR AND IT'S GOOD WITH THE COMMITTEE, MAYBE WHEN WE COME TO THIS PART DURING THE JULY BAC MEETING, WE BRING SOME STILLS OF THE DASHBOARD AND INCORPORATE THOSE INTO THE SLIDE DECK AND MAYBE HAVE LIKE A DEMONSTRATION ON, ON WHERE WE, WHERE WE PUT THIS, BECAUSE I'M A TERRIBLY IMPATIENT PERSON.
CAN YOU PLEASE BRING YOUR STILLS TO THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE AND WE'LL TEST DRIVE IT FOR YOU, AND THEN YOU CAN BE LIVE IN PRIME TIME FOR THE JULY REAL MEETING.
THE VISION ZERO WEBSITE'S GREAT, RIGHT? BUT IT'S OVERWHELMING WITH DATA.
I THINK JUST HAVING THE OVERLAY WITH THE ACTUAL JUST NUMBER OVER THE SPOT MAKES MORE VISUAL SENSE BECAUSE THERE'S JUST LIKE TONS OF LITTLE, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S LOTS AND LOTS OF DOTS, BUT IT'S HARD TO REALLY INFER WHAT'S THAT OVERLAY, BECAUSE REALLY IT'S REALLY HARD TO SEE WHERE THE DISTRICT'S AT, WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT COULD MAKE THE MOST AMOUNT OF CHANGE.
UH, BUT YEAH, IT'S JUST LIKE, TO ME, THAT'S JUST SOMETHING, MAYBE I'M NOT VERY SMART WITH IT.
MAYBE WE COULD DO A TEST DRIVE OF THE DASHBOARD TO UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BUT THAT'S MY STRUGGLE AS I GO IN THERE.
AND THE DATA'S JUST OVERWHELMING.
IT'S, IT'S SO MUCH DATA, IT LITERALLY JUST KIND OF PARALYZES YOU WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT, IF YOU WILL.
SO WHAT I'LL DO IS, SO FOR THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING, WE'LL ALSO INVITE OUR VISION ZERO COORDINATOR, UM, WHO KNOWS THE DATA WAY MORE THAN I DO.
AND SHE ALSO IS THE ONE THAT WORKS WITH OUR, OUR WEBMASTER AND OUR GIS TEAM TO AFFECT CHANGE ON THE WEBSITE.
SO MAYBE WE CAN GET SOME OF THOSE, SOME OF THAT FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME, UH, TO HER.
AND I'M NOT TRYING TO DO IT SECOND AND THIRD HAND.
[00:35:01]
JOE, YOU MADE A STATEMENT IN LAST NIGHT'S, UM, MIKE'S SAFETY, UH, PRESENTA OR WEB WEBINAR, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NO FATALITIES IN ANY OF THE PROTECTED BIKE LANES SINCE THEY'VE BEEN CONSTRUCTED.AM I CAPTURING THAT CORRECTLY? 80 PLUS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED WHILE RIDING ON HOUSTON STREETS SINCE 2017 WHEN THE BIKE PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL, AND NOT ONE OF THOSE FATALITIES TOOK PLACE ON A SEGMENT OF A STREET WHERE THERE IS A PROTECTED BICYCLE FACILITY.
I THINK THAT'S DEFINITELY WORTH NOTING.
SO FOR BIKEWAY PROJECTS, UPDATES INTO THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, UH, ALL, PRETTY MUCH ALL BIKEWAY PROJECTS THAT INVOLVE AN ON STREET PROTECTED BIKEWAY FACILITY OR RECONFIGURATION OF TRAFFIC LANES IS UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW, UH, FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, EVERYTHING THAT IS COLOR CODED IS OUR BEST ESTIMATE OF ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT WILL BE SUBJECT TO REVIEW.
AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION FROM THE ADMINISTRATION, WE WILL, UH, CHANGE AND, AND, AND MAKE UPDATES TO THIS.
AND I DO HAVE THIS DIGITALLY THAT WAS SENT OUT VIA EMAIL.
I UNDERSTAND THE, THE SLIDES ARE, ARE A LITTLE BIT HARD TO READ.
THE IPADS THAT WE USUALLY BRING TO THE MEETINGS, WE'RE ALL, UH, ALL AT ABOUT 20%
SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL HAVE, HAVE ACCESS TO THIS, UH, TO THESE NUMBERS AND IN A FORMAT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE LEGIBLE.
UM, CAN, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT? YES.
I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT IS IF SAFETY IS IMPORTANT, UH, FOR THE CITY, BOTH THE HOMESTEAD BIKEWAY AND THE MLK BIKEWAY THAT WE ARE IN DESIGN, BOTH ARE NOT JUST ON THE HIGH ENGINE NETWORK CORRIDORS, BUT THEY'RE ALSO ON THE, UH, HIGH ENGINE NETWORK PRIORITY SEGMENTS 2022.
SO AS WE THINK ABOUT, UH, I THINK SO JUST CORRELATING THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE RELATED TO SAFETY, UH, FOR THOSE COMMUNITIES, AND THESE ARE BOTH UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, UH, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THAT LIVE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES, JUST LAYING THE WORK RELATED TO SAFETY AND, AND, UM, AND I WAS AT THE CITY AND RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MINISTER FREEWAY PLAN AND THE SIX LANE DESIGNATIONS FOR BOTH OF THOSE ROADWAYS, UM, ON THE MA FREEWAY PLAN, BUT WE HAD NOT STARTED MULTIMODAL PLANNING AT THAT TIME.
SO IT IS WHAT IT IS, BUT, UH, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SAFETY ISSUES IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND, UH, I WOULD HOPE THOSE TWO PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD.
WHICH, WHICH TWO ARE THEY AGAIN, MORE, UH, THE HOMESTEAD CORRIDOR, UH, BIKEWAY PROJECT THAT WOULD'VE CONNECTED HUNTING BAYOU ALL THE WAY UP TO, UH, UM, HALS BAYOU, RIGHT? UH, AND THEN THE MLK CORRIDOR PROJECT THAT WOULD'VE CONNECTED, IT DOESN'T GO ALL THE WAY UP TO SIMS BAYOU AT THIS POINT BECAUSE OF, UH, SOME, UH, DRAINAGE PROJECTS, BUT AT LEAST IT WOULD'VE ADDRESSED, UH, UH, UH, CONNECTED BRA.
THE GOAL WAS TO CONNECT BRAZEN SIMS, UM, AND THEY WERE ALL IN 60 PLUS PERSON DESIGN HOMESTEAD WAS WAITING FOR THE 90% DESIGN, UH, WHEN IT GOT PUT ON HOLD.
SO JUST WANNA MAKE THAT COMMENT RELATED TO SIM YEAH, BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE ON THE, UH, PRECINCT ONE LIST, UH, AND THEY ARE, THEY ARE HIGHLIGHTED AS WELL.
ARE THERE ANY MORE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE REVIEW PROCESS? IS THERE A, A DEADLINE? UH, IS IT OPEN-ENDED? UM, HOW DOES THAT TIMELINE WORK? SO AS OF RIGHT NOW, I DO NOT HAVE ANY DETAILS ON TIMELINES, DEADLINES, HOW MUCH TIME, UH, THEY HAVE ASKED, UM, OR HOW MUCH TIME THAT THEY'RE SUGGESTING THAT THEY'LL NEED.
I'D JUST LIKE TO, UM, AS AMMAR ALREADY POINTED OUT, UM, I KNOW THERE ARE DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES, UM, BUT WE'RE IN THE, THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SAFETY.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING HIT, PEOPLE GETTING KILLED, OR SERIOUSLY INJURED.
AND THE LONGER WE WAIT TO FIX THESE THINGS, THE MORE PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET HIT AND KILLED OR HURT SERIOUSLY.
AND IN, AND SO THAT'S A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE, WHICH THE MAYOR HAS STATED IS HIGH ON HIS PRIORITY LIST.
ALSO, HIGH ON HIS PRIORITY LIST IS EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE USE OF LIMITED CITY
[00:40:01]
FUNDING.AND A LOT OF THESE PROJECTS HAVE FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL OR FROM COUNTY OR FROM OTHER PARTNERS THAT WE WILL FORFEIT IF WE DON'T GET THEM DONE, AS POINTED OUT BY THE EMAIL THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
SO I WOULD, AT LEAST FOR ME, AND IF YOU'LL FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN, WE NEED TO REALLY STRESS, UH, TO EVERYONE IN THE CITY AND ESPECIALLY THE MAYOR, THAT THIS IS ABOUT PEOPLE.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT PHILOSOPHIES, THIS IS ABOUT PEOPLE.
AND IT ISN'T JUST PEOPLE ON BIKES, IT'S PEOPLE DRIVING CARS TOO.
'CAUSE THESE ARE PUBLIC SAFETY PROJECTS.
THEY ARE ABOUT REDUCING SPEEDS TO REASONABLE LEVELS AND PROVIDING FOR ALL USERS, NOT JUST PEOPLE IN CARS, ALTHOUGH IT MAKES IT SAFE, SAFER FOR THEM.
ALSO, PEOPLE ON BIKES, PEOPLE WALKING, PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UM, I CAN'T STRESS THAT ENOUGH.
I ADMIT YOU SAID SOME OF WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY, BUT I'M GONNA SAY IT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY.
I HOPE THESE PROJECTS ENGINEERS HOLD THE PUBLIC TRUST.
AND WHEN ENGINEERS LOOK AT THESE PROJECTS, THEY'RE NOT THINKING, HOW CAN I STEAL FROM DRIVERS OVER THERE TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BIKEWAY OR THE GUY CROSSING THE STREET? THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME THAT PUBLIC WORKS AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND THEIR, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE SECTOR CONSULTING PARTNERS ARE DOING THE VERY BEST THEY CAN TO MAKE THESE CORRIDORS SAFER FOR EVERYONE WHO USES THEM.
THESE ARE NOT BIKEWAY PROJECTS, THESE ARE SAFETY PROJECTS, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF US TALK ABOUT THEM THAT WAY.
YOU KNOW, ONE THAT HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS OVER AND OVER AND OVER IS 11TH STREET, AND I'VE, AND PEOPLE ARE CALLING IT THE 11TH STREET BIKEWAY PROJECT.
THIS IS NOT A, NOT A BIKEWAY PROJECT.
AT A PUBLIC MEETING FOUR YEARS AGO, IAN EXPLAINED TO THE ASSEMBLED FOLKS IN THE HEIGHTS THAT WHEN YOU LOOKED AT FOUR LANE UNDIVIDED STREETS, LIKE 11TH STREET ACROSS THE STATE, THAT 11TH STREET WAS LIKE, TELL ME, GET MY PERCENT.
BUT IT WAS LIKE THE 93RD OR 94TH PERCENTILE FOR MORE SERIOUS AND FATAL CRASHES THAN ANY STREET LIKE IT IN THE STATE AND PUBLIC WORK, SPENT THREE OR FOUR YEARS FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE THAT STREET SAFER FOR EVERYONE IN THE HEIGHTS WHO GOES TO THE SHOPS AND DESTINATIONS AND PARKS AND SCHOOLS ON 11TH STREET.
IT'S NOT A BIKEWAY PROJECT, IT'S A SAFETY PROJECT.
AND SO I WOULD JUST URGE EVERYONE HERE, CARRY ON.
'CAUSE THE WORK WE'RE DOING IS IMPORTANT AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP THE ADMINISTRATION GET UP TO SPEED QUICKLY ON THE, THE LIFE BENEFITS, THE DON'T HAVE TO SEND FIRST RESPONDER BENEFITS, THE ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT BENEFITS FOR THE BUSINESSES THAT GET MY KID TO SCHOOL SAFELY, BENEFITS OF THESE PROJECTS.
AND QUICK SO THAT WE DON'T LOSE OUR COUNTY FUNDING, OUR FEDERAL FUNDING, OUR STATE FUNDING AND SO ON.
PLEASE, PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
IF I MAY ADD, THE WORK BEING DONE IS NOT JUST DONE BY ENGINEERS WHO HAVE THE PUBLIC TRUST, BUT THE WORK BEING DONE IS DONE IN LINE WITH FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION'S.
UM, BEST PRACTICES, I'M GETTING IT WRONG, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER TERM FOR THAT.
UM, IT'S BEING DONE IN LINE WITH THE RECENT IDM UPDATES THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN LINE WITH NATIONAL GUIDANCE SUCH AS THE NTO GUIDE, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS GUIDE.
UM, THIS STUFF IS NOT BEING DONE IN A VACUUM JUST IN HOUSTON.
THIS IS BEING DONE IN LINE WITH WHAT PLANNERS AND ENGINEERS ARE DOING IN OTHER CITIES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, UM, WITH THE GUIDANCE OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES, UM, AND BEST PRACTICES.
THANK YOU JOE, AND THANK YOU ROBIN.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS SECTION? HI, THANKS FOR ROBIN FOR CORRECTING.
UH, THOSE TWO CORRIDORS WERE SELECTED PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF, THEY WERE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CRASHES IN PRECINCT ONE, UH, AT, AT THAT POINT.
THAT'S WHY THOSE TWO CORRIDORS WERE SELECTED PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON AT THAT AND HOMESTEAD AND MLK HOMESTEAD AND MLK.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'LL KEEP GOING THROUGH.
NEXT SLIDE IS PRECINCT ONE, AS I MENTIONED.
UH, SO MLK, THE SOUTHEAST, MLK AND CAVALCADE HOMESTEAD, UH, CORRIDORS ARE BOTH, UM, UNDER ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.
SO WE DID NOT RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM PRECINCT TWO PRIOR TO ME CONSOLIDATING THE SLIDES.
IF WE DO RECEIVE SOMETHING BEFORE I SEND THE MINUTES OUT, UH, I
[00:45:01]
WILL ALSO SEND AN UPDATE OF THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, HOUSTON PARKS BOARD.I KNOW LISA HAS SOME, SOME UPDATES.
UM, THEY'RE ALL IN, UH, BOLD PRINT.
I KNOW IT STILL MIGHT BE A LITTLE, A LITTLE HARD TO, UH, TO READ, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, FOR BRAISE BAYOU, THE ART STORY PARK TO ELDRIDGE SEGMENT IS NOW COMPLETE AS WELL AS CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE FOR THE LAW PART CONNECTOR.
BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, UM, THERE'S A, THERE WAS A PART THAT WAS POSTPONED UNDERNEATH 59 AND BELTWAY EIGHT BE BECAUSE THERE'S SOME SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES, AS I UNDERSTAND THAT CHANGED THE SCOPE AND DO DOLLARS.
COULD YOU REMIND ME WHEN, WHEN THEY ARE PLANNING, IS, HAS IT BEEN LED AND WHEN'S THE PLANS TO, UH, UH, CONSTRUCT THAT? I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SO I'LL HAVE TO THIS YEAR IS WHAT I RECALL.
I JUST DON'T RECALL THE, THE FIRM DATES TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING DONE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE AND SURE, YEAH.
BUT YES, I'LL, I'LL FIND THAT OUT AND I'LL SHARE IT WITH BRIAN AND GREAT, THANK YOU.
SO TEX DOT HAD NO CHANGE TO WHAT HAD EXISTED SINCE, UM, WHAT WAS ON, UH, THE TABLE SINCE, SINCE JANUARY.
SO IT SHOULD BE ABOUT THE SAME.
AND WE HAVE NOT HAD AN UPDATE FROM METRO YET.
UM, I KNOW EQUIPMENT IS A PARTNERSHIP PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION, I BELIEVE HAS STARTED, THEY DID DO THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY, UM, A FEW WEEKS AGO.
AND WE ARE STILL FIGURING OUT, UH, AS A STAFF ON HOW TO ACCURATELY SHOW SOME OF THESE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS THAT ESPECIALLY INVOLVE MULTIPLE ENTITIES.
LIKE IT'S PRETTY EASY TO DO THE, THE CITY COUNTY PROJECTS, BUT ONES LIKE EQUIPMENT WHERE MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS, UM, AND OTHER AGENCIES ARE, ARE ALSO INVOLVED, UH, 'CAUSE METRO, UM, UH, THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT OURSELVES, PRECINCT TWO, HOW DO WE BETTER PORTRAY THAT? SO THIS MAY CHANGE IN JULY.
SO WE DIDN'T HEAR BACK FROM MONTROSE TURS, UM, BUT WE DID HEAR FROM MHRA AS WELL AS THE OLD SIX WARD AND, UM, EDRA, UM, BRIAN, I, I SEE THE, UH, SHEPHERD DURHAM, UH, PHASE TWO AND IT SHOWS DESIGN STATUS AND PROGRESS.
MY MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT MAY ALSO BE ON HOLD.
SO WHEN I, WHEN I REACHED OUT TO SHERRY WEISNER, SHE SAID THAT THOSE PROJECTS THAT SHE KNEW WERE STILL GOING FORWARD.
SHE SAID, SO SHE SAID EVERYTHING BUT SHEPHERD DURHAM WAS, WAS, UH, WAS UNDER, UNDER REVIEW AND I WASN'T SURE IF SHE STILL REPRESENTED THE MONTROSE TURS.
SO I DIDN'T WANT TO, I DIDN'T WANT TO ASSUME THAT AND, AND COLOR CODE THOSE EITHER.
JUST TO CLARIFY, EQUIPMENT STREET'S NOT ON PAUSE EITHER, BECAUSE, UH, THERE WAS A, UH, WE DID HAVE THE RIBBON CUTTING, BUT CONSTRUCTION HAS NOT YET BEGUN.
SO HOW DOES, UM, HOW DOES THE PAUSE APPLIES TO APPLY TO A STREET LIKE EQUIPMENT? AS, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, I THINK EQUIPMENT IS STILL GOING FORWARD, SO IT MIGHT JUST BE A MATTER OF FINDING, UM, WHOEVER'S GOING TO DO THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OR GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.
I, I CAN ADD A LITTLE TO THAT, THAT THEY DID HAVE GROUNDBREAKING AND IT, IT'LL ACTUALLY, THEY'LL BE BREAKING GROUND AND STARTING CONSTRUCTION IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE WAITING ON A FINAL DATE, BUT, UM, THAT IS, THAT IS, UM, I, I KNOW THERE WAS APPROVAL FROM THE ADMINISTRATION FOR THAT PROJECT.
AND THEN FOR THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS, WE DID NOT RECEIVE AN UPDATE FROM WESTCHASE AS OF YET.
UM, SO IF WE DO RECEIVE ONE FROM THEM, I, I WILL ADD IT, UM, WITH AN UPDATED SLIDE PRESENTATION AFTER THE MEETING.
SO BRIAN HAD ASKED ME TO SUBMIT ALL THE HARRIS COUNTY, HECTOR AND PRECINCT COORDINATION PROJECTS.
WE HAVE AROUND ISH MILES OF PROJECT BY THE NEXT PACI WILL SEND YOU AN, NOT, NOT ALL 70 MILES HAVE BEEN INITIATED, BUT PRIORITIZED.
AND SO I'LL SEND YOU AN UPDATE ON THAT.
I WILL, I'LL WORK WITH THE PRECINCT TO SEND AN UPDATE OUT TO BRIAN.
SO NO PARKING IN THE BIKE LANE.
GOT SOME, GOT SOME GOOD NEWS FOR THIS.
SO, UM, A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, A RA,
[00:50:01]
THEY, UH, THEY HAD REACHED OUT AND THEY HAD ASKED FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF LIKE OUR BIKE LANES.AND SO, SO WE GAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE EXTENT OF ALL OF THE COMPLETED ON STREET BIKE FACILITIES THAT WE KNEW OF.
AND THAT MAY HAVE DRIVED ENFORCEMENT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE IF YOU'VE NOTICED, WE HAVE SINCE, UM, OUR, OUR JANUARY MEETING, WE HAVE HAD 58 MORE CITATIONS ISSUED, UM, ALMOST $2,400 IN FINES, COLLECTED, FOUR MORE COMPLETED TRAININGS AND 26 NEW LOCATIONS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TICKETED FOR PARKING IN OUR BIKE FACILITIES.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE MAP.
ALL OF THE ORANGE MARKERS ARE PLACES THAT HAVE RECEIVED NEW TICKET LOCATIONS SINCE JANUARY.
THERE'S BEEN NO CHANGE FOR OUR TOP THREE.
UM, IT'S STILL GALVESTON ROAD, POLK STREET, AND, UH, BASTROP STREET OVER BY THE STADIUM.
AND IF YOU, BUT WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF NEW LOCATIONS.
UM, SOME OF THOSE NEW LOCATIONS, YOU MAY WONDER IF, IF YOU DON'T THINK THERE'S A BIKE LANE ON THAT FACILITY, IT MIGHT BE AT THAT INTERSECTION.
SO A GOOD EXAMPLE I WANNA SAY IS, UH, HIRSCH, UM, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE, I THINK IT'S HIRSCH AND CAVALCADE INTERSECTION WHERE, WHERE THAT PARTICULAR TICKET WAS.
SO THEY USUALLY GO TO THE NEAREST, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BLOCK SIGN THAT THEY CAN FIND AND WE MAP IT THE BEST WE CAN.
UM, AND EVEN SOME OF OUR SMALLER, UH, BICYCLE FACILITIES.
SO I ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UH, 33, THE 3,300 BLOCK OF TAFT BECAUSE THAT'S THE INTERSECTION OF TAFT AND WESTHEIMER, UM, WHERE WE DID INSTALL SOME PROTECTION JUST NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE, THE INTERSECTION OF WESTHEIMER.
AND I SEE THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS BECAUSE, UH, MY WIFE IS PLANT-BASED AND WE LIKE GOING TO THAT RESTAURANT OVER THERE,
UM, AND PEOPLE UNFORTUNATELY ILLEGALLY PARK OVER THERE ALL THE TIME.
SO IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME TICKETS ARE, ARE ARE BEING DISHED OUT.
AND ANY QUESTIONS ON, ON THIS IS, UM, YEAH, COULD I ASK WHERE THOSE FINE, UH, MONIES GET DIRECTED TO? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT INCENTIVE TO, UH, IMPROVE AND MONITOR SAFETY BY SAYING LIKE, HEY, LOOK, FREE MONEY'S SITTING OUT THERE.
YEAH, SO, UM, THEY GO INTO THE SAME BUCKET WHERE ALL OF THE OTHER PARKING VIOLATIONS AND FINES GO.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO SEGREGATE THAT MONEY SPECIFICALLY FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION OR BIKEWAY PROJECTS.
WE ASKED, UM, MAYBE ABOUT, PROBABLY ABOUT TWO YEARS OR SO AGO.
'CAUSE I THINK IT WAS LIKE RIGHT BEFORE I LEFT, UM, FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE.
UM, AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE STATUS OF IT.
UM, YEAH, WHETHER OR NOT IT GETS KIND OF DIRECTED TO SOMETHING THAT WE SPECIFICALLY ARE INVOLVED WITH, I THINK IT'S A GREAT OUTCOME THAT THERE'S, UH, THIS IS COMING BACK TO THE CITY.
SO SPEAKING OF THE BIKE FRIENDLY DRIVERS TRAINING, SO THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP IN OUR EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS TO TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN INCREASE CITY EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN OUR BIKE FRIENDLY DRIVERS TRAININGS THAT WE HAVE.
SO PART OF THE WORK FROM VISION ZERO AND THE BAC WAS ALSO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MAKING THIS TRAINING AVAILABLE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
AND WE STARTED PULLING METRICS TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY TOOK THE TRAINING.
SO WE FOUND OUT THAT, UH, AS OF THIS YEAR WE'VE HAD ALMOST 3000 EMPLOYEES TAKE OUR BICYCLE FRIENDLY DRIVER'S COURSE AS A PART OF THEIR SAFETY TRAINING AS CITY EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND THEN ANO ALMOST ABOUT 30, ALMOST, WELL, 32,000, 3,255.
UM, THEY ALSO, UM, PARTICIPATED IN THE TRAINING THAT WATCHED THE SIDETRACKED DOCUMENTARY.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SIDETRACK DOCUMENTARY, IT WAS A DOCUMENTARY THAT WE DID SHOW AS A PART OF OUR, UH, VISION ZERO INITIATIVE.
AND IT SHOWS THE EFFECTS OF DISTRACTED DRIVING AND HOW DANGEROUS IT IS AND HOW OFTENTIMES IT'S JUST AS OR MORE DANGEROUS THAN IMPAIRED OR DRUNK DRIVING.
UM, SO THAT HAS BEEN A PART, THERE WAS A BIG PUSH, UM, FROM HR TO GET THESE TRAININGS CONDUCTED.
SO I DON'T KNOW, I I I DON'T THINK THAT WE'LL HAVE LIKE THESE BIG NUMBERS, UM, COME NEXT QUARTER, BUT IT'LL BE GOOD TO SHOW THE, THE PROGRESS AS LEAH.
UM, I JUST WANNA NOTE FROM THE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE'S
[00:55:01]
POINT, WE WERE HOPING TO INCREASE THEM BY 25% AND I WOULD SAY THAT WE DID THATUM, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD THANK HR FOR THEIR WORK IN DOING THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
I'M PRETTY, I'M PRETTY SURE WE COULD FIND A WAY.
HEY, UH, JUST QUICK QUESTION OF THE 2023 NUMBERS, IS THAT FOR THE FULL YEAR? YES.
SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NEXT YEAR,
DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF HOW MANY TOTAL EMPLOYEES THE CITY HAS ROUGHLY? 18, 19,000.
WE'VE GOT LOTS OF ROOM TO GROW AND PEOPLE ARE ALSO GETTING HIRED ON A REGULAR BASIS.
SO, UM, IF THIS IS, IF THIS IS A PART OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THAT SAFETY PACKAGE FOR NEW EMPLOYEES, UM, WE COULD ALSO SEE THOSE NUMBERS CONTINUE TO GO UPWARDS.
YEAH, WE'LL JUST NEED TO ADJUST OUR GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR OR EVEN SET IT HIGHER.
LIKE, SO, YOU KNOW, THINKING BACK TO OUR STORYTELLING AS A BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY AND HOW WE GET FROM AN HONORABLE MENTION TO A GOLD LEVEL CITY IN THE NEXT JUST FEW YEARS, BEING ABLE TO SAY THAT THE CITY WENT FROM HAVING NO ONE TRAINED AS BICYCLE FRIENDLY DRIVERS OR AWARE OF INEX ATION FROM THE SIDETRACK THING TO, WE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF THOSE PEOPLE TRAINED BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
LIKE THAT IS A, GETTING EVERYBODY TRAINED ON THIS IS VERY DOABLE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS IF WE CONTINUE TO MAKE THAT A PRIORITY AND IT DOESN'T REQUIRE US TO HAVE CAPITAL DOLLARS FROM ANYBODY OR PERMITTING, IT'S JUST A THING WE TEACH PEOPLE.
UH, RYAN, ONE MORE QUESTION IS SIDETRACKED, IS THAT AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE SOMEWHERE? SO IT IS A DOCUMENTARY THAT WAS MADE INDEPENDENT OF THE CITY UHHUH.
UM, I BELIEVE IT IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE AND I THINK IT'S ON YOUTUBE SO I CAN MAKE SURE I GET THE LINKED OUT TO EVERYONE.
I THINK SO THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS AROUND HERE CAN PUSH IT OUT ALSO ON SOCIAL MEDIA IF IT'S AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE.
I KNOW THE DOCUMENTARY DID HAVE LIKE PARTICIPATION WITH HPD, UM, BUT I THINK THE, I THINK THE PRODUCTION ITSELF, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF, I DON'T KNOW IF WE LET IT, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, I BELIEVE AN HPD LEADER WAS ONE OF THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS AND THEN THERE WAS FUNDING FROM THE AAA FOUNDATION.
YEAH, I, I KNOW, I THINK SOME OF THAT WORK WAS ALREADY KIND OF WORKING WHEN I GOT HERE, SO TO GET, GET TO HEAR THE STORY BEHIND IT.
UM, SO NOW WE, UH, WE ARE HERE AT OPEN FORUM.
UM, SO, UH, CHAIR, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D JUST LIKE TO KIND OF LOOK BEHIND ME TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS.
UM, ANY ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS TO SEE IF WE HAD SOME MORE FOLKS COME IN? CAN I SHARE UPCOMING EVENTS? YEAH.
THIS SATURDAY WE ARE HOSTING THE FIRST EVER, UH, WORKSHOP ON HOUSING AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR THE COLUMBIA TAP TRAIL CORRIDOR AT TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT THE SCHOOL FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
AND WE'LL BE LAUNCHING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DASHBOARD THAT WE'VE BUILT OUT WITH RESEARCHERS FROM UT HEALTH, THE BULLARD CENTER AT TSU AND UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON THAT IS MODELED AFTER THE ATLANTA BELT LINE AFFORDABLE HOUSING DASHBOARD THAT COLLECTS AND TRACKS INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN, IN THE VICINITY OF THE TRAIL SO THAT WE'RE NOT ONLY IMPROVING THE TRAIL, UM, FOR THE CYCLISTS, BUT THAT WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE FINDING WAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ALONG THE TRAIL CAN CONTINUE TO LIVE THERE.
UH, ALSO ON MAY, SO THAT'S THIS SATURDAY 9:00 AM TO 2:00 PM AND YOU CAN FIND ALL THE INFORMATION ON FRIENDS OF COLUMBIA TAP SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEBSITE.
AND ALSO MAY 11TH, UM, IS GOING TO BE OUR THIRD ANNUAL THIRD WORLD ON TAP FESTIVAL, WHICH WILL AGAIN BE HOSTED AT CUNY HOMES AND IT'S GONNA HAVE OVER 40 VENDORS, EXHIBITORS, UH, BIKE TOURS OF THE TRAIL FOOD GAMES FOR KIDS MUSIC.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE SHOWCASING SOME OF THE PUBLIC ART THAT ARE DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS AT, UH, HAVE DONE THIS SEMESTER.
SO THAT'LL BE MAY 11TH SATURDAY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY IS ALSO THE SAME TIME AS THE ARC CAR PRICE, BUT YOU CAN DO BOTH.
AND IT'S GONNA BE NOT 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM THANK YOU, ED.
UM, I RODE THE, ACROSS THE OLD RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS 2 88.
[01:00:01]
I DON'T KNOW IF ANY, IF ANY OF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE.WAS THAT U OF H THAT PUT THOSE? EXACTLY.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S ONE OF THE NODES THAT I'M REFERRING TO.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE TRAVELING ACROSS THE 2 88 BIKE BRIDGE, YOU'LL SEE A TIMELINE OF THE TRAIL GOING BACK TO ITS DAYS PRE-CIVIL WAR AS A RAILROAD AND UP UNTIL CURRENT TIMES.
AND SO THAT'LL BE PART OF THE TOUR THAT WE GIVE ON MAY 11TH.
I MEAN, IT, IT, ARE THERE ANY OTHER POINTS ALONG THE TRAIL STILL THERE? OR WERE THEY GONNA BE THERE ARE A CO A FEW OF THEM WERE TEMPORARY AND, AND WILL MIGHT BE REMOVED BEFORE MAY 11TH.
UH, A COUPLE OF THEM WILL BE REFURBISHED.
THERE'S A GREAT ONE AT MCGOWAN THAT'S IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REFURBISHED, UM, THAT USES RECYCLED WHEELS FROM DR V'S BICYCLE GRAVEYARD, UM, TO ALSO, UH, BE, HAVE AN INTERACTIVE WAY TO SHOW THE HISTORY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, UH, THERE'S SOME SHADED REST STATIONS, UH, JUST SOUTH OF THE GULF FREEWAY, UM, NEXT TO ZION, AFFORDABLE HOUSING APARTMENTS.
AND, UM, THERE'S A PLACE AREA AT CUNY HOMES THAT PROBABLY WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CHILDREN'S ZONE FOR THE FESTIVAL.
SO THERE'S A FEW DIFFERENT NODES ALONG THE TRAIL, AND THE TEAMS OF STUDENTS HAVE ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A DESIGN GUIDE THAT WE CAN GIVE TO THE CITY TO SHOW THEM HOW TO ACTUALLY INVEST IN SOME MORE PERMANENT ART AND, UH, INSTALLATIONS ALONG THE TRAIL.
AND SO I'LL SEND A PDF OF THAT TO YOU, TOM, TO YOU TO SHARE.
YEAH, WELL THANKS TO YOU AND TO ALL YOUR COHORTS AT, AT, UH, FRIENDS OF COLUMBIA TAP AND THIRD BOARD.
I MEAN, YOU'RE REALLY MAKING A MEASURABLE DIFFERENCE, A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE, AND IT'S REALLY, REALLY GREAT TO SEE.
AND WE'RE STILL MEETING EVERY FRIDAY, 10:00 AM NOW WE MEET AT, UH, THE RADO MARKET, UH, IN THE EL DORADO BALLROOM, UM, FOR OUR WEEKLY MEETINGS.
AND ANYONE'S WELCOME TO JOIN US EVERY FRIDAY, 10:00 AM GREAT, THANKS.
SORRY, I CAME AND JUST CAUGHT SOME OF THE END AND WHEN I WAS WALKING IN, I HEARD, UH, THAT THE CITY CURRENTLY IS BRONZE FOR A BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESS.
SO I WORK WITH A COMPANY DOWNTOWN, UM, AND WE HAVE BRONZE STATUS, AND WE ARE, WE JUST APPLIED AND HOPING TO MOVE UP.
AND, UM, I WAS WONDERING IF THE CITY, UH, KIND OF HAS A, MAYBE LIKE AN OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING TO BECOME BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES AND, UM, TO, TO TALK ABOUT LIKE KIND OF THROUGH THE CITY OF WORKING WITH THAT.
'CAUSE I WOULD ASSUME THAT THAT WOULD HELP, UH, IN THE CITY AND IMPROVING THE, YOU KNOW, MOVING UP THE LADDER THERE.
UM, I'M GONNA TALK WITH THE COMPANY THAT I WORK FOR TO SEE IF WE CAN, UH, MORE PUBLICLY SHARE HOW WE BECAME A BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESS.
BUT EVEN BEFORE THAT, JUST WONDERING IF THE CITY KIND OF HELPS FACILITATE THAT OR OPENLY SAYS, HEY, WE CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT BECOMING A BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESS.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET US TO SHARE WHAT WE'VE DONE TO, UM, IMPROVE THAT.
WHERE I WORK, WE HAVE OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE BIKE TO WORK DOWNTOWN.
SO, UM, ANYWAY, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
WHO ARE YOU WITH? I, I AM HERE AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN.
UM, AND, UH, I'M HERE AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN, BUT I HAPPEN TO WORK AT CHEVRON.
SO, UH, OVER, OVER, OVER, I'LL, I'LL ANSWER AND SAY, FIRST OFF, IT'S GREAT SEEING YOU AGAIN, JOY
LET'S, LET'S TALK, LET'S SEE, LET'S SEE WHAT WE COULD DO.
UM, AND LET'S SEE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN, WE CAN HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, UPLIFT THE, THE STORY ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM, FROM CHEVRON, WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK OF CHEVRON, THEY MIGHT NOT THINK OF BIKES.
AND I KNOW YOU ALL ARE DOING SOME GREAT WORK WITH YOUR BIKE TO WORK DAYS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO TO, TO START THE DISCUSSION AND MAYBE, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO USE THE BAC AS A VENUE TO KIND OF SHARE SOME OF THOSE GREAT THINGS.
IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE CHAIR, CAN I, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT? I THINK SO.
PROBABLY AT THE EDUCATIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE IT MAY BE WORTH DISCUSSING IT AND SEEING HOW WE CAN ENCOURAGE, UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES IN, UH, DOWNTOWN THAT MAY BE, THAT MAY CONSIDER SHARING THEIR, UH, SO DIFFERENT KINDS OF SIZES OF BUSINESSES AND, UM, BETWEEN, BETWEEN THE BAC AND POTENTIALLY IF THE DOWNTOWN,
[01:05:01]
UH, DISTRICT CENTRAL HOUSTON IS INTERESTED, THERE MAY BE, UH, THERE MAY BE SOME COLLABORATIONS, ESPECIALLY A FOCUSED EFFORT, UH, AROUND THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AROUND ENCOURAGING THIS.SO I KNOW THAT ALSO, UH, DURING BIKE TO WORK MONTH, UH, THERE'S AN UH, APP CALLED LOVE TO RIDE, WHERE YOU CAN SIGN YOUR COMPANY UP AND YOU CAN COMPETE WITH OTHER COMPANIES, UH, DURING BIKE MONTH AND, AND UH, THEY'RE ALSO WORKING WITH HGAC AS WELL.
I WANNA COME BACK, BRIAN, DO WE HAVE A SLIDE ABOUT LOVE TO RIDE COMING? IS THAT A THING WE HAVE IN OUR AGENDA COMING UP? I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE FOR IT.
I DO HAVE A LIST OF ALL THE EVENTS AND STUFF THAT WE HAVE SO FAR, AND THEN, UM, I'LL ALSO SHARE INFORMATION ON LOVE TO RIDE IN THE POST-MEETING MINUTES.
YEAH, SO I WANNA, I WANNA BUILD ON WHAT TREVOR SAID.
SO LOVE TO RIDE HAS A PLATFORM AND AN APP AND, AND SOME OF US, I GUESS DABBLED IN IT USED IT A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR.
THERE ARE PROBABLY 2,400 LOCAL COMPANIES.
DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT? YEAH.
BUT THERE, THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE BIKING IN MORE COMPANIES THAN THAT.
AND SO I, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A WEEK
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT I WOULD FRAME IT AS A COMPETITION, LIKE JOY'S UNNAMED EMPLOYER COULD TOTALLY SMOKE MY UNNAMED EMPLOYER AND HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY HAVE BIKE.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
I THINK WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT AT THE END OF THE YEAR OR THE END OF THE MONTH, THE CITY CAN SAY WE HAVE THIS MANY MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THESE SORTS OF ACTIVITIES AND THAT THEIR PEOPLE ARE BEING COUNTED.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT ANY OF US TOUCH NETWORKS THAT WE CAN HELP PUSH THE, IT'S LIKE LOVE TO RIDE.NET/BIKE, THE GULF.
DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT? I THINK SO.
AND BRIAN'S GONNA MAKE SURE WE GET IT RIGHT IN THE AFTER MEETING MINUTES.
BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN PUSH THAT OUT TO OUR NETWORKS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, IT IS ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS WE CAN SAY PEOPLE BIKE AND THEY COUNT AND HOW MANY ARE LIKE, HOW MANY CAN WE COUNT? LET'S COUNT THEM.
JUST A QUICK COMMENT TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
I THINK 'CAUSE WE PUSHED OUT LAST YEAR, IF YOU CONTACT LOVE TO RIDE DIRECTLY, THEY WILL SEND YOU MEDIA PACKAGES THAT YOU CAN UPLOAD TO YOUR WEBSITE.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, JUST FROM COUNTING, IT'S NICE BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY GIVE YOU THE MAPS OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE RIDING AND LIKE STRAVA THAT GIVES YOU THIS CRAZY HEAT MAP.
IT GIVES YOU THE ACTUAL DATA OF WHERE YOUR PEOPLE ACTUALLY RIDING, WHERE YOU SHOULD CONSIDER YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IT'S REALLY GOOD DATA TOO AS WELL.
AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'VE JUST BEEN BAD ABOUT PUSHING IT OUT.
BUT YES, IT NEEDS TO BE PUT OUT THERE.
THEY HAVE THAT FOR, UH, ANDROID.
THE LAST TIME I CHECKED IT ONLY, I THINK THEY, THEY DO, THEY SHOULD HAVE THE ANDROID NOW.
YES, THEY SHOULD BECAUSE THEY WERE WORKING OUT LAST YEAR.
THE APP IS THERE, BUT YOU CAN ONLY, AT LEAST THE LAST TIME I CHECKED, YOU CAN ONLY SAY I I COMMUTED TO WORK OR SCHOOL.
OR YOU COULD, YOU COULD ENTER THAT YOU DID ARRIVE, BUT IT DIDN'T HAVE, I WILL EMAIL THE LADY, THE LADIES I WAS WORKING WITH ORIGINALLY FROM THEM, ASK THAT QUESTION AND I'LL SEND THE INFORMATION TO YOU SO YOU CAN PUT IT OUT ON THE EMAIL.
BACK TO, I WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK TO, UH, WHAT BRIAN DOTSON BROUGHT UP.
AND ALTHOUGH WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE AN OFFICIAL VOTE, UM, I KNOW PART, I KNOW PART HE PARTLY BRIAN'S LOOKING FOR MONEY, UH, BUT I THINK EVEN MORE SO BRIAN IS LOOKING FOR THE CITY'S EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECTS.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, CERTAINLY SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, I I SUPPORT BOTH PROJECTS.
UM, PERSONALLY I REALLY LOVE THE PIPING ROCK PROJECT 'CAUSE IT, IT FITS IN WITH THIS, UM, CONNECTING THE BAYOU TRAILS TO EACH OTHER AND GETTING PEOPLE OFF A VERY, VERY BUSY DANGEROUS HIGHWAY.
HIGHWAY SIX IS NO PLACE FOR PEOPLE ON BIKES TO GO.
UM, SO I INVITE YOU EACH IN INDIVIDUALLY TO EITHER CHIME IN OR NOT.
BUT, UM, I I, I WOULD LIKE BRIAN TO BE ABLE, I WOULD LIKE BRIAN TO BE ABLE TO TAKE AWAY, UM, THAT, THAT WE DO SUPPORT HIS EFFORTS EVEN IF WE COULDN'T, UH, MANAGE TO PUT IT TOGETHER AS FAR AS THE, UM, YOU KNOW, A FORMAL VOTE IN FAVOR OF A A STRATEGIC PROJECT, STRATEGIC BIKE WAY.
UM, I THINK BRIAN HAS PUT IN A LOT OF WORK OVER THE LAST YEAR ON THIS PROPOSAL AND, UM, THESE PROPOSALS AND UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT GOT GREEN LIT, UM, THROUGH THE STRATEGIC SET ASIDE,
[01:10:01]
WHICH WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN AN UPDATE ON, UH, IN SOME TIME, UM, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ONE THAT WAS ON ITS WAY TO BEING, UM, TO RECEIVING UH, SUPPORT THROUGH THAT STRATEGIC SET ASIDE YET NOW HERE WE ARE IN A POSITION WHERE WE ARE NOT DOING THAT.SO, UM, YEAH, SO JUST TO COMMENT ON THAT, MAY THE FOURTH, LESLIE BRIONES IS, OR COMMISSIONER BRI IS HOSTING AT THE NOTTINGHAM ELEMENTARY ON THE WEST SIDE ENERGY CORRIDOR FROM NINE TO 10:30 AM IT'S GONNA BE OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT TO GIVE FEEDBACK AND IT'S GONNA BE AROUND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AS WELL, I BELIEVE.
SO THAT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO GET IN WITH COMMISSIONER BRI AND GIVE HER FEEDBACK AS WELL.
AND I'LL SEND THAT BRIAN THE INFORMATION ON THAT ONE TOO.
BRIAN, COULD YOU SHARE THE TWO PROJECTS? LIKE I, I REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT IT, BUT, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY EXHIBITS OR ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN SHARE ON? UH, YEAH, SO THERE'S UH, A SLIDE PACKAGE THAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE.
AND I CAN UM, IS IT ON THE WEBSITE? IT IT SHOULD BE ON THE WEBSITE.
I KNOW WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES TO THE WEBSITE.
UM, I CAN ALSO ADD IT TO THE POST MEETING EMAIL JUST, JUST TO BE CERTAIN.
UM, I'M GOING AROUND TO, WE'VE GOT NINE MUDS ON CULLEN PARK.
UM, OBVIOUSLY NOTHING IN UH, UH, PIPING ROCK AND THEY SAY THE SAME THING.
THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE CITY DOING? YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, TELL US, TELL US WHAT THE CITY'S GONNA DO.
AND IT REALLY HELPS FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THE CITY WANTS TO DO THIS.
SO I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A LOT OF YEARS IN BUREAUCRACY INVOLVED, BUT, UH, BOY, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WALK OUT THERE, I MEAN I WAS THERE ONE, ONE YESTERDAY SAID, WELL, WHY, YOU KNOW, WHY'S NOT CITY NOT DOING THIS? UM, AND THEN I TOLD THE GUY, I SAID, LOOK,
ALL RIGHT, GO TO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS.
SO, UM, WE ARE ALSO TAKING A CALL FOR ANY OTHER RIDES AND ACTIVITIES AND THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN MAY.
UH, AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WE'RE THE CITY IS NOT GOING TO DO AN OFFICIAL BIKE TO WORK, UH, EVENT WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, START SOMEWHERE KIND OF ON THE DOWNTOWN PERIPHERY AND END AT CITY HALL.
WE WANT TO, UH, ENABLE PARTICIPATION ACROSS THE CITY FOR SOME OF THE BIKEWAYS THAT MAY NOT LEAD TO DOWNTOWN THAT ARE RECENTLY USED.
AND THEN ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY DOES NOT WORK DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO WE DID HAVE A, HAVE A MEETING OF THE WORK GROUP THAT KIND OF CAME OUT OF THAT.
AND THESE ARE A FEW OF THE EVENTS THAT WE KNOW OF, BUT WE ARE STILL PLEASE SHARE EVENTS.
I KNOW TOM IS WORKING TO, TO GET SOME RIDES, UH, PERHAPS SPONSORED SOMEWHERE AROUND THE CITY, UM, THROUGHOUT BIKE WEEK AND UH, AND ON BIKE TO WORKDAY.
AND I'LL ALSO MAKE SURE TO ADD THE LOVE TO RIDE INFORMATION.
BEN, SEND ME WHAT YOU GOT TO SO EVERYBODY CAN GET LOGGED IN AND WE CAN START CALCULATING THE RIDES.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT Y'ALL, BUT I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA TRY TO SEE IF I CAN GET THE CITY OF HOUSTON UP THERE A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO WANTED TO DO ANOTHER CALL JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE HOUSTON ART BIKE PARADE AND FESTIVAL.
UM, YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED AN EMAIL.
SO HOUSTON ISD HAS ASKED THE BAC IF THEY WOULD, IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER AS JUDGES FOR THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION.
UM, IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT IT, UH, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL.
I BELIEVE YOU HAVE TO GET BACK WITH THEM BY TOMORROW.
UM, AND UH, YEAH, SO CONTINUE TO CONTINUE TO SEND US, SEND US UPDATES.
EXPECT TO SEE SOME CHANGES ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ON OUR WEBSITE TO HIGHLIGHT BIKE MONTH.
IF ANY OF YOU HAVE DIDN'T GO TO THE, UM, THE ART BIKE PARADE OR SHOW LAST YEAR, IS THIS, IS IT, IS IT AT MCGREGOR PARK AGAIN THIS YEAR? OKAY.
I WAS IN A TEAM LAST YEAR THAT WAS, UM, WHAT DO WE, OH, FLAMBOYANT FLAMINGOS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UNFORTUNATELY I'M GONNA BE OUT OF TOWN THIS YEAR SO I CAN'T GO.
BUT I MEAN, WHETHER YOU'RE RIDING OR JUST WATCHING AND WHAT THE KIDS DO WITH THEIR BIKES IS JUST AMAZING.
[01:15:01]
REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO TO GO, I WOULD ADD TO THAT AND UH, I BROUGHT A BUNCH OF FLYERS SO THAT IF ANYBODY WANTS SOME I CAN HAND THEM OUT AND YOU CAN SHARE, UH, WITH YOUR RESPECTIVE PEOPLE TO GET THEM OUT AND ENJOY OUR BIKES AS WELL AS CARS AFTER THE OUR CAR THING, WHICH WAS ALSO GREAT.YEAH, I'M A LITTLE HURT YOU, YOU LEFT OFF THE MAY 4TH AND FIFTH GOBA SUGARLAND CLASSIC BIKE RACE
SO JUST A HEADS UP, MAY 4TH AND FIFTH, IT IS THE LARGEST MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SATURDAY WE HAVE KIDS CUP STARTING AT 11.
WE'VE GOT, UH, ROOKIES, BEGINNER, UH, CLASS, XC CLASS FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF TEACHING YOU BA TRAIN BASIC TRAINING.
AND AT 2:00 PM WE HAVE THE ROOKIES RACE FOLLOWED BY THE E-BIKE RACE.
AND THEN SUNDAY MORNING WE WILL HAVE RACES STARTING AT EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING GOING ALL THE WAY TILL PROBABLY TWO OR THREE IN THE AFTERNOON.
SO IT'S A BIG EVENT AND THERE WILL BE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM THE CITY OF SUGARLAND AS WELL.
AND THEY HAVE FULLY EMBRACED THE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE PUMP TRACK OUT THERE, IT'S ABOUT A QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT.
IT BRINGS IN 60% OF PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE OF SUGAR LAND.
SO BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE BRINGS PEOPLE FROM OTHER PLACES TO COME SEE THINGS.
ECOTOURISM IS REAL, SO THERE'S PLENTY OF STUDIES TO BACK UP WHAT ROBIN WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER IS THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT SAFETY AND EVERYTHING ELSE, IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS THAT IT HAS AS WELL.
AND THERE ARE SEVERAL BIKE SYSTEMS IN FLORIDA.
YOU CAN LOOK UP STUDIES THAT TELL YOU THESE SYSTEMS MAKE UP TO $50 MILLION WORTH OF REVENUE INTO THE CITY.
AND THAT'S SIMILAR TOPOGRAPHY TO HOUSTON.
BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE YOU MAY 4TH AND FIFTH.
AND THANKS BRIAN DOTSON FOR REACHING OUT MAY 8TH.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE BIKE TO SCHOOL SO FAR FOR MEADOW WOOD AND WE'RE WORKING WITH TRYING TO GET OTHER ELEMENTARY, UH, SCHOOLS IN WEST HOUSTON TO ALSO SUPPORT SOME BIKE TO SCHOOL DAYS AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR SETTING UP THAT SEGUE.
SO FOR ANYONE ON THE CALLER AROUND THE TABLE WHO'S GOT A SCHOOL AND IS CONNECTED WITH SOMEONE, NATIONAL WALKING BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY IS WEDNESDAY MAY 8TH.
THERE IS A FREE NATIONAL WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN REGISTER YOUR EVENT TO MAKE SURE OTHER PEOPLE CAN FIND YOUR EVENT.
AND THE URL IS WALK BIKE TO SCHOOL.ORG AND THEN YOU CAN CLICK ON THE MAP FOR TEXAS AND GO DOWN TO HARRIS COUNTY OR EVEN THE CITY.
THERE ARE TWO EVENTS LISTED SO FAR IN THE CITY, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE A COUPLE MORE AND THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE FIND YOUR EVENT.
SO WALK BIKE TO SCHOOL.ORG WEDNESDAY MAY 8TH.
ALRIGHT, I'LL ADD BOTH OF THOSE.
AND BEN, I THINK, UH, I I PROBABLY OWE YOU AN APOLOGY 'CAUSE I WANNA SAY YOU SENT SOME, I WANNA SAY YOU SENT THAT TO ME IN LIKE A PREVIOUS MEETING AND I WAS TRYING TO CONSOLIDATE THE LIST, BUT I ALSO WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT, SO WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT, LIKE THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO SUGAR LAND.
SO BEN DID CO-PRESENT WITH, UH, CI, UH, SUGAR LAND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AT ON NOVEMBER INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE BENEFITS.
UM, AND THOSE SLIDES ARE AVAILABLE AND THE RECORDING OF THE MEETING AND IS ON THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT YOUTUBE PAGE.
CAN I JUST MAKE A COMMENT? YEAH, SORRY.
UM, I WAS JUST ASKED TO DO THE HARRIS COUNTY BIKE TO UH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO WORK RIDE.
WE DON'T DO THE BIKE TO WORK BUT PEOPLE, BECAUSE PEOPLE WORK FROM DIFFERENT OFFICES, BUT WE, WE DO A RIDE IN THE AFTERNOON AND GET PEOPLE OUT AND SHOW THEM AROUND SO THAT, I'M THINKING OF DOING THE ART MURALS IN DOWNTOWN RIDE.
UH, AND SO I'LL KEEP YOU ALL POSTED AND SHARE THE EVENT WITH YOU, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS GOOD TO DO IT WITH STAFF SO THAT STAFF WHO RIDE THEIR BIKES TO WORK ALREADY CAN, UH, CAN GO AROUND, AROUND TOWN, AROUND DOWNTOWN AND SEE, SEE DIFFERENT THINGS.
I I WILL SAY INFORMALLY THAT, UM, WE BUILD COMMUNITY THROUGH SOME AFTER WORK ACTIVITIES AND ON MAY 9TH WE ARE, I THINK IT'S MAY 9TH, WE ARE PLANNING TO MEET AT THE B CYCLE STATION AT SMITH AND UH, WEST CLAY AND WOULD INVITE OTHERS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE TO WORK TO, TO JOIN US THERE.
I KNOW I'M NOT GIVING A TIME, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAD TO, RIGHT NOW I MIGHT SAY LIKE FOUR 30, UH,
SO IF THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE DATE THAT YOU'RE DOING OR OTHERWISE, WE COULD PROBABLY GET OUR CREW OUT TO JOIN AGAIN.
I'LL GET YOUR CONTACT AND SHARE MY CONTACT.
ONE OTHER THING FOR ME, IT'S NOT A BIKE RIDE, BUT WE, HOUSTON PARKS BOARD HAS BEEN WORKING WITH HARRIS COUNTY AND SPRING BRANCH MANAGEMENT DISTRICT ON SPRING BRANCH TRAIL.
[01:20:01]
IT WILL WHEN COMPLETE BE AN 11 MILE UM, TRAIL THAT CONNECTS BETWEEN WHITE OAK BAYOU AND EAST AND ATTS RESERVOIR IN THE WEST.WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT IN STAGES.
PHASE ONE HAS BEEN COMPLETE SINCE 2020.
PHASE TWO IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, PHASE THREES AND PERMITTING.
AND SO PHASE FOUR IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.
THAT IS FROM, UH, SHADOW DALE DRIVE, SO THAT'S JUST EAST OF BELTWAY EIGHT.
AND THEN IT, UH, WILL CROSS BELTWAY EIGHT AND SOMEHOW AND THEN GET ALL THE WAY TO, UH, CHATTERTON TRAIL AT ATTICS RESERVOIR.
SO WE HAVE A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING THAT WILL BE ON MAY 2ND, UM, FROM SIX TO 7:00 PM SO ANYBODY THAT IS INTERESTED AS WELCOME TO JOIN, I'VE GOT FLYERS FOR THAT HERE AS WELL.
AND I'LL SHARE THE INFORMATION WITH YOU AFTER THIS.
SO OUR NEXT MEETINGS, UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, SO OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS WILL BE HELD, UM, IN A HYBRID FORMAT.
SO WE WILL STILL MEET IN THE JOHN B. RAY CONFERENCE ROOM FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO ATTEND IN PERSON AND THEN ALSO MEET VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY THE BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETINGS WILL STILL REMAIN IN PERSON.
AND OUR NEXT MEETING IS JULY 24TH, UH, FROM TWO 30 TO 4:30 PM AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
UM, RIGHT HERE WHERE WE ARE, I FORGOT TO BRING UP EARLIER, UH, IN THE FORM I'M RETIRED, SO TWO 30 IS NOT A BAD TIME FOR ME TO MEET, BUT NOT EVERYONE IS.
SO I'D JUST LIKE TO GET A SENSE FROM THIS GROUP IF A LATER OR A DIFFERENT TIME WOULD BE BETTER FOR FOLKS.
I I SAW ROBIN SHAKING HER HEAD.
BUT I KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY TARGET MARKET.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS FROM THE GROUP? I WOULD'VE BEEN CONCERNED IF ALL OF THE MEETINGS WOULD'VE HAD TO BE IN PERSON, BUT IT'S VERY NICE THAT THEY HAVE CONTINUED THE HYBRID MODEL FOR THE OTHER 'CAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE AND THEN BACK, SO.
I'M, I'M FINE WITH THE TIME IN MY SENSE.
JUST BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE TWO VIRTUALS, SO THAT WORKS OUT GREAT.
ANY OTHERS? I WHAT'S THAT? UH, I'M, I'M GOOD WITH TWO 30.
I, MY BIGGER QUESTION IS, IS IT BETTER FOR OUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION PUT, WHICH I DON'T KNOW.
ALL RIGHT, WELL THANKS EVERYBODY READY? CAN I, CAN I MAKE JUST ONE SINCE WE ANNOUNCEMENTS, I WANTED TO SAY THE 2024, UM, UH, 2024 TEXAS STATEWIDE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FORUM IS ON MAY THURSDAY, MAY 2ND.
UH, IF YOU, YOU CAN SEARCH, UH, TEXAS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FORUM AND YOU, YOU CAN GET TO THE WEBSITE.
IT'S, UH, TTI IS TT I IS ONE OF THE KEY SPONSORS FOR THE THING AND A NUMBER OF OTHER TECH DOT AND OTHER, OTHER, UH, ENTITIES ALSO SPONSOR.
AND IT'S A, UH, WHILE IT SAYS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, IT'LL, IT'LL BE ADDRESSING SAFETY FOR PEOPLE OF, UH, MULTIMODAL SAFETY GENERALLY IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
SO ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED ABOUT SAFETY, UH, PLEASE, UH, PLEASE, UH, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK FOR IT.
OR, OR I THINK THE BRAND CAN ALSO SHARE IT.
AND ON THE FOLLOWING DAY IS THE TEXAS VISION ZERO SUMMIT, UM, PRESENTED BY, UM, FARM AND CITY BASED IN AUSTIN.
THEY ALTERNATE HAVING IT IN AUSTIN AND HOUSTON, UM, EVERY YEAR IN HOUSTON THIS YEAR.
SO IT'LL BE DOWNTOWN AT, UM, WELL NOW I'M BLANKING ON THE NAME OF THE VENUE, BUT THE MAJESTIC METRO.
THAT'S MAY 3RD, THAT'S FRIDAY, MAY 3RD.
AND YOU JUST GOOGLE VISION ZERO OF TEXAS.
YOU'LL FIND IT AND I'LL AND, AND IT IS IN FACT VISION ZERO TEXAS.ORG.
AND I'LL SHARE, I'LL, I'LL SHARE THE, UH, THE EVENTS AND AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION FOR BOTH OF THOSE.
MAY I MAKE ONE COMMENT ON THE MEETING TIME? 'CAUSE I HAD TO DRIVE TODAY.
IF IT ENDS AT FOUR, IT MAKES IT A LOT EASIER TO FIND ON STREET PARKING WITH THE MOBILITY LANES.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHY I WAS LATE
I HAD TO GO AROUND THE BLOCK TWICE TO FIND A SPOT.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT FORCES ANY MEETING CHANGES, BUT I'LL JUST ADD THAT OUT THERE.
SO WOULD TWO BE BETTER? YEAH, IF IT ENDS AT FOUR, THEN YOU CAN PARK ON STREET AND NOT WORRY ABOUT OH, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU CAN'T PARK IN ANY OF THE SPACES THAT ESSENTIALLY CLOSE AT FOUR.
[01:25:01]
OH, OKAY.WOULD PEOPLE BE GOOD WITH THAT? I, I'M FINE.
IS THAT OKAY? CHANGE IT TILL TWO.
SO WE, WE WILL CHECK IF THE ROOM'S AVAILABLE.
IF THE ROOM'S AVAILABLE WE'LL MAKE THE SWITCH.
SHOULDN'T, IT SHOULDN'T BE TOO MUCH OF AN ISSUE.
'CAUSE WE USUALLY SHOW UP, UM, LIKE 45 MINUTES TO AN HOUR PRIOR JUST TO CHECK THE AUDIO VISUAL AND EVERYTHING.
BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW IF THERE'S ANY CONFLICTS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GOING FORWARD.
'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHO ALL ELSE USES THIS ROOM.
I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER, UM, SUBCOMMITTEES OR OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT, THAT, THAT MEET HERE.
AND THEN I'LL, I'LL LET, I'LL LET THE CHAIR KNOW AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION.
I MEAN, IN THE SPIRIT OF BEING INCLUSIVE, NOT EVERYBODY'S HERE.
LIKE, IT MIGHT BE WORTH SENDING AN EMAIL AND ASKING EVERYBODY TO CONFIRM THAT THEY COULD BE HERE.
THEY CAN'T LIKE TAKE A PULSE CHECK.
I'LL, I'LL SURVEY, SURVEY TO SEE IF, SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OBJECTIONS.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION COMMENTS? I HAVE A REAL QUICK, UH, EVENT PLUG I'D LIKE TO MAKE.
THAT IS HAPPENING ACTUALLY IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS MEETING.
UH, ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, THEY'RE HOSTING A, AN EXHIBIT OF STUDENT WORK FOCUSING ON TRANSIT.
UH, IT'S CALLED HOT TICKET STRATEGIES FOR COOLING TRANSIT STOPS AND ADJACENCIES IN HOUSTON'S SECOND WARD.
UM, AND SO IT'S BEING HOSTED TILL 7:00 PM TODAY AT POST HOUSTON, FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
UH, IF YOU GO RIGHT UP BAGBY STREET, UH, I'LL TAKE YOU RIGHT THERE.
SO IT COULD BE SOME INTERESTING, UH, VERY STUDENT WORK RELATING TO A LOT OF OUR INTERESTS.
SO, SO IT'S HAPPENING NOW? YEAH, IT STARTED AT THREE AND IT RUNS TILL SEVEN.
CAN YOU SAY IT'S AT POST? YES, IT'S AT POST HOUSTON, WHICH IS 4 0 1 FRANKLIN STREET.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO WITH REMAINING 30 MINUTES.
EVERYBODY HAD A, HAD THE BAGBY BIKE LANE AND UH, CHECK IT OUT.