Subregional Planning Comes to Greater West Houston

The Greater West Houston area, home to nearly 660 thousand residents and 388 thousand jobs, has seen significant growth over the last 20 years.

H-GAC has initiated a comprehensive transportation and land use study for West Houston. The Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative will examine strategies for improving travel on the region's freeways, toll roads and surface streets, as well as transit, pedestrian and bicycle systems. H-GAC invites the public to a meeting on October 15.

Greater West Houston Public Meeting
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Wolfe Elementary Gym
502 Addicks-Howell Road.
Houston, TX 77079

The study will collect information to analyze existing land use and envision future land-use scenarios (including protection of environmentally sensitive areas and green spaces). A series of short, medium and long range projects will be identified to help improve mobility throughout the study area, which is bound by FM 529 to the north including the US 290/Beltway 8 interchange area, SH 99/Grand Parkway to the west, the Campbell/ Blalock/Fondren corridor to the east and Bellaire Boulevard to the south.

The public will have an opportunity to participate through public meetings scheduled over the next seven months. An online survey is available at www.mywesthouston.com

Bridgeland Shell on Fry Road destroys shoulder usability for cyclists

Notice how Bridgeland Shell on Fry Road has continued the grass actually into the shoulder of Fry Road, thereby forcing bicyclists to move into the lane of heavy 50 MPH  car traffic? If they try to ride through the grass, they risk a fall, especially if they have narrow road bike tires.

This is entirely unsuitable, it's similar to what Cy-Ranch High School did a few years ago to the same shoulders, and they fixed it. Shell needs to fix it also.

Timewise Shell
10902 Fry Rd.
Cypress, TX 77433
(281) 213-3268

Open 24 Hours!

Donate money NOW to save the Deer Park Prairie! Three week extension granted

I just donated $100 !!!

http://www.bayoulandconservancy.org/#!save-deer-park-prairie/c19cm

Overtime for Deer Park Prairie!

“Prairie-grass-roots” fundraising effort gets reprieve

In the most ambitious conservation land fund drive of its kind ever launched in Texas, $3.2 million dollars was raised from individuals to help save the Deer Park Prairie - in less than one week!

Led by Bayou Land Conservancy, with its prairie partners, the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Houston Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, the fundraising blitz of the past week has gone into “overtime” for this special 53-acre piece of “platinum-quality” prairie.

Due to the record number of individual donors who came forward, the Deer Park landowner has agreed to extend the deadline from August 20th to September 10th, providing Bayou Land Conservancy with 3 more weeks to raise the remaining $800,000 necessary for the $4 million purchase.

Jaime Gonzalez, Education Director for the Katy Prairie Conservancy, said “For the landowner to provide this extra grace period, when so many people were just hearing about this special prairie for the first time, is a true blessing.”

“The turnout of individual donors in such a condensed time period has been nothing less than phenomenal,” said Jennifer Lorenz, Executive Director of Bayou Land Conservancy. In her 20 years of land conservation fundraising experience “there has been no comparison to the donors of this campaign who expressed genuine shock that such an ancient prairie still existed, and that conservation organizations were trying to compete with hot housing market development pressure. Their enthusiasm was palpable.”

Solar price trend is sunny

Texas out in front as costs for residential systems decline - payback is about a dozen years By Zain Shauk, Houston Chronicle

Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative

The Greater West Houston Subregional Planning Initiative is a comprehensive multi-modal transportation study that will explore different land use and transportation scenarios for the Greater West Houston region. The study will examine improved transportation strategies for freeways, toll ways, local streets, transit, and pedestrian and bicycle networks.  A series of short, medium and long range projects will be identified to help improve mobility throughout the study area.

This study will identify short, medium and long-range transportation investments in the Greater West Houston region as well as encourage responsible development choices, in a manner that will ensure the enhancement of the quality of life within the region.

Highway 6 / FM 529 intersection public meeting

State Highway 6 / FM 529 intersection public meeting by TxDOT. June 18, 2013, Langham Creek High School, 6 -8 pm Houston TX 77095

Next Step in State Highway 6 Improvements, from I-10 to US290 in Cy-Fair

TXDOT Houston has proposed $2.6 million for the 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for more environmental analysis and design of implementation projects from the SH 6 Access Management study which was completed awhile ago (meetings were at Copperfield Church).

The major components will likely include raised medians and intersection improvements. Additional elements could include ped/bike enhancements (in this corridor, probably sidewalks), driveway consolidation and other access management treatments.

Unfortunately, the public comment period has just ended. Funding for this work is seen as "likely" (green status on H-GAC website).