We have some updates on local area projects. Sherry Weesner, president of TIRZ 5 and the Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority, gave an update at the last meeting of the Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Council on August 18th. The Woodland Heights is part of GHSNC council, with one voting delegate chosen by the WHCA Board (currently Brad Snead).
Here is an overview.
First, the image above is an overview of the TIRZ5 project map, which roughly follows White Oak Bayou, but also reaches along Shepherd/Durham, down Heights Blvd to Buffalo Bayou, and to Memorial Park.
Second, Ms. Weesner gave an overview of completed and ongoing projects that TIRZ 5 was involved in, including the new intersection at Houston Ave and White Oak, and the new trail head at the MKT Trail and Studewood.
Third, she gave an overview of several planned projects along the MKT Trail—along the portion from Heights Blvd to Houston Ave—which are at about 90% design completion, and are planned to start next year. (1) Heights Blvd (between Donovan Park and Heights Mercantile)—installing raised crosswalks and making other safety improvements to slow traffic. (2) White Oak Drive (next to Juiceland/Black Swan)—installing “bulb outs” at the intersection, and perhaps a pedestrian island. (3) Sawyer (next to Target)—redesigning the entire intersection, in conjunction with the developer at the corner, to give the trail priority and to make walking/biking safer. (4) Spring Street—installing raised crosswalks and making other safety improvements.
Fourth, on Heights Blvd South of I-10, they are planning several improvements. They will convert the existing bike lanes into separated bike lanes, and are planning to reconstruct the intersections at Washington Ave and Center St, and connect those lanes to Buffalo Bayou Park. In other words, you should be able to bike safely go from the Heights or White Oak Bayou Trail to the new HEB, and on to Buffalo Bayou Park, on separated bike lanes with priority at the intersections. I believe this project is also at the 90% design stage.
Fifth, they are at 60% design stage on a new connection from the White Oak Bayou/MKT Trails to Memorial Park via a CenterPoint utility corridor. The picture on the right is a little hard to see. But the trail currently ends in the Cottage Grove neighborhood, and you have to zig zag through neighborhoods and across I-10 to get to Memorial Park. This could be a significant connector for the Heights area.
Sixth, she discussed the Shepherd/Durham project, which is expected to start construction in 2022 and take multiple years. There are multiple parts, from different funding sources, but it will eventually stretch between I-10 and 610, as well as South of I-10 between Washington Ave and Memorial Dr. They are also working with Houston Metro, which has a planned Bus Rapid Transit stop planned between Shepherd/Durham South of I-10. Generally, the project will remove a car lane both directions (going from 4 to 3), add a raised bike lane (even with the sidewalk, not the road), lined with trees wherever possible. She said they plan to have two rows of trees along the bike lane where space permits, and one row of trees where space does not permit. The bike lane on Shepherd will be on the East side, and will include “floating” Metro bus stops, similar to what is being installed on Cavalcade. The bike lane on Durham will be on the East side as well because of limited right of way. She also explained that they engaged two engineering firms, both of which concluded that the congestion on Shepherd/Durham is not from amount of car lanes, but from the design of the turns. This project should alleviate that congestion while making it safer for other road users.
Seventh, she mentioned several other projects they are assisting with, in conjunction with the Montrose TIRZ and others, putting bike lanes on West Dallas and Dunleavy, adding connections in the area South of Buffalo Bayou between Shepherd and Waugh
Finally, she discussed a question we raised about TIRZ5’s interest in working with neighborhoods to do small projects. She said TIRZ5 usually gets involved in big projects, but likes to take 1 to 2 small projects a year that can be done quickly. They would like to work with neighborhoods as well, if we can find funding for half or so (and she mentioned other potential sources of funds and grants). The WHCA Board will discuss this, and would like input from the neighborhood, on what types of projects we’d like to see to help us connect to these other projects. For example, we could use this to create a bike/pedestrian crossing at White Oak Dr from our neighborhood so we can access the bayou trails more safely.
So there are a lot of things in the works for the coming years. Please email any comments, ideas, and suggestions to infrastructure@woodland-heights.org.
Brad Snead
Director of Infrastructure