Mobility Projects Report For The Woodlands

[woody_hawkeye]

Think mass transportation. Bus system works really well for many commuters to Houston downtown. Other than that, local jobs are the solution, just like the HP campus. When I lived there, it was a nightmare to Houston but I lived there and worked downtown nevertheless. Now that home has an HP employee in it, just as many of the neighbors lwork at HP. The infrastructure grew up around the area. 249 was a country road. Now it is a freeway. A freeway was not even on the map then.

Doing nothing would be far preferable to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make your situation worse. But no, you'll need to expand the width of your roads and highways, build grade-seperated intersections and flyovers, and perhaps expand the role of The Woodlands Express.

The biggest challenge will be improvements to the aterials.

The obvious solution is that most new employment growth will occur in the suburbs. Congestion as defined by the average velocity of movement of traffic during peak hours will continually get worse, but average commute time will either stay about the same or decline because most people will work closer to home.

[ricco67]

While a light/heavy rail connection to downtown would be awesome, currently it's not something that is doable at this time. What would really help, and can be implemented relatively quickly, would be a shuttle/BRT in a dedicated lane with stops at the beginning of various neighborhoods to bring people to the P&R to go to downtown or near the employment centers in the area.

If they are able to do something like that (within the next 5 years) traffic would be more tolerable and would be able to upgrade the system with minimal cost to a full fledged rail/BRT system that could connect to a commuter rail system.

Think mass transportation. Bus system works really well for many commuters to Houston downtown. Other than that, local jobs are the solution, just like the HP campus. When I lived there, it was a nightmare to Houston but I lived there and worked downtown nevertheless. Now that home has an HP employee in it, just as many of the neighbors lwork at HP. The infrastructure grew up around the area. 249 was a country road. Now it is a freeway. A freeway was not even on the map then.

That was something that I mentioned.

While HP isn't really a "LOCAL employment center for the woodlands, it would probably warrant it's own P&R stop from the woodlands. The only issue is that people still need a way IN the woodlands to get to the P&R PARKING LOT IN TWL.

[TheNiche]

That was something that I mentioned.

While HP isn't really a "LOCAL employment center for the woodlands, it would probably warrant it's own P&R stop from the woodlands. The only issue is that people still need a way IN the woodlands to get to the P&R PARKING LOT IN TWL.

True, but dedicated lanes are not an optimal solution.

[ricco67]

True, but dedicated lanes are not an optimal solution.

In what matter of brilliance of mobile transit agility would you perhaps would suggest that would help transcend such a solution? I never stated that the LRT or BRT run on the streets, either elevated or otherwise (as densely populated it's getting to be that might not be entirely feasible, except for a subway).

C'mon now niche', Don't live up to your nickname.

[bachanon]

The Woodlands

Aug. 23, 2007, 2:39PM

Contract set for new Park & Ride in The Woodlands

Sterling Ridge site could open in November

By BETH KUHLES

Chronicle Correspondent

RESOURCES

Woodlands Area Park & Ride Lots

Sawdust Park & Ride

[Double L]

Does anybody know if there are any plans to change the name of "Mall Ring Rd." (it's corny)

[bachanon]

that's a good point. the mall "ring" road; however, is mall property. it is not a public road. general growth would have to name it themselves.

[Double L]

uh...protests anybody?

Let's get The Woodlands High School kids together for a protest and we will say that we are educating them about politics.

[bachanon]

huh? did i miss a post or something? ohhhh, must be sarcasm.

[woody_hawkeye]

Key mobility projects and issues:

1. Hardy Toll road expansion. I am not sure where this will go. I assume it will no longer terminate at I45 couth of The Woodlands. It is a few years out but on the agreement with Houston.

2. Grand Parkway - corridor to I59, 249, 290, I10 and other high volume roads from The Woodlands. I think this will be a tollway but have not heard that directly yet. Just assuming since all major roads are heading to tollways as a funding mechanism.

3. Will we see intra city buses in The Woodlands? I do not think so. They are noisy. Trolleys? Perhaps. There is an gap with lower cost housing and availability of public transportation in the area.

4. No mention of Gosling. Kuykendahl and 2978 appear to the focus for north/south corridor projects. Creekside Village Park has two through roads now to link Kuykendahl and Gosling. The new one is under construction. Looks to me that the traffic burden of new homeowners there will be placed on Kuykendahl south of the bridge. Many of the homes will be close to Gosling which is already burdened by construction vehicles. There is probably a series of studies and meetings in the Creekside project that will affect this plan very shortly. 2978 is exploding, so it is of high concern for all of The Woodlands and neighboring developments.

[KatieDidIt]

Honestly, within the next 5 years I don't think anyone will be commuting into Houston from The Woodlands, the commute gets more insane every month. It will be totally self-sustaining up there and that's a good thing for the highway system. People are packing into the south at an alarming rate and any commuting will become more than impossible and not worth it. 90 minute commutes each way to areas within the loop is starting to break a lot of our old neighbors as well. And that's on a good day.

Real Estate agents should be smacked for showing people the Woodlands who work in the loop. I understand its hard for people to spend the highest prices on record for little, old homes in central Houston when the rest of the country is bottoming out, but Houston remains on fire. And I really don't see any end to it with the continuing population explosion.

Since we moved back (we were gone almost three years) I find myself saying almost on a daily basis, "Where did all these people come from?"

BUT, the commute within the Woodlands is a pain as well. I still think they should create underpasses and make that Parkway a Parkway. Residents who bought backing up to it will holler, but that's their own damn fault.

[lockmat]

My brother in law lives here on the east side of 45, directly across from the mall. It takes him about an hour or less to get to UH. That's not too bad. But I think he leaves early too.

[RedScare]

3. Will we see intra city buses in The Woodlands? I do not think so. They are noisy. Trolleys? Perhaps. There is an gap with lower cost housing and availability of public transportation in the area.

There is already intracity bust transit in the Woodlands. The Woodlands Express has been serving Downtown, Greenway Plaza and the Med Center for years. Another lot is planned further back in the Woodlands.

You may have been referring to intercity busses (within the Woodlands only). I would agree that this does not seem likely, but not because of noise. The lack of density, and general opposition to bus transit in suburban areas will probably limit support for this type of transit.

[bachanon]

there has been an off the cuff remark from a TCID official that trolleys from the villages to town center are a possibility in the future. with senior living facilities, apartments and town homes located near each village shopping center, i can see how there might be enough ridership.

the expansion of the hardy toll road will extend to loop 336 in conroe. i do not recall if it is the north or south loop. montgomery county has created its own toll road authority. i do not recall if the extension will be HCTRA or MCTRA.

the 242/i-45 flyovers will be tolls.

construction on 1488, from 2978 to 242, is expected to worsen traffic on woodlands parkway for many months.

btw, thursday, i made it to an 11AM doctor's appointment off the north loop, from grogan's mill via I-45, in 25 minutes. i left my house at 10:40 AM and arrived at 11:05AM. i couldn't believe it.

[Native1]

We live in Alden Bridge and my husband works at 610/Shepherd. He leaves the house at 7:15a, takes Greenbridge/242/Hardy, and gets to the office within an hour. When he's lucky, it's 45 minutes.

[bachanon]

if i knew i had a commute before purchasing a home, i wouldn't buy past panther creek: way too far and too much traffic. once you get on the hardy, it's 25-35 minutes. alden bridge is QUIET. it's freakin' pleasantville out there. i love it, but i wouldn't want to commute to houston from there.

[Native1]

if i knew i had a commute before purchasing a home, i wouldn't buy past panther creek: way too far and too much traffic. once you get on the hardy, it's 25-35 minutes. alden bridge is QUIET. it's freakin' pleasantville out there. i love it, but i wouldn't want to commute to houston from there.

When we moved out here (from Houston) dh's office was at Greenspoint. Only a year after we moved here, his office closed and his new office (almost 4 years now) is on the North Loop. I've offered to have us move back to Houston, but he doesn't want to. He spent a good chunk of his childhood in Grogan's Mill and I feel like we had a pretty good grip on where the area was headed when we chose this location. For the most part, it's perfect for us. But I'd still give it all up if he's ever "done" with the drive. Still, 2 hours in the car each day for what we have out here? Not bad, imo. There are a lot of cities out there with much worse commute times.

Dh's boss is also in Alden Bridge. They've got another 6 years on their Houston lease, and who knows what will happen after that.

[KatieDidIt]

Living in a far out, satellite burb is all about what you are willing to give up or willing to tolerate. 40-60 hours a month out of my husband's life for a house up in a burb was something I didn't want for him any more. We actually have a larger lot, same size house and a lot more quiet in good ol' Houston at almost the same price. Needs work, but in Houston its all about what you are willing to give up and what you are willing to tolerate as well. Public schools in both locations are exactly the same education....TAKS TAKS TAKS

[Native1]

Living in a far out, satellite burb is all about what you are willing to give up or willing to tolerate. 40-60 hours a month out of my husband's life for a house up in a burb was something I didn't want for him any more. We actually have a larger lot, same size house and a lot more quiet in good ol' Houston at almost the same price. Needs work, but in Houston its all about what you are willing to give up and what you are willing to tolerate as well. Public schools in both locations are exactly the same education....TAKS TAKS TAKS

We feel like we're getting a better quality of life out here. We're very happy with our school and everything else The Woodlands has to offer. My husband is the one that has to make the 1-hr drive - I've left the decision to commute 100% up to him - he doesn't want to go back. We've been out here for 5 years now and have loved every minute of it.

[woody_hawkeye]

We feel like we're getting a better quality of life out here. We're very happy with our school and everything else The Woodlands has to offer. My husband is the one that has to make the 1-hr drive - I've left the decision to commute 100% up to him - he doesn't want to go back. We've been out here for 5 years now and have loved every minute of it.

One person I know gave it up here and moved to Katy. She is very happy with that decision. The association fees are 1/3 of what she paid here, commute is easy and fast to the Galleria via the toll road, and her children go to top nationally rated schools. Each home has the same association fee regardless of its value.

I am almost perfectly located - approximate 10-year-old subdivision, within walking distance of a number commercial entities (including doctors' offices, a bike ride from Town Center and the lake, quick access to a coupld of ponds, walking distance to a recreation playground, and easy access to many hike and bike trails. And that just begins the reasons I relocated here. I did not like the commute to downtown Houston but could live with it as long as I used a shared van, the most economical and efficient way to commute to downtown and other distant work areas.

Red, just for the records, "intra" signifies within and "inter" signifies between. We may not be a city yet, but we like to think of ourselves as one, especially when we travel intercity to Houston.

[lockmat]

http://blogs.chron.com/woodlands/archives/...i.html#comments

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/woo...ws/5223296.html

Plans to widen some roads in the Woodlands.

[woody_hawkeye]

http://blogs.chron.com/woodlands/archives/...i.html#comments

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/woo...ws/5223296.html

Plans to widen some roads in the Woodlands.

Have you heard that the county wants to purchase the right of way for The Woodlands Parkway all the way to 1488 (or was that 2978) just as soon as it can? I have lost the link for that article.

[woody_hawkeye]

We probably should have a general mobility post for this, but this post is the most recent one serving this topic, so I will use it. I found this article interesting describing the need for a more regional mobility projects by the year 2035. I describes an interesting vision by the Houston-Galveston Council Transportation Department. With an additional 3 million people expected to live in our area by 2035, our transportation system requires considerable expansion. "The 2035 RTP began in 2005 with a public outreach effort, called Envision Houston Region (EHR), a broad based public outreach initiative involving hundreds of residents, elected officials developers and others who participated in a series of visioning workshops." This will be an interesting subject for this group to discuss.

PDF File

[KatieDidIt]

. With an additional 3 million people expected to live in our area by 2035,

You must just mean TW area, because Houston will far exceed a 3 million person population increase by 2035, moving ahead of Chicago. Some are saying 3 million for the metro-area pretty soon. Google it.Read a few articles that claim the Houston-Galvestion area (in general TW/Montgomery County has not been included in such numbers) will exceed 14.5 million by 2035. Does seem steep, but considering the population increase just over the past three years, its not entirely impossible.

But I do agree in thinking Harris county will chew up and spit out that 3 million in less than 10 years at this rate.

Edited after looking at more studies.

[wxman]

You must just mean TW area, because Houston will far exceed a 3 million person population increase by 2035. I've read the Houston area (in general TW/Montgomery County has not been included in such numbers) will exceed 15 million by 2035, some studies say 20 million.

I'd say Harris county will chew up and spit out that 3 million in less than 10 years at this rate.

YEAH RIGHT! You'd have to show me a study or something. Even during the oil boom of the early 80s, Houston didn't grow that fast. The biggest estimate I've seen is 10.5 million by 2035 and TW/Montgomery County WAS included in the study. That would put us past NY city to become the biggest city in the country...if what your saying is true.

The Woodlands...3 million people??? Excuse me....HA HA HA

[woody_hawkeye]

The response below is an attempt to bring another discussion into this thread and let the other post live its own life.

Pineda and I were discussing the growth of the Klein area and plans for the Grand Parkway. His statement is quoted below to get this into step.

Woody-

I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this part. The Klein area already has good access to 249 & 2920. I really don't believe that the ~$200 million Segment F-2 is not being built to help out anyone in the Klein area.

If you do find out where the funding is coming from for Segment F-2, please post that information here. Thanks!

I was referring to segment F-2 specifically. I seem to be jumping the gun here. I did not realize the segment was not yet funded. I thought it was part of the legislative funding for highways in the last session. I was remembering something else I suppose. Anyway, I travel down Boudreaux every day and have to disagree with you about easy access from Kuykendahl if that is what you meant. A 7 minute drive to 249 from Kuykendahl will be much appreciated when/if it becomes available. I know there is resistence by some local people to building this parkway. That happens in every proposal like this, but am sure there are some legitimate gripes out there. I hope the right alternative gets selected that accomodates the most stakeholders. In the end, the primary stakeholders are the regional commuters. I feel for landowners in such situations but it has to happen.

-----------------

Hmmm, I cannot access the PDF file above anymore. It had a very recent date, so I thought I had found something new. Premature release of information? ... dunno... lost it.

[pineda]

In the end, the primary stakeholders are the regional commuters.

The Grand Parkway group considers the local landowners that might be affected to be the primary stakeholders.

[woody_hawkeye]

Houston Chronicle article

New toll road being studied from Spring to 242 east of I45 and eventually all the way to Conroe as alternative to I45. Flyover on 242 at I45 to start construction in January.

[lockmat]

I don't really think North/South traffic is a problem at all. Not now at least. What sucks is the East/West traffic. That's one reason I'm happy about the grand parkway.

[pineda]

I don't really think North/South traffic is a problem at all. Not now at least. What sucks is the East/West traffic. That's one reason I'm happy about the grand parkway.

Just curious, how will the Grand Parkway improve east/west traffic flow? For you, specifically?