City of Houston Bicycle Advisory Committee Infrastructure Subcommittee met Aug. 25

City of Houston Bicycle Advisory Committee Infrastructure Subcommittee met Aug. 25.

Here are the minutes provided by the subcommittee:

Call to Order: Chair Tom Compson called the meeting to order at 2:30pm.

Roll Call:

Tom Compson, Chair (P)

Alejandro Perez, Vice Chair (A)

Tracy Alexander (P)

Zion Escobar (P)

Adam J. Williams (A)

Sandra Rodriguez (A)

Com. Kristine Anthony-Miller (A)

Beth Martin (P)

Lisa Graiff (A)

Trevor Reichman (P)

Jessica Wiggins (P)

Yuhayna Mahmud (P)

Nick Hellyar (A)

Judith Villarreal (P)

Amar Mohite (P)

Mike VanDusen (P)

Ana Ramirez Huerta (P)

Nikki Knight (A)

Robin Holzer (P)

Veon McReynolds (A)

Ex-Officio Members:

Ian Hlavacek (P)

David Fields (P)

Juvenal Robles (P)

1) Chair’s Report. Chair Compson gave the Chair’s Report:

• Advising the BAC to stay informed of the upcoming tropical storm season, stay prepared and aware.

• Construction on W Alabama. Of the three proposed options Chair Compson believes the third the safest for bicyclists and would provide the best comfort level. He encouraged all BAC members to review the proposal and provide comments.

• To better manage time during BAC meetings public comment will be reserved for members of the public, and the addition of an open forum at the end of the meeting for committee member comments.

2) Public Comments

• Matt Tutlow: comment given in person. In the last 10 days he’s witnessed close calls between cars and pedestrians on Patterson Street. He would like to know if it is too late to add additional safety measures to the bikeway design to address this concern. Staff Response: additional signal work and safety measures were recently added to the design. They should help with visibility concerns. Contractors are on board to build the bike lane in a matter of months (early 2022) to start construction.

• Wilson Calvert: comment given in person. He’s noticed conflicting parking signs on Polk Street near the protected bike lanes. He’s concerned residents will be confused as to where to park. Staff Response: staff will follow-up with ParkHouston regarding signs on Polk St and how they are addressing other outdated signs.

3) Bikeways Deep Dive: TIRZs 5, 13, 15

• Sherry Weesner gave a presentation on how TIRZs are structured and detailed information on bikeway projects in TIRZs 5 (Memorial Heights), 13 (Old Sixth Ward), and 15 (East Downtown).

4) Cullen Park Path and the Highway Safety Improvement Plan

• Bryan Dotson presented on the Cullen Park Path, a project that applied for Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. The trail would connect Cullen Park with Barker-Cypress Rd/George Bush Park trail network. This project was not approved to receive HSIP funding. Staff is currently investigating why the project did not make the list and refining the application for resubmittal.

• Mr. Dotson also presented background information on HSIP funding and the criteria to apply.

5) IDM Chapter 17 Updates

• Ian Hlavacek of Houston Public Works presented on updates to Chapter 17 of the Infrastructure Design Manual (IDM): Bicycle, Transit & Pedestrian Design Requirements.

• Changes were made to align the IDM with the recent Walkable Places & Transit Oriented Development (TOD) ordinance passed in 2020. Definitions for the pedestrian realm and its standards were adjusted.

6) Prioritization: Corridor Analysis

• Staff member Brian Smith II presented a corridor analysis based on this year’s bikeway prioritization. The presentation covered the methodology and scoring and compared the scores of Priority 1 bikeways with a utility corridor that did not score as high.

7) Open Forum

• Chair Compson asked for the status of the MKT Spur

a) Project will go to City Council for approval to allocate funds and on the agenda for Sep 1

b) If approved, next step is to hold a community meeting to inform about construction, and construction is projected to last 6 months.

8) Announcements and Events

• 8/30: Community meeting on bikeways changes coming to HCC Central Campus

• Next Meetings:

a) 9/22: Education Subcommittee

b) 10/27: Bicycle Advisory Committee

c) 11/17: Infrastructure Subcommittee

There being no further business brought before the Committee, Chair Compson adjourned the meeting at 4:42pm

https://houstonbikeplan.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/BAC-Infrastructure-Minutes_August-2021.pdf