Cars, Bikes and Buses

This week there were two major articles in the Courier and Villager. One dealt with the expansion of Woodlands Parkway from four to six lanes (from East Panther Creek to Grogan’s mill) and the other dedicated bike lanes. There was also recent media coverage pertaining to a Goodman Study proposing a fourth park and ride location and a new transit garage at Six Pines and Lake Robbins.

This media coverage is just further evidence of what most of you already realize-transportation and mobility is a growing issue in our community. The Township Board decided last summer to become much more proactive in representing the interest of our community in dealing with this growing mobility problem. In December, 2012 the Board created an Ad Hoc Transportation Committee (Long, Tough and Bass) to provide advice on what actions the Township should take or support in this regard. The Committee has been hard at work since then.

The Board recognizes the Township does not have full control over some aspects of our transportation system. The principal examples are our roadways and adjoining right of ways, all of which fall under the County. However, it is clear that to make any progress requires four things:

1)    Collaboration with other organizations

2)    A plan that identifies what needs to be done and when

3)    Funding

4)    A seat at the table where federal and state funding is allocated.

Most of our major road improvements within The Woodlands have been funded by the Woodlands Road Utility District #1 which is funded solely by the commercial property owners. Hopefully, under the leadership of Commissioner Noack the County will provide greater leadership in developing that portion of a plan dealing with our roadway, bike lanes and traffic noise needs.

But even with its help transit will still fall under the purview of the Township and not the County. Effective October 1, 2012, The Township is now a direct recipient of FTA transit funding rather than the Brazos Transit District. This means we have the management and fiscal responsibility for transit programs in our area. In addition, we share with the City of Conroe the management responsibility for the new Large Urban Transit Area covering South Montgomery County. The downside is the Township is now liable for any funding deficiency generated by our park and ride and other transit programs, such as the Water Cruisers and the Trolleys.  

The Township has a significant challenge before it, one I believe we are more than up to. We have to lead and collaborate in addressing many areas of concern:

1)    How will changes in future land use affect our future transportation needs? Population growth will not occur at the same rate or in the same areas as it has in the past- just consider the Exxon-Mobile/ Springwoods development. How will we deal with increased congestion, especially in the Town Center and surrounding area? The Developer expects that they will add significant residential population in the Town Center as it is built out. This is already a very congested area where traffic and parking is a bigger and bigger problem.

2)    How can we improve and sustain an effective park and operation at little to no cost to our taxpayers. This has been the case up to now; the park and rides have paid for themselves. But we are faced with aging buses and rising operating costs and it appears this trend will only get worse over the next 2-3 years. We also need to look at the quality of the service and routes being offered. Should we be offering other Houston destination options? Should we offer a shuttle service to the new Exxon-Mobile location? Given the number of people coming into the Woodlands to work, should we provide a reverse commute option? Should we be offering an Intra-Woodlands Transit service?

3)    How will the County deal with growing traffic noise pollution?

4)    How can access from and to I45 and the new Grand Parkway be improved? Would a grade separation at Six Pines and Woodlands Parkway be a feasible option in reducing the back up on the flyover? What will be the impact of the Grand Parkway on traffic on Gosling and Kuykendahl traffic? The bridges are already congested and need to be expanded.

5)    How should we deal with constructing a “real” bike lane system that will serve cyclist, whether they are leisure, commuter or competitive bikers?

I am sure each of you could add to this list. In fact the above is only a sample of questions for which the Transportation Committee and the Board must seek answers. In the near future, I expect that the Transportation Committee will be proposing to the Board undertaking and/or participating in several transit and engineering studies to address and provide answers and options to these sorts of questions. These studies will require that we collaborate with the County and neighboring cities. Ultimately this initial planning work will lead to the formation of a multiyear transportation plan that will help in managing our growth and maintain the quality of life that attracted all of us to “live and work in the woods.”