Transportation HUD
Advanced Transit Program/METRO Solutions Phase 2 - Houston Metro: I am requesting $170 million for Houston METRO’s New Starts to continue funding the implementation of rail of METRO Solutions, the transit system plan approved by Harris County voters in November 2003. FY2010 activities include final design, land acquisition, and construction for the first segments on the North Corridor and Southeast Corridor Projects. Records of Decisions were issued for both projects in July of 2008. FY2010 activities also include continuation of planning work and Preliminary Engineering for the University Corridor as well as planning work for commuter rail.
Bayland Island Marina Waterfront - City of Baytown, TX: I am requesting $2.5 million for this project. The funding will implement waterfront improvements to marina along with Hurricane Ike repairs, sidewalk widening, parking lot upgrades, landscaping, and dredging of the main navigable channel.
Buffalo Bayou Greenway Initiative - Buffalo Bayou Partnership: The objective of this project is to acquire property along Buffalo Bayou’s East Sector to create park land for continued development of the Buffalo Bayou greenway. I am requesting $2 million for this project.
Dorsett Street Soccer Complex - City of Houston: I am requesting $1 million dollars for this project. These two former Brownfield properties are perfectly located for a new 20-acre Soccer Park facility in northeast Houston inside the Loop, and across the street from each other. Their location in an industrial complex off Market near I-10 makes it ideal for a high-use, lighted sports complex – reducing the “Not In My Back Yard” factor. These land parcels had remediation to a residential clearance level for use as a park, with assistance from the Texas Railroad Commission. Approximately $3 million would be required for development of the lighted soccer complex, restrooms and parking improvements. The Super Neighborhood #56, Denver Harbor/ Port Houston, is made up of two distinct but similar neighborhoods located north of the Houston Ship Channel turning basin. The southern portion of the area along Clinton Drive is industrial. The smaller residential area, Port Houston, is laid out on both sides of McCarty Street. It has a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses. Denver Harbor is primarily residential. Lyons Avenue is the major commercial corridor in Denver Harbor. Although Interstate Highway 10 splits Denver Harbor physically, its identity has remained strong. Both neighborhoods are now predominantly Hispanic.
East End Livable Centers Initiative - East End Management District: I am requesting $5 million for this project. The objective of this project is to improve the transit and pedestrian access in the second ward area of Houston. This section of the community is a highly used area for transit and pedestrians but the current conditions are not conducive to the level of use and expected growth in various corridors. These projects promote smart growth, sustainable development, new urbanism, address mobility needs, and present opportunities to increase pedestrian, bicycle, and transit utilization in line with the input gathered from community residents, stakeholders, and businesses during the needs assessment phase.
Lawndale Street Grade Separation – The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District: Lawndale Street is currently a four lane roadway that crosses the railroad at-grade in Harris County in the city of Houston. Approximately 24,100 vehicles cross the UPRR at this location daily. According to collision data received from the Houston Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) Traffic Safety Program and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), nine crashes occurred at the Lawndale Street crossing between 1990 and 2003. The identified closure of the existing at-grade crossings of Lawndale and Evergreen Streets requires a reroute to 75th Street for traffic traveling in the north-south direction across the railroad. Access to adjacent properties west of the Glidden Subdivision will be maintained via access roads alongside Lawndale Street along with an at-grade u-turn located beneath the overpass on the west side of the railroad. The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District is working with the Texas Department of Transportation, City of Houston, Fort Bend County and Harris County as well as Class 1 railroads to identify improvements that may be pursued initially. Based on previous federally-funded study recommendations, the funding provided will focus on detailed preliminary engineering and design. I am requesting $1,500,000 for this project.
Outdoor Educational Centers - Houston Independent School District: I am requesting $555,000 for this project. This project will support the construction of outdoor educational centers in elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District.
South 75th Street Grade Separation – The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District: The Gulf Coast Freight Rail District is working with the Texas Department of Transportation, Cityof Houston, Fort Bend County and Harris County as well as Class 1 railroads to identify improvements that may be pursued initially. Based on previous federally-funded study recommendations, the funding provided will focus on detailed preliminary engineering and design. South 75th Street is a major thoroughfare that provides access to the Port of Houston's warehouses and petrochemical complex along the Turning Basin. There are currently 30 to 35 trains per day that cross this major thoroughfare. Rail operations throughout the region can be negatively impacted by congestion in this corridor. The Harris County Freight Rail Grade Crossing Study dated July 2004 indicated that there had been no accidents at this crossing, however the crossing was blocked by trains on an average of 139 minutes per day, resulting in over 203,000 minutes vehicle delay. South 75th Street ranked as the 5th highest road crossing in Harris County based on minutes crossing blocked. The plan to provide a grade separated corridor consists of closing J.W. Peavy and 76th Street. Thus the only access to this area along the south side of the turning basin will be on 75th Street. South 75th Street crosses PTRA's South Shore Subdivision and is located just west of Booth Yard. Due to the proximity of South 75th Street to Booth Yard, mobility issues frequently occur as a result of switching activities at the yard. I am requesting $3,000,000 for this project.
Texas Avenue Streetscape Phase 2 - City of Baytown, TX: I am requesting $2.5 million for this project. Transform Texas Avenue into a pedestrian friendly area with landscaped sidewalks and medians with areas available for public art. The project also includes new benches, trash receptacles, bike racks and decorative street lighting.
Transportation Infrastructure (Flyover connecting HWY 146 and Spur 330) - City of Baytown, TX: I am requesting $12 million for this project. Traffic management plans have been revised, updated and re-revised in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One of the key elements of any traffic plan for a mass evacuation is “pinch points”, places where physical limitations of roadway size, configuration or signalization create a bottleneck. We need help in eliminating one such pinch point in Baytown. Our State-mandated evacuation plan calls for the 70,000 residents of Baytown to travel south on Highway 146 to Spur 330 and to turn north for travel to Interstate 10. There is a direct connector from Spur 330 to I-10 westbound. The pinch point is at the intersection of Highway 146 and Spur 330. All the evacuating residents must exit the main lanes and travel through three signalized intersections before reconnecting with a limited access highway as shown on the attached map. Not only do these intersections create a bottleneck for evacuees, they also make it difficult for local emergency personnel to cross while preparing for and responding to an approaching emergency. All areas south of Highway 146 are in the storm surge zone, making evacuation mandatory, not voluntary.
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