Woodlands wants seat on board
After several years of what some members of The Woodlands Township saw as unfair appraisals of properties in The Woodlands, the board voted to seek greater influence in the appraisal process by nominating Chairman Bruce Tough to vie for one of the five seats on the Montgomery Central Appraisal District.
While The Woodlands might be stalled in the quest to improve roads for vehicle traffic after voters nixed a $350 million road bond, it is pursuing a way to get people out of their cars and onto their bikes as a method of local travel.
The Woodlands Township Board of Directors was set to decide Wednesday whether to approve a request for proposals from firms to design a pedestrian and bicycle master plan.
The goal of putting together a plan is to improve connectivity throughout the community by the development of a network of hike-and-bike trails, multiuse pathways, bike lanes and other facilities.
The board designated $100,000 in this year’s budget to create this master plan after receiving resident requests that they fill in the gaps in the more than 200 miles of existing multi-use pathways in The Woodlands that fail to connect all the villages to points of interest and for the addition of bike lanes on roads.
As a community with a very active cycling presence — with two cycling clubs and about 300 people participating in Bike to Work Day on May 12 — The Woodlands aims to boost the township’s infrastructure to make cycling a safer and more viable option for getting around town.
In 2010, the League of American Bicyclists recognized The Woodlands as a bronze-level bicycle friendly community. With the master-plan improvements, the township hopes to earn a higher rating.
The firm selected to design the master plan will be expected to address current gaps in connecting neighborhoods — such as Harper’s Landing — to the pathway system, more direct routes to destinations, an expanded trail system in the George Mitchell Nature Preserve and the Spring Creek Greenway, connections to Harris County Precinct 4 trails, using drainage ditches as corridors for connecting paths, the addition of bike lanes to roads, safety issues on shoulders of major thoroughfares and building on existing facilities in the region.
“The message was loud and clear at Bike to Work Day: People riding bicycles want a convenient, safe, planned and connected bicycling infrastructure to make our streets and pathways more inviting for the growing number of people biking in The Woodlands, as well as making the streets more predictable for all road users,” said George Mendes, a member of Bike The Woodlands Coalition Steering Committee, the sponsor of Bike to Work Day, in a newsletter. “This includes a desire for a comprehensive system of off-road and on-road facilities that safely connects neighborhoods and destinations while encouraging safer bicycle and pedestrian commuting and recreational opportunities.”
One major concern for cyclists in the area is the safety of the current system. Mendes and the Bike The Woodlands Coalition conducted an evaluation of the safety hazards for cyclists on roadway shoulders, including uneven pavement, potholes and large cracks, and found 180 hazards, ranging in severity from maintenance suggestions to serious dangers to cyclists. Of the 180, the cyclists deemed 102 of them either immediate or potentially serious safety hazards.
“If cyclists hit those areas, they can crash and hit traffic,” Mendes said.
The master plan will incorporate the existing plans and studies on the area system, including The Woodlands Development Co.’s master plan and the Houston-Galveston Area Council in The Woodlands Transit Plan and the South County Mobility Study, both studies that examined ways to improve mobility in the region.
John Powers, assistant general manager of community services for The Woodlands, said the majority of the data collection and study work is already complete thanks to the regional mobility plans and studies. The firm will be responsible for devising a comprehensive plan, including engineering and design as well as cost estimates.