HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

Pedestrian-Bicyclist SubcommitteeBusiness Meeting

April 20, 2017

Administration

1. Introductions

2. Approval of Minutes

January 26, 2017

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

3. Election of Officers

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

4. Proposed Scope Modification:FM 526/IH 10 TAP project Bikeway Project

FM 526/IH 10Ped/Bike Facilities

2

Length

– 3.2 miles

Scope of Work

– Construct 8-foot wide path

Connectivity

– Maxey Rd Park & Ride– Bus Stops along IH-10– Maxey Park– Herman Brown Park– Residential Community– Existing Bicycle Facilities

Investment

– $2,459,000

FM 526 from IH-10 to Woodforest Dr

IH-10 frontage road from FM 526 to Freeport Street

Original Scope

3

Original Scope:

8 feet wide shared use path on the east side of FM 526 NB from Woodforest Blvd to IH 10 8 feet wide shared use path on IH 10 from FM 526 to Freeport StreetScope exclusion: bridge across Greens Bayou

Scope Change following stakeholder meetings:

10 feet wide shared use path on FM 526 from Woodforest Blvd to IH 105 feet wide sidewalk on FM 526 from Woodforest Blvd to IH 105 to 6 feet wide sidewalk on IH 10 frontage road from FM 526 to Normandy St 6 to 8 feet wide sidewalk on the west side of Normandy St SB from IH 10 to Greens Bayou

Change of Scope

What is the difference?

FM 526:– Higher comfort shared use path 10 ft– Sidewalk (new)IH 10 frontage rd:– Shorter distance– SidewalkNormandy St (logical end point)

4

FM 526 / IH 10

Stakeholder meetings

– > 10 meetings– December 2015 April 2017

Stakeholder meetings

– Northshore community– Houston Parks Board– METRO– City of Houston

Concerns/Priorities

West side of FM 526– High density residential– Commercial– Grocery– Govt. servicesEast side of FM 526– Maxey Rd Park & Ride– Maxey Rd Park– Future Greens Bayou Trail

MAP H-GAC RLUIS LAND USE

5

FM 526 Shared Use Path - Alternatives Considered

Signalized

Pedestrian

Crossing

East side (NB)

– less # of intersections– less # of driveways– Direct connection to:

– Park & Ride– Maxey Park

From West to East Side (map)

– Community Priorities– Access good & services – Direct connection to:

– Park & Ride– Maxey Park

West Side (SB)

– Community Needs/Priorities

East & West Side

– Higher comfort shared use path– 10 instead of 8 ft

– Sidewalk

6

Church Road

7

FM 526

– 10’ shared use path– 5’ sidewalk

H-GAC’s LCI Analysis

Avg. length of potential trips

– 0.91 miles: cycling– 0.53 miles: pedestrian

Proposed Change

MAP BY HOUSTON PARKS BOARD

8

Average Length of Potential Cycling Trip: 0.91 miles

Activity corridor

9

Average Length of Potential Cycling Trip: 0.91 miles

Activity corridor

10

Proposed Change of Scope along IH 10

MAP HOUSTON PARKS BOARD

11

Alternative considered along IH 10

MAP HOUSTON PARKS BOARD

12

Inter-agency coordination

Bus Route 137 & Bikes

– 120 bus routes

Ranked top 20 bus route

– Number of bikes carried on buses

Ranked top 18 bus routes

– Number of bikes carried on buses (New Metro Bus Network)

MAP HOUSTON PARKS BOARD

Original HPB AlignmentTxDOT alignment alternativeImprovements

13

H-GAC Bikeway Viewer

Spatial Distribution of Ped/Bike Facilities

14

Census Tracks:

48201232701

48201232702

Project located within Census Tract(s) with greater-than-

regional proportion of underserved population

Minority Populations

Low-Income Households

Senior Populations (Over

65)

Limited Educational

Attainment

Zero Automobile Ownership

Female Head of Household

Limited English Proficiency

H-GAC’s Environmental Justice Indicators

Source: 2013 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates (2009-2013)

15

Funds

Total: $2,459,000

Fiscal Year 2019

TIP 2017-2020

Provides connection to the Market St/Federal Rd

activity area

Needed ped/bike infrastructure

Conclusion

16

Maximizing benefit for short distance trips

Access from residential to retail, services, parks, park &

ride

Needed infrastructure for underserve population

Elderly

Low-income

Low automobile ownership

17

Questions?

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

5. Subcommittee Priorities

Subcommittee Priorities

The 2040 Regional Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan

- Nine priority

- Accelerate, Facilitate, and Coordinate development of our

region’s pedestrian and bicycle network

Three actions to focus during 2015 through 2017 (in January 22,

2015):

o Build Capacity

o Collect Data

o Improve Cultural Awareness

Subcommittee Priorities

Subcommittee Priorities

• Bicyclist-Pedestrian Subcommittee Working Group

Meeting held on March 20, 2017

• Survey and discussion was conducted

• 25 participants

surveymonkey.com/r/ped-bike-032017

Subcommittee Priorities

Rank Score Priority

1 3.00 Connect Facilities

2 3.38 Invest in Pilot Projects

3 3.42

Promote Interjurisdictional and Intermodal

Coordination

4 4.52 Build Capacity

5 4.76 Reward Local Planning and Investment

6 5.36 Collect Data

7 5.43

Institutionalize Active Transportation

Planning

8 6.10 Improve Cultural Awareness

9 7.24 Create a System Vision

Subcommittee Priorities - Accelerate

Connect Facilities • Prioritize investment in projects that eliminate major

gaps in the regional pedestrian and bicycle network and/or connect localized networks.

Invest in Pilot Projects • Provide financial and technical support to innovative

pedestrian and bicycle projects that will spur local investment in underserved communities and/or serve as demonstration projects.

Subcommittee Priorities - Coordinate

Promote Interjurisdictional and Intermodal Coordination

• Help communities and agencies work together during the planning, design, and construction of interjurisdictional pedestrian and bicycle projects.

• Continue to integrate pedestrian and bicycle improvements into sub-regional plans, access management studies, and other regional planning efforts.

Examples

• Best Practice case studies

• Technical tools/training

• Cross jurisdictional bicycle pedestrian project

• Critical gaps in regional trail connections

• Connections to transit stations

• Safety issues – audit

• Safety initiatives review

• Project development and implementation workshops

• Site visits/workshops

• 3 ideas for regional pilot projects

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

6. Bicycle-Pedestrian Safety Outreach

Pedestrian and Bicyclist

Safety Outreach

Neal A. Johnson

Behavioral Research Team

College Station, TX

Houston-Galveston Area CouncilPed-Bike Subcommittee Meeting

Introduction

• TTI Intro

• TxDOT Traffic Safety Grants

•Why Houston?

What is a bicyclist?

What is a pedestrian?

Project Overview

• What did we do?

• How did we do it?

• What did we find?

• What’s next?

What did we do?

• Identify the problem(s)– What behaviors are leading to pedestrian

and bicyclist crashes? Different roadway environments.

– What factors are associated with these crashes? Where?

Who?

When?

• Gathering the data

How did we do it?

• Two-pronged approach

–Observational Survey 10 locations

Different walking, biking, driving environments

Behaviors

–Crash Analysis

What did we find in the Observational Survey?

Motorists (n=3,094)

• Actions

3% performed a reckless action

• Distractions

20% distractedo Lowest near schools

o Highest on higher speed roads

What did we find in the Observational Survey?Pedestrians (n=2, 198)• Locations

16% chose risky location

• Actions 16% engaged in risky action

• Distractions 12% distracted

• Site differences Downtown site (n=1,439) Variances by location type

Site Road Type# of Pedestrians

Observed# of Risky Locations

# of Reckless Actions

# of Pedestrians Distracted

1 Major Arterial 65 43 17 15

2 Interstate (nighttime) 9 6 3 1

3 School area 137 32 52 7

4 City Street 22 12 44 5

5 University area 339 59 76 32

6 School area 123 0 0 1

7 High Speed Road 25 8 6 0

8 Major Arterial 5 2 2 1

9 Interstate 34 10 26 16

10 City Street (downtown) 1,439 190 142 174

Site Road Type# of Pedestrians

Observed# of Risky Locations

# of Reckless Actions

# of Pedestrians Distracted

1 Major Arterial 65 43 17 15

2 Interstate (nighttime) 9 6 3 1

3 School area 137 32 52 7

4 City Street 22 12 44 5

5 University area 339 59 76 32

6 School area 123 0 0 1

7 High Speed Road 25 8 6 0

8 Major Arterial 5 2 2 1

9 Interstate 34 10 26 16

10 City Street (downtown) 1,439 190 142 174

What did we find in the Observational Survey?Bicyclists (n=59)• Locations

30% failed to maintain a consistent path

• Actions 42% performed reckless action(s)

• Distractions 5%, relatively low

• Helmet Use – 8.5%• Infrastructure

Sites with bike lanes or separated path had overall lower occurrences of reckless actions

73% of bicyclists at site 10 used the protected bike lane

What did we find in the Observational Survey?Situational Observations – interactions between different road users.

What did we find in the Crash Analysis?

Where are Crashes Occurring?• 60% City of Houston• 31% in “Rural Harris County”Who are these Pedestrians and Bicyclists?• Age

– Pedestrians – 21-65– Bicyclists – 11-60

• Gender– Males

Pedestrians – 68% Bicyclists – 84%

• Race/ethnicityAre Bicyclists Wearing Helmets?• 12.6%

What did we find in the Crash Analysis?When are Crashes Occurring?• 79% of pedestrian deaths and serious injuries

occurred in the dark.– 2-3 am Sunday morning (Saturday night)

• 37% of bicyclist deaths and serious injuries occurred in the dark.

What Road Types do Crashes Occur on?• “Urban principal arterial”Where on the Roadway do Crashes Occur?• 71% on mainlanes of highway

What’s next?

1. Paper outreach materials – Brochure

2. Videos – Theme of: “it could be you”

3. Educational Seminars – with interactive component

4. Website – informational pages/links

5. Social media

OUTREACH

Contact Information

Neal A. Johnson3135 TAMU

College Station, TX 77843-3135

neal-johnson@tti.tamu.edu

(979) 845-0913

**FYI, I’ll be out of the office 4/21-5/1**

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

7. Bike-to-Work Day

Bike-to-Work Day

• H-GAC - May 18, 2017

• Greenway Plaza partnership

• Transportation Policy Council Resolution

• Commute Solutions Program

H-GAC

Bike-to-Work Day

Bike Month Promotion – Flyer/Poster

Bike Month Promotion - Website

Bike-to-Work Day

HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL

8. Member Roundtable

9. 2017 Meeting Dates

Pedestrian-Bicyclist Subcommittee:

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.Conference Room B (Second Floor)

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Upcoming Meetings