In April and May 2006, public meetings hosted
by Council Members Clutterbuck, Edwards, and Holm, were held
to seek community input on the proposed Metro light rail University
Corridor. Across the corridor the public expressed several
consistent ideas at each forum urging objective criteria for
the selection of the line. The following criteria are also
consistent with existing standards for neighborhoods and businesses
within Districts C, D, and G:
1. Protect and enhance residential neighborhoods
along corridor.
- Enhance quality of place; e.g. respect for neighborhood
character, trees, landscaping and sidewalks. Maintain
or improve landscaped medians.
- Ensure that transit facilities and street designs
are sensitive to surrounding current and future neighborhoods.
- Provide mitigating improvements to areas that are
negatively impacted by transit facilities and operations.
|
2. Protect and enhance local businesses and institutions.
- Maintain access to businesses and institutions
in design of streets and transit facilities.
- Ensure that temporary access routes are well and
properly signed.
- Provide mitigating improvements to areas that are
negatively impacted by transit improvements and operations
sensitive to character of surrounding areas.
|
3. Protect and enhance community mobility.
- Maintain or increase the number of moving lanes
on major streets.
- Maintain or improve level of service of all intersections.
- Coordinate pedestrian, transit & vehicular
signal operations—as opposed to signal preemption—in
order to enhance overall mobility
- Maintain access to neighborhoods, businesses and
institutions.
- Maintain number and length of turning lanes with
medians wherever possible.
- Procure sufficient R.O.W. to accommodate all street
functions including transit, vehicles, pedestrians,
and landscaped areas.
- Review and approval by the City of Houston Director
of Public Works & Engineering of all traffic and
mobility plans – temporary construction and
permanent impacts.
|
4. Properly manage construction activities.
- Rebuild entire streets and sidewalks.
- Phase construction in 2,000-ft. segments reaching
completion before moving to the next segment.
- Review and approval by the City of Houston Director
of Public Works & Engineering of all street and
utility designs and construction scheduling.
- Minimize impacts with flexible daily construction
work periods.
- Utilize a partnership of resources to communicate
construction activities well in advance to affected
parties.
- Communicate planned interruption of utilities and
access in advance to affected properties.
- Keep construction areas clean and orderly.
|
|
