I went to the open house for I-45 on Tuesday night to see what was going on, since we didn’t have much information about what the current state of TxDOT’s thinking is about this. Apparently, there isn’t a set plan yet. They’re soliciting input and have a five-year timeline before coming to a Record of Decision in 2016 for the project. What that means is that it’s important to start giving them feedback now. I would recommend you attend tonight’s open house if you didn’t make it on Tuesday, and bookmark the North Houston Highway Improvement Project website, where you can also go to give feedback. That website is still under construction, but there is supposed to be a comment form up there; you can also send email with your input.
One thing that I gleaned from talking to people, including Viula from The Heights Life: Apparently, TxDOT is saying that they do not intend to acquire any further right of way for the section of I-45 between Quitman and Cavalcade. If you go to the History section of the NHHIP website, you will see that this comes from the November 2005 final North-Hardy Planning, Alternatives Analysis Report:
As a result of public comments on the Draft report, the Draft Recommended Alternative from Downtown to Beltway 8 was revised. The Final report states:
“It is the goal of TxDOT to remain within the existing right-of-way of IH 45 as improvements to this congested freeway corridor are designed and developed. The existing right-of-way south of IH 610 is limited and multiple design options will need to be explored to remain within the existing right-of-way. Design options could include: reduced shoulder width requirements; reduced or eliminated frontage roads; cantilevered frontage roads, elevated roadway sections, and other creative engineering techniques. These options along with the feasibility to add capacity to the Hardy Toll Road will be thoroughly explored during preliminary engineering and preparation of the environmental document for this project.”
During the approval process for the Final report for the Highway Component, TxDOT agreed to the following project goals when the preliminary design and environmental document preparation phase begins:
– Stay within the existing IH 45 right of way between Quitman St. and Cavalcade St., except at intersections where turn lanes may be needed.
– Minimize effects on quality of life issues of the residents and neighborhoods in the project area.
– Study Hardy Toll Road as an alternative route for additional lanes.
– Evaluate use of tunnels as an alternative in areas of constrained right-of-way.
That’s good news for our neighborhood, but still leaves a lot of room for disruption elsewhere. To me, it remains the case that widening I-45 north of downtown is just going to result in bigger traffic jams through downtown on the Pierce Elevated. It also remains the case that there is a fair amount of underutilized capacity on the Hardy Toll Road, and that the eventual extension of the Hardy into downtown ought to help ease I-45’s woes a bit. The TxDOT folks I talked to couldn’t really address that as it’s not their project, but I note that construction for it is scheduled to start in 2013, meaning it will likely be done before there’s a ROD on I-45. Something to keep in mind. There are also freight rail tracks alongside the Hardy that I bet would make for a decent commuter rail line; if you’re going to make a comment to TxDOT – and you should – you should emphasize that, since they claim to be open to all possibilities at this point. That also apparently includes tunneling, but I didn’t see Gonzalo Camacho there, so who knows if this is still being pushed by anyone.
Since the NHHIP website is pretty bare right now, I thought I’d scan the handouts I got and post them here for your perusal:
There was also a lady there representing Germantown, the little historic development nestled in between I-45, Quitman, and Houston Avenue that would have been wiped off the map if the proposal that was once floated to redirect I-45 down Houston Avenue had ever been taken seriously. While I think that was never likely to be considered, the folks in Germantown are taking no chances and are seeking historic designation from the city as an extra layer of defense. Here’s her handout:
Germantown historic designation, page 1
Germantown historic designation, page 2
Finally, on a related note, a hot idea these days among urbanist types is that cities should consider dismantling the highways that run through them. Yglesias explains the basic logic:
[T]he purpose of a highway is to make it easy to travel long distances in short periods of time. But the central fact about cities is that almost by definition they’re not far from downtown. When you build a freeway that leads from downtown, through residential areas, out to the suburbs what you’re doing is making it easier to get to stuff downtown without living in the city. If you replaced the freeway with a normal at-grade road, suddenly it would make more sense to live closer to downtown. The idea of urban freeway construction was to preserve the vitality of downtown areas at a time when more people wanted to move out to the suburbs. But trying to preserve downtown at the cost of eliminating your residential neighborhood’s core advantage — it’s easy to get downtown! — was fantastically short-sighted.
That sound you hear is heads exploding all over Texas. While I think this is an idea that deserves a fair amount of serious debate, there’s an inescapable fact about the freeways in our fair city, and that’s that they are a necessity for hurricane evacuation. As such, there really isn’t a case to be made for it here. Personally, I’d be delighted if we could just avoid building more freeways in the middle of nowhere to accommodate people who don’t live there yet and instead focused our resources on making it easier and more convenient for those who do live in the urban core to get around without having to use the freeways, thus freeing up more space on them for those who must. That would be a win-win if we ever did it.
I live in Lindale Park and also attended the meeting Tuesday night. Since I live north of Cavalcade (as does all of Lindale Park proper) and less than a mile from 45, I am concerned about the possibility of expansion north of Cavalcade. All I can see in my worried mind is a monstrous, gigantic interchange right there at 45 and 610.
Anyway, I will be submitting my comments asap!
I’m scratching my head a little: Where exactly is Germantown?
From a 2000 Chron story:
It’s basically what’s between Houston Avenue and I-45 from North Main to Quitman. Woodland Park is part of it.
You’re, the last comment about ripping up highways would cause heads to explode. Vancouver, British Columbia though is a city where there are no freeways within the city limits and it does have a very dense urban core.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/25322
I doubt most Houstonians would like that idea. Bubba wants his pickup and the big yard.
“Personally, I’d be delighted if we could just avoid building more freeways in the middle of nowhere to accommodate people who don’t live there yet and instead focused our resources on making it easier and more convenient for those who do live in the urban core to get around without having to use the freeways, thus freeing up more space on them for those who must. ” Amen to that. BTW, according to the latest Census, this city has changed demographically. Bubba don’t live here no more. He up and moved to Montgomery County.
After the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway north of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, people were surprised to find that traffic actually moved better without it – and away it went….not that it was that popular in the first place.
Yes, let’s go back to the days when it took an hour or more to get across town on surface streets. Let’s tell those pesky interstate travelers they don’t need to get through cities quickly. Diana Lind is an idiot who shouldn’t be allowed out in public. We live in an interconnected society that moves goods and people long distances. Removing the means to do that is stupid, and would cause economic disaster. Tear down I-95 through Philadelphia? Right. Like I said, she’s an idiot.