Gulfton -area residents sound off on bike plan /Survey indicates the top needs for community

Stella Gustavson — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 14:00:00 GMT

HOUSTON CHRONICLE, THU 07/07/05, ThisWeek Section

By BETTY L. MARTIN
Staff

Pathways to a brighter, safer, more mobile future in the Gulfton area may be under the feet and the bicycle wheels of community's residents, said the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

The Gulfton District Pedestrian and Bicyclist Conceptual Plan is the H-GAC's top choice among 20 Houston neighborhood candidates to receive about $3 million in seed money from Texas Department of Transportation funds, said Dan Raine of the H-GAC's Community Environmental Planning department.

Raine and urban planners with Knudson and Associates handed out survey questionnaires and asked about 25 area residents attending a June 29 meeting at Benavidez Elementary School, 6262 Gulfton , to assess greatest needs and obstacles to increasing mobility to heavily visited spots, including schools, churches and parks.

The project team will review the comments and present their findings to neighborhood residents 6 p.m. Aug. 3 at Bayland Community Center, 6440 Bissonnet. Their will be a second public meeting at the end of August or beginning of September to show residents the proposal and make final adjustments before it goes to H-GAC, said Stella Gustavson, senior planner at Knudson and Associates.

Knudson and Associates have been involved in several Houston-area renovations, including MetroRail's Main Street Line and the Kirby Drive pedestrian and bicycle project between North Braeswood and Dorrington.

The hike-and-bike study and a visit around the area's streets, pathways and crosswalks was enough to convince Raine that the Gulfton area - loosely defined as bounded by Westheimer, Bissonnet, Chimney Rock and Hillcroft - would benefit from the plan.

"Basically, you have a rural roadway network in an urban environment," he said.

Gulfton won the highest number of points - over areas including Sharpstown, Montrose, Woodlake/Briarmeadow, Greater Third Ward and Near Northside - in a study that assessed values including population and land use density, children, elderly, education levels, attractions and employment diversity. Values of all factors were totaled together and weighted by the data's importance.

The pedestrian-and-bike plan would augment routes to and from popular spots, where people in Gulfton want to go, by removing obstacles or barriers and possibly offering solutions in getting people to those sites, Raine said. Such a plan could include improved lighting, crosswalks, sidewalks or bicycle routes along streets or lanes specifically designated for them.

Not a luxury

"In this neighborhood, bike riding is not a luxury, it's a need. There are narrow sidewalks and ditches," said Wilfredo Valsquez, who heads the Comite Centro Americano de Houston, an organization that collects and sends school supplies to Central and South America.

State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Southwest Houston, said there was a need in Gulfton for an improved lighting plan.

"The city says the lights and roads meet specifications - we've got a light every few streets, but there are blocks that don't have lights," Hochberg said.

Area resident Nelson Ayala said city lighting installed on a stretch of Hillcroft from Bellaire to Bissonnet, where there are no lights now, may deter speeders.

"Everyone runs the speed limit there," he said.

Raine said the $3 million would be only a starting point and that other government and area management organizations would probably need to weigh in on the project with dollars.

7-Jul-05 9:00 AM

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Gulfton -area residents sound off on bike plan /Survey indicates the top needs for community