City of Houston Bicycle Advisory Committee Infrastructure Subcommittee met Feb. 28

City of Houston Bicycle Advisory Committee Infrastructure Subcommittee met Feb. 28.

Here are the minutes provided by the subcommittee:

Call to Order. Chair Joe Cutrufo began the meeting at 2:36pm.

Roll Call: (bold indicates present)

Joe Cutrufo, Chair

Tom Compson, BAC Chair

Alejandro Perez, BAC Vice Chair

Leah Chambers

Lisa Graiff

Trevor Reichman

Jessica Wiggins

Yuhayna Mahmud

Ben Drews

Amar Mohite

Mike VanDusen

Ana Ramirez Huerta

Robin Holzer

Ex-Officio Members:

Monique Johnson, Planning & Development

Ian Hlavacek, Houston Public Works

Patricc Fortiori, Parks & Recreation

Item 1: Director’s Report. Monique Johnson gave the Director’s Report. No updates at this time.

Item 2: Chair’s Report. Chair Joe Cutrufo gave the Chair’s Report.

Since this committee’s formation we’ve seen Houston slowly transform into a city where more people can travel safely by bike. Recent polls show public interest in more bike infrastructure and want to travel more by bicycle. As an advisory committee to the planning staff, we need to continue to support by making sure the City has the resources it needs, like information, to make good decisions on multi-modal transportation.

We need to have more hard data on ridership, counts, to provide elected officials and staff with future implementation of the bike plan and prioritization iterations.

Recognizing the support that staff and elected officials have already given towards maintaining our bikeways, let’s give them a tailwind to continue to do more. The BAC and Infrastructure Subcommittee are available to help create an environment in which maintenance is improved. We can’t be a great city if we don’t take care of our infrastructure.

Item 3: Public Comment.

Ten (10) written comments were submitted in support of the proposed Cullen Park Path or Piping Rock Connection.

Cullen Park Path: Todd Ward, Bob Shortle, M. Broussard, Deborah Griese, Chuck Mason, Alan Wiggins, Ruth Hollyer, Ross Mowrey

Piping Rock Connection: Randall Bacon, Nick Kornuta

Marian Wright spoke regarding the intersection of White Oak and Micheaux and safety. Judith McLaughlin spoke regarding the proposed Cullen Park Path.

Ed Pettitt spoke regarding METRO BOOST 54 and shared updates from the Friends of Columbia Tap.

Ricky Cardenas spoke regarding bicycle commuting and safe speeds on shared-use paths where pedestrians and bicyclists both occupy.

Gregg Nady spoke regarding the proposed Piping Rock Connection and Cullen Park Path.

Marcelo Escalera spoke regarding increasing the bikeways network.

Keith Hardy provided written comments via Microsoft Teams chat regarding the proposed Cullen Park Path and Piping Rock Connection.

Item 4: Houston Public Works IDM Updates.

Virginia Lynn, Senior Staff Analyst, Transportation & Drainage Operations, Houston Public Works presented on updates to the City’s Infrastructure Design Manual relevant to bicycle infrastructure in Chapter 15 (Traffic and Signal Design Requirements) and Chapter 17 (Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Design Requirements). The Infrastructure Design Manual is found on the Houston Permitting Center website.

Item 5: Bikeway Maintenance/Sweeper Updates.

Brian D. Smith II, Transportation Planner, Planning & Development, presented an update on the bikeways sweeping program. HPW is currently working with the vendor of the Space City Sweeper to resolve maintenance issues. 311 is launching a bikeway specific maintenance category that will launch spring 2024.

Item 6: SBIF Requests for Cullen Park Path & Piping Rock.

Bryan Dotson presented two potential projects to utilize Strategic Bikeways Funds: an extension of the Cullen Park Path and an extension of the George Bush Park Trail to Piping Rock. He’s proposing the funds be utilized for the local match for a Harris County Precinct 4 Places4People application.

Letters of Support: At the time of the meeting staff received nine (9) letters in support of the Cullen Park Path and thirteen (13) letters in support of Piping Rock.

Committee action: Refer projects to the April BAC meeting for vote on supporting SBIF utilization for local match. If BAC votes in support, SBIF funds will be earmarked until October 2024. Concurrently, staff will evaluate feasibility of project and application requirements.

Vote: Unanimous Abstain: None

Item 7: Post-Appraisal of Shepherd/Durham.

Bryan Dotson presented his post-appraisal of the high-comfort bike lanes recently installed on Shepherd Drive and Durham Drive from Washington Avenue to Feagan Street.

Item 8: Open Forum.

Alejandro Perez: will the Lamar Street bikeway detour on Polk Street become permanent?

Item 10: Announcements.

Upcoming Events

- 3/5, TIRZ 12 Mobility Plan Public Meeting. 6pm at LifeBrook Church (1822 W 18th St). [Website]

- 3/16, Third Ward on Tap: block party and resource fair hosted by the Houston Housing Authority and Friends of Columbia Tap. 10am-2pm, Cuney Homes (3260 Truxillo St)

- 4/7, Tour de Houston. [Website]

- 5/17, Bike to Work Day. Details TBD

Next Meetings

- Education Subcommittee: Mar 27, 2:30pm; John B. Raia Conference Room/MS Teams

- Bicycle Advisory Committee: April 24, 2:30pm; Council Chambers/MS Teams - Infrastructure Subcommittee: May 22, 2:30pm; John B. Raia Conference Room/MS Teams

Meeting Adjourned at 4:33pm.

https://houstonbikeplan.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/BAC-Minutes_Feb2024.pdf