HELP PLAN A TRANSIT-FRIENDLY CITY
By Ella Tyler
The City of Houston’s Planning Department, as part of its Urban Corridor Planning, is holding a series of workshops so residents can participate in planning for growth along METRO’s light rail and guided rapid transit corridors. These workshops will be held over the next six weeks, with an introductory workshop on April 14. After that, there will be workshops for each of the corridors.
The way the city grows is directly related to the rules for land development and infrastructure. Details such as the width of streets and sidewalks, the distance buildings are from the street, how many parking spaces a business must have, and what type of landscaping must be added, make the difference between a city that people can walk in or one where they must to drive everywhere.
The workshops will focus on developing plans about mobility, public spaces, urban design and implementation.
In the individual corridor workshops, planners and community members will explore the unique characteristics and needs of each corridor. For example, where are wider sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks needed? Where are public gathering places, benches and parks needed? How can these improvements be funded?
Each corridor workshop take place over two consecutive evenings. Participants will work in small groups to respond to questions and complete activities from the design team. The first session will discuss key opportunities for change in the corridor. The next day, the design team will discuss design ideas and concepts for each corridor. These sessions are from 6 to 9 each evening. Also, participants may drop by the workshop location between 11 am and 5 pm either day and speak to a member of the design team one-on-one.
The introductory meeting, for all the corridors, is Saturday, April 14th, from 8:30 am to noon at the George R. Brown Con Convention Center. Ideas that may be applicable to all six corridors will be discussed.
The East End Corridor workshops will be Monday & Tuesday, April 16 & 17, at the Marbella Banquet Hall, 6632 Harrisburg Road.
The North Corridor meetings will April 18 & 19, at Reid Memorial United Methodist Church, 5203 Fulton St.
The Southeast Corridor meetings will be Wednesday & Thursday, April 25 & 26, at Holman Street Baptist Church, 3422 Holman Street.
The Main Street Corridor sessions will be Monday & Tuesday, April 30 & May 1, at Palmer Memorial Church, 6221 Main Street, close to the Hermann Park/Rice U Metro Rail stop.
The Uptown Corridor’s workshops will be May 2 & 3, at the Pavilion at Post Oak, 1800 Post Oak Blvd.
The workshop for the University Corridor will not be scheduled until the alignment for the corridor is chosen.
There will be a presentation of preliminary findings for all the corridors on Wednesday, May 23, from 6 to 9 pm at George R. Brown Convention Center.
Please RSVP to urban.corridor.planning@cityofhouston.net. For more information about the workshops, see the city’s website.