Hemmed between a request for a pause by federal highway officials and an outcry from opponents, planners of a massive rebuild of Interstate 45 in Houston are taking their plans back to the public. The Texas Transportation Commission on Wednesday said more public scrutiny is needed of the $7 billion-plus plan for remaking I-45 [...]
The improvements include new shelters, lighting and a wider sidewalk for cyclists. The Westchase District is working on a multi-million dollar project that aims to make it easier for walkers and cyclists to access bus stops in West Houston. The $15 million project runs along a three-mile stretch of Westheimer Road, from Kirkwood Road [...]
One of the eye-opening realities of American life for Jon Ruto when he moved from Kenya to Houston was the distance between things that seemed so necessary and the people who relied on them. “The hospitals, the factories, the jobs, they are so far away,” Ruto said at a bus stop near his apartment [...]
The February assault of a 63-year-old Eastside woman at a Metro light rail stop has angered local Latino leaders, who say transit officials have failed to protect and value some of their most loyal riders. “If it is not safe, how can they continue to ride?” said Augustin Pinedo, District 18 director of the [...]
The region’s largest COVID vaccine site — created to cater to vulnerable communities — is drive-thru-only, a process that frustrated some observers as health officials work to balance better access to shots, huge demand and the need to inoculate as many people as fast as possible. Opened Wednesday, the vaccination site at NRG Park [...]
The Metropolitan Transit Authority has distributed more than 2 million face masks to riders since the agency mandated the facial coverings last summer, officials said this week. Metro spokesman Jerome Gray said handouts of disposable masks peaked at about 15,000 masks daily in the summer before sliding to about 5,000 each day during January. [...]
This Transit Equity Day, we would like to acknowledge and thank Janis Scott for her unceasing commitment to improving and preserving public transit access for all Houston-area residents. Janis truly embodies the values central to transit equity. [Read more.] Understanding Houston | February 3, 2021 READ FULL ARTICLE
Texas highway officials Thursday gave themselves the green light to rebuild Interstate 45 in Houston, a crucial step in the process, despite lingering concerns from critics that the proposed $7.5 billion widening project is out of step with the region's future needs. [Read more.] Dug Begley Houston Chronicle | February 4, 2021 READ [...]
The four-person leadership of the Houston area’s regional mobility council will stay virtually the same for 2021, after suburban officials substituted two key positions. Officials prior to the divided vote last Friday said the move was necessary to better reflect both urban and suburban representation at the top ranks of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s [...]
A monthslong process to reach an understanding between regional leaders and the Texas Department of Transportation about objectives of the I-45 project stalled Jan. 22. What began as a memorandum of understanding, a binding agreement between the group of regional leaders from the Houston-Galveston Area Council and TxDOT, was then reworked into a less [...]
