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Houston-Galveston Area Council

February 2014
In This Issue
January TPC Cancelled
The Art of Transportation: MPO 40th Anniversary
H-GAC Hosts Bike Friendly Workshop
Montgomery County Mobility Studies
Brown Bag Lunch:Texas High Speed Rail
Lone Star Executive Airport Opens New Facility
Pedestrian-Bicyclist Counters Available
Mobility NOW Releases Episode 8 and Episode 6 En Español
Did you know…?
H-GAC in the News
Join Our Mailing List!
Meetings & Events
TAC – Wednesday, February 19, 2014
 
TPC – Friday, February 28, 2014

 

40th Anniversary of the MPO – Opening Ceremony
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Two Allen Center Lobby
1200 Smith Street
Houston, TX 77002 
 

Bike Friendly Workshop 
Friday, February 21, 2014
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. 
Westin Houston Memorial City 
945 Gessner 
Houston, TX 77024
 
South County Mobility Plan Public Meeting 
Thursday, February 27, 2014 
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. 
Oak Ridge Baptist Church 
500 East Oak Hill Drive 
Spring, TX 77386

 
H-GAC’s YouTube Channel 
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youtube 

January TPC Cancelled

Due to inclement weather, the meeting of the January 24, 2014 Transportation Policy Council was canceled. The next meeting will be on February 28, 2014.

 

The Art of Transportation: 40th Anniversary of the MPO

H-GAC will be celebrating 40 years of service as the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization in February 2014. This anniversary will be an opportunity to highlight major transportation milestones from 1974 to 2014. A photo exhibit featuring key transportation projects is planned to be shown at Two Allen Center (mezzanine area) through the month of February, 2014 during regular business hours. Images from multimodal transportation agencies in the eight-county region have been selected to be part of this celebration of four decades of transportation planning.

  

40th Anniversary of the MPO – Opening Ceremony
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Two Allen Center Lobby
1200 Smith Street
Houston, TX 77002

NOTE: This event is free, but RSVPs are required.  

Click to register 

 

H-GAC Hosts Bike Friendly Workshop

Bike Friendly Workshop Logo H-GAC, with the League of American Bicyclists and Bike Texas, will host Bike Friendly – Region, Communities and Businesses, a half-day workshop featuring presentations by prominent local and national experts. This workshop will feature information about becoming more bike friendly within our region. A dynamic group of speakers will be led by Bill Nesper, Vice President of Programs for the League of American Bicyclists.
 
Bike Friendly Workshop 
Friday, February 21, 2014
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. 
Westin Houston Memorial City 
945 Gessner 
Houston, TX 77024
 
Online registration is required. Register HERE.

For more information, contact Amanda Thorin at 713-627-3200.  

Montgomery County Mobility Studies 

The population of Montgomery County is projected to increase to one million by 2030. With some of the largest master planned communities in the Houston-Galveston region and multiple, rapidly expanding employment centers, Montgomery County is experiencing congestion and mobility challenges. H-GAC is managing three concurrent studies to prepare the area for this extraordinary growth.  
 
South County Mobility Plan

The data collection phase of this study is almost complete and the analysis phase will begin. A business open house on January 14 provided an opportunity for area retailers, restaurants and employers to address transportation issues that directly impact their businesses. During this informal session, attendees identified specific areas of concern affecting their businesses, specifically, other bottlenecks or intersections of concern outside their places of business.

 

South County Mobility Plan Public Meeting
Thursday, February 27, 2014
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Oak Ridge Baptist Church
500 East Oak Hill Drive
Spring, TX 77386

The Woodlands Township Transit Plan
A public briefing was held at The Woodlands Township Town Hall meeting on January 22. This well attended meeting gave The Woodlands Township residents the opportunity to give their input regarding the future of transit in The Woodlands Township. A series of Focus Group workshops, that included interviews and group discussions, were held January 22-24 with a range of stakeholder groups. The input received at the Town Hall briefing, Focus Group workshops and the Transit Survey will be used, along with the data collected, to develop alternatives for the study.

 
2014 Montgomery County Thoroughfare Plan
H-GAC is working with the City of Conroe and Montgomery County to develop a thoroughfare plan for Montgomery County. This study will begin in March 2014 and will take a year to complete. 

 

For more information regarding all three studies, please visit www.MontgomeryCountyMobility.com .  

  

Brown Bag Lunch: Texas High Speed Rail

On Monday, January 20, 2014, former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels gave a presentation on Texas High Speed Rail. As part of the H-GAC Brown Bag Series, a video of the well-attended talk can be viewed on the internet

 

Judge Eckels is the founding chairman of the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation, a coalition of local governments, educational institutions and the private sector working to bring high speed rail to Texas. Eckels left that organization in 2010 to join Texas Central Railway, LLC; a private enterprise seeking to build a high speed rail system linking the major metropolitan areas of Texas with true high speed rail service.

Watch the presentation on the H-GAC YouTube channel. Make sure to download the presentation to follow along.  

Lone Star Executive Airport Opens New Facility

LoneStarExecAirport

On January 14, 2014, Galaxy FBO announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art Fixed Based Operation (FBO) corporate and general aviation facility at the Lone Star Executive Airport in Conroe, Texas.

“The Galaxy FBO development ushers in a new chapter in continuing improvements at the airport. As the first major development on the Southeast side of the airport, it also opens the door for future expansion,” said Scott Smith, Lone Star Executive Airport Manager. “With the extension of the primary runway to 7,500 feet; the construction of a U.S. Customs facility; and the addition to our FBO family of the new Galaxy FBO with Black Walnut Café, the airport is better positioned to meet the rising needs of general aviation in the North Houston, The Woodlands and Conroe areas,” Smith added.

The new Galaxy FBO occupies 15 acres at the south corner of the Lone Star Executive Airport, at the end of Runway 14-32. The facility features a three-story 45,000 sq.ft. terminal building, two 50,000 sq.ft. hangars, a 168′ wide x 101′ long arrival canopy and 45,000 sq.yd. of ramp space for aircraft parking.

“The new facility will provide visitors with an impressive gateway to Montgomery County – Conroe, The Woodlands and surrounding North Houston destinations – as well as a great experience for the flight crew,” said Jeremy Gee, Vice President of Galaxy FBO.” 

  

Pedestrian-Bicyclist Counters Available

Walking in a cross walk

As part of H-GAC’s pedestrian-bicyclist program, H-GAC promotes the use of walking and bicycling by helping to establish the demand for pedestrian-bicyclist facilities. In addition to two permanent counters installed on White Oak Trail in Houston that establish a baseline for demand and how it varies by season, H-GAC has three temporary pedestrian/bicycle counters available for use by local governments. The counters keep track of the number of people using sidewalks and/or trails, providing a better understanding of the demand and use of these facilities.

For more information about the loan of the counters, contact Kelly Porter at 713-993-4529.

Mobility NOW Releases Episode 8 and Episode 6 En Español

Mobility NOW Episode 8
Marc Williams, Director of Planning with TxDOT discusses the future of the I-69 corridor. The I-69 expansion is a nationwide project to create an economic corridor for North America. It spans the entire country, connecting Canada to Mexico with one continuous freeway. Phil Wilson, former Executive Director of TxDOT is also featured. Click on the image to watch.    

Mobility NOW En Español – Episode 6 

Marco Bracamontes speaks to Martin Chavez from the Greater East End Management District about improvements in the East End, Janine Jones of the Woodlands Township on the expansion of transportation in the Woodlands, and Leslie Lopez of Family Services about the Ways to Work program. Click on the images below to watch.    

 

  

  

 

 

 

Mobility NOW is brought to you by H-GAC so you can learn more about the way we move around our area. Make sure to subscribe to the H-GAC YouTube channel for more videos on regional mobility. 

Did you know…?

     

H-GAC in the News 

Plan funded to improve access for pedestrians, cyclists 

 

H-GAC to offer first of three focus groups for transit study 

 

High Speed Rail discussion at H-GAC 

 

Projects designed to ease congestion, move traffic in Fort Bend 

 

 

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