Study Sponsors Houston-Galveston Area Council Texas Department of Transportation Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County City of Houston City of Meadows Place City of Missouri City City of Stafford U.S. 90A Corridor Rail City of Sugar Land Feasibility Study City of Richmond City of Rosenberg Fort Bend County Harris County Consultant Team Edwards & Kelcey HDR Engineering Epsilon Engineering April 2004 J:\2003 Projects\030026.013\Documents\Study Chapters\Final\Cover.doc TABLE OF CONTENTS 8 ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING 8.1 Land Use 1 INTRODUCTION 8.2 Demographics 1.1 Context and Overview 8.3 Economic Development 1.2 Study Corridor 8.4 Land Acquisitions and Displacements 1.3 Purpose, Need and Objectives 8.5 Transportation 8.6 Noise and Vibration 8.7 Air Quality 2 EXISTING CORRIDOR CONDITIONS 8.8 Water Quality 2.1 Rail Operations 8.9 Natural Resources 2.2 Rail Infrastructure 8.10 Endangered Species 8.11 Historic Resources 8.12 Hazardous Materials 3 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED 3.1 Technologies Considered 3.2 Alternative Definition and Configuration 9 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT 9.1 Steering Committee Meetings 9.2 Town Official Meetings 4 TRANSIT CENTER AND YARD LOCATIONS 9.3 H-GAC Meetings 4.1 Rosenberg TransitCenter 9.4 Public Information Meetings 4.2 Richmond Transit Center 9.5 Business Group Meetings 4.3 Sugar Land Airport Transit Center 4.4 Stafford/Sugar Land Transit Center 4.5 Stafford Transit Center 10 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES 4.6 Missouri CityTransit Center 10.1 Summary of Alternative Features 4.7 Westbury (Houston) Transit Center 10.2 Comparison of Alternatives 4.8 METRORail (Houston) Transit Center 10.3 Evaluation 4.9 Rosenberg Yard 10.4 Summary of Findings 10.5 Recommendations 5 OPERATING PLANS 5.1 Operations Planning Methodology APPENDICES 5.2 Operations Planning Assumptions APPENDIX A: U.S. 90A Corridor, Existing Corridor Infrastructure Feature Inventory - 5.3 Operations Planning Results Database 5.4 Interface with METRORail Operations APPENDIX B: U.S. 90A Corridor, Existing Corridor Infrastructure Feature Inventory – Photographs APPENDIX C: U.S. 90A Corridor, Grade Crossing Inventory 6 RIDERSHIP FORECAST APPENDIX D: Study Alternative Schematic Track Layouts, Conceptual Alignment Drawings & 6.1 Ridership Forecast Procedures Typical Cross Sections 6.2 Ridership Forecast Results APPENDIX E: Study Alternative Operating Plan Stringline Diagrams APPENDIX F: Community Information Meetings PowerPoint Presentation, March 2003 APPENDIX G: Ridership Forecasting Details 7 CAPITAL, OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS 7.1 Capital Costs 7.2 Operating and Maintenance Costs i J:\2003 Projects\030026.013\Documents\Study Chapters\Final\Table of Contents.doc Railroad. The portion of the UP alignment under study 1 1. INTRODUCTION begins at Milepost 9.5 (MP 9.5) and ends at MP 34.8. Help address congestion. The study corridor parallels U.S. 90A (South Main . Increase travel options. Street) from Rosenberg (MP 34.8) to West Junction (MP . Provide time saving and reliability. 1.1 Context andOverview 12.90). Between West Junction and Fannin Street (MP . Increase access for all (commuters, seniors, people The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), as the 9.5), the line parallels Holmes Road. with disabilities.) 2 Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), in . Support local businesses. partnership with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of The destination for many passenger rail riders will be . Increase residential and commercial property Harris County (METRO), the Texas Department of within the City of Houston, along the METRORail light rail values.3 Transportation (TxDOT), Fort Bend County, Harris line. METRORail will connect riders to two of Houston’s . Reduce harmful automobile emissions that contribute County and the Cities of Houston, Meadows Place, major employment centers - Downtown Houston and the to smog. Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg, Stafford and Sugar Texas Medical Center - as well as several college . Provide fewer disturbances to the local environment. Land, is performing an evaluation of future campuses, including the University of Houston, Houston . Allow for community integration and planned growth. 4 transportation needs and determining the feasibility of Community College and Rice University. Cultural, sports . Improve safety at rail crossings. 5 implementing a passenger rail line along the U.S. and entertainment complexes, such as Reliant Park, . Provide safe travel. Highway 90A corridor. This study represents the first Houston Zoo, and the Museum District will also be . Improve quality of life for travelers (relaxing travel, step in an effort to improve access and increase mobility reached via the light rail line. Within or in close amenities, fewer weather delays, work/rest during in the southwestern Houston metropolitan area. proximity to the Fort Bend portion of the study corridor travel, convenience) are many major trip generators and attractors, including 1.2 Study Corridor the Sugar Land Airport, First Colony Mall, Texas 1.3.2 Need Department of Corrections, Manor Care Hospital and Over the past few decades both Fort Bend and Harris The study corridor is approximately 25 miles in length, Fort Bend Community Hospital. counties have experienced steady and significant extending from the vicinity of the METRORail Fannin population and employment growth. Future projections South Park & Ride light rail station at Fannin and West 1.3 Purpose, Need and Objectives indicate that this rate of growth is expected to continue Bellfort in the City of Houston, and paralleling Holmes over the next 20 years, particularly in Fort Bend County. Road and U.S. Highway 90A, to the State Highway 36 Bypass, located just west of the City of Rosenberg 1.3.1 Purpose (Figure 1-1). The study corridor is located within Fort The purpose of this study is to determine the need for Bend County and Harris County. The Fort Bend County high capacity transit and assess the technological and segment of the study corridor consists of the following economic feasibility of establishing and operating 2 A study by NJ TRANSIT found that rail users spend more than municipalities (from west to east): Rosenberg, efficient passenger rail service between METRORail’s $1,500 annually per person at local businesses in station Richmond, Sugar Land, Stafford, Missouri City and Fannin South Park & Ride light rail station and the City areas. 3 A study of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail Meadows Place. The following neighborhoods within in of Rosenberg. system (Wienstein, Clower, 1999) found that commercial and the City of Houston were included within the area under residential property values around DART stations were about study: Greater Fondren Southwest, Fort Bend/Houston, Rail services are being examined in the corridor to: 25% greater than in the control neighborhood. A study by NJ Fondren Gardens, Westbury, Central Southwest, Willow TRANSIT found that communities with rail stations have property values that are 10%-30% higher than similar Meadows/ Willowbend Area, South Main, Astrodome communities without railroad stations. Area, Sunnyside and OST/South Union. 4 Safety is often improved due to the installation of state-of- the-art signaling systems and automated gates and warning signals, as well as the introduction of a rail safety education The study corridor centers on an existing railroad program in area communities and schools. alignment owned and operated by the Union Pacific (UP) 1 The UP Glidden Line begins at Milepost 0.0 at the Port of 5 Highway injuries are three times higher than rail injuries, per Houston. mile traveled (American Public Transportation Association). 1-1 J:\2003 Projects\030026.013\Documents\Study Chapters\Final\Chapter 1.doc Figure 1-1 U.S. 90A Study Corridor 1-2 J:\2003 Projects\030026.013\Documents\Study Chapters\Final\Chapter 1.doc Along with this rapid rate of growth has been an even According to METRO, the average rush-hour speed on Table 1-1 greater increase in the daily automobile vehicle miles of Houston freeways was roughly 24 miles per hour.6 Over Annual Hours Of Delay Per Rush Hour Commuter, travel, which has resulted in severe traffic congestion the last 10, years a dramatic increase in congestion 2000 and associated mobility, accessibility, economic and along the U.S. Highway 90A corridor has resulted in ANNUAL URBAN AREA RANK environmental impacts to the region. Today, many of afternoon speeds averaging about 15 miles per hour. HOURS the region’s primary roadways are congested not only Areas of severe congestion on U.S. 90A exist near Los Angeles, CA 1 136 during the rush hour commute times, but also Fondren Road, Beltway 8, and from U.S. 59 South to San Francisco-Oakland, CA 2 92 throughout the day. just west of State Highway 99. Along State Highway 6 in the Sugar Land/Missouri City area, moderate to Washington, DC-MD-VA 3 84 Approximately 40% of the peak period travel in the serious traffic congestion exists.7 To address this Seattle-Everett, WA 4 82 Houston region occurred under extreme and severe congestion, roadway expansion projects on U.S. 90A Houston, TX 5 75 congestion in 1999, which was a 26% increase from and U.S. 59 are underway. Improvement to these two Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 6 74 1982. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the average major travel corridors will address short-term needs, San Jose, CA 6 74 journey to work in Fort Bend and Harris counties was however, they will not end congestion on U.S. 90A and New York, NY-Northeastern, NJ 7 73 about 30 minutes (32 minutes in Fort Bend County and U.S. 59 during the long term. 27 minutes in Harris County). However, this figure can Atlanta, GA 8 70 be misleading because commuting times are often much Statistics compiled by the Texas Transportation Institute Miami-Hialeah, FL 9 69 longer when roadway construction, inclement weather, (TTI) in their 2002 Urban Mobility Study highlight the Boston, MA 10 67 sun glare, traffic accidents, stalled vehicles and other severity and cost of the traffic congestion faced by many Chicago, IL-Northwester, IL 10 67 impediments that restrict the movement of traffic are of the daily commuters in the Houston metropolitan Denver, CO 10 67 taken into consideration.