Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Promoting programs that encourage and support bicycling. 2010 Walter P. Moore Bicycle Solutions CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 About the Energy Corridor District ................................................................................................. 1 About this Plan .............................................................................................................................. 1 Coordination With Other Plans and Programs ............................................................................... 4 Purpose, Principles, Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................ 6 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Principles ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Goals ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Bicycle Routes and Facilities ............................................................................................................. 9 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................................ 9 2010 Bicycle Counts ................................................................................................................... 13 System Needs ............................................................................................................................ 16 Bikeway Options ......................................................................................................................... 18 Proposed Bikeways, Parking and Amenities ............................................................................... 24 Livable Center Study Draft Recommendations ............................................................................ 31 Education, Promotion and Outreach ............................................................................................... 42 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 42 Elements of programs ................................................................................................................. 43 Existing programs ....................................................................................................................... 47 Available programs ...................................................................................................................... 64 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 73 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 76 References ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page i LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: Energy Corridor District Location within Houston FIGURE 2: Energy Corridor Boundaries FIGURE 3: Livable Center Architectural Model (June 2010) FIGURE 4: City of Houston Existing and Proposed Bikeways (May 2009) FIGURE 5: Existing Energy Corridor District Transit and Hike & Bike Routes FIGURE 6: Bicycle and Pedestrian Count Locations (May 2010) FIGURE 7: Land Use and Major Attractors FIGURE 8: Shared Use Path FIGURE 9: Signed Shoulder Bike Route FIGURE 10: Bicycle Lane (“Bike Lane”) FIGURE 11: Signed Shared Roadway FIGURE 12: Proposed Routes FIGURE 13: Livable Center Proposed Bicycle Connections FIGURE 14: Pulteney Bridge, Bath, England (spans the River Avon) FIGURE 15: Trailville Drive Endpoints – Potential Buffalo Bayou Crossing FIGURE 16: Pipeline Easement West of SH 6 FIGURE 17: Neighborhood Access Point: Fleetwood Place Drive FIGURE 18: Commuter Bicycle Facility at BP Westlake Parking Garage FIGURE 19: LAB Scan (Shoulder-Check) Drill FIGURE 20: Energy Corridor Website- Mobility and Public Safety Page FIGURE 21: Houston Bikeway Program Website FIGURE 22: LAB Online Traffic Skills 101 Course FIGURE 23: San Francisco MTA Poster Campaigns FIGURE 24: San Francisco MTA Shared Lane Marking Educational Poster Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page ii INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ENERGY CORRIDOR DISTRICT The Energy Corridor District (ECD or District) is a municipal management district in West Houston, Texas that works with public and private organizations at the local, regional, state, and national levels to attract and relocate companies to the Energy Corridor and support their success. Created in 2001 by the Texas State Legislature, the District encompasses 1,500 acres along both sides of Interstate 10 from Tully to west of Memorial Brook and along North Eldridge Parkway from Interstate 10 to south of Briar Forest. Figure 1 shows the general location of the district and Figure 2 shows the district’s boundaries. The Energy Corridor District collaborates with public agencies and has leveraged its financial resources to design and implement several key projects. ABOUT THIS PLAN Bicycling and walking are integral components of an efficient transportation network, along with public transit and the use of private motor vehicles. Therefore it is important that appropriate bicycle and pedestrian accommodations be made available to the public. The District has identified transportation as an important success factor, and wishes to provide the most comprehensive transportation network by accommodating non-motorized travel modes in addition to automobiles and transit. This Bicycle Master Plan evaluates existing conditions, addresses the needs of bicyclists in order to create a network so that they can use to safely travel to, through, within and from the Energy Corridor, and proposes programs to encourage and support bicycling. Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page 1 Figure 1: Energy Corridor District Location Within Houston Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page 2 Figure 2: Energy Corridor District Boundaries Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page 3 COORDINATION WITH OTHER PLANS AND PROGRAMS Houston Bikeway Program As a part of the City of Houston, the Energy Corridor District wishes to coordinate its plans with the City’s Bikeway Program. The City of Houston Bikeway Program offers a 345-mile interconnected bikeway network that spans the city. The network includes bike lanes, bike routes, shared lanes, bayou trails, rail-trails and other urban multi-use paths. Bicycle commuters can use combinations of trails, bike lanes, transit, and shared roadways to travel between their homes and work places. West Houston Trails Master Plan The Energy Corridor District is within the area addressed by the West Houston Trails Master Plan (WHTMP), which proposes a 100+ mile interconnected trail system connecting City of Houston bikeways with trails within parks, utility corridors, and along creeks and bayous. The WHTMP effort includes Energy Corridor and National Park Service officials. Community volunteers from super neighborhoods and municipal utility districts met for over two years to develop the criteria and plans. Public and private parties are motivated to complete plans and construct trails. The West Houston Trails Master Plan process has provided several opportunities for community input, including a Saturday Stakeholder workshop in October 2008 at ConocoPhillips and a community input meeting held on September 9, 2009 at Maurice L. Wolfe Elementary School. Through these community meetings the WHTMP planning team identified and incorporated the community’s perceived needs. A web site was created to gather personal comments and answer survey questions. The Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan has adopted the WHTMP goals, and will be submitted to the WHTMP subcommittees for consideration of indicated WHTMP needs that lie within the Energy Corridor District, and proposed links to ensure that the completed system has sufficient continuity and connectivity. Energy Corridor District Livable Center Plan The Houston-Galveston Area Council, the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), has identified several areas around greater Houston where improved connectivity for walking, bicycling, and transit could enable more commute and other trips to be made without the use of a private Energy Corridor District Bicycle Master Plan Page 4 auto. H-GAC’s description says “Livable Centers are walkable, mixed-use places that provide multimodal transportation options, improve environmental quality and promote economic development.” The program funds planning studies and implementation projects. A Livable Center Planning Study is underway for the Energy Corridor area with a particular focus on the Addicks Park and Ride Lot, located on the north side of IH10 (Katy Freeway) just east of State Highway 6. This study, funded by the Energy Corridor District and H-GAC and led by LRK Architects,