BIKEHOUSTON • 616 HAWTHORNE ST. • HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006 WWW.BIKEHOUSTON.ORG 2 3 Cycling up 2017 Bike Plan Mount Houston Report Card by John Long, Executive Director The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Communities Program organizes its assessment around the 5 E’s: evaluation, engineering, education, encouragement, and enforcement. Houston, how have we done in each of these areas since the bike plan passed last March? “City Council Finally Passes the Houston Bike Plan.” That was the Houston Press headline on March 23, 2017. This was a great accomplishment and with BikeHouston staff and supporters leading the way, it still took more than a Evaluation full year after its release before City Council adopted the bike plan, the pet- (overall grade) ro-metro’s first in more than 20 years. Kudos to Mayor Sylvester Turner for his C- leadership in the process. Fatalities and injuries What is the bike plan’s overriding goal? Houston will become a gold-level The only acceptable number is zero. In 2017 the numbers were six and 37. Six bicycle-friendly city within 10 years. “An ambitious goal,” said Mayor Turner, cyclists died on the streets of Houston and 37 were seriously injured. In the past “but do-able.” five years, Houston has averaged 6.4 cyclist deaths and 40.6 serious injuries per What has been accomplished in the year since the Mayor and Council year. grade committed to this goal? BikeHouston’s 2017 annual report is more than a After two cyclists were hit and killed by light rail trains in one weekend, METRO summary of our organization’s activity for the year. We present in these engaged an outside consultant to conduct a safety audit. BikeHouston was among D pages a Report Card for year one of the Houston Bike Plan. the groups that participated in the study. The consultant recommended design Planning momentum is surging. However, planning is largely invisible to changes to the most dangerous intersections, to the train cars themselves, and BikeHouston’s members. Eager anticipation for progress can easily become to operational procedures. Some were made immediately. Others have not been impatience. To take the next big step on the road to gold, BikeHouston is implemented. launching the Build 50 Challenge — a campaign challenging all stakehold- grade ers, City of Houston, Harris County Commissioners, Management Districts/ TIRZ’s and Houston Parks Board to build 50 miles of on-street and off-street Funding: City of Houston bikeways. This is an aggressive and ambitious goal, but achievable. The past City of Houston: $0 spent in 2017. $1.1 million allocated 2018. F year’s planning positions all of us to succeed in next year’s building. We also invite you to join BikeHouston. Your support and involvement will result in new and better bikeways in Houston over the next year and beyond. Funding: Overall Houston voters passed five bond issues worth $1.5 billion in 2017. A fraction of one John Long percent ($2.2 million) will fund bike plan projects. This is a two-year extension of grade Executive Director the mayor’s commitment of $1.1 million per year from the City’s operating budget. The bike plan estimates short-term implementation projects at $27 million - $51 million. While City of Houston is not the only source of funds, getting to gold-level D+ status is going to require a greater commitment to funding. Bikeways Letter from the Executive Director 2 Miles of bikeways added in the year since the bike plan passed: 20+. That includes grade 3 2017 Bike Plan Report Card 19 miles off-street trails and 1.33 miles of on-street bike lanes. Houston Public Works added 1.33 miles of new protected bike lane. It also did Financial Data 9 improvements to existing bike lanes, widening 0.91 miles and re-striping 10.84 C- miles. 10 Foundation, Business, & Individual Supporters continued 4 5 2017 Bike Plan Report Card: Evaluation (continued) 2017 Bike Plan Report Card: Engineering (continued) Bike detours Bicycle Advisory Committee grade Houston Public Works partnered with TxDOT to put a first-of-its-kind, protected miles The bike plan, approved by City Council in March, 2017 calls for appointment of a bike lane detour along Houston Avenue during an I-45 construction project. Bike Bicycle Advisory Committee. After nearly a year, Council approved BAC member- riders quickly adopted the new route and were vocally displeased when it was 0.46 ship in March, 2018. BAC’s first meeting is scheduled for April 5. D+ removed. White Oak/Buffalo Bayou trail connector grade Houston B-Cycle A key connector in the network opened when the White Oak Bayou Greenway Trail linked to the The number of stations increased 28% from 34 to 56. The number of users Buffalo Bayou Trail around the University of Houston Downtown campus. This project was funded increased 32% to 49,000 and they pedaled 856,000 miles. B+ by a federal TIGER grant and resulted from collaboration among the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Houston Parks Board, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, University of Houston, Downtown Redevelopment Authority (TIRZ #3), and the Greater East End Management District. Bikes on buses grade METRO recorded 281,422 bikes on buses in 2017, an increase of 7% over 2016. This Bayou Greenways 2020 number has climbed every year since METRO introduced the service. The nonprofit Houston Parks Board continued building trails under the umbrella miles B of its Bayou Greenways 2020 program. HPB completed 17 miles of new Bayou Greenway segments in 2017, and 65 miles are in planning, design, and construction 17.0 along White Oak Bayou, Buffalo Bayou, Sims Bayou, Brays Bayou, Clear Creek, Engineering Hunting Bayou, West Fork of the San Jacinto, and Greens Bayou. High marks for Dutch Junctions and off-street trails; low marks for little progress with on-street bikeways C Pop-up bike lanes BikeHouston worked with Council Member Karla Cisneros, Lamar/Polk protected bike lane the Department of TransFORMATION, and design firm Houston Public Works extended the Lamar Street protected bike lane on each miles Asakura Robinson to build a pop-up bike lane along the end. It now connects to Buffalo Bayou Trail to the northwest and extends past Hardy and Elysian corridor, a prototype for a permanent Discovery Green and Highway 59 to the southeast. The city’s first protected 1.26 bikeway. This followed two other pop-up bike lanes built on-street bike lane now spans 3 lane-miles. for Sunday Streets events. Holman protected bike lane Funded by the Midtown Management District, Houston Public Works built a miles HCC campus trail second protected on-street bike lane along Holman Street. While it is only one block long, it is a helpful link on the bike route connecting Montrose and the 0.07 HCC campus trail connects the Houston Community College campus at University of Houston through Midtown and Third Ward. Westheimer and Hayes Road to the Westchase District’s existing trail network. It is miles the first example in West Houston of a larger effort between CenterPoint Energy and the City of Houston to utilize approximately 500 miles of transmission corri- 0.60 Calhoun Road bike lane miles dors throughout the city. The trail is funded by a federal transportation grant and Houston Public Works resized and buffered the bike lane on Calhoun Road adja- the District’s 380 Area Agreement with the City of Houston. cent to MacGregor Park. 0.68 Brays Bayou Connector Trail Walker Street bike lane Brays Bayou Connector Trail in the Westchase District connects the existing miles Houston Public Works upgraded the protected bike lane on Walker Street next miles Library Loop Trail at Richmond Avenue to Art Storey Park at Bellaire Boulevard. to Dynamo Stadium for improved access to Columbia Tap Trail. Armadillos were The trail runs along the top bank of a north/south Harris County Flood Control 1.92 added as well as a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle crossing of Emancipation 0.22 District channel and offers direct connection points to Harwin Park and the Boulevard. Westchase Park and Ride. continued continued 6 7 2017 Bike Plan Report Card: Engineering (continued) Encouragement Dutch junctions A Energy Corridor Management District and TxDOT completed four Dutch junction intersections along I-10 at Park Ten, SH-6, Eldridge, and Dairy Ashford - first of their kind in Houston - at a cost of $2.1 Bike Summit million. 250 people attended the inaugural Houston Bike Summit. Speakers included Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Streetscape guide Police Chief Art Acevedo. MD Anderson received the Bicycle Scenic Houston updated its Streetscape Resource Guide to include bicycle parking and on-street Friendly Business Award. bikeways. Bike Month Fixit stands Bike Month is a national celebration of cycling and Houston Thanks to a grant from the REI Foundation, BikeHouston placed five new bike repair stations along celebrates in many ways each May. Activities in 2017 popular bike trails. These stations provide air and tools for quick fixes you might need on a ride. included: Bike2Work Days Cyclists participated in Bike2Work Quick wins Days in Downtown (led by Mayor Turner), Texas Medical The City Planning Department has finalized a list of seven priority short-term projects and received Center (the Houston district with the greatest number confirmation from Houston Public Works that they can be completed within the City’s $1.1 million of daily bike commuters), the Energy Corridor, and budget for bike plan projects in 2018. This allocation was not spent in FY2017. NASA. Ride of Silence is a national ride to memorialize cycling fatalities and to call for safer streets.