January 16, 2007 

METRO published a legal notice in the Houston Chronicle regarding the availability of the Final Environmental Assessment and the Finding of No Significant Impact.

September - October 2006

Renderings Presented

The business community had a preview of art renditions depicting the proposed Intermodal Terminal.  These renderings were part of President and CEO Frank Wilson's State of METRO presentation during a Greater Houston Partnership luncheon on October 25. 

Intermodal Terminal Environmental Assessment

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas is in the process of concluding an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed Intermodal Terminal, which provides a summary of the proposed action and its impacts. The EA is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and Federal Transit Administration guidelines.

On September 20, 2006 the EA was made available for public review at METRO's Headquarters, several local libraries, and at the Houston-Galveston Area Council. The comment period closed at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2006 .

On Thursday, June 8, a Public Meeting / Open House took place at Ketelsen Elementary.

• Summary and photos of the event.
• Slide show presented at the event.
• Exhibit boards displayed at the open house.

On Tuesday, May 30, 2006 the METRO Board of Directors voted to authorize the President and CEO to negotiate the purchase of approximately nine acres of land for the development of the Intermodal Terminal.  The land in question is located in the vincinity of North Main and Burnett Streets, just North of downtown. 

METRO staff is assessing the property and will report back to the Board of Directors before finalizing the transaction. To read more about this Board action, click here to link the article published by the Houston Chronicle.

On Tuesday, April 4, 2006, a public meeting was held to present general information about this facility. 

• Read a meeting summary.
• View the information boards presented at the meeting (pdf file). 
• On August 18, 2005, a public workshop was held to discuss the feasability study. 
• View a summary of that meeting, which includes questions and answers.   

On 2003, voters in the service area of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) approved METRO Solutions, a comprehensive long range transit plan that provides a series of technologies and services to address the varying mobility needs of specific corridors and communities through 2025. A major hub for this system will be an intermodal facility, called the Intermodal Terminal, which will provide commuters with easy transfer between many different transit modes and providers. Ultimately, the proposed facility will serve as a major transportation hub for Houston enabling residents, visitors, and workers to easily transfer between the different modes of transit - buses, light rail, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, airport shuttles, taxis, and national passenger rail (AMTRAK).

What is an Intermodal Center?   
Intermodal centers usually have services and amenities for transportation patrons, such as ticket booths, secure and comfortable waiting rooms, restrooms, food service, newsstands, and gift shops. Some intermodal centers are part of larger developments that include retail offices, residential, hotel rooms, and entertainment venues. 

An area north of downtown Houston was selected as the preferred location because of its proximity to Houston's major activity centers and existing and future transit and transportation projects including national and international bus carriers. This location also provides the greatest opportunity for connecting existing and proposed infrastructure.

METRO has been moving forward in identifying the best location of the facility by initiating the conceptual design and environmental studies.

NEPA Process 
METRO, on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is undertaking an Environmental Assessment (EA) to provide a fair and objective examination of all potential environmental impacts. An EA is a public document required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide sufficient evidence and analysis to determine whether or not action would require further environmental analysis or a finding of no significant impact. The Northern Intermodal Transit Facility must comply with NEPA because METRO is pursuing federal funds to help build the project.  Please click here to read more about the NEPA process.

Public Involvement Process
Public participation is an important part of the NEPA process.  METRO wants to insure that the public's concerns are heard and addressed and that the resulting project has broad support. Neighborhood groups, businesses, property owners, commuters, residents, public officials, the driving public, and others that have an interest in understanding the study, schedules, and issues that may affect them are invited to attend a series of public meetings to find out about this exciting project.

Click here to see scheduled meetings.

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