Meeting Summary - April 4, 2006
Intermodal Terminal

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (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 of a proposed intermodal transit facility to be located in an area north of downtown Houston. This center would provide commuters with easy transfer between many different transit modes and providers. Ultimately, the proposed facility could 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).

This report documents the input received during a public meeting held on April 4, 2006 at Ketelsen Elementary School regarding the proposed Intermodal Terminal.

Meeting Purpose

METRO wants to ensure that the public's concerns are heard and addressed and that the resulting project has broad support. The stakeholder committee, 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 associated with the project were invited to attend a public workshop to allow interested citizens to share ideas, ask questions, raise concerns, and offer suggestions on transportation issues and options.

Attendance

  • 83 citizens, stakeholder committee members and staff members of elected officials
  • 18 METRO staff
  • 8 consultant team members

Meeting Format

The meeting was conducted in an "open house" format and consisted of boards and maps of the project area. Meeting attendees were invited to review the information at their leisure. METRO and consultant team members were available to answer questions and discuss concerns. Attendees were provided a comment form and encouraged to fill it out and turn it in at the meeting or submit their comments to METRO by mail.


Comments

A total of 14 written comment sheets were received from meeting attendees. Summary comments included:

  • Our community could use any improvement METRO can offer.
  • What will be the impact on the CASA public clinics owned by the Harris County Hospital District?
  • It is encouraging that no homes have to be torn down to make way for the transit center.
  • How do present-day politics affect procurement of funding, especially with the departure of Tom Delay?
  • How easy will it be to convince existing property owners to sell their land? Will this be an eminent domain issue?
  • How is the development of this facility related to BRT/LRT and other METRO mass transit development?
  • How will transit center construction affect Main Street, i.e. lane closures, diverted traffic, etc.?
  • Can for-profit organizations such as AMTRAK, Greyhound and freight rail companies contribute funding for center construction in exchange for using it for their business?
  • How is the project related to the proposed expansion of the Hardy Toll Road?
  • Will the public continue to be kept up to speed on the progress of this and other projects?
  • Thanks so much for the information. Many residents are concerned, but it is difficult sometimes with the language barrier.
  • Excellent choice for a location.
  • Congratulations on getting Greyhound to the table.
  • Please consider replicating, at least in part, the look of the old Southern Pacific Train Station torn down in the 1950s.
  • What is expressed to me from Midtown constituents is mostly that they hope the national and international bus carriers are included in the facility - they have outgrown Midtown, especially since we have rail.
  • We want transportation for our section of the city (Northside B.O.N.D.) so that we can feel like full entitled citizens. We are proud of our area and hope to spend the rest of our lives here. We have had so many promises, so many campaigns, so much B.S. that we are immune to it. When you find a way to get simple services to us, I want to ride into town and back - less crime on our streets and schools that will educate our children and point them to the joys of civic service and pride.
  • I really hope you can convince AMTRAK to play ball on this one and encourage them to increase their service through Houston - for example they would have really come in handy trying to get out of Houston during Hurricane Rita.
  • This will provide a good source of transportation for a lot of people. I know there are going to be millions of dollars put into the project. In the meantime, is there a way METRO can keep the bus stops clean on a more consistent basis? The METRO stops at the corner of North Main and Quitman are just plain dirty. In my three years working around this area, I have never seen a METRO crew working to clean these bus stops . . . If you are going to spend billions of dollars on this project, you can spend a little money to take care of this problem. Maybe you can spend a little money on training your maintenance crews to perform a better job when they are cleaning the bus stops, especially along North Main. I hope you also take a lot of consideration for the safety of children, especially around the school areas and around the new routes. I hope someone reads this and it does not just get put away somewhere.
  • I feel a city the size of Houston definitely needs an intermodal transit facility to assist with movement throughout the city. My main concern is will all commercial transportation be included in this plan? For instance, it would not make sense to me if the Greyhound and El Express bus station were not included in this intermodal transit facility. As a resident of Midtown, I'm very concerned that Greyhound and El Express be included to help decrease the pedestrian traffic, loitering, drug sales and other crimes that filter into the neighborhood. Not that I want these problems to be moved to other neighborhoods, but attacking the source of some of Midtown's problems should be a concern of the city and METRO. After attending this workshop it appears the preferred location determined by METRO looks on paper to be the ideal location for this facility. If METRO's intention is to help improve the flow between buses, rails, and trains, I'm all for such a plan. I hope that such a facility will improve the surrounding neighborhoods and their present neighbors. I hope this project will help attract tourists to Houston and provide them the satisfaction needed to maneuver through the city. But please consider the residents of Midtown who now bear a large portion of traffic involving Greyhound and METRO. If this facility is improved it will greatly provide a positive impact to my neighbors.
  • I am concerned about the connection routes from the existing HOV access at IH 45 and Quitman to the new intermodal facility. I think HOV traffic should be directed to follow a route along White Oak to Houston Avenue, then Houston Avenue to Crocket/Hogan, then follow Hogan to Main Street and then to the intermodal facility. The route is only 1.5 miles. Houston Avenue and Hogan/Crocket are already 4 lanes wide. A route along Quitman would probably require right of way since Quitman is only 2 lanes wide. Resident properties would be impacted.
  • I support LRT and BRT. Hurry up and get this transit facility built.
  • The project will increase contamination of the air. But even though we say no (to the project), you will do whatever you are going to do. We don't have the last word, you do. Spanish

The following comments related specifically to METRO's North Corridor project:

  • Please consider elevated rail for the new LRT routes - I am so tired of hearing complaints about LRT accidents on the Red Line! Because of all the complaints, now LRT drivers are extremely gun shy, so it almost doesn't pay to take the LRT because it's too slow. Please take steps to take the fear our of the LRT drivers, whether it's steeper fines for drivers who collide with the LRT or whatever, please make the Red Line a viable transportation source again!
  • There have been too many problems since METRO's light rail was built on Main Street. Over 100 accidents, one death, flooding, and many other inconveniences.
  • The safety of the school children will be in danger if any METRO rail system is built on North Main Street.
  • We the community don't need BRT from North Main to Northline Mall. There is the regular bus system we can use, which can go in any direction.
  • The technology of this rail system should be considered built on IH 45 HOV lanes to Northline Mall and to Greenspoint Mall.