Hello I-45 Coalition Members ~

I wanted to give you a status report and update on the Town Hall meeting that was held on Saturday, August 13th at Jeff Davis High School by the I-45 Coalition.

It was a great meeting! We had a terrific showing of about 800+ neighbors and a lot of elected representatives too! In attendance, in person were Congress persons Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green; Texas Representatives Jessica Farrar and Garnet Coleman; Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia; Council Members Adrian Garcia and Gordon Quan and Alan Clark, Director of Transportation for Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). From the City of Houston, Mr. Mike Marcotte, Director of Public Works & Engineering also attended. Plus we had representatives from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Congressman John Culberson, Senator John Whitmire, Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee and Council Member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs in attendance.

Tx-DOT presented their just completed draft study to the audience and then John Wilson, a Woodland Heights resident and member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for H-GAC detailed concerns that we had within the study. A brief presentation of the tunnel alternative was shown followed with questions from the audience to both TxDOT and the elected officials.

If you would like to read the Tx-DOT study yourself, it can be found at the H-GAC website at:

http://www.h-gac.com/HGAC/Departments/Transportation/Mobility_Studies.htm then scroll down to North Hardy Corridor Study.

In a very abbreviated nutshell – the Study recommends, for the section from I-10 to 610 – 4 lanes North, 4 lanes South (which we already have) and 4 managed lanes in the middle. This plus eight (8) shoulder lanes brings the highway up to an “equivalent” of 20 lanes. This is exactly the same lane configuration as what Tx-DOT is building now on I-10! The study doesn’t even address access roads either! Tx-DOT has not determined where these 12 traffic lanes (plus access roads) might go ~ that’s to be done in the next phase.

Our major concerns are:

1) Cost of project – in the study, TxDOT estimates cost at $404 million or $13.5 million a mile. Current costs for I-10 are in excess of $100 million a mile! There is no substantiation for their $404 million estimate.

2) Study doesn’t consider effect of improving side roads (arterial roads) on traffic on I-45

3) Study doesn’t talk about Right-of-Way (ROW) demands – other than say they will try to take “little or no ROW” – they don’t address it…again, they say that is in the next phase

4) Study has not been presented to the public since it’s completion– there is no consensus from the public that this is a good plan and

So what happened?

TxDOT has already made a few changes in their plans:

1st change – TxDOT’s original plan was to submit their “just completed” draft plan/study to the Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) at H-GAC in August for their approval and proceed to the next phase, which will be Schematic Drawings and Environmental Studies. On August 4th, I was notified that the final presentation to the TPC was delayed until the September meeting. At the meeting on the 13th, we learned from Mr. Clark that the final presentation is now delayed until further notice – it is not scheduled to be presented to the TPC at all. At this point in the meeting, Congresswoman Jackson Lee asked that when this study is ready to come before the TPC, that her office and ALL the elected officials in the room, as well as the I-45 Coalition, be notified. That’s good!

2nd change – I learned at a meeting on July 19, 2005 – that none of the petitions (over 100 petition pages with each page having up to 15 names) that the I-45 collected from people in the neighborhood, were accepted as part of the study, despite our understanding that they were going to be part of the record. The reason was that the Public Comment period closed 10 days after the last public meeting (which was on October 28, 2004) – so the public comment period was closed by the 1st week of November 2004 !

At the meeting on the 13th, we learned from TxDOT, that they will accept those names, comments and petitions and will include them into the official project record. Not only from all the previous meetings that had been held, but also including the meeting on the 13th! That’s good too!

3rd possible change – Members of the I-45 Coalition spoke before City Council on August 9th and we voiced our concern regarding the Tx-DOT Study. The Mayor and several Council members shared our concern and it was suggested that a comprehensive mobility study might be something to look into. Normally, the City doesn’t get real involved with highway projects ..even when they go right thru the heart of the City … but it might appear that there could be some movement to the benefits of coordinating projects & improvements. That’s good also!

So what’s next?

Contact your elected officials! Let them know that we want a good plan – a plan that will not destroy our neighborhoods and won’t affect the standard of living of the people living in the inner city. We have attached a list of public officials, their contact info and a sample letter of some of the points you might make.

If you feel that the tunnel might be a viable alternative to the ever increasing concrete highway – push for the funding of a feasibility study for the tunnel.

The important thing – is to be involved! – nothing can take the place of a few hundred letters (or many hundred), phone calls, & e-mails from voters requesting that their elected representatives represent them in this critical matter!

We are extremely fortunate to have several representatives that are listening to us – but it is up to you – to tell them what you want them to do! The I-45 Coalition will continue to do the homework, to organize meetings, to get the representatives the information they need to get the job done – but it is up to you to be engaged in the conversation and stay with it.

This is and will be a long process – we are probably 3 to 5 years from a final design, and then another 3 to 7 years or more for construction. The bureaucracy will try to wear us done – they are forever – but this is our city, our homes and our neighborhoods – and all of that is worth fighting for!

We are making progress – they are listening! We all have to work together to get the City and neighborhood that we want!

Our 3 main points still remain:

1) All improvements must remain within existing Right of Way (no taking of additional Property)

2) Alternative transportation modes and methods must be investigated

3) Quality-of-Life Issues of Residents & Neighborhoods must not be affected (air quality, noise, flooding, increased traffic in neighborhood, etc.)

Thanks for being involved.

Jim Weston

Chairman

I-45 Coalition