I-45 NHHIP Community Workshops

I just finished attending the NHHIP (North Houston Highway Improvement Project) Facilitation Group Meeting.  Very informative.  The process for the project is lumbering along:  TxDOT just released the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which is reacting only(well mostly) to 2017 community input on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. That means that most of the truly creative and progressive input that was developed over the last year, and included in what are referred to as "the Mayor's Letter" and "the County's Resolution" to TxDOT is NOT included.  So, there is a parallel process to have a group develop an MOU (Memo of Understanding) to continue to work with TxDOT to include many of our concerns.  Public comment period for the FEIS is only 30 days, so until November 9.  Requests are being made to extend the comment period to 120 days.  

In the meantime, it is key that TxDOT receive specific comments from the public.  To help us hone our ideas, the city and county are hosting the three meetings NEXT WEEK as in the email below.  We just need to attend one of the three meetings -- they are offering different days/times to be more available to different schedules. The link for the meetings will be available starting tomorrow at the address at the bottom of the flyer. (http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/nhhip/)  I'll be attending one -- probably the Thursday one.  I hope some of you will also attend a meeting. 

Since we are smack dab in the middle of Segment 2, there are many things that affect us.  A few I noted from today's meeting are how they are handling flooding/what rainfall data will be used; bike lanes; changing to bridges from culverts for Little White Oak Bayou at 610, Cavalcade, and Patton; designing feeder roads in our segment to be more like a city street (i.e. lower speeds) than a traditional feeder road;  no mitigation for the removal of the North St. overpass; no mitigation of the destructive visual impacts to Bayou Greenways ("because it is not a designated parkland"). 

Thanks! 
Peggy