Westheimer Reconstruction: Kirby to Shepherd

Westheimer and Kirby Intersection                   Photo via Chron.com

Rain has persisted in the area for the past two months and this weekend was no exception. Crews on Westheimer will join the rest of the City over the next few days in cleaning up the mess left by historic flooding overnight Monday. 

Last week crews were able to make significant progress on pavement preparation activity between Kingston and Peckham. They were also able to open up another 600 linear feet of pavement to traffic just west of Westgate. 

Over the coming days, crews will hope to continue roadway excavation work between Peckham and Shepherd and pour new concrete between Kingston and Greenbriar. Work will also begin during off-peak hours behind the curb from Kirby to Dickey. Crews will use the curbside lane only to perform this work between the hours of 9 AM and 3 PM. The forecast continues to show rain into next week so work is, as always, dependent on weather conditions.

 
At this point it appears as though City contractors working on Shepherd will still have traffic control obstructing the Shepherd intersection, so once Westheimer work runs into  City of Houston traffic control at Shepherd, Upper Kirby crews will have to shift efforts to the south side of Westheimer and come back to the Shepherd intersection at a later date.

 

For more information on Upper Kirby construction and related activities or for construction related issues or concerns, please contact Travis Younkin at 713.524.8000 or travis@upperkirby.org.   

About the Houston Bike Plan

The City of Houston is kicking off the Houston Bike Plan, a 12-month planning effort to update the City's Comprehensive Bikeway Plan originally adopted in 1993. 

The City and the Houston region have made great strides in improving people's ability to bike to more destinations, earning a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclist in 2013. New trails are being built along our bayous, new protected bikeways have been installed, and more people are riding all over the City.

The Houston Bike Plan will build on these efforts to help make Houston a safer, healthier, more bike-friendly city. The Plan will clarify a vision and goals for biking in Houston and identify future projects to create a citywide bicycle network. This improved citywide network will serve a broader spectrum of people who bike at all skill levels, providing more transportation choices, with both on-street and off-street facilities and building on current efforts such as the recent Bayou Greenways Initiative to create a well-connected citywide bicycle system. The Plan will develop better connections for more people to key origins and destinations like job centers, entertainment venues, parks and schools. The Plan will identify supporting programs like motorist and bicyclist safety education, expansion of end of trip facilities like bike racks and bike share, and improved integration with transit. 

Public input will be gathered throughout the planning process. A Bicycle Advisory Committee made up of representatives from Houston's bicycling community, implementing authorities, community leaders, and other representatives will guide the development of the Plan. Citizens can participate at public meetings and through online activities on the project website at www.HoustonBikePlan.org. 

The Plan is made possible by the City's funding partners, which include
BikeHouston, Houston Parks Board, Houston-Galveston Area Council, FTA, FHWA, and TxDOT. The plan is scheduled to be completed in spring 2016.

Upcoming Community Meetings

Five community meetings to discuss the goals and opportunities to improve biking in Houston will be held in different areas of the City, starting May 30, 2015 and continuing through June.

For more information about the Plan, future meeting information, and to sign up for email updates, please visit www.HoustonBikePlan.org.

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Twitter: @HoustonBikePlan
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Online: www.HoustonBikePlan.org