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Houston-Galveston Area Council
January 2012 |
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| Meetings |
TAC, Wednesday,
January 11, 2012
TPC, Friday,
January 27, 2012 |
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Transportation Policy Council - December 16, 2011 | |
In the last meeting of 2011, the TPC voted unanimously to accept recommendations on the Colorado Valley Transit District Plan and the updated Regionally Coordinated Transportation Plan. Kari Hackett, H-GAC Manager of Special Studies, presented the plans.
The TPC also voted unanimously to approve resolutions honoring Council members Sue Lovell and Brenda Stardig for their service to the TPC. Both left the Houston City Council December 31, 2011.
Representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation updated the Council on the Houston-Austin Intercity Rail Study. The proposed routes come with varying price tags. Options include a direct route for $936 million and optional routes that includes Bryan-College Station for approximately $200 million more.
Ashby Johnson, H-GAC Deputy Director of Transportation, provided a report on the draft highway re-authorization bill titled "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century" (Map-21).
View the Agenda and listen to the meeting. |
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Walker County Transit Plan Kick-Off | |
 H-GAC, in association with leaders in Walker County and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is launching the first phase of a comprehensive transit plan for Walker County. The plan will identify unmet transportation needs and feasible options to address them.
H-GAC is conducting a brief survey to gather information from Walker County residents, students and employees. The survey is available online in English and Spanish.
English - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/walker_county
Spanish - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/walker_county_espanol
For more information regarding this plan, contact Kari Hackett, H-GAC Manager of Special Studies, kari.hackett@h-gac.com. |
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| Last month, H-GAC's Commute Solutions program hosted an informative webinar on teleworking (also known as "telecommuting").
The webinar offered an in-depth look at the productivity increases and potential savings teleworking has to offer. Nearly 150 people registered to hear business scenarios for implementing a telework program, detailing program benefits and preparing employers to start or expand a program.
Click below to download the presentation or learn more about the webinar on the Commute Solutions website. For additional information regarding the Regional Telework Incentive Program and how to apply for federal grants worth up to $72,000, visit the website at www.commutesolutionshouston.org. |
AERCO Adds Six Counties to Service Region |
 Houston-Galveston Area Emission Reduction Credit Organization (AERCO) Board voted to adopt an amendment to add six more counties (Walker, San Jacinto, Austin, Colorado, Wharton and Matagorda) to their service region. The geographic area serviced by the organization will be the Texas Air Quality Control Region 216, which includes the six aforementioned counties plus the counties of Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller. Contributions received from various companies will be distributed to public and nonprofit entities within these 14 counties.
For more information, visit the website. |
Access Management Studies | |
 The FM 1764, SH 105 and FM 1092 Access Management Studies are in draft final stages of development. The draft reports were received during November and forwarded to the respective steering committees for review and comment. All three draft final reports will be presented to the TAC and TPC in January for information and acceptance.
Access Management is a transportation stragedy in which relatively simple and inexpensive changes are made to ease congestion, shorten travel time and reduce the number of car crashes.
To learn more about Access Management visit the H-GAC website. |
Buffalo Bayou Park Project | |
Houston City Council and the Harris County Commissioners Court each approved an agreement for a $55 million upgrade to park land along Buffalo Bayou near Downtown Houston. The improvements include upgraded or new trails, two pedestrian bridges and an extension of the blue lunar cycle lighting.
The project is a public-private partnership among Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the City of Houston, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Harris County Flood Control District, with partial funding from the Kinder Foundation.
Construction is expected to start in 2012 and conclude in 2015. The park will remain open during construction.
To learn more about the project, visit the park website. |
METRO Full Funding Grants for Light Rail | |
Elected officials and Peter Rogoff, Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, signed grants, bringing $900 million to Houston's light rail. The two Full Funding Grant Agreements (FFGA) were signed at a ceremony on November 28, 2011. U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congressmen Gene Green and Al Green, attended the event, marking the first time rail projects in Houston receive FFGAs.
The total construction cost for the North (Red) extension and the Southeast (Purple) line is $1.6 billion. Each line will receive a $450 million federal grant.
Click the links to view the North and Southeast lines. |
Distracted Driving PSA in a Theater Near You | |
A public service announcement created by H-GAC and Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia will be shown at Cinemark, AMC and Regal Cinemas theaters from December 9, 2011 - January 12, 2012. The video warning teens of the dangers of distracted driving will be shown before movies on 303 screens in 15 theaters in Houston and the surrounding area. Watch the video on YouTube.
The Spring Observer included an article on the PSA. A Spanish version of the PSA ran on Telemundo through September 2011. Watch the Spanish PSA on YouTube. |
H-GAC in the Hispanic Community | |
H-GAC Transportation Department recently increased outreach efforts to the Hispanic co mmunity.
Representatives from H-GAC and Texas Children's Hospital appeared on Channel 61's full-length, 30-minute program "Houston Comunidad Latina," to discuss safety, loan opportunities and air quality. The program was broadcast on November 20, 2011.
In addition, on November 16, 2011, an article on the Drayage Loan Program was published in Semana, a top free Spanish weekly.
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Drayage Loan Program
The H-GAC Drayage Loan Program is a low-interest loan program that enables eligible truck owners who conduct port-related activity to finance the purchase of newer, more environmentally friendly trucks. Visit H-GAC's website for more details. Grants are also available.
Clean Vehicles Program
H-GAC's Clean Vehicles program is a fuel/technology-neutral grant program that funds cost-effective vehicle retrofit, repower, replacement, conversion (to alternative fuels) or the establishment of alternative fuel infrastructure. Prospective applicants are urged to review the program guidelines at www.houston-cleancities.org before submitting a grant application.
Commute and Transit Pilot Program
Qualifying projects are eligible to receive federal CMAQ funds to cover a percentage of incurred operating expenses for up to three years. This program funds new services, which provide additional commuting options and do not duplicate or replace existing transit services. Visit the Commute Solutions' website for more details.
Telework  Program
Find out how your business can receive a federal grant for up to $72,000 to begin or expand your existing telework program. Applications are available at: www.commutesolutionshouston.org/telework/telework.htm. |
H-GAC Makes Latest Census Data Available Online |
On May 26, 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau released additional data for the H-GAC region based on the 2010 Census. The product, called "2010 Demographic Profile," includes 23 data tables for counties and cities. The tables include detailed age/sex distribution, median age and types of households. The data is now available on H-GAC's website. |
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 Data Services, for the first time in H-GAC history, is planning to acquire one-foot pixel digital aerial imagery of the entire H-GAC region that includes all 13 counties (13,000 square miles) in early 2012. Along with the one-foot product, more than 700 square miles of six-inch resolution imagery will also be flown. All of the data is scheduled to be delivered by late July 2012. For more information, contact Robert LaBarbera, 713-993-4519 or Robert.LaBarbera@h-gac.com.
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 Learn more about H-GAC projects and programs on our YouTube channel. We're constantly adding new videos.
H-GAC Brown Bag Lunch Series - View all videos of Brown Bag presentations.
Chronicles of a Teen Killer
H-GAC and the Houston Police Department (HPD) recently produced "Chronicles of a Teen Killer," a documentary about the dangers of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Watch "Chronicles of a Teen Killer" on YouTube. |
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