Transportation Project Questionnaire

Transit Questionnaire

Project Information

Agency Name	TxDOT Houston District
Project Title	FM 359 Bike Tourism Trail
Facility/Street/Highway	FM 359
Limits	From 1458 to Gessner Rd
Description	The project includes a 8- to 10- foot shoulders, high visibility crossing striping, ADA ramps, pavement markings, resting area pads and signage as well as other associated intersection improvements.
Timeframe	Short Term (0-5 Years)
Estimated Cost	$5,400,000.00

Investment Category-Focused Criteria

1. Is the proposed project recommended in a regional, subregional, local, transit, livable centers or other plans?

2. Does the proposed project provide transit service or expand transit service to locations which do not currently have a transit service?

3. Does the proposed project provide connectivity to other transit services?

4. Does the proposed project improve or provide transit connectivity to jobs?

5. Please provide daily ridership served by the proposed transit project.

METRO: no bus stops

6. Please provide narrative explaining how the transit agency (sponsor) helps to evacuate people during severe weather events (Hurricanes).

Not applicable.

Other Investment Category Focused Criteria

1. Was the project scored under Regional Goods Movement Category?

1a. If no, please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves regional goods movement. Within the narrative, please include if the proposed project is designated as a critical freight corridor or a local/regional/state truck route.

The project is not located on a Critical Urban Freight Corridor. The project is not located on the TxDOT or FHWA Freight Networks. The project improves regional goods movement by intersection improvements which will facilitate more efficient traffic flow and reducing congestion caused by intersection-related crashes.

2. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project benefits high growth areas. Within the narrative, please explain if the proposed project improves or provides access to new residential developments, retail stores, other land uses, or if the proposed project alleviates future congestion due to potential economic development activity such as expansion of warehouses or other freight generators.

The project is not located in a high growth area. The population is projected to grow by 373.3% and jobs are projected to increase by 111.8%. Some new residential land use changes announced or modeled.

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves traffic operations. Within the narrative, please include if the proposed project includes construction of truck only lanes or managed truck only lanes, construction of an interchange, or intersection improvements.

This project will not directly improve automobile traffic capacity or operations, but by making short-term non-car trips more feasible, it may reduce local traffic on nearby roadways.

4. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project improves walking and biking conditions. Within the narrative, please explain if the proposed project scope includes construction of a new or improved existing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure on a project facility or in the vicinity of the project.

The project includes 8- to 10- foot shoulders, high visibility crossing striping, ADA ramps. Wide shoulders will provide room for cyclists and pedestrians to utilize the facility and maintain a safe distance from vehicle traffic.

5. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project will reduce inoperability for significant periods due to infrastructure damaged by a collision with vehicles such as trucks, ships, and barges.

The project will add shoulders to allow more space to move disabled vehicles and to better maintain flow on the facility after vehicle collisions. The project will also improve intersection design and operation, reducing intersection-related crashes. The reduction in crashes will reduce periods of inoperability due to vehicle collisions.

6. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project will improve state of good repair and extend the service life of the project facility.

Pavement Score: Poor Narrative: This segment contains pavement in Poor condition, accroding to TxDOT and FHWA guidelines. In a widening/reconstruction project like this project, pavement is removed and new pavement is constructed, thus increasing the state of good repair and extending the service life of the facility.

Planning Factors Criteria

1. What is the existing fatality crash rate at the project location? Regional crash data is available online on the crash data viewer. H-GAC staff will provide assistance in calculating the crash rates upon request.

2. What is the existing serious injury crash rate at the project location? Regional crash data is available online on the crash data viewer. H-GAC staff will provide assistance in calculating the crash rates upon request.

4.321

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project reduces expected fatality and serious injury crashes. Narrative must include specific improvements (work types) included in the project scope. Crash reduction factors associated with specific work types can be found in the safety benefits calculation template. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in gathering the crash reduction factors upon request.

Crash rates for this segment are per 100 million VMT. The fatality rate is 0, lower than the regional average (1.23), and the serious injury rate is 4.321, lower than the regional average (6.18). This project will improve intersection design and operation, reducing intersection-related crashes. Adding shoulders to the facility may reduce head-on, sideswipe, and pedestrian crashes, among others. Shoulders will allow vehicles to move off the roadway after collisions, reducing further crashes caused by congestion. The addition of pedestrian infrastructure will allow pedestrians to safely use the facility and reduce points of conflicts with vehicles, thus improving the overall safety of the segment. The consolidated crash reduction factor is 80%, as a result of installing a pedestrian crosswalk (WC 403), constructing paved shoulders greater than 5 feet (WC 537), installing pavement markings (WC 401), and improving pedestrian signals (WC 131).

Resiliency

1. Please select the vulnerability to flooding score at the project location based on the Regional Resiliency tool. H-GAC staff can provide assistance with the regional resiliency tool upon request.

Low

2. Please select the criticality score at the project location based on the Regional Resiliency tool. H-GAC staff can provide assistance with the regional resiliency tool up on request.

Low

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project reduces vulnerability to flooding. The narrative must include specific improvements such as drainage improvements that are included in the scope.

All current projects are being designed to meet and/or exceed ATLAS-14 drainage standards. However, this may not apply to Sidewalk/Bike Path Projects.

Access/Connectivity

Please enter the household population located within a quarter mile buffer of the project location: 1a. Low-Income

2,511

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

4,077

2. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a medical facility within a quarter mile buffer of the project location?

3. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a school/college/university within a quarter mile buffer of the project location?

Yes

4. Does the proposed project improve or provide new connectivity to a social services facility within a quarter buffer of the project location?

Environmental Justice

Please enter household population located within quarter mile buffer of the project location. H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data. 1a. Low-Income

2,511

1b. Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Minorities

4,077

1c. Household Population Under Poverty

1,087

1d. Disabled Persons

476

1e. Elderly Persons

287

1f. Limited English Proficiency

630

2. What is the average Livable Center Need Index within quarter mile buffer of the project location? H-GAC staff can assist in gathering the data.

45.20

3. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project provides benefits to vulnerable populations. Benefits include safety improvements, construction of or improvements to ped/bike facilities, or improvements to transit stops.

4. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project avoids or mitigates adverse effects to vulnerable populations. A list of adverse effects was provided in detailed criteria document.

The area surrounding the project segment has a higher low-income population (20.07%) as compared to the regional average of 13.5%. The area surrounding the project segment has a higher minority population (75.26%) as compared to the regional average of 65% minority. TxDOT’s Environmental Process is designed to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Executive Order on Environmental Justice. Standard practice is to implement projects that provide user safety and operational efficiency while taking into account environmental quality and impacts to surrounding communities. In practice this means identifying and assessing potential project impacts, then proposing measures to avoid, minimize and/or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects to Environmental Justice Populations. For example, the project will improve drainage to ATLAS-14 standards, which will mitigate impacts from added capacity to vulnerable populations.

Impacts on Natural and Cultural Resources

1. Please provide a narrative explaining how the proposed project avoids or mitigates impacts to natural (flood plains, wetlands) and cultural (historic and archeological sites) resources. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in identifying natural and cultural resources located within a quarter mile buffer of the project location.

No impacts have been identified at this time but the project does increase pedestrian access/connectivity to San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site and Stephen F. Austin State Park in Austin County.

2. Please provide Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) reductions provided by the project. H-GAC staff can provide assistance in calculating NOx and VOC reductions.
(Optional)

NOx: 0; VOC:0

Innovation

1. Does the project propose to implement new infrastructure technologies to enhance accessibility, mobility, multimodalism, resiliency, reliability, or traffic operations?

2. Does the project propose to implement new autonomous/connected vehicle technology?