clear lake story in change magazine
TRANSCRIPT
8/6/2019 Clear Lake Story in Change Magazine
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ACTIVISM | her ground
OutdoorEnthusiasts UNITE
By Holly Beretto
A group of Clear Lake area residents recently joined forces with the City of Houston on a
ride to discover ways to make bicycle routes safer.
Bikeways and walkways encourage quality of lif
e in the Bay Area
Residents of—and visitors to—the Bay Area don’t
need anyone to tell them there’s a huge outdoor life
component to the water-bordered lands south of
Houston’s concrete canyons. It’s not unusual to see kayakers
on the water and families enjoying the parks.
It is, however, a trie more difcult to cycle along the
area’s roadways, or walk from home to shops. Now, the City
of Houston is looking to change that.
A proposed study is in the works to take into
consideration the safety and mobility needs for cyclists and
pedestrians in the Clear Lake area. It’s a collaborative effort
between the City of Houston Department of Public Worksand Engineering and the Houston-Galveston Area Council,
each of which is providing $50,000.
“This study is part of Houston’s continued effort to
connect centers of great cultural, economic and educational
signicance, as well as wonderfully diverse residential
neighborhoods,” says Dan Raine, the bicyclist-pedestrian
coordinator in Houston’s public works and engineering
department. “The city of Houston nominated this segment
of Clear Lake for study in order to develop potential
improvement projects to enhance the feasibility and
functionality of walking and biking trips between the various
commercial and residential land uses, with an emphasis on
providing connections to major employer centers.”
The initial goals of the project focus on providing
opportunities for bikers and walkers of all levels, so that
any bikeways or walkways built ensure the safety of area
residents, and providing greater connectivity for bikers andwalkers between destinations.
Raine says that while Clear Lake has beneted from several
transportation improvements, few of those enhancements
have been for pedestrians and cyclists. He concedes that even
though most of the area’s roadways have sidewalks, several
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15August 2011
factors limit where walkers can safely cross streets, which
discourages walking.
“If these deterrents to walking and bicycling can be
identied and addressed, the resulting projects would
contribute signicantly to public health and quality of life.”
Quality of life issues have long been important to the
Houston metro area’s residents, and mobility factors
89% of respondents of a recent project survey indicated that they would bike
10 minutes to a destination if they felt they could do so safely; however, only
11% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they currently feel safe
biking in Clear Lake. Many of the places to which people would like to walk
and bike—such as schools, stores, and jobs—are located along the busiest,
fastest roads in the area.
The Clear Lake area is rich with destinations, including neighborhoods,
restaurants, malls, jobs, parks—even a space center! The Clear Lake Pedestrian
and Bicyclist Study is envisioning ways to connect these destinations to make
walking and biking to them fun and safe for all users.
Map of Study Area
Ma of pedestrian/bicycle Crash Sites
➜
Your feet mirror your general health. Conditionssuch as arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory
disorders can show their initial symptoms in thefeet - so foot ailments can be your first sign of
more serious medical problems.
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17August 2011
air pollution along with relieving stress, reaping benets
through the safe passage of people to and from work, school
and activities.”
Raine says the area’s large employers have long
encouraged their workers to live healthy lifestyles, and he
believes that creating opportunities for walking and biking
would not only enhance the health of area residents, but
would also improve air quality and bring people together to
create a greater sense of community.
To that end, several public meetings have been held aimed
at making sure residents understand what’s happening and
giving them a venue to make their own thoughts heard.
Feedback from the meetings thus far has been positive,
and residents offered support for the study and offered their
ideas about the community’s needs, including a desire to xthe walkways and paths already in place, better maintaining
those pathways, and improving sidewalks and road
shoulders.
The next public meeting will be held Sept. 7 at the Clear
Lake City Community Association building at 16511 Diana
Lane. It starts at 6:00 pm and the public is encouraged
to attend. There’s also an online survey anyone can take,
and Raine says both the City of Houston and HGAC are
interested in community feedback. It’s accessible throughwww.walkbikeclearlake.com
Raine is optimistic about the study and its implications.
“The results will identify pedestrian and bicyclist safety and
mobility issues, as well as develop and prioritize a series
of immediate, short- and long-term improvement projects
that will be eligible for implementation with funding made
available through future calls for projects from the HGAC’s
Transportation Improvement Program.”
heavily into how area residents view it. For nearly the last 30
years, Rice University has conducted the annual “Houston
Area Survey,” a look at the attitudes and opinions of area
residents. Throughout the survey’s history, trafc and
mobility have routinely ranked among the most important
challenges to the region. The survey is now run under the
auspices of the university’s Kinder Institute for Urban
Research, and in the 2010 survey, 41% of respondents said
they’d choose to live in a smaller house “in a more urbanized
area, within walking distance of shops and workplaces.”
Respondents always rate Houston highly as a place to live,
and they support better land-use initiatives to improve
quality of life.
Raine says that in addition to the health benets, there aremultiple other enhancements to quality of life that making the
Bay Area more pedestrian and bicycle friendly can provide.
“Using walking or biking for local trips provides a
healthier and more aesthetically pleasing alternative to
motorized transportation,” he says. “And it helps to alleviate
if your communty were bcyce frendy, woud you
opt for t mode of tranportaton? Attend te
sept. 7 meetn, connect wt oter outdoor
entuat and cyct, and ve bkn a try.
10 REASONS TO TRAvEL bY bIKE
Free ar condtonn…t’ caed wnd!
Peda power burn caore, not money
and aone.
No tnky, toxc emon eft bend.
Tt ort and top are coo.
Take your tre on te road…wtout te rae.
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No car payment, car nurance or peedn
tcket.
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muce.
Attend the Sept. 7 Meeting! For more information about The Clear Lake Pedestrian
and Bicyclist Study visit www.walkbikeclearlake.com.
Attendees at the July
20 meeting offeredvaluable input and ideas
to improve walking
and biking routes in
the Bay Area. All are
encouraged to attend
the next meeting on
Sept. 7 at the Clear
Lake City Community
Association building
on Diana Ln.
P h o t o s c o p y r i g h t S t e v e P e d i g o 2 0 1 1 T e r r a n C a m e r a
Busy streets, poorly maintained
bicycle paths and narrow
sidewalks were noted and
discussed along the ride route
with future improvements to
be determined by the study
group’s input.