The Houston-Galveston Area Council and South Montgomery County community leaders laid the groundwork for a future transportation and mobility plan Feb. 5 at the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack's Office.

Noack, Alan Clark, HGAC Metropolitan Planning Organization Director, and representatives of The Woodlands Township, City of Oak Ridge North, City of Shenandoah, Conroe and Harris County discussed the framework for a mobility plan for South Montgomery County. Clark said the plan will prioritize possible transportation projects and needs, as well as look toward planned development to identify future areas of traffic congestion in the community.

Noack said a regional mobility plan with cooperation of all entities will help the area secure federal and state funding for transportation projects. Recent projects have failed to secure funds because the projects were not ready to present, he said.

"We have to have projects ready to go when funding becomes available," he said. "We have to come to the realization that we're not going to like every aspect of this plan, but we have to come together as a community and say this is our plan."

The plan's development could cost between $300,000 and $500,000 with HGAC funding 80 percent and the participating entities matching 20 percent, splitting a pro rata portion based on population size, Clark said.

Members of the township, including Director Mike Bass, requested transit needs be part of the study. Bass said The Woodlands will add as many as 10,000 to 15,000 residents, as well as commercial development in the Town Center area by buildout, creating new mobility problems. He said The Woodlands also needs to examine the park and rides, reverse commuters, connectivity and bicycle pedestrians.

"We don't have the luxury of putting transit on the back burner," Bass said.

Shenandoah City Administrator Greg Smith and Oak Ridge North Mayor Jim Kuykendall agreed transit and connectivity between communities could be a future concern, but the study's main focus should be on the roadways. Clark said the study will likely include a transit plan, particularly to the communities which request its inclusion.

Community leaders agreed the entirety of Precinct 3, some parts of Northwest Harris County and southern areas of Conroe's ETJ, possibly north to FM 1488, should be included in the study. However, Clark said the study will use data from the entire county to compose the plan and consultants will also take into consideration information from outside South Montgomery County.

The group agreed to take a month to discuss the scope, boundaries and needs of their individual communities before meeting again.

Clark said the committee would then take about 90 days to formulate a proposal, meet with consultants, make recommendations and seek approval before the study can begin. The study's timeframe could vary based on the size of the scope, but he said six months for the entirety of the study would be possible.

"I find that we mostly underestimate what we can accomplish when we're on the same page," Clark said. "The problems are not in Washington or Austin. They're mostly locally."