The project is being designed to convert the corridors into "neighborhood safe streets," a designation that officials said involves making streets safe for all modes of transportation, including cars, pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users.
Construction is slated to kick off in the first quarter of 2022 and is expected to last about nine months, said Muhammad Ali, an engineer working on the project, at the Oct. 18 meeting.
"Both corridors were prioritized as neighborhood safe streets to support a larger bikeway network through the TIRZ," Ali said.
The portions of Woodhead Street being targeted span from Dunlavy Street to the north and Hwy. 59 to the south. The segment of Hawthorne Street runs from Woodhead eastbound to Burlington Street near Spur 527.
Work broadly will take place across four segments: sidewalk replacement, milling, overlaying existing asphalt pavement and striping. The project also involves installing streetlights, making intersection improvements, making bicycle safety improvements, and constructing sidewalks and ramps.
Two traffic circles are planned for Woodhead Drive: one at Lexington Street and one at Main Street. Traffic circles are used to reduce speeds at key intersections to allow for safer pedestrian crossings and bicycle travel, Ali said.
Intersections will also be raised at two Woodhead intersections—Hawthorne Street and Harold Street. This will allow for greater visibility for pedestrians at these intersections while also reducing vehicle speed, Ali said. The targeted intersections are both nearby Lanier Middle School.
Bike improvements on both Hawthorne and Woodhead include the addition of approach bike lanes and boxes, which are designed to physically separate cyclists and drivers at stressful intersections while also allowing cyclists to get in front of vehicles and get through intersections faster.
On Woodhead, the bike boxes will be added at the Westheimer Road, West Gray Street, West Alabama Street and Richmond Avenue intersections. On Hawthorne, one will be added at the Montrose Boulevard intersection.
With expectations to send the project out for construction bids in December, officials said any public comments on the projects should be sent in by the end of October to [email protected].
Waugh Drive and Commonwealth Street
Meanwhile, a separate project to make pedestrian and bicycle improvements along Waugh Drive and Commonwealth Street is nearing completion.
The project, which runs from West Dallas Street southbound to West Alabama Street, involves milling and overlaying work on deteriorated asphalt roads, widening bike lanes and sidewalks, and installing ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Construction started in April and is slated to wrap up in December, officials said.
Documents on the Montrose TIRZ website indicate the Waugh and Commonwealth projects will cost about $3 million, and the Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner's office is covering about half of the cost.
The Hawthorne and Woodhead improvements have yet to be bid, but the TIRZ set aside $2 million and $2.75 million for those projects, respectively, on a potential projects list.
