The overview
The Montrose Boulevard project was announced in December and targets the portion of the street between Allen Parkway and I-69. Work is being funded by the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which is partnering with the engineering firm Gauge Engineering on design work.
The project entails the following work:
- Full roadway reconstruction
- Wider sidewalks and implementation of shared-use paths in some areas
- Safer crossings
- Upgraded aesthetics
- Improved drainage
A timeline and cost for the second segment, from West Clay to I-69, is to be determined, and TIRZ officials said they are looking for ways to bring in grant funding to help cover costs.
What's new
Design work on the segment from Allen Parkway to West Clay Street has reached the 60% mark and is nearing the 90% mark, officials said at an Aug. 21 Montrose TIRZ monthly meeting.
Muhammad Ali, principal with Gauge Engineering, provided updates at the Aug. 21 meeting on how plans have been tweaked based on public feedback the TIRZ has been gathering since January. Notable changes include:
- Adding more streetlights throughout the plan in anticipation of more pedestrians and bicyclists using the roadway
- Adding a shared-use path on the east side of Montrose Boulevard between Allen Parkway and Westheimer Road
- Adding crossing signals at certain intersections to replace previously proposed Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons
- The use of a toucan signal at West Clay Street, which allows bicyclists approaching an intersection to cross on a two-way, raised median
The Montrose TIRZ is also has an interlocal agreement with the Downtown TIRZ—the boundaries of which border the Montrose TIRZ—on a proposed pedestrian bridge and shared-use path in the gap area between the U-turn and northbound lane of Montrose Boulevard at Allen Parkway. The new bridge is intended to give pedestrians safer access to Buffalo Bayou.
What's next
Montrose TIRZ Board Chair Joe Webb said another public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 1805 W. Alabama St., Houston.
The meeting will allow attendees to learn about the project and provide feedback in general, but it will also include conversations specifically related to landscaping and trees, Webb said. A landscape architect and a trained arborist will both be on-site to answer questions.
Current plans call for trees to be spaced every 30 feet between Dallas Street and Allen Parkway, and for more trees to be added in the median of that strip.
"We want to make sure we preserve whatever trees are there, and if we remove any, we will be replacing them with more trees," Ali said at the meeting.
Learn more about the project here.
