The Woodlands Township Board of Directors and the Houston-Galveston Area Council have completed the public outreach phase of The Woodlands Transit Plan study. The input obtained will be used to develop recommendations and alternatives for transit improvements.

Throughout January, more than 10 focus groups, with a combined total of more than 70 individuals, gave their feedback on the state of transit in and around The Woodlands and what changes they felt were necessary. Focus group participants included seniors, members of the Village Associations, developers, transit providers and cyclist groups. Additional feedback was obtained from an online survey, which was taken by more than 750 people.

Township Director Mike Bass, a member of the board's Transportation Ad Hoc Committee, said the study addresses one of the most pressing issues the area will be grappling with in the coming years.

"I think the biggest thing that we're trying to deal with within The Woodlands is that with growth comes congestion and the need to improve mobility," Bass said.

Charlene Mullins, H-GAC project manager, presented the findings from the focus groups at the Feb. 20 meeting to the township board. Consistent themes that came up in the focus group comments were concerns about how ExxonMobil and Springwoods Village would affect area traffic and mobility as well as providing more weekday transit options.

Bass said he was not surprised by feedback they received, especially pertaining to the trolley service. Focus group members indicated residents primarily view the trolley as a tourist attraction rather than a transit option. This is, in part, because the time between trains is too long to be convenient for residents to use as a daily mode of transit.

"People aren't going to use it unless they don't have to wait any longer than 5 to 7 minutes," Bass said.

Although commuters often use The Woodlands Express park and rides, focus group members said these services would be more useful and convenient if they ran more frequently throughout the day, Mullins said at the meeting. There are numerous departures at peak commute times in the morning and evening, but few in between, with services stopping at 7 p.m.

Springwoods and ExxonMobil frequently came up as points of concern, Mullins said. Both of these developments are expected to bring thousands of new residents and workers to the area over the next few years.

"The traffic's pretty congested right now. What's going to happen in five years when all those developments are complete?" Mullins said. "How's that going to affect the Town Center and circulation within and around The Woodlands?"

The next step is to make recommendations for specific transit improvements based on the public feedback from the focus group and survey. Mullins said she hopes to present recommendations to the board by mid-May.

Until specific recommendations are made, the plan's cost is not yet known. Discussions on how to raise the required money will take pace at a later date.

"I think it's important over the next few years, if we want to try to reduce congestion and improve mobility, that we put a plan in place with effective solutions and figure out how we're going to fund it," Bass said.