This fall the Houston-Galveston Area Council will reveal the results of the nearly year-long South Montgomery County Mobility Study, a plan that will outline suggested improvements to south county thoroughfares and infrastructure designed to improve mobility. But as the study nears completion, there is concern among stakeholders and focus groups that the study will not include a plan for bike lanes, which they say is a key component for improved mobility.



The Woodlands Township, the township bicycle task force and the Bike The Woodlands Coalition—a community organization comprised of local cyclists—are expecting the plan to include some level of detail in regards to identifying safe corridors and improvements for cyclist travel.



"The issue is whether there is a significant amount [of the study] allocated to alternative means of transportation," said Bruce Tough, chairman of the township board of directors. "It was my expectation that when we were participating financially and through our representatives on the South Montgomery County Mobility Study, that there would be an inclusion of all forms of mobility—including bicycle, pedestrian, buses and vehicles."



Closed meetings



Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack initiated the mobility study last year. The study generally focuses on potential mobility improvements in the south county area, including The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North, Shenandoah and along the Rayford Road corridor. Precinct 3, the township, Oak Ridge North and Shenandoah each helped pay for the study, along with H-GAC, which is leading the study efforts.



However, Tough, township director Mike Bass and George Mendes, member of both the Bike The Woodlands Coalition and the township's bicycle advisory task force, all expressed concern that the process through which the study has been compiled has not provided adequate access to community focus groups and stakeholders.



"There has not been the openness and level of participation to the bicycle coalition and the bicycle advisory group—they were not allowed to present their issues [to the study committee]," Tough said. "That's just not the best way to operate. You need to have openness [and] transparency. You need to have more participation, not less. When you go through a process like this, it can't be controlled by one or two people."



Noack said the meetings have been restricted to those who have a financial stake in the study.



"The steering committee is made up of the stakeholders who put money into the funding [of the study]," he said. "H-GAC has designated these meetings as closed meetings. Because what happens is they look at a map and start talking about making changes to that map, things that don't need to be talked about outside of the confines of that meeting. But we provide plenty of opportunities for feedback to be had by all."



Noack said the interests of the Bike The Woodlands Coalition and the bicycle advisory task force have been represented through written documents to H-GAC.



Carlene Mullins, transportation planner for H-GAC, said residents and focus groups, such as the Bike The Woodlands Coalition, will have additional opportunities to comment on the mobility plan during public meetings in July and August.



"Everyone will get a chance to make a comment on the mobility plan before it gets finalized," she said.



Study results



David Wurldlow, transportation program manager for H-GAC, said the final study will provide a bicycle-and-pedestrian needs analysis, recommendations and a network map that will show adequate north-south and east-west corridors for bike travel as well as connections to major employment centers and planning-level cost estimates.



Tough said should the final study provide such information, the township would be satisfied that their needs regarding cycling issues in the south county study would be met.



The plan, however, will stop short of a complete bicycle master plan, Noack said.



"The whole idea that there was a special bike plan, that would cost about $40,000," Noack said. "That goes far beyond [the plan showing] where bicycle lanes would be. It goes into bicycle safety, bicycle programs, how to use lanes as commuter lanes versus a weekender cyclist. That's not what this study is about."



Although the final study may suggest adequate east-west and north-south corridors for bicyclists, Noack said the county does not have the money to include bike lanes in future road improvements.



"We support safe pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle travel," he said. "But we don't have the funds we need to build roads, so we cannot build bike lanes."



Noack said should there be a push for the development of bike lanes, the county could work with The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1 and the township to make road widenings as bicycle-safe as possible.



"We would always consider that type of concept in future planning, but we would need to strike an agreement with the township, for example, and they could construct a bike lane," he said.



The Woodlands RUD is a special purpose district mostly in The Woodlands' Town Center that places an additional tax on commercial property taxes. The RUD uses the money to pay for new roads in the area.



Noack also said that the township would need to pay for a separate bike lane and cycling study should it desire one.



"The township may end up doing that on their own," he said. "From a funding standpoint, The Woodlands will fund that."



Cyclists' needs



Mendes said the reason the cycling community is hoping for a more detailed study is for a more seamless process when the time comes to build bike lanes.



"It is much better to have it in the [south county study] than a township [bike plan]," he said. "If [the township] came up with the plan, they would have to go to the county commissioner, the county judge, the people who actually build the roads. Then they would have to get approval. If they throw it in with the mobility plan, it would be taken care of then."



Mendes said there is a growing faction of residents in The Woodlands who choose to cycle to work, in addition to those who cycle as a hobby and for fitness. He said the bike paths throughout the community are better suited for casual users.



"Bike paths are not for bike commuters or for bike fitness individuals," he said. "When you're going over 6 or 7 miles per hour, the bike paths are dangerous, not just to cyclists, but for pedestrians, roller bladers, families pushing strollers. There is no line of sight."



Mendes said cyclists prefer to use roadways because of the better sightlines, straighter roads and quicker access to their destination. However, he said, a lack of planning for adequate bike lanes could result in more accidents.



"Doing nothing to accommodate people who ride bikes and [focusing] on cars on roads, it guarantees cyclist deaths or accidents," he said. "[A bike plan] will put cyclists on lanes, not [on] shoulders with increased cars on roadways."