The Woodlands Township is moving forward with plans to build a transit center next to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The transit center would be developed with the goal to improve mobility and parking in the Town Center district and allow Woodlands residents and visitors to access the trolley system or other transit options, said township director Jeff Long.
"One of [the township's] initiatives is to increase parking capabilities downtown so that we don't negatively impact our economic engine," Long said.
The township is also considering options to improve its trolley service by reducing wait times and expanding its service areas.
"[A transit center would] have several uses," Long said. "People could park, pick up the trolley and move around Town Center, hopefully efficiently and quickly. They could park and transfer to other modes of transportation. We want [the transit center] to be a facility that has multiple uses embedded within in it."
Although a final cost for such a facility is yet to be determined, Long estimated the price of a transit facility to be about $8.4 million to $8.6 million. In 2009, the township commissioned a study for a transportation center that would include a park and ride option, a facility that was estimated to cost about $10 million. However, plans for a park and ride were nixed and the cost estimate was reduced, according to township documents.
Scott Barker of HDR Engineering, the firm contracted by the township to provide transportation consulting services, said such a facility could also accommodate reverse commuters, or residents living around the greater Houston area who commute to work in The Woodlands. He said development of a transit center could take between 19 and 36 months.
Grant funding in the amount of $3.6 million has been allocated for the project, according to the township. The Federal Transit Authority and the Houston-Galveston Area Council will each provide $1.8 million in funding. Those grants require the township to provide a local match, which would come in the form of the township's donation of the land for the transit facility, which it owns and is valued at about $2 million.
The township will likely seek funding through the FTA Section 5309 grant funding program, which provides funding for the creation of new rail or busway projects and other fixed transit systems, as well as the upgrading of bus systems.
The township would be required to make up the additional funding, which Long said would likely be drawn from the township's reserve funds.
The transit facility is proposed to be constructed on 1.5 acres at the corner of Six Pines Drive and Lake Woodlands Drive, a tract that is currently being used as the Gold Lot at the Woodlands Pavilion.
Long said the facility would be several stories high with parking for 500 vehicles. The bottom floor could allow access for trolleys and buses.
Over the next few months, the township will be working with the FTA and H-GAC to secure funding while also finalizing concept and design plans, Long said.
