METRORapid University Corridor Project

What is the METRORapid University Corridor Project?

The METRORapid route alignment is comprised of five different segments. Segment 4 will directly impact Greater Eastwood. METRO’s current project renderings include a bus-only overpass underpass on Lockwood, spanning from McKinney Street to Canal Street.

How can I get involved?

• Attend Eastwood Civic Association meetings for status updates on the project
  You can watch the meetings on our YouTube channel. Volunteers have bookmarked key segments of the meetings so you can jump ahead to specific questions or points.
  
• View or attend METRO Board Meetings
  Here, you can stream live meetings or watch past meetings, as well as view the schedule of upcoming meetings, which are open to the public for commentary.
  
• Take our Neighborhood Priorities Survey, regarding BRT Alternatives
  The Eastwood Civic Association continues to meet with the METRO Project Team to discuss alternatives that could be palatable to the neighborhood. Our volunteer committee members recognize the immense pressure to deliver for this community and have continued discussions with METRO. To help us deliver, we need to understand where neighborhood sentiment stands and what compromises they could stand for. We encourage residents to complete the following survey to help us understand your priorities:

What is the ECA Doing to Advocate for Residents?

The Eastwood Civic Association (ECA) first brought this project to the attention of the community during our April 2022 general membership meeting when METRO project staff presented their initial design proposal, which included an overpass and removed the treed esplanade along Lockwood Drive. We immediately began advocating for improvements to the initial design.

In July 2022, we submitted a letter (read it below) as an official public comment, outlining 7 conditions necessary for the community to consider supporting the project. We continue to fight for these conditions, and believe that for this project to be accepted in the community it must occur with NO OVERPASS.

On March 21, 2023, the Eastwood Civic Association Board approved and signed an updated letter based on the new design and submitted it to METRO as official public comment and our elected officials. The letter is included below for the community to review, share and use as they see fit. We also spokes at METRO Board meetings and with local elected officials to express our continued concerns around the project’s design and insufficient community engagement by METRO.

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TIMELINE OF PAST EVENTS

March 21, 2023 – METRO public comment period ended
The METRORapid route alignment has been broken into five different segments. Plans for Segment 4 will directly impact Greater Eastwood. METRO’s current project renderings include and overpass on Lockwood spanning from McKinney to Canal. METRO must respond to all substantive comments in its application for Federal funding.

Raw data results as of April 4, 2023 are available here.

How to complete the METRO Public Comment Form

1. Complete your contact information.
2. Details, please select the following:
   • My Feedback is Primarily About “Construction/Planning Projects”
   • Construction Planning Projects “University METRORapid Project”
3. Complete the rest of the form and submit.
   • Please note, no information is needed for sections on “Vehicle Information”, “Stop Information” or “Express Lanes” and comments are limited to 100,000 characters.

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April 5, 2023 – METRO held a Special Meeting of their Board of Directors to vote for approval of the locally preferred alternative (LPA) of the METRORapid University Corridor Project. You can watch it online, including statements by Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Council Member Robert Gallegos, the ECA, and local residents

Important Documents Received to Date from METRO 

1. Underpass Documents
   1. Lockwood at Harrisburg BRT/Pedestrian Underpass Exhibit
   2. Lockwood at Harrisburg BRT/Pedestrian Underpass Exhibit 2
2. In Response to Open Records Request
   1. Geotechnical Investigation – Segment 4
   2. Drainage Considerations for Underpass (MEMO)

2. At March 21st Public Meeting
   1. Documents as above in Section I (in print) 
   2. Exhibits Specific to Segment 4 (including some not seen before)
      1. Also available in spanish (not yet scanned and uploaded) 
   3. METRO Response to ECA Conditions 

3. Roadway Plans
   1. BRT Overpass Design
   2. All Traffic Underpass

4. Drainage Documents
   1. Same drainage MEMO in section I 

5. Tree Analysis
   1. None provided to date – tree inventory identified but not received.

6. Lockwood & Alternative Route Analysis
   1. Lockwood Alignment Exhibit 
   2. Lockwood Alignment Analysis Report
   3. Lockwood Alignment Analysis PowerPoint 

7. FTA Rating
   1. Summary of FTA Rating

March 14, 2023 – Description of the project from rideMETRO.org
“This project is designed to benefit commuters in multiple residential, business and education centers. METRO has been actively working with the community since 2021 on the development and design of this project.

The University Corridor represents 25.3 miles of accessible service. It begins at the Westchase Park & Ride near the intersection of the Westpark Tollway and the Sam Houston Tollway. It ends at Tidwell Transit Center, near the intersection of Tidwell Road and U.S. Highway 59. Along the way, it passes by Houston Community College, Texas Southern University, University of Houston and University of St. Thomas.

Part of the METRONext Moving Forward Plan, this project aims to improve the customer experience by reducing travel time and improving schedule reliability. The University Corridor has some of the region’s busiest and most congested streets. Currently, buses in the corridor operate in mixed traffic. This reduces efficiency for METRO customers and impacts motorists as they wait for buses to load and unload passengers in a shared lane.”