The Westchase District rebuilt a 1.1-mile segment of Walnut Bend Lane, a major collector, as a multimodal Complete Street. The $20 million project received federal funds from FHWA as well as local funds from City of Houston. The project reconstructed both the street and back-of-curb streetscape from Westheimer Road to Westpark Drive. The new roadway cross section includes:
- two travel lanes and on-street parking,
- buffered bike lanes,
- “floating” bus stops to protect the bikeway, and
- turn lanes as applicable.
The new streetscape includes site furniture, signage and wayfinding, decorative street lighting, premium bus shelters, pedestrian lighting, landscape lighting and planting, special paving, and ADA-compliant curb ramps.
TEI coordinated extensively with the City of Houston and TxDOT to incorporate best practices for multimodal streets in the schematic design. TEI also designed three new traffic signals and intersection safety improvements, for Walnut Bend Lane at Meadowglen Lane, Richmond Avenue, and Westpark Drive. TEI analyzed transit boarding and alighting data for METRO’s 82, 25, and 161 frequent bus routes to identify trip generators and prioritize key destinations. TEI partnered with METRO to determine optimal bus stop locations. Construction of this $20 million project began in 2019 and completed in summer 2022.
