Northside On The Move
Greater Northside Capital Projects Development Strategy

2024 APA TX Houston Section Planning Award Recipient
Gold Designation for Public Outreach

TGC provided the Greater Northside Management District, in partnership with Harris County Precinct 2, a Capital Project Development Strategy — Northside On the Move — to identify and prioritize transportation and mobility improvement projects for which the District could systematically pursue funding to enhance transportation infrastructure.

The process to prioritize capital infrastructure and mobility projects included community engagement, field observations and site visits, a review of completed and ongoing planning efforts, and technical analyses. Input from the community via online survey, walk audits, and community meetings, has been vital to developing this strategy and in prioritizing infrastructure projects. TGC evaluated 29 corridors across the District using 31 weighted evaluation criteria to determine highest need for improvements in the areas of safety, economic development, access, mobility, equity, and public input. After the completion of the technical analysis, field observations, consultation with District staff and Board of Directors, Harris County Engineering Department, Harris County Precinct 2, and input from the community, four projects were recommended for detailed project development:

• Airline Drive Intersection Improvements and Road Diet ($5.7M)

• Berry Road Back-of-Curb Improvements ($17.8M)

• Jensen Drive Reconstruction and interim short term improvements ($96.4M)

• Tidwell Road Reconstruction and interim short-term improvements ($74.5M)

A grant readiness report was completed for each project and includes the following components: project scope, estimated costs, purpose statements, identification of public needs, societal benefits, desktop environmental review, funding pursuit recommendations, and visuals. These packages will be the basis for any future discretionary funding opportunity.

For each project, TGC identified various federal, state, and local resources that could be pursued to offset the local cost. TGC has successfully pursued an annual TxDOT Highway Safety Improvement Program grant for a project that aims to significantly reduce injuries at crash-prone intersections on Airline Drive, as well as a second Precinct 2 partnership project to develop a design concept for Jensen Drive. There are several funding pursuits in progress for projects identified in Northside on the Move, including a USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All application for improvements on Airline Drive, Jensen Drive, and Tidwell Road, and regional funding to develop a design concept for Berry Road.