$15 Million Project Aims To Improve Accessibility Along Houston’s Busiest Transit Route (Source: Houston Public Media)

By Gail DeLaughter

The Westchase District is working on a multi-million dollar project that aims to make it easier for walkers and cyclists to access bus stops in West Houston.

The $15 million project runs along a three-mile stretch of Westheimer Road, from Kirkwood Road to Westerland Drive. Most of the project’s funding comes from a $10 million grant from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

Buses along the 82 Westheimer route arrive at a stop every few minutes, but getting to a bus stop in the Westchase District wasn’t always easy due to narrow sidewalks with missing segments. The infrastructure upgrade aims to change this, said Ricky Gonzalez, project team leader at civil engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam.

“If you came out here before, all the sidewalks were chopped up, they were inconsistent, they were discontinuous,” Gonzalez said. “Now you’ve got a continuous flow of sidewalk, so someone in a wheelchair, someone carrying a baby in a stroller, can literally walk from one end to the other without having to veer around driveways or go into the grass.”