Candlelight Oaks Civic Club & Near Northwest Management District Meeting – May 11, 2023

Candlelight Oaks Civic Club/Near Northwest Management District
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Advent Lutheran Church

Summary of meeting follows:

The Near Northwest Management District (www.nnmd.org) was created by the Texas State Legislature over 20 years ago to promote economic and public welfare within its boundaries, which comprises a 16 square mile area bounded by T.C Jester Blvd, Pinemont Drive, Hollister, and SR 249.

At the invitation of the CO Civic Club, Eileen Egan, Vice President of Capital Projects, and Wayne Norden, President, of NNMD attended the May meeting of the CO Civic Club to discuss an upcoming project which will impact the CO neighborhood. Members of the CO Board attending included Sandy Ericksen, Dan Sherer, Dan Gonzales, Johanna Wolfe, and Lori Bulla. In addition, about 15 CO residents joined the meeting.

Highlights follow:

This is a $1.6 million project, funded primarily by savings on another NNMD project. The design is 60% completed and expected to be design-complete within the next two to three months. At that point, the project will be opened for bids. It is anticipated that construction will begin in late 2023. The project is a collaboration between the City of Houston, METRO, Burlington Northern, and Houston Parks Board.

The overall concept of the W. Tidwell Improvement project includes these key features: improved sidewalks, a park at the W. Tidwell Trailhead, BOOST shelters for METRO riders, and a rebuilt railroad crossing.

Sidewalks along W. Tidwell are in poor condition with broken concrete and uneven pavers. They will be replaced with 5 to 6 ft wide sidewalks.

W. Tidwell Trailhead will be updated by NNMD and managed going forward by the Houston Parks Board. Trees will remain at the trailhead and a trail to the bike path will be constructed through the trees. Seating, water fountains, and trash receptacles will be added. Bollards will be installed to keep cars from parking in the area.

Railroad Crossing reconstruction is the responsibility of Burlington Northern. This will likely be undertaken later in the project. Included in the railroad crossing reconstruction will be safer pedestrian/bikeways across the tracks.

BOOST Shelters will be installed by METRO. These shelters are along METRO’s BOOST network of high ridership, frequent routes. The shelters provide a larger space with lighting, seating and shelter for bus riders. METRO expects to install two of these along Tidwell between Antoine and T.C. Jester.

Questions from CO Residents:

There may be homes along W. Tidwell whose fences are within the right of way, as is the brick wall at the Bolivia entrance to the neighborhood. The City will conduct a survey to determine if there are portions of fences along Tidwell that will need to be moved. The COH is expected to do the survey and will contact residents. NNMD indicated that they would provide more information regarding this in the next several weeks.

Whose responsibility would it be to move portions of fences?

Are 6 ft wide sidewalks negotiable, since this is considerably wider than the ADA requirement?

There are traffic concerns at Tidwell and YES Prep with speeding and also with traffic congestion. Would it be possible to consider a light at Ash Oak and Tidwell to slow traffic?

Will the development of the park at W. Tidwell Trailhead impact the work of Harris County Flood Control District on the bayou project (for staging, etc.)? The response was no, it would not and the entities are working together.

Who determined that two BOOST shelters would be needed along a fairly short route, and is there a process to question that plan?

There was general agreement, that while there are advantages to components of this plan, many questions remain. Residents are encouraged to stay informed as additional information is posted to the FB page and at www.nnmd.org , or by attending future meetings of the Civic Club (2nd Thursday each month.) The CO Civic Club board will continue discussions with NNMD as the project design is completed to insure the best outcome for our neighborhood.