Meetings re “Six at Memorial” – December, 2022
We have had three meetings in the last month, the aim being to try to improve some of the perceived problems with the Six at Memorial development, including safety, drainage, and the traffic situation that will develop over time in the Addicks/Memorial/Hwy. 6 area, as the now SIX nearby multi-family properties come online.
The first was an online meeting with Houston Public Works (“PW”) on December 12th attended by Ahmed Ghaly, Managing Engineer of the Permitting Center, Houston Public Works, and two other staff members; and Randy Crump, Aubrey Haines, Janis Mecklenberg and Steve Wormald from Fleetwood.
We produced a map (above) showing the SIX upcoming developments and the actual or estimated numbers of units, which we estimate will bring between 1,500 and 2,000 additional multi-family units, all of which will have an impact on the traffic in the Hwy.6, Memorial and Addicks-Howell area, already congested and having recorded 620 vehicular accidents and 9 fatalities since 2015.
We also discussed our concerns with the current proposed layout at Addicks & Memorial (see www.westhouston.info/traffic/), which the responsible engineer had stated was designed to improve safety, without any knowledge of upcoming Six at Memorial development, and with only the current traffic levels. The inadequacy of the design was discussed, forcing as it does, all traffic to turn eastwards on Memorial when exiting Addicks-Howell, and therefore likely to invite U-turns to head west. Given the new Six at Memorial development, it was acknowledged by PW that further discussion was needed and our request for an in-person meeting was acknowledged to be a good next move.
The second meeting, also on Monday December 12th at Starbucks next to the Addicks site, was attended by Ricardo Rivas (CEO, Allied-Orion) and Lonnie Houston, (Project Manager); CML Mary Nan Huffman; and Chris Culberson, Janis Mecklenberg, Bob Rossen and Steve Wormald from Fleetwood. (Allied-Orion Group is the developer of the Six at Memorial (Addicks) property). Initially, we again requested a Certificate of Insurance with respect to the crane overhanging the adjacent Fleetwood West properties, which was promised, and subsequently received.
Mr. Rivas confirmed they plan to install landscaping on their property and will entertain partnering with Fleetwood West POA to install a green privacy screen (trees) along the East side of Addicks Howell to shield the adjacent properties from being overlooked. Mr. Rivas also stated they are planning to install a sidewalk around the entirety of the development.
The perceived safety problem was discussed, with children from the new development walking to school at Wolfe Elementary, and crossing five lanes of traffic on painted crosswalks, given the speeds and irresponsibility of many drivers on Memorial.
The next topic of discussion was the drainage problem, which with the new concrete coverage for the development, we foresee worsening the effects of the flooding in the properties in Fleetwood West. The inadequacy of the existing culvert under Addicks Howell draining to the Bayou was impressed upon the CEO for which Chris Culberson offered to contact and encourage TxDot to install larger, dual culvert pipes.
The third meeting was on December 28th, an in-person follow-up meeting to the December 12th meeting, this time at Houston Public Works, downtown Houston. Managing Engineer Ahmed Ghaly chaired the meeting, with Khang Nguyen and two staff engineers; and Randy Crump, Aubrey Haines, Janis Mecklenberg and Steve Wormald from Fleetwood.
We reviewed the updated map showing the projected traffic flows from the SIX developments, and discussed various options and ideas, understandably with no immediate conclusions. It was acknowledged that the entire area would be become a traffic nightmare and that some serious consideration need to be given to the problems, which were not addressed for the overall area in the individual TIAs (Traffic Impact Assessments) for the Caroline and Six at Memorial developments. We addressed the need to see the full TIAs (not just the supplied summaries), and the method to procure these was explained (a 30-day process).
We expressed concern that the proposed traffic layout plan for AddicksHowell-Memorial was unworkable, and implementing it a as short term improvement would only lead to even worse congestion in removing or modifying it having taken the Addicks development into account, which the currently proposed layout does not.
Public Works expressed their willingness to have a cooperative effort with the West Houston Steering Committee to continue to develop solutions to resolve the overall situation. A couple of potential strategies were discussed which we will be discussing with Allied-Orion on January 12th, and we will keep you informed.
There will be a Public Meeting, arranged by Houston Public Works, for nearby residents to express their ideas and concerns regarding the traffic situation in our area – time and place TBA, but within the next month and likely at a church or hotel.