METRO Considers Relocating Bellaire Transit Center to Gulfton
METRO’s Cindy Siegel addresses Bellaire meeting.
BELLAIRE, Texas – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – Local business owners in the Bellaire area were encouraged when former Bellaire Mayor and METRO board member Cindy Siegel announced plans to relocate the Bellaire Transit Center, the hub where riders transfer to METRO buses.
The existing 1.2-acre METRO center sits in the median on Bellaire Boulevard at South Rice Avenue, roughly half a mile west of Loop 610.
METRO is considering a proposal to move the transit center to the Gulfton area by acquiring property near Gulfton Street and Chimney Rock Road to create a new facility, to be called the Gulfton Transit Center.
The Bellaire Boulevard transit center opened in 1987 and has long occupied the wide, oak-lined esplanade in the center of the east-west thoroughfare.
“I fought many years to see this transit station moved west of the city,” Siegel said. “Moving it further west will not only benefit Bellaire, it will also better serve METRO customers by placing the station closer to the Gulfton community, which uses buses frequently.”
Siegel and METRO board member Sanjay Ramabhadran, P.E., presented elements of the METRONext Moving Forward plan at a recent Bellaire Business Association breakfast. Ramabhadran explained that METRO would need to acquire property for the proposed Gulfton Transit Center.
“We know the Bellaire community wants to see it moved because it causes a lot of transit issues,” Siegel said. “From METRO’s standpoint, it makes sense to move it because it serves the transit-oriented population near Gulfton.”
Bellaire is an independent municipality surrounded by the City of Houston.
The Bellaire City Council first learned about the proposal on March 18 when Siegel shared a draft of the METRONext Moving Forward Plan and discussed a potential $3.5 billion METRO bond election. The plan outlines a 20-year vision that includes 20 additional miles of light rail, 75 miles of high-performing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) similar to the Uptown BRT line, and 110 miles of two-way HOV lanes along freeways.
METRO’s plan also details several high-capacity investments and extensions: light rail expansions, extensions of green and purple bus lines to connect with Hobby Airport and the county courthouse, and a proposed downtown connection to N. Shepherd and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) via Greenspoint through a regional partnership with TxDOT. The plan envisions extending the Uptown BRT line along Westpark to a new facility proposed for Gulfton, according to Priya Zachariah, Manager of Regional and Long Range Planning for METRO.
“We don’t have plans to move Bellaire Transit Center if we don’t build a Gulfton,” said METRO spokesman Jerome Gray. “Questions about land acquisition, budget, and what will happen with the Bellaire Transit Center will need to be resolved after the METRO Board adopts a plan, voters approve a referendum, and the Board sets priorities. There is still a lot to be worked out regarding timeline and other details.”
