08/28/2007
Volunteers help Bus Buddies program during first day
In partnership with Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) and the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, CFISD had a successful first day with the help of “Bus Buddies,” a program that will continue to run through the first week of school.
Approximately 300 volunteers in the community assisted as Bus Buddies on Monday, riding CFISD school buses from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. to ensure that students were transported to their proper drop-off points. All 47 elementary school in the district had Bus Buddy volunteers.
Many of the volunteers represented 34 CFISD-area businesses, who helped some of the 12,375 elementary school bus riders who are new to the district.
The following businesses and organizations contributed volunteers to the Bus Buddies program: 1960 Sun, Amegy Bank, Breen's Florist, Caldwell Companies, Capital One,
Center Point Energy, Cornerstone Mortgage, Credit Union Acceptance Companies, Cy-Fair College, Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union, Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce, Cy-Fair ISD VIPS Executive Board, Cy-Fair Magazine, Inc. , Cy-Fair Republican Women's Group, Energy Capital Credit Union, Faith Assembly Church, First Choice Emergency Room, First Service Credit Union, Fish Window Cleaning, H-E-B, John Eagle Honda, Junior Achievement of SE Texas, Living Word Church of Nazarenes, Market Elite, Inc., Pate Engineers, Inc., PBK Architects, PrePaid Legal Services, Sam's Club at West Road, Texas One Community Credit Union, The Texas Copperheads, Tradewinds at Willowbrook, Waste Management, Water Wise and West Houston Church of Christ.
Additionally, Chick-fil-A (Copperfield and Cy-Fair locations), Firehouse Subs and Mountasia each donated coupons to the Bus Buddy volunteers for their service.
The Cy-Fair ISD Athletic Department is also donating a general admission ticket to a high school football game (excluding the Oct. 18 Cy-Fair vs. Cypress Falls game) to any Bus Buddies volunteer who participates at least three of the five days. Volunteers who serve all five days will have their names placed in a drawing in which the winner will receive a pair of season football tickets for the high school of their choice.
“Everybody that I heard from said they’re proud that our district is reaching out to the community and involving them in the school district this way,” said Pam Scott, director of Partners in Education. “We’re very pleased with the outcome after day one, and we’re looking forward to the rest of the week.”
08/09/2007
Cy-Fair Chamber will lend a hand in FM 1960/Highway 6 mobility study
Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce members say they will take an active role when state transportation planners launch a study in September on a 14-mile stretch of FM 1960/Highway 6 through the Cy-Fair area.
Catherine McCreight, a Texas Department of Transportation senior planner, said the project team would like to include a member of the Cy-Fair Chamber’s Transportation Committee on the FM 1960/Highway 6 steering committee, which will serve in an advisory role during the estimated 12-month access management study.
“The most important part of the study is getting feedback from stakeholders and residents in the area,” McCreight said. “We need the Cy-Fair Chamber’s help in getting the word out about the study, and getting people involved in the process.”
The TxDOT consultant project team will study short-, medium- and long-range traffic and safety improvements that could be made on the roadway. The study covers FM 1960 from Highway 249 to Highway 290, and Highway 6 from Highway 290 south to Interstate 10.
“We want to optimize the efficiency of the roadway without widening it,” McCreight said. “Access management studies are usually most effective on roads that have right-of-way constraints (like FM 1960 and Highway 6), but need improvements to help traffic flow and reduce safety issues.”
McCreight said short-term improvements, such as installing medians in the now continuous center-turn lane, are those that can be done fairly quickly and are low-cost items.
Medium-term improvements include consolidating multiple driveways into neighboring business parking lots and building additional turn lanes. McCreight said they are also fairly low-cost projects, but require the cooperation of other governmental agencies and property owners.
Long-term solutions, such as building an overpass or underpass at a congested intersection, require significant funding sources and typically take a longer time period to design and construct.
McCreight said TxDOT actually moves at “lightning speed” – for TxDOT – on the proposed short-term improvements. She said she has already applied for federal funding to carry out a short-term improvement project based on the FM 1960/Highway 6 study results. Construction could start in 2010.
Chamber transportation committee members said they had two areas of concern so far that they would like the TxDOT study team to take into account.
The Chamber supports a proposed overpass project at the FM 529/Highway 6 intersection, said Darcy Mingoia, Cy-Fair Chamber President. McCreight said that project is moving forward and is not subject to change as part of the FM 1960/Highway 6 study. She said the study team would include that project as a part of the equation when determining additional improvements to the roadway in that area.
Bill Rowden, Cy-Fair Chamber transportation Committee Chairman, said the committee was also concerned about a planned overpass at the Highway 290/Highway 6 intersection that is currently set to dump traffic out before the busy FM 1960/Eldridge Parkway intersection. Chamber members have asked a TxDOT Highway 290 project team to extend that overpass past that intersection.
McCreight said she would pass that information on to the study team. She said to pass along any other concerns and information to the study team as it comes up during the study process.
McCreight said the study team should get started analyzing data collected on the 14-mile stretch in September or October, and would plan the first public meeting to get input from residents and business owners soon after that. Another public meeting would be scheduled near the end of the study so the project team can get public feedback on proposed improvements.
McCreight said this FM 1960/Highway 6 study picks up where another study left off more than two years ago. That FM 1960 access management study covered the roadway from Interstate 45 to Texas 249. A separate study is underway on the section of Highway 6 from Interstate 10 south to FM 521.
The Chamber Transportation Committee meets on the first Thursday of each from 8:00-9:00 am at the Chamber Office, 11050 FM 1960 West, Suite 100 .
Archived News
07/24/2007 Search Committe for President Position Appointed
07/13/2007 Chamber to Sponsor “Bus Buddies” Program for Cy-Fair ISD Kindergarten and First Graders
07/12/2007 HPD Beat Station Opens in Willowbrook Area
06/19/2007 Darcy Mingoia resigns as chamber president
02/01/2007 ANHOC Heads to Austin