Westpark Tollway traffic - Will there be changes? (Houston, The Woodlands: light rail, design)

[TylerJ1288]

The absolute worst stretch of traffic in the city is during rush hour on the Westpark tollway westbound as it approaches Sam Houston Tollway. It backs up about two miles and is dead stop and go traffic all the way until you cross Sam Houston.

Anybody know if there are plans to relieve this traffic? It appears to be caused by the two poorly planned on-ramps from Sam Houston tollway.

[mikeyyc]

It's caused by volume. The only thing that it's going to do is get worse.


I'll trade you the Westpark for 610W in the Galleria.

[AliefNorth]

Traffic on the Westpark Tollway isn’t bad it’s only during peak rush hour in the segment you mentioned near Beltway 8 and opens up once you get to Royal Oaks.

There are not any plans to improve traffic flow on Westpark Tollway.

There isn’t enough demand.

Constructing the toll road itself was a huge favor given by HCTRA to the commuters residing in far out Fort Bend suburbs. Please show some respect. The Westpark tollroad was originally supposed to be a light rail corridor but many suburbanites backlashed at the great City of Houston.

To sum it up there are much more significant roads that need to be addressed at this time.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by AliefNorth

Traffic on the Westpark Tollway isn’t bad it’s only during peak rush hour in the segment you mentioned near Beltway 8 and opens up once you get to Royal Oaks.

There are not any plans to improve traffic flow on Westpark Tollway.

There isn’t enough demand.

Constructing the toll road itself was a huge favor given by HCTRA to the commuters residing in far out Fort Bend suburbs. Please show some respect. The Westpark tollroad was originally supposed to be a light rail corridor but many suburbanites backlashed at the great City of Houston.

To sum it up there are much more significant roads that need to be addressed at this time.

It would carry so many more bodies as a rail line too. The idea of building a four-lane tollway in West Houston was asinine at the time, and continues to be so. That road was too small the day it opened, and all the design compromises that came with cramming it into such a small ROW make it a lot less useful than it should be.

[gwarnecke]

It's been years since I had to regularly use the Westpark Tollway (thank God), but I remember the backup that you describe being seemingly caused by the westbound WPT exit for the Beltway dumping cars right into a traffic light on the BW8 feeder (instead of offering a direct connection to northbound/southbound BW8). Always seemed like an odd and cludgy arrangement.

[NTexas2010]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

It's been years since I had to regularly use the Westpark Tollway (thank God), but I remember the backup that you describe being seemingly caused by the westbound WPT exit for the Beltway dumping cars right into a traffic light on the BW8 feeder (instead of offering a direct connection to northbound/southbound BW8). Always seemed like an odd and cludgy arrangement.

You will notice a lot of oddities like this along the WP Tollway. This was due in part because METRO only sold a portion of the right of way to HCTRA and FBCTRA (50 feet of the 100ft ROW) with the idea that 50 feet would be used by the toll road and 50 feet would remain as a potential light rail later on down the road. This is also why the entrance/exit ramps seem haphazardly placed along the corridor.

My "favorite" quirks are the one you mentioned (who doesn't love going from 65mph to a stop light in a couple hundred feet) and the entrance ramp from BW 8 southbound onto WP Tollway westbound toward Fort Bend county, which also puts a traffic light between you and the major thoroughfare.

[TylerJ1288]

Yep. All those things cause a giant traffic cluster. It's literally 15-20 minutes to go 1.5 miles.

I've checked Transtar during rush hour a few times and this section of Westpark is ALWAYS the slowest average MPH of any section of Houston. 610 west near Galleria is usually 2nd slowest. Currently Westpark is 8mph average while 610w is 11mph.

It's insanity.

[LocalPlanner]

HCTRA at one time looked at raising the toll rates during peak hour to reduce traffic, but got too much political pushback, and canned the idea. Too bad.

[Dopo]

Same issue every time .... bad highway design

Same issue up where Hardy Toll road ends by The Woodlands

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Same issue every time .... bad highway design

Same issue up where Hardy Toll road ends by The Woodlands

I have a sneaking suspicion it won't always end right there. I'd be shocked if at some point in the next 5-10 someone doesn't propose extending it northwest to Magnolia or Pinehurst along the Spring Creek corridor as that area grows out. But right now, yeah that area is a bit of a nightmare.