METRO Approves Hillcroft Route for Controversial Gulfton Corridor Bus Line
On Thursday, 8/24/23, METRO’s board voted unanimously to approve what METRO calls the “locally preferred alternative” route (LPA) for the Gulfton Corridor Project.
The route would extend the METRORapid Silver Line, a special bus service that runs through the Galleria area in its own dedicated lanes. Currently, it runs between two transit centers: Northwest, and Westpark/Lower Uptown. The new project would bring it south all the way to Hillcroft and Bissonnet.
METRO conducted surveys of over 700 people, according to public engagement representative Wilfredo Santamaria. This was part of the process of choosing between several possible alternative routes.
METRO eventually picked one (G-4). But "locally preferred alternative" doesn’t mean preferred by everyone.
Why? To construct the extension, METRO will likely remove some regular traffic lanes on Chimney Rock, Gulfton St, and Hillcroft. This has caused some controversy among business owners and residents in the Gulfton/Sharpstown area. Some worry about increased congestion. Others favor the bus line and say that they or their friends would ride it. (The Sharpener published an informal survey of local opinions on July 21.)
Considering the performance of the current Silver Line, there is also some doubt about whether the Gulfton Corridor extension would truly be much faster, more efficient, or more attractive to riders than a METRO line without dedicated bus lanes. Popular routes like the #2 Bellaire and #4 Beechnut already run every fifteen minutes and enjoy much higher ridership than the Silver Line.
On the other hand, the Gulfton Corridor extension would almost certainly be a step up from the current public transit options in densely populated Gulfton, most of which run only once every thirty minutes.
METRO is seeking funding through the Small Starts grant program from the Federal Transportation Administration. The federal funding has yet to be approved or denied.
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