In the Town Where Oil and Water Mix, Getting Around Isn't Always So Smooth

(Map of Baytown. Photo by Gail Delaughter)

Just east of Houston, residents huddled over maps at a recent community meeting,  giving ideas for what officials say will be a blueprint for future growth.   The city of Baytown doesn't have the multi-lane freeways and sprawl of its larger neighbor, but the community of over 70,000 people has its own particular challenges when it comes to mobility.

On its website the city of Baytown promotes itself as the place "where oil and water really do mix."   The area has three large petrochemical refineries along with many other smaller industries,  and officials say their proposed mobility plan will address those needs.   One thing they want to do is create better access from the nearby Houston Ship Channel to the Grand Parkway,  a segment of highway that could eventually become  a 180-mile loop around the Houston area.  They also want to look at quality-of-life issues for residents,  like connecting hike-and-bike trails and making it easier to walk to transit stops.

Modern-day Baytown is made up of three separate communities that formed during the oil boom of the early 20th century.  Those three towns merged in the 1940's, but when they came together  their street grids didn't match up. And it's something Baytown still deals with today.

"It would be nice to be able to plan these things instead of them happening after the fact."

One of the residents taking part in the meetings is Rusty Senac, who says what Baytown desperately needs right now is better north-south and east-west arteries.   Senac says getting from one business to another is also a problem.

"You actually have to leave a business, go out on the roadway, to go to the business next door.   A lot of times there's not connectivity between large retail centers.  And it seems like that would be a very simple fix."

Land surveyor James McClellan says Baytown's hodgepodge of development also makes things difficult for people who get around on foot.  Many areas of the city don't have sidewalks.  That's a problem for kids, now that the local school district is limiting bus service because of budget cuts. McClellan says if you want to know where to build sidewalks just look for the well-worn foot paths on the side of the road.

"You have areas where there's less population in that general area.  There's not a great need for sidewalks. You can go a half-mile down the road, adjacent to maybe an apartment complex or two, and there always seems to be a need for sidewalks in those areas. And it's very evident on the side of the roadways."

Jim Harvey is one of the consultants working on the project.

"How do we create a community that can help its population stay here and make this a lifelong place to live, grow up, work, and retire, and have a community that's truly sustainable?"

The city will hold several more public meetings before the issue goes to the Baytown City Council. A vote on the plan is expected early next year.