Pearland reviews HGAC mobility study recommending multimodal fixes, thoroughfare updates

Pearland city officials and planning commissioners reviewed the Houston‑Galveston Area Council (HGAC) Pearland Mobility Study at a joint workshop in May 2025, hearing an 18‑month analysis and a set of short‑, medium‑ and long‑term recommendations aimed at improving safety, multimodal connections and congestion management.

"The plan will prioritize multimodal improvements and strategies to improve mobility for people, goods, and services, enhance safety, and accommodate growth," said Vivek Deshpande, transportation engineer and project manager for Kimley‑Horn, who presented the study findings prepared in partnership with HGAC.

Why it matters: the study combines traffic counts, crash data and public input to produce a trackable project list and a prioritization tool for the city’s capital improvement program. Project highlights include targeted bicycle and pedestrian infill, intersection turn lanes and signal timing changes to improve operations, a recommendation to adopt an ADA transition plan, and updates to the city’s thoroughfare plan informed by HGAC’s regional travel demand model through 2045.

Key findings and public engagement - The study team collected traffic counts at more than 60 locations, analyzed crash records from 2017–2023 and used HGAC’s regional travel demand model to test future (2045) scenarios. - Presentation slides reported roughly 640 website visits and more than 75 participants in in‑person public engagement events; outreach included two staffed events at Pearland Springfest and the farmers market, printed and online surveys, and two stakeholder meetings. - Crash analysis found nearly 40% of crashes occurred at intersections; the team prioritized locations with high fatality and serious injury counts for safety countermeasures.

Recommendations - Short term (0–5 years): bike/ped infill and school crossing improvements, low‑cost intersection fixes (right‑turn pockets, updated signal timing), and system‑wide traffic technology deployments such as leading pedestrian intervals and coordinated signal plans. The team recommended the city consider an ADA transition plan—an ADA Title II compliance document that inventories pedestrian gaps and informs a remedial CIP. - Medium term (about 5–10 years): targeted lane additions (left‑turn lanes or additional turn bays) at several intersections, roadway widenings where model results and right‑of‑way allow, and sidewalk extensions to improve access to parks and schools. - Long term: thoroughfare plan revisions to preserve right‑of‑way and set functional classifications; the study notes that inclusion on the thoroughfare plan does not obligate construction or change property ownership.

Specific corridors and intersections cited for work included segments and intersections along Pearland Parkway, SH‑35 (McHard Road), Bailey Road, Dixie Farm Road and Shadow Creek Parkway. The team identified four intersections with the highest crash concentrations for targeted countermeasures and recommended corridor‑level treatments where crash rates combined with volumes indicate systemic risk.

Staff and council questions focused on sample sizes for public outreach and on whether weekend or retail traffic patterns were captured; Deshpande said the modeling and counts emphasized weekday AM/PM peak periods and that raw engagement data could be provided as a follow‑up. Commissioners and staff also urged coordination so recommended short‑term geometric fixes could be incorporated into projects already in design.

Project prioritization and next steps - The study includes an objective prioritization matrix using safety, reliability, mobility and project readiness measures to score and rank candidate projects for the CIP. - The consultant submitted a draft report at the workshop; next steps described by staff include updating the draft based on comments, presenting thoroughfare plan amendments to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a public hearing, and following with city council public hearings and ordinance readings to adopt amendments as needed.

Council and commission members praised the technical work and asked staff to follow up with the study team on the raw survey data, clarifications about intersections already in design and how recommended timing changes could be implemented by the city’s traffic staff and consultants.

The study is positioned as a planning tool for Pearland’s Capital Improvement Program: it recommends a mix of low‑cost operational fixes, signal and technology upgrades, corridor projects and thoroughfare plan changes that would advance with CIP funding and further design work.