April 23RD - April 27th, 2014
SugarLandWineandFoodAffair.com VOL 7 No. 12
Phone: 281-980-6745
713.SIP.WINE
email: editor@fbindependent.com
www.fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Sections of Grand Parkway Toll Road open to traffic
FORT BEND’S BIRD OF THE MONTH. The Red-Winged Blackbird is one of the most widely dispersed birds in North America ranging from Mexico to Alaska. It is most prevalent year round in the U.S. Though in the spring through fall, many Red-wings migrate to breed in Canada. The males have their brilliant epaulets of red with a lower band of yellow contrasted against their striking black feathers. Most often you’ll see Red-winged Blackbirds near marshy ponds, golf course hazards that have rough areas with tall grasses, or on tall grass prairies. You are more likely to see them in backyards during migration, perhaps at feeders. The polygamous males can mate with up to 15 females in one territory. And do the males sit atop tall plants, sing and show off their epaulets. However, they will run any creature (no matter how large) if they get too near their breeding territory. Females are much rarer to see as they stay in the grass and are brown with rivulets. To see more photos by Margaret Sloan, visit http://traction.typepad.com/birds
Annual Girl Scout Cookie Program ends March 30 The annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale is coming to a close March 30, so pick up your favorites while you still can. Until then, cookies will be sold at cookie booths outside of grocery stores and other retail venues. You can also call the Cookie Hotline at 1-888-GS-COOKIE or visit the Cookie Finder at http://www.gssjc.org/findcookies to purchase cookies. Girl Scout Cookies come in eight varieties, including Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread, ThanksA-Lot, Caramel deLites, Lemonades and the newest cookie in the line-up, Cranberry Citrus Crisp. All varieties of Girl Scout Cookies are zero trans fat per serving and the price for a box of cookies is $4. Remember, there is more to Girl Scout Cookies than
what’s in the box. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the country and generates $790 million for girls and
communities nationwide. When a Girl Scout sells you cookies, she’s building a lifetime of skills and confidence. She learns goal setting, deci-
sion making, money management, people skills, and business ethics—aspects essential to leadership, to success, and to life. As women, they’ll need these skills, whether their goal is to start a business or a family. Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s preeminent organization for girls, with a membership of more than 3.2 million girls and adults. Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Chartered by GSUSA to provide Girl Scouting locally, Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council is one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country serving more than 62,000 girls served and nearly 19,000 adult members in 26 southeast Texas counties.
By SESHADRI KUMAR Re-brand Fifth Street and market Fifth Street as a new regional center for green consumers and business, says a new study. The Fifth Street Neighborhood Plan and Market Study, conducted by the University of Texas School of Architecture’s Center for Sustainable Development was commissioned by Fort Bend County, at the request of County Commissioner Grady Prestage. Andrea Roberts, project manager, presented the report to commissioners court on March 11. The project scope revealed a need to explore a regional approach to development and market formation; specifically an East Fort Bend County de-
velopment district or authority. Fifth Street is well positioned to anchor new “green” businesses and fulfill demands for new housing types, according to the report. Developing incentive packages that are not only targeted to large developers and corporations, but also small and micro-businesses will help, the study recommends. Explore land reassembly, community land trusts, and alternative methods of making land available for development, the study recommends. This project study area is Fifth Street, a census-designated place in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Stafford and Missouri City, fully under the County’s jurisdiction.
Fifth Street’s boundaries are delimited to the Northeast by Stafford Road, to the South and Southwest by Independence Boulevard, and to the West by Lexington Square Community. Fifth Street’s more than 600 acres of land have more than 500 land owners. Based on county data, nearly one third (170 acres) is still vacant (32.3%). The largest portion (126.5 acres) is designated as vacant land used for commercial purposes. This is followed by 84.23 acres of land being used as real commercial, 67.47 acres of ranch land, and 64 acres of residential single family houses. When combined, vacant and developed land designated for commercial represent
A section of the new Grand Parkway Toll Road between U.S. 90A and U.S. 59. By SESHADRI KUMAR The Grand Parkway Toll Road Authority has quietly opened a few toll plazas without any formal public announcement. The toll road between U.S. 59 and F.M. 1464 opened to traffic on February 27, 2014. The northbound toll road traffic between F.M. 1464 and Harlem Road opened to traffic March 14. According to the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority website, following are tentative opening dates for the remaining segments of the Grand Parkway currently under construction: Southbound traffic - Harlem Road to F.M. 1464 - Week of March 17, 2014 Harlem Road to West Bellfort - Mid-April 2014 West Bellfort to Westpark Toll Road/FM 1093 - Late April 2014. The nearly 18-mile stretch between U.S. 59 and Westpark Toll Road is being built at a cost of $140 million, with tolled overpasses at seven plazas. The project was originally expected to be completed by the end of 2013. The Texas Department of Transportation opened the Grand Parkway from I-10 to
New study outlines plan to re-develop Fifth Street area more than 210 acres, making these the predominant land uses in the area. The current lack of access to healthy restaurants and grocery stores, combined with the reported growing demand create potential opportunities for small business owners to tap in this area. The community survey results included data indicating a significant demand in the “green market” for more healthy or organic food. For example, Fifth Street consumers spend more than $2.9 million (out of a total of $3.75 million annually) for groceries at supermarkets located outside the community’s boundaries. Food service See FIFTH, Page 3
U.S. 290 three months ago and the public was allowed to ride free for a few days in December and for the whole month of January. In Fort Bend County, the authorities began collecting the toll from the minute the plazas opened to traffic. Though the entrance ramp and the toll road prominently show that it is a toll road and only EZ Tags will be accepted, unwary drivers have gone through the toll plazas. For example, the first entrance ramp from U.S. 59 is little ahead of the East Riverpark Drive and the next exit is New Territory Blvd. Drivers who enter the ramp will avoid one signal at East Riverpark and pay 35 cents before exiting the first available New Territory Blvd., exit immediately after the bridge on Brazos River. The toll road and the free feeder road merge over the bridge. Those going to New Territory Blvd. from East Riverpark, the next exit, use the bridge, which was a free road before and can exit after crossing the bridge without paying any toll. The next exit is before the signal at Sandhill Drive and that exit is for U.S. 90 A and F.M. 1464 as well. This is also a free exit. If a driver continues to travel, another toll of 35 cents will be charged, before exiting, after the FM 1464 intersection. The toll road authority website says: “If you have inadvertently used the toll road and would like to make payment in advance of receiving a violation notice in the mail, please call the Fort Bend Toll Road Customer Support Center on March 10, 2014 (855999-2024). Please have the date, time, location, and vehicle information available for the inadvertent transaction during that call.” The Fort Bend Toll Road customer support center is located in Trenton, NJ. When the first Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority facilities opened in 2004, all
toll collections and violation processing services were performed by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). With the opening of the Grand Parkway, as well as the Fort Bend Parkway expansion from Hwy. 6 to Sienna Parkway, FBCTRA will temporarily utilize two different entities to process toll transactions and toll violations. FBCTRA is in the process of converting the legacy toll collections system on Fort Bend Parkway and Westpark Tollway to the toll collection system recently installed on the new roads. Toll transactions and toll violations on the original segment of the Fort Bend Parkway and all of the Fort Bend Westpark Tollway will continue to be processed by HCTRA. All tolling and toll violations on the Grand Parkway, as well as the new segment of the Fort Bend Parkway from Hwy. 6 to Sienna Parkway, will be processed by the Fort Bend Toll Road Customer Support Center (FBTRCSC). Once system conversion is complete in the fall of 2014, the toll collections and toll violation services currently handled by HCTRA will be merged into the Fort Bend Toll Road Customer Support Center. Members of the Fort Bend TRA are appointed by Commissioners Court. The same members also act as the Grand Parkway TRA. All the decisions of the toll road authority are “ratified” by commissioners court, often with little or scant discussion. The five-member toll road authority holds its monthly meeting at the Flour Building in Sugar Land in the offices of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council and the meetings are open to the public. The opening of the sections of Grand Parkway Toll Road was mentioned during the comment section of the commissioners court meeting on March 11.