The two plans under consideration for Woodland Avenue near the intersection with Chester Avenue and down to 42nd Street.

Traffic lights and crosswalks are coming to the section of Woodland Avenue near The Woodlands cemetery and the intersection with Chester Avenue.

Visitors to The Woodlands know that crossing Woodland Avenue at the awkward intersection at Chester or the trolley portal can get a little dicey. But a new plan unveiled last night at a Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) meeting will slow traffic along Woodland and close down the little section of 41st Street that often baffles drivers and pedestrians alike.

“The whole project is about user safety, whether you’re a pedestrian, a cyclist or a driver,” Julie Bush of the landscape architecture firm Ground Reconsidered told the SHCA board.

The city contracted with Ground Reconsidered and the urban planning firm Toole Design to reimagine the stretch of Woodland from 42nd Street – near the St. Joe’s (formerly USciences) campus – to the entrance to the VA Hospital.

Woodland Ave near the entrance to The Woodlands.

The first phase of the project will include crosswalks and traffic signals at the entrance to The Woodlands, a popular spot for walkers and runners, and the often treacherous intersection with Chester Avenue. Speed bumps will also be installed and flexible bollards will separate the bike lanes along that stretch of Woodland. That work is expected to be done by the end of this year.

Still a few years off, the second phase of the project will include the closure of the small section of 41st Street that connects Woodland and Chester and create a pedestrian friendly area that may include landscaping and benches.

The second phase includes two possibilities for pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the south side of Woodland Avenue. One would include a two-way bike lane that is separated from the sidewalk. This plan would save and refurbish the brick sidewalk but eliminate 34 parking spots along Woodland Avenue.

The other plan would eliminate the brick sidewalk and a create a 6-and-a-half foot wide paved sidewalk that pedestrians and cyclists would share but keep the parking spots.

The second phase could be completed as early as 2025.