Harris County Precinct 2 will seek bids for an updated feasibility study on a water taxi service crossing Clear Lake, reviving a project that stalled after Hurricane Ike hit in 2008.
The service would connect Seabrook, Nassau Bay and League City by boat, giving residents and visitors a cross-lake transit option instead of driving or ride-sharing. Funding for the new study is confirmed, Amy Skicki, president and CEO of the Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership, told Community Impact.
Seabrook funded the original feasibility study in 2008. Hurricane Ike's damage shelved the effort before it could move forward.
About three years ago, regional tourism and economic development stakeholders asked the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) to update the study, according to the Community Impact report. The partnership between H-GAC and the Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership has now pushed the project to the bid-solicitation stage under Precinct 2.
The updated study will examine whether the water taxi should be privately operated, fare-based or folded into a larger transit network. Skicki said she hopes it will also identify how to add a trolley service linked to taxi routes, carrying passengers to attractions such as NASA's Johnson Space Center and League City's Historic District.
Routes would cross multiple city boundaries and waterways. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would have to approve waterway use and any dredging, according to Stephanie Polk, communications and community engagement manager for Visit League City.
"It's just a neat attraction, and something that would capitalize on one of our biggest assets: the Clear Lake area," Polk said.
In a Community Impact article published July 20 on Bay Area tourism competition, Skicki described the vision in personal terms, saying it would let someone "get on that water taxi and go across the lake for dinner and then get back and go home."
No timeline has been set. Specific routes, docking locations and a bid deadline have not been disclosed. Residents interested in the study's progress can contact Harris County Precinct 2 at (713) 274-2222.
