What happened
Work was slated to kick off Feb. 5 and involves removing the concrete median and curbs along Houston Avenue between Center Street and Memorial Drive. Information from the Houston Public Works Department indicates the project is meant to improve safety and mobility, including for first responders and buses.
Since the median was installed, it has "reduced lane capacity and restricted vehicles from turning into properties based on their direction of traffic," officials said. The new project will restore the intersection to how it previously operated.
A look back
The median and curbs were implemented in December as part of a project spurred by then-District H City Council member Karla Cisneros using $100,000 in her office's district funds. At the time of implementation, officials said the project was meant to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, particularly around the Washington Avenue intersection.
The latest
Advocates held a rally Feb. 4 calling on the city to pause the project. New District H council member Mario Castillo, who took office in January, was among the voices calling for a one-week pause on the project.
Castillo said he learned the project was under review by the administration of Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Jan. 30. If wasn't until Feb. 2 that he said he learned the work would start Feb. 5.
"If there are issues with this project, let's figure out how to tweak it," Castillo said at the Feb. 4 rally. "This is a big city. We can keep our pedestrians safe and our drivers safe and our bicyclists safe all at the same time. By ripping this project out ... without answering constituent concerns, we are telling people we are choosing cars over pedestrians."
What they're saying
Bike Houston Executive Director Joe Cutrufo said the improvements were the first step along the path toward a safer Houston Avenue. The reversal, he said, gives the message that convenience for drivers trumps public safety.
"To us, this is the beginning of what a safe Houston Avenue could be," Cutrufo said. "This is about safe streets projects throughout the whole city."
Peter Eccles, director of policy with Link Houston, said the medians and curbs were in line with the city of Houston's Vision Zero initiative, which calls for an zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Between 2020-2023, the project area from Washington to Lubbock saw 42 crashes and nine serious injuries, he said. The December improvements were designed to reduce speeds and channelize left turns in areas with bad visibility.
"Basically every one of those crashes, these prevention methods are proven counter measures to avoid them," he said.
What's next
HPW officials said they will "immediately begin studying the corridor for proposals that will enhance pedestrian safety," in information posted to the project website.
Bike Houston officials have previously called for protected bike lanes along Houston Avenue from Memorial Drive to Spring Street, where bike lanes currently end, a project that is also part of Houston's Bike Plan.
Community Impact has reached out to Houston Public Works for information about the cost and schedule of the work.
