Montrose residents attending the June 23 open house for the reconstruction of West Alabama Street were surrounded by protesters both inside and outside of the auditorium at St. Stephens Episcopal Church on Sul Ross Road. Protesters were holding signs that said "Our streets, our say" and "The boulevard butcher strikes again."

One of the protest organizers, under the moniker Sue Alexander, said the protest was to show the community's opposition against the way the Montrose TIRZ board members have been moving forward with transportation projects.

"We are protesting because we are concerned that our voices aren't going to be heard," he said. "We no longer have faith in the process."Taking a step back

Back in early 2024, Houston Mayor John Whitmire enacted a pause on all transportation projects in the city that involved narrowing or reducing vehicle lanes, which eventually led to several projects having to be redesigned, including 11th Street, Shepherd Drive, Montrose Boulevard and West Alabama Street.

Residents in Montrose have been publicly fighting the administration and the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone's decisions to remove bike lanes from their community street projects since the pause occurred. For example, around two dozen residents held a protest in April at the intersection of Clay Street and Montrose Boulevard to express their frustration with the boulevard changes.

According to previous Community Impact reporting, the boulevard was initially designed to reduce the width of car lanes and increase sidewalk space for pedestrians and cyclists. It was later revised in late 2024 to maintain the 12-foot wide car lanes and uphold the existing 6-foot sidewalks instead of the suggested 10-foot shared use path.

Similar changes occurred for the Shepherd-Durham project and the West Alabama Street reconstruction project, which engineers noted on Monday would not include a bike lane due to the restrictions for car lanes.

"We're scared that we don't have a say on our streets," Alexander said. "And it's our lives on the line."What they're saying

Alexander said that Montrose residents want to see city officials and board members put safety before speed, capacity and cost.

"Bike lanes prevent car crashes, prevent pedestrians from getting hit and prevent cyclists from getting hit," he said. "We all have a lot to lose from losing those bikes lanes, and it's simply not true that there's not enough space. There's a design schematic from 2022 with a bike lane on West Alabama Street, from Upper Kirby to Midtown."

According to a presentation by Rebuild Houston in 2022, the original design did include options for either an on-street protected bike lane or an off-street shared use path. However, the project was redesigned in mid- 2024 to align with Whitmire's new policies.

An emailed statement from the Montrose TIRZ board to Community Impact on June 25 said as a local zone designated by the City of Houston, the TIRZ is obligated to use city design guidelines, which is:

• Prioritize safety
• Preserve lane width and number
• Provide sidewalks
• Preserve trees

"West Alabama Street (60-ft right-of-way typically) has enough room for three vehicular lanes, two sidewalks and a green area with trees," the statement read. "To fit bike lanes, a lane would be removed, which would not be approved by the City of Houston based on current design guidelines."

What's next?

The West Alabama Street Reconstruction Project is set to begin official design in late summer, with construction anticipated to begin in late 2026 and wrap up in 2028. The Montrose Boulevard project started construction in March, with the first phase between West Clay Street and Allen Parkway set to take approximately 12 months to complete.

TIRZ officials said as the Alabama Street project evolves, the community will have additional opportunities to ask questions and share ideas. Another open house is likely to be scheduled once the process is further into the design process.