According to the report, the mayor’s office is reviewing the changes to the busy through street completed in 2023 that include bike lanes and safe crosswalks at several different intersections, particularly at Nicholson where the Heights hike and bike trail intersects with 11th. The project created some controversy as several businesses complained about how it would impact their establishments, but cycling and pedestrian advocates lauded the changes as adding additional protections for a busy neighborhood street.
In addition, the project recently won an award as the 2024 In-House Project of the Year by the Texas chapter of the American Public Works Association. And despite initial complaints, a recent video interviewing residents and business owners in the Heights would seem to indicate that what was initially a concern has turned into something that is now fairly popular.
Still, the Mayor’s office has decided to review the project.
“Mayor Whitmire’s administration is evaluating the project’s effectiveness, overall impact and lessons learned,” [spokesperson Mary] Benton said. “The mayor has been very open about his concerns with the 11th Street project. What started out as a request for a safe crossing at Nicholson and 11th Street ended up a bike lane project that makes it difficult for emergency apparatus to maneuver and has negatively impacted a business. He is reviewing this along with other projects.”
With the changes to Houston Avenue and this statement, it feels an awful lot like Mayor Whitmire’s concerns about safety and convenience extend only to cars and businesses. And given this reaction, it stands to reason that other potential projects that would increase pedestrian and cycling safety could be on the chopping block. Those include new sidewalks and bike paths currently under construction on Shepherd and Durham between I-10 and the North Loop, the planned updates to the Antoine Corridor, and even the bike upgrades to Patterson, intended to connect the White Oak hike and bike trails with Buffalo Bayou.
Many of the projects under Whitmire’s scrutiny were initiated under former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Vision Zero 2030 plan designed to reduce pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Now, there appears to be ample evidence the new administration is not just abandoning those plans, but perhaps attempting to reverse course.
This despite the support of council members and commissioners as well as studies showing that bike lanes not only improve rider safety, but driver safety as well, the current administration seems hellbent on focusing almost solely on vehicular issues, while largely ignoring the safety of those not on four wheels. For a Mayor whose near singular message during his campaign was public safety, it appears the scope of that excludes a pretty broad swath of Houstonians.
Over the last 25 years, Houston has managed to turn a corner in our region’s decades-long battle over transportation and how to effectively move millions of people around an increasingly congested city. Citizens have pushed back against the car-centric mentality that turned Houston into a concrete sprawl, demanding different and safer forms of transportation across the entire region. We sincerely hope it isn’t the current Mayor’s intention to takes a step backward to a time when the streets of Houston were a far more dangerous place for those not inside a car.
Jeff Balke
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