While the City of Houston pushes for wider lanes to accommodate traffic flow, some residents argue that walkability and pedestrian safety must come first—a debate playing out in the controversial Montrose Boulevard project.
Late last week, protestors gathered on the first day of the long-awaited Montrose Boulevard project to voice their opposition.
The initiative, years in the making, was approved by the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) board last year. The new plan, which favored Mayor John Whitmire’s push for wider traffic lanes, sparked frustration among residents. Dozens of protestors showed up advocating for the original plan that prioritized mobility and included improvements to widen and enhance sidewalks.
The original plan emphasized multimodal transportation improvements, including 10-foot-wide shared-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists.
The revised plan retains 12-foot-wide vehicle lanes, reduces sidewalk expansions, and eliminates shared-use paths to preserve trees and maintain traffic flow. It also includes improvements like upgraded sidewalks, a HAWK pedestrian signal at West Clay Street, better lighting, and drainage upgrades.
Kevin Strickland, co-founder of the nonprofit Walk & Roll, expressed his dismay: “After the four years that we spent making this a better project, in four months the mayor put his own people on the TIRZ board and shoved through this project, which is worse for everybody.”
In the end, the revised version of the project is expected to cost the TIRZ several million dollars more than the original plan.
In a separate protest, demonstrators recently gathered to oppose the removal of “Armadillos”—barriers designed to protect cyclists in the bike lane from vehicular traffic—on Heights Boulevard.
According to Mary Benton, a spokesperson for the City of Houston, “Houston Public Works removed the armadillos because of safety issues and disrepair in several spots, including exposed bolts. The removal allowed crews to sweep that lane for the first time yesterday, removing debris along that stretch.”
However, the city did not clarify whether the armadillos would be replaced at any point in the future.
Two weeks ago, METRO announced plans to repave a four-lane section of Westheimer Road in the Montrose area and remove a raised crosswalk as part of the repaving.
Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin, who represents the area where the crosswalk will be removed, voiced her concerns:
We are seeing a shift throughout the city by the City of Houston and this administration that is seriously wanting when it comes to public engagement. This is another example where this was a resident-driven process over months to come up with solutions and safe crossings that the residents, the neighborhoods, and safety professionals had recommended. All of that is potentially being thrown out the window.
Kamin also mentioned that her office had requested information about the cost of repaving the road and removing the raised crosswalk but had not received a response from Houston Public Works.
Marlene Gafrick, the mobility and transportation advisor for Whitmire, defended the mayor’s approach, emphasizing that pedestrian safety was still a priority. “Preserving our general mobility lanes helps maintain traffic flow and discourages traffic from using neighborhood streets. The raised crosswalk would impede traffic flow 24 hours a day, potentially causing traffic to divert into the neighborhood, and would not make pedestrians visible at night,” she said.
