Road safety project’s reversal concerns advocates
The abrupt decision to remove the Houston Avenue median and curbs, installed in December to help with pedestrian safety, caught District H Council Member Mario Castillo off guard.
Castillo said he found out last Tuesday during a public meeting that the project was up for review, a jarring announcement since the project is in his district and he was not consulted. He said he was updated Thursday that changes might be coming before Friday’s announcement that the barriers and curbs were being removed.
The quick pace of the process concerned Castillo, who asked for a one-week pause to get more information and gather public feedback.
“If the project is causing significant impact, and if there was not consideration given to concerns from stakeholders that are impacted by the project on the front end, we need to look at how we can address that,” Castillo said. “If it’s a tweak to the project, or if it’s modifications to the project, that will improve the flow of traffic and keep the safety improvements and the integrity of the safety improvements there, I believe we can get there. But it’s going to take a little bit of time.”
The decision comes amid turnover in Mayor John Whitmire’s new administration and concerns from local advocates about pedestrian safety. Deputy Public Works Director for Traffic and Drainage Operations Veronica O. Davis resigned last week, while Chief Transportation Planner David Fields ended his tenure with the city Monday.
Houston Public Works responded to an interview request with the same statement it provided to announce the decision Friday. In addition to removing the barriers and curbs, the city will conduct a study looking for ways to improve the street.
The barriers and curbs were first introduced to help with pedestrian and biker safety. Houston officials are hoping to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030 with its Vision Zero project.
The original project cost $100,000 to build, paid for by District H service funds. The cost of taking it down is still unknown.
“The changes on Houston Ave. were done without the City listening to stakeholders, including public safety personnel and faith leaders operating nearby houses of worship,” Whitmire said in a statement. “Because of the barriers, Firefighters at Station 6 said they could not easily turn a fire engine on Washington Ave. to get to 45 South, and some police officers also have the same concerns.”
Castillo said he spoke to three groups that opposed the median and curbs: firefighters, Trinity Downtown church and Knapp Chevrolet.
Marty Lancton, Houston’s firefighters union president, spoke at City Council on Tuesday about the Houston Avenue project and how it inhibits emergency response. He said his organization would be willing to help find a solution.
“It was probably a well conceived idea and thought. Unfortunately, the way that it was done does not allow our emergency response vehicles that are very heavy and very long to make turns necessary,” Lancton told council members.
Lancton also told the council that the city’s planning department needed to be in contact with first responders as it plans projects. He added that there was not enough communication about the Houston Avenue changes or consideration of the challenges that emergency response vehicles face when the project was in the planning phases.
“These are the unintended consequences of trying to do something good, but now we’re restricting the flow of the most critical asset, which is the emergency response vehicles,” Lancton said.
Ray Hunt, executive director of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, said the project has made it difficult for officers to get to a department office next to the intersection between Houston Avenue and Lubbock Street. A police motorcyclist nearly hit one of the large concrete medians put up to help pedestrians walk through the area, he said, before asking the city to remove them.
But Peter Eccles, the director of policy and planning for the transportation advocacy nonprofit LINK Houston, said Monday that the median and curbs serve a key safety role. He said there were 42 crashes on Houston Avenue between Lubbock Street and Washington Avenue from 2020-2023. The December additions made on Houston Avenue are measures, he said, used to reduce crashes by slowing speeds for motorists as they turn, as well as adding space for pedestrians.
“This is a pretty standard, basic safety improvement project,” Eccles said. “It’s not the most exciting project in the world. But if they’re coming to take this one out, then what else are they coming for?”
Whitmire said Tuesday that all future Public Works projects will need to be approved by the Houston Police Department, the Houston Fire Department and Metro to ensure the work will not negatively affect key city operations.
District C Council Member Abbie Kamin pointed out that all stakeholders were notified about the project. Lancton said the city did not engage the correct team. Kamin, however, said while improving communications processes is a worthwhile discussion, the focus should remain on how to ensure residents’ safety.
“If we’re gonna talk about public safety, let’s talk about how dangerous some of these crossings are, where families every single day and children walking to school every single day cannot safely cross the street, and somebody’s going to die, and it’s the fire department and the police department that are having to respond to those as well,” Kamin said.