HOUSTON — Gun violence. Fights. Drunk driving. Excessive noise. Car meet-ups.
Those are just some of the issues officials said are plaguing Houston’s Washington Avenue Corridor. The area is a popular nightlife destination with bars and clubs, but it has become a hotspot for crime in recent years.
That is why Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced Monday the creation of a new initiative to address the myriad of problems along Washington Avenue. He said there will be an extra police presence this weekend, Friday and Saturday night in particular, in the area to keep everyone safe.
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“We’re actually going to enforce the laws there, whether it be sound, DWIs, you name it,” Whitmire said. “Public safety is our highest priority, and if we don’t make people feel safe and be safe, hold bad actors accountable, probably nothing else matters.”
The new initiative is a collaborative effort among several law enforcement agencies including the Houston Police Department, the METRO Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Whitmire said the Texas Department of Public Safety will also play a role.
There has been no shortage of violent crime in the Washington Avenue area. Over the summer, two men were shot at a taco truck. Back in March, police said a man shot four people after getting kicked out of a club. And in October 2023, four men attacked a valet driver.
Other major concerns are drunk driving, pedestrian safety and car crashes. HPD Chief Noe Diaz said his department plans to take a proactive approach to address those issues.
“We’re going to tackle it from a bigger perspective. We’ll go into the clubs and actually visit with the club managers, visit with the club owners, there will be a TABC component with us as well,” Diaz said. “We want people to come to the Washington Corridor, but we want them to be safe. We want them to have fun. We want them to be responsible. We want them to perhaps choose a rideshare.”
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said another big problem is street racing, as well as speeding in general. He said in all of unincorporated Harris County this year, 139 arrests were made for racing on the highways, and 165 arrests were made for reckless driving. He said also addressing that in the Washington Avenue Corridor is crucial.
“This isn’t just about breaking the law, it’s about reckless actions that put our lives at risk, the lives of the drivers, their passengers and innocent bystanders who simply happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Gonzalez said. “One mistake, one miscalculation, and the consequences can be devastating. A crash, injures, even fatalities. These are the risks associated with reckless behavior. Impaired driving, distracted driving, these are all things that we have to be very vigilant about.”
Houston City Councilmember Abbie Kamin represents District C, which includes the Washington Avenue Corridor. She has been trying to usher in improvements to the area for years. She said she is glad to see Whitmire focus on Washington Avenue, and she hopes the concerns of nearby neighborhoods, such as excessive noise, are addressed.
“We’re talking about residents that literally cannot put their children to bed because the bass is so loud in their homes, so there’s a host of issues along Washington Avenue’s corridor that must be addressed,” Kamin said. “We also need to make sure that everybody can live in their homes safely and enjoy their homes.”
Kamin also wants the new initiative to go beyond just this weekend.
“My hope is that, while we do have attention this weekend, we need to make sure the intention stays there,” Kamin said. “We have to keep the attention on permanent solutions here. We cannot keep just throwing money at an issue. We have to come up with solutions.”
Whitmire promised that this weekend’s extra police presence and enforcement is just the beginning.
“I want, not only the neighborhoods to know that we’re not going away, but I want the bad guys to know, we’re here to stay,” Whitmire said.
METRO Police Chief Ban Tien added, “If you do bad things with bad intentions, the result won’t be in your favor, because we’re going to have a lot of resources out there, and this is not a one-time thing. It’s going to be a coalition type, an alliance, it’s going to go on and on for a long, long time.”