HOUSTON — A project aimed at improving safety and amplifying options for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians is on hold as Houston Mayor John Whitmire's administration reviews infrastructure efforts, some already in progress.
The Shepherd Durham Project is designed to work in two phases: Phase One works on Shepherd and Durham from I-610 south to 15th Street and Phase Two covers 15th Street south to I-10. The project reduces the number of car lanes and adds wider sidewalks, bike lanes and trees.
Phase One of the project started in 2021 and is nearing completion. It will move forward but Whitmire’s administration paused the project, and others, for review and potentially to suggest changes. It’s an apparent shift in position after then-State Sen. Whitmire signed a letter of support for the project during the time officials were attempting to gather federal funds.
Concerns over the project were brought up during Tuesday’s public comment section of the City Council meeting with one resident saying they wished there had been more discussion before the project began, despite multiple public meetings and votes on it. Whitmire said he hoped for greater discussion on such projects in the future while also saying supporters of the Shepherd Durham project may not have known what the end product would exactly look like.
"There's one thing to write a letter, such as I did," Whitmire said. "And yes, improvements can be made, but then they roll out a very detailed plan."
Other commenters urged the mayor to lift the pause.
"By pausing and requesting Shepherd Durham be scaled back, the city will inflict financial and physical wounds on its citizens," one commenter said. "For the sake of my neighbors in the city, I ask that you please push this project forward with its approved and supported design."
Another echoed the sentiment.
"If you keep those things at four lanes, it makes it more difficult for all of us to cross the street," a Heights resident said. "For example, kids crossing to get to Love Elementary School where my daughters go."
In a meeting last week for the Memorial-Heights Redevelopment Authority – which helped develop and design the project, board chair Ann Lents expressed concern about the pause and its impact on the project.
"Redesign would also significantly delay and add cost to the project," Lents said. "The potential exists for the project to be canceled entirely and for its associated federal funding to be reallocated somewhere else in the region."
Advocates for the project told KHOU they are hoping the mayor reverses course.
"What Houstonians want to see is projects that carve out just a little bit of space for people on foot and people on bikes," Joe Cutrufo, the executive director of BikeHouston, said in an interview. "Every street in Houston has at least one lane for cars. We're not trying to wipe out car lanes in Houston. What we're trying to do is make it possible for people to choose how they get around."
KHOU attempted to ask Whitmire about the project on Wednesday but he was not made available.