HOUSTON, Texas — The Height’s 11th Street project is underway, but not everyone is happy about it.
Drivers say it’s creating a traffic nightmare as construction crews make the four-lane road into two lanes while businesses say it’s keeping customers away.
“They’ve just shifted the problem elsewhere," Heights resident Don Farrell said.
It's a proposal that already had a fair share of controversy before it was approved last year.
“Give us a little time, anything during construction is not the final view of it, how things will work. Things get a lot better when that is complete," Houston Planning and Development Chief Transportation Planner David Fields said.
When it’s complete, 11th Street will be reduced from four lanes to two and bike lanes will be added in both directions.
The city says they’re doing this to make the road safer.
“There is a bit of a trade-off that if we want to make our streets safer, people are going to have to go a little slower," Fields said.
But a change.org petition is asking the city to pause construction and rethink the plan. Some neighbors say traffic is now pushed into the neighborhoods.
“What it’s done is divert the traffic to this street, as you can see, we’ve got much more traffic on these streets that aren’t designed to handle the level of cars we have," Farrell said.
Businesses, too, say they’ve been affected.
“From 4-7, it’s a dead zone for us," Daddy's Chicken Shack General Manager Larry Norman said.
The restaurant, which recently opened, said the heavy traffic and a new concrete median are making it harder for customers to get in.
“They covered up any of the turn lanes to get in or out of the building," Norman said. “It’s not benefitting the businesses. It’s hurting us. I just want them to make it fair for the cyclists, the walkers and the businesses.”
The city said once the project’s complete, likely sometime this spring, they’ll study the traffic impacts for the next six months and see what needs to be fixed.
However, not everyone is against the project. Bikers call it a nice addition.
“Once they get over, that initial, ‘Oh it's creating all this traffic,’ I think they’ll get over it, and it will just make it nicer in the community," Heights resident Homero Avila said.
Even some of those initially opposed now love their new lanes.
“I initially hated it, you know. I have to drive this road all the time," cyclist Jaqey Johnston said. “But having to ride home at night late, I love it now. I feel safe.”
Some drivers say it’s better too.
“I was totally against it. Now that they’ve actually done the work, I’m a lot happier with it. I feel like it’s a lot safer. I’m a driver, and I feel safer driving now," Heights resident Kristen Adams said.
If you have questions about this project, there is a public engagement website where people can ask questions and engineers will respond.