HOUSTON — Neighbors are pushing back against a major redevelopment on Montrose Boulevard because the plans call for more than 60 oak trees to be cut down.
Phase 1 of the project would be along Montrose from Allen Parkway to Clay Street.
Neighbors in the area started a petition to save the trees. It has picked up nearly 1,000 signatures in the past two days.
The residents said they understand that Montrose Boulevard needs to be revamped, but they're blown away that planners want to cut down dozens of mature oak trees to get it done.
The plan in question is the Montrose Boulevard Improvements Project. Eventually, it will run from Allen Parkway all the way to the Southwest Freeway.
The $52 million plan is meant to improve road safety, make it more pedestrian-friendly and add drainage improvements.
One of the key features is the widening of existing sidewalks, which includes cutting down trees and planting new ones.
Despite planning and design, the residents said they feel like the project has flown under the radar. In fact, they said they only learned about it at a public meeting on Monday night.
"In the first phase, which is very close to me, I am one street over from all of this, they're going to take down 61 mature trees. ... I just was shocked. I just couldn't believe it," Michelle Bouchard said. "We do need to find some sort of happy medium, but you can't take out these trees because they make the city a livable city. And if you don't have a canopy of shade, it's not going to be livable, as much as you want it to be walkable."
The Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone said, in part, it's aware of the public concern regarding the removal of trees. It said it plans to incorporate feedback into tweaks to the design and hopes to have the design process done by the end of the year.
There will be more meetings, but in the meantime, the petition organizers said they plan to tell more people about the project. They said that the more people that know about it, the better chance they'll have to save the trees.