HOUSTON, Texas — Trinity Downtown has anchored the corner of Houston and Washington Avenues for more than a century. But these days, it's the church's modern marquee that's getting attention.
The electronic marquee criticizes the Houston Avenue redesign project.
The $100,000 project stretches along Houston Avenue from Memorial to Center Street and will include a new median to better protect pedestrians.
"The sign was our last ditch effort,” Senior Pastor Michael Dorn said. "Our concern and the reason we put the sign up was to draw attention to this project because it has not been well thought through."
Dorn said calling out a council member and encouraging public comment on the sign came after he told us efforts to amend a construction plan hit a dead end.
"It’s like they’re just kind of rushing it through and spending money that will disappear, we understand, at the end of the year,” Trinity CFO Ron Lucy said.
The project also eliminates some access to the church’s lot and nearby businesses.
“I got an email back saying this is being done for the greater good,” Knapp Chevrolet GM Ronnie Knapp said.
He's a fourth generation Chevy dealer whose family opened at its location along Houston Avenue in 1941.
"We did have some discussion with them where they indicated “hey, we can make some changes, we might be able to make some adjustments." Knapp said. "But at the end of the day, they were not made.”
Restaurant Tumble 22 opened just three months ago and worries about potential customers having to navigate a work zone.
"And a lot of people don’t want to do that," managing partner Jackson Nascimento told us. "Once they pass, they keep going.”
The city said this project was identified by the district council member with feedback from the community and others and that outreach efforts included meetings and emails.
It’s just that many question whether their input was considered.
"And we don’t believe that it is accommodating the folks who live and work here,” Pastor Dorn said.
Cyclists also upset
Another big part of the controversy involves a lack of dedicated bike lanes. Houston Avenue is one of the most dangerous roads for cyclists in Houston and it's where a 16th cyclist was hit and later died.
Cyclists demanded action at a rally Tuesday night.
"We bike, we vote, we demand safe streets," they said.
The city told us the scope of this project simply could not easily include them, but they might be added later.
Full statement from Houston Public Works
The project was identified by the district council member with feedback from community members and City staff in early 2022. The council member led outreach efforts, including meetings with major stakeholders and information in the district email.
The scope of this project was too small to incorporate all desired long-term outcomes, including dedicated bike facilities. The original goal was to specifically improve pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Washington at Houston. After further review, it was determined that introduction of a median along the corridor would be the safest, simplest way to improve those pedestrian crossings. It may also have additional benefits, such as a reduction in unsafe turning movements at midblock locations and in prevailing vehicle speeds.
City staff, in coordination with the council member, determined that the small budget and scope of the project would not be able to incorporate the kinds of improvements and public engagement that would be required to construct high comfort, safe bike facilities at this time. Future bike facilities may be constructed at such time as the corridor is prioritized for bikeway improvements.
The cost estimate is $100,000 through the council district service fund. This project is in active construction, and the anticipated completion is mid-December, weather permitting.
You can find additional info here - https://www.letstalkhouston.org/houston-avenue-multimodal-improvements