New: @HouPublicWorks makes it official.

The Houston Avenue pedestrian safety improvements, installed in December, will be removed starting this month.

Background: https://t.co/e0jY7X3PWk pic.twitter.com/SXdjzbNQDJ

— Jay R. Jordan (@jayrjordan) February 2, 2024

I hope 11th comes soon after this.

Will he crack down on the critical m*******s?

I drive and bike that stretch of Houston Ave more days than not as I work right by there. The main advantage of the re-build from what I can tell is the easier pedestrian crossing at Lubbock crossing Houston Ave to/from the police station. Lots of people cross there on foot every day. People also use the Houston/Washington intersection to walk across and that also looks easier with the medians.
However I have noticed a slight backup going south on Houston Ave going under the RR bridge some mornings. And the left turn from Washington to go north on Houston Ave is a tight turn, but manageable at least in my car.
For me - sometimes car and sometimes bike - I'd vote to keep it the way it is, but I'm not too worked up whatever they do.

In reply to Ryan the Temp No doubt. Just drove east to west on 11th in the Heights. 100% beautiful day, 0% usage of the bike lanes.

Imagine being in public works and hiring your friends & family to **** up the roads and then hiring them again to fix it.

Hopefully they aren't tearing out the pedestrian island at Spring Street - that has been very helpful for getting across Houston Ave on the trail.

It was installed prior to December so maybe not part of this.

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Hopefully they aren't tearing out the pedestrian island at Spring Street - that has been very helpful for getting across Houston Ave on the trail.

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Hopefully they tear those up twice. Whitmire needs to go a full measure here.

In reply to GiggityAg01

GiggityAg01 said:

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They need to remove the damn walking path on Heights if they put 11th back to normal. I know it's been there for a while but it's annoying when you are trying to turn off of or cross heights and some Karen and her baby carriage are crossing the numbered streets.

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Are you talking about the walking/jogging trail in the middle of Heights Ave?

In reply to Aggiemike96

Aggiemike96 said:

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Government incompetence? Citizens that paid for this - guess you're OK with it and keep voting the same.

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Liberals destroy every city over time. We should probably elect them at the state and national level...I'm sure it will be different then.

My friends said Asheville has even turned into a dump as a result of hordes of libs descending on it over the past decade and enacting their BSC policies.

my understanding is that a city bus got stuck between the median and curb while turning...

blocked Houston Avenue during rush hour...and traffic backed up all the way onto the Pierce Elevated

that's when the city realized it was a mistake -- putting in the medians

The people over on Reddit were upset about them removing the medians, which probably means its a good thing.

In reply to Ryan the Temp Yeah. They can be knocked out but it will take several days or even a couple of weeks. It's also going to require lane blockage to do so.

They could have removed pre-casted in a day. Well, a couple days since it's a city contract so it could be milked but infinitely easier.

I just hope if there's a decision made that's not a reason to just leave them.

There's also the stupid wide median at Shepherd that needs to go. Also the median at Allston should go.

I would be fine if they left 11th between Shepherd and Yale as a single lane but pull the bike lanes to add a turn lane. Also, open two lanes further back at the Shepherd and Yale intersections.

I definitely want the pedestrian island at Nicholson to remain. That really requires a single lane between Shepherd and Yale. You could do two lanes but it would have to merge to one right there so not sure what's really being gained with two lanes the rest of the way.

A turn lane through that section would be wonderful though so removing the bike lanes would allow that.

In reply to schmellba99

schmellba99 said:

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ChemAg15 said:

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Imagine being in public works and hiring your friends & family to **** up the roads and then hiring them again to fix it.

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Sounds like a heck of a racket to me

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The real problem is a handful of people with agendas who push their little pet projects that citizens largely don't want because they want to compete for stupid awards that look good on their resumes and help get grant funding for more stupid projects no one wants.

David Fields, Houston's chief transportation planner, announced his resignation today. Good riddance - he was a huge proponent of the 11th Street bs. Hope the dominos continue to fall!

In reply to GiggityAg01 They should rip out all sidewalks everywhere while they are at it. That should allow 1-2 lanes to be added to every street.

And rip out the ridiculous tree-lined median on Heights Blvd.

In reply to wessimo

wessimo said:

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They should rip out all sidewalks everywhere while they are at it. That should allow 1-2 lanes to be added to every street.

And rip out the ridiculous tree-lined median on Heights Blvd.

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So emotional. You should rip up your spandex in protest.

I use 11th everyday and really don't think it's that bad. I mean the bike lanes are worthless because they're filled with debris or trash bins because this city can't organize pick up on time. But I really don't feel like 11th has gotten congested beyond use or traffic on side streets greatly increased. I do think the going to 2 lanes has actually helped in slowing traffic down and allowing for pedestrians to cross more safely.

In reply to inconvenient truth

inconvenient truth said:

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wessimo said:

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They should rip out all sidewalks everywhere while they are at it. That should allow 1-2 lanes to be added to every street.

And rip out the ridiculous tree-lined median on Heights Blvd.

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So emotional. You should rip up your spandex in protest.

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Same could be said about Giggity or, more likely, just a poor troll....isn't he the poster that basically said all crosswalks should be abolished because he is tired of having to wait for mom's pushing their strollers to turn right at a light/intersection?

In reply to ChemAg15

ChemAg15 said:

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That project is well underway. The 8 ft wide sidewalk is already in around 20th. My wife commented how narrow the street was and how it didn't seem wide enough for 3 lanes.

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I'll be honest. I'm ok with making it more walkable.