City of Houston draft report touts 11th Street's success

A Houston Public Works draft report obtained by Axios states that measures to slow traffic along 11th Street in the Heights have achieved key safety goals.

Why it matters: The project — a polarizing rebuild completed under former Mayor Sylvester Turner — has drawn skepticism from Mayor John Whitmire, who questioned its effectiveness after assuming office and ordered a formal review .

• The review is one of several Whitmire requested for street safety projects initiated during Turner's tenure that reduced the width or number of vehicle lanes.
• Whitmire has reversed the city's course on other street safety projects installed on Turner's watch, calling one of them the work of "anti-car activists" in Turner's administration, one of whom he fired months after taking office .

The intrigue: Houston Public Works submitted the report's latest draft to Whitmire in March and he continues to mull the fate of the work, including a pair of bike lanes.

What they found: Changes to 11th Street resulted in slower traffic, fewer and less severe crashes, and a 200% increase in people using a crucial new trail crossing, per the report.

• The report also shows that the societal cost of crashes along 11th Street during the same time frame dropped from $1.5 million in 2019 to $268,000 in 2023 after construction was complete.

Catch up quick: In 2019, 11th Street between Shepherd Drive and Heights Boulevard saw 10% more crashes than similarly designed Texas roads, according to the city.

• The city for three years worked on plans reducing the number of vehicle lanes from four to two, aiming to slow drivers and reduce crashes, and held at least six meetings with residents and advocacy groups about the changes.

With the extra space from reducing the lanes, the city planned to add bike lanes on either side of the street.

• A group of residents eventually formed to oppose the project after learning bike lanes were going to be included.
• After their objections, Turner paused and personally reviewed the project before giving it the green light . By the time construction was complete in October 2023, the project cost $2.4 million.

Before leaving office last year, Turner ordered Houston Public Works to conduct an analysis looking at various data collected before and after the project, like speeds, crash statistics and congestion issues.

• The report went through several draft versions before the latest version was submitted to Whitmire's office in March.

Driving the news: Whitmire's administration last week declined to release the report to Heights resident and safe streets advocate Emmanuel Núñez, who had requested it under open-records laws in February.

• The administration immediately asked the Texas Attorney General's Office for an opinion on withholding the document, which city attorneys argued was allowed under state law since the document was related to policymaking and was in a draft stage.

In May, the AG's office agreed that the city could withhold the document if it would eventually be released in its final form, according to a copy of the letter shared with Axios.

Yes, but: The mayor's office, when Axios asked this week, wouldn't say if or when the final report would be released.

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