11th Street Bike Lanes

[hindesky]

Tweaks to 11th Street plan to be discussed at upcoming meeting

 

The 11th Street Bikeway, which figures to transform transportation on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the Heights, continues to inch toward fruition.

The City of Houston is scheduled to provide an update on the project, which first was unveiled to the public in March 2019, during a virtual meeting of the Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Council at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. Community members wishing to participate can obtain a meeting link by emailing ghsnc.sn15@gmail.com.

The design phase is 60 percent complete and expected to approach 90 percent “within the next couple weeks,” said Lauren Grove, a senior staff analyst for Houston Public Works. She is spearheading the project, which calls for multimodal traffic reconfigurations on a 1.5-mile stretch of 11th Street between North Shepherd Drive to the west and Michaux Street to the east, along with managing engineer Ian Hlavacek.

 

“We are scheduled for construction in January of 2022,” Grove said Tuesday. “So it’s coming up quick.”

The plan for the bikeway, which is being funded by the Houston Bike Plan and aims to make the area safer and more accessible for cyclists, is largely unchanged since the city held its last public engagement meeting about it last December. Protected bicycle lanes will be installed on both sides of 11th throughout the entire stretch, with median refuge islands planned for the intersections of 11th and Nicholson Street – where the Heights Hike-and-Bike Trail crosses 11th – as well as Michaux and White Oak Drive to the south near Stude Park.

The project also calls for a “road diet” that will reduce the number of vehicle lanes along 11th, where there are now two lanes going in each direction. Instead, there will be one lane in each direction for vehicles, with a center, left-turn lane east of Yale Street and a solid concrete median west of Yale. Left turns will mostly be prohibited between Yale and Shepherd to the west, except at the intersections of Lawrence and Rutland streets, and they also will be eliminated at the intersection of 11th and Heights Boulevard to the east.

Grove said the recent changes to the plan are the extension of the bikeway all the way west to Shepherd – where it will link up with a broader infrastructure overhaul planned for Shepherd and Durham Drive – and a shared space for drivers and cyclists along Michaux from 11th to Stude Park. Dedicated bike lanes were previously earmarked for that stretch of Michaux, where Grove said comparatively low vehicle speeds and traffic volumes make them unnecessary.

She also said it was recently discovered that the 1,100-foot section of 11th between Michaux and Studewood Street to the west is too narrow to accommodate a center, left-turn lane. The city will seek input from community members as well as businesses on that stretch while coming up with another way to provide a barrier between lanes of traffic, Grove said, with a concrete barrier being an option.

The original plan called for a center, left-turn throughout the project area, but it was discovered last year that the stretch of 11th between Shepherd and Yale is too narrow for that. Greater Heights Super Neighborhood Council president Mark Williamson said he was disappointed in that development and also doesn’t like the idea of eliminating all left turns at the intersection of 11th and Heights Boulevard, where an esplanade with a jogging trail runs north and south.

“After that meeting (Nov. 16), the project may change again,” Grove said. “We don’t know yet.”

For more project details and to submit feedback to the city, visit https://www.letstalkhouston.org/11th-street-bikeway.

 

https://www.theleadernews.com/city_government/tweaks-to-11th-street-plan-to-be-discussed-at-upcoming-meeting/article_2cddadd6-4214-11ec-a529-6b9ae2946617.html?utm_source=The+Leader+News&utm_campaign=9536bc9e3d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_10_26_12_11_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11b419d2fe-9536bc9e3d-362754594

[TacoDog]

So the project still stops at Shepherd instead of Durham?

[Arboosto]

Yes, the scope of this project ends at Shepherd. The section of 11th St between Shepherd and Durham falls under the scope of the Shepherd and Durham Major Investment Project.

[pokemonizepic]

yet another meeting for this redesign tomorrow at 6:30 PM. Hopefully this is the last one and construction actually starts soon, this thing has been in the design phase for years now  

 

https://www.letstalkhouston.org/11th-street-bikeway

zoom meeting link ---> Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85857117178?pwd=OWtzTVMxM0w2eGp0aDZKeGFhVW5WUT09

[wilcal]

4 hours ago, pokemonizepic said:

yet another meeting for this redesign tomorrow at 6:30 PM. Hopefully this is the last one and construction actually starts soon, this thing has been in the design phase for years now  

 

HPW rep was quoted in the Chronicle article about this that they are still open to changes to the design. 

[j_cuevas713]

On 2/6/2022 at 1:00 PM, pokemonizepic said:

yet another meeting for this redesign tomorrow at 6:30 PM. Hopefully this is the last one and construction actually starts soon, this thing has been in the design phase for years now  

 

https://www.letstalkhouston.org/11th-street-bikeway

zoom meeting link ---> Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85857117178?pwd=OWtzTVMxM0w2eGp0aDZKeGFhVW5WUT09

Yeah I believe this is it. It's been in design for 4 years now lol This tying in to the Shepherd/Durham redesign in going to be awesome for cycling in the Heights. 

Edited February 7, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[pokemonizepic]

4 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah I believe this is it. It's been in design for 4 years now lol This tying in to the Shepherd/Durham redesign in going to be awesome for cycling in the Heights. 

Would love for them to eventually also make the bike lanes on 20th street actually usable, that way it would be a nice network going south/north and east/west everywhere in the heights 

[j_cuevas713]

3 minutes ago, pokemonizepic said:

Would love for them to eventually also make the bike lanes on 20th street actually usable, that way it would be a nice network going south/north and east/west everywhere in the heights 

I'm sure that will get discussed at some point as the bikeways continue to expand and grow. I mean we are about to get a massive flurry of bike lanes this year. 

[pokemonizepic]

1 minute ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I'm sure that will get discussed at some point as the bikeways continue to expand and grow. I mean we are about to get a massive flurry of bike lanes this year. 

yea they've got like 10 projects in the planning phase on the houstonbikeplan website so hopefully all them start being built soon

[Texasota]

10? Take a look at the Bicycle Advisory Committee's most recent meeting materials: PowerPoint Presentation (houstonbikeplan.org)

What's nice is that it collates *everything* currently underway, including stuff being implemented by the TIRZs, management districts, METRO, parks board, etc. 

City CIP: 18 projects in planning or early construction

Harris County: 28 projects (incl some outside the city) in planning or early construction

Parks Board: 20 projects

METRO: 4 projects

Westchase: 1 project

Memorial Heights: 8 projects

Montrose: 5 projects

TIRZ 17: 1 project

East End: 3 projects

Old Sixth Ward/Washington: 2 projects

TXDOT: 3 projects

 

[august948]

48 minutes ago, Texasota said:

10? Take a look at the Bicycle Advisory Committee's most recent meeting materials: PowerPoint Presentation (houstonbikeplan.org)

What's nice is that it collates *everything* currently underway, including stuff being implemented by the TIRZs, management districts, METRO, parks board, etc. 

City CIP: 18 projects in planning or early construction

Harris County: 28 projects (incl some outside the city) in planning or early construction

Parks Board: 20 projects

METRO: 4 projects

Westchase: 1 project

Memorial Heights: 8 projects

Montrose: 5 projects

TIRZ 17: 1 project

East End: 3 projects

Old Sixth Ward/Washington: 2 projects

TXDOT: 3 projects

 

That's one of the most informative posts I've seen in a long time...thank you.

They should lead with these presentations on the HoustonBikeways website instead of making you have to dig for it.

[hindesky]

This is a portion of the presentation given in Monday's meeting......

https://www.letstalkhouston.org/11th-street-bikeway

 

https://ehq-production-us-california.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/514dbd76ba9a6e90abd7943977b00ecef78a1275/original/1644339537/e3ea50ae52fa06542ceedb2bf0b34366_11thStreet_HeightsLandUseMeeting_02072022.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA%2F20220209%2Fus-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220209T071545Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=e456de4eb1618949c3208bf455587c510599e9773e154d4e798c5c07d5e941e1

[j_cuevas713]

 

I was at the meeting. It got a little heated between groups BUT here are the big points I noticed. FIRST, most of the back and forth was between older seniors and younger Houstonians. It was a pretty clear drawn line in that regard which I found very interesting. SECOND, this was a meeting for those opposed to the project to get clarity on what exactly is being done to 11th. Some of the older Heights residents felt disenfranchised and that their opinion hadn't been heard through the initial design process. Many Heights residents quickly dismissed that idea because info has been out for 3 years. THIRD, David Fields was there from the Houston Planning Dept. and he was hilarious. He wasted no time dismissing some of the comments focused on preserving the existing road conditions. One lady in the crowd said, "I had to wait 15 mins to go 5 blocks the other day." and a few Bike Houston supporters were like "Yeah that's why we need to redesign this street." Many of the older residents had the simple belief that adding a turn lane to the road would solve all the safety issues. Typical old Houston mentality. Anyways David went on to explain that the Federal Highway Commission are the ones that told Houston that 11th is too wide, and that removing a lane was recommended. Creating a bike lane to replace the empty space created by removing a lane was a no brainer for the Houston Planning Dept. according to David because the Bike Plan already discusses looking in to 11th as a possible bike way due to it's width. Overall the support FOR the bike lane was greater at this meeting, than those opposed, which was awesome to see. This meeting wasn't even set up for the supporters lol

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/buchanans-11th-street-bike-lane-16938432.php

Edited February 25, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[wilcal]

A few days ago Turner came out and said that the plan would move forward as designed.

I guess you could say, he put the Kibosh on the discourse.

 

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/buchanans-11th-street-bike-lane-16938432.php

[s3mh]

Apologies if there is already a thread somewhere, but I could not find it.  File this under "we can never have nice things" in the Heights.  Just as the 11th street renovations were set to move forward, a very astroturf-ish looking group pops up at the last minute to throw sand in the gears.  This is reminiscent of those who opposed the hike and bike trail because they feared criminals on bicycles ravaging the Heights.  

 

https://www.theleadernews.com/city_government/houston-mayor-to-take-closer-look-at-bikeway-plan-for-11th-street/article_04dbaf28-cba7-11ec-bd01-bf96d09c318f.html

[springcityparts]

https://www.change.org/p/support-a-safer-11th-street-in-the-heights
 

a petition went live today for those who support the 11th St redesign 

[editor]

On 5/6/2022 at 11:01 AM, emmanume said:

https://www.change.org/p/support-a-safer-11th-street-in-the-heights
 

a petition went live today for those who support the 11th St redesign 

While I generally support the idea of petitions, has a change.org petition ever changed anything in the history of ever?  They always seem to end up being nothing more than an echo chamber of people on the internet doing the absolute minimum possible to support a cause. 

Signing something at change.org seems to be the equivalent of changing your social media avatar to whatever the trendy causes célèbres demands, without actually accomplishing anything. 

See also: "Raising awareness."

[pokemonizepic]

7 minutes ago, editor said:

While I generally support the idea of petitions, has a change.org petition ever changed anything in the history of ever?  They always seem to end up being nothing more than an echo chamber of people on the internet doing the absolute minimum possible to support a cause. 

Signing something at change.org seems to be the equivalent of changing your social media avatar to whatever the trendy causes célèbres demands, without actually accomplishing anything. 

See also: "Raising awareness."

no this doesn't really change anything, from my understanding the decision at this point is only in the hands of the mayor

[springcityparts]

 

The mayor put a pause on something that was for all intents an purposes a closed issue, done deal back in February. Pretty sure the pause wouldn’t have happened without the combination of their change.org petition, and the letters of opposition these people sent to the city. 
 

The opposition has 1,683 signatures and the proponents have 898 currently.  It’s  easy enough to sign even if it feels like change.org has never had any effect on anything.

[HouKev]

Email your council person and the mayor as well.

[s3mh]

Rebuttal article in the Leader.  A bit too academic for my tastes, but our neighborhood is full of advanced degrees.  One point they missed is that Studewood has new pedestrian islands that have effectively taken away the middle land as a passing lane and everything is fine on that side of the Heights.  

 

https://www.theleadernews.com/opinion/heights-residents-support-citys-plan-for-11th-street/article_19b17abc-d15c-11ec-a130-a79a93089238.html

[j_cuevas713]

How much you guys wanna bet that the Mayor is "pausing" this simply to show a level of sympathy for those opposed? This will move forward just like anything else. Too many people support this. 

[Amlaham]

Great news!

https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/transportation/2022/05/19/greater-heights-super-neighborhood-council-to-write-letter-in-support-of-11th-street-bikeway/

 

[TacoDog]

What is the procedure for parking on this street? Some blocks have a no parking on this block sign posted, so blocks have a no parking between 7-9am and 4-6pm except Sundays sign, and other blocks have no signs at all. Is it legal to park on the blocks with no signs? 

[s3mh]

Apparently, bike lanes, road diets, etc. are on the list of things that right wingers like to lose their s--- about.  The opponents of the 11th st changes got the mayor to go out and look at the street first hand.  The central argument now seems to be that it will cause massive traffic jams which will send people cutting through the neighborhoods.  But restricting traffic is a feature not a bug.  People who are racing down 11th st. are generally people who are using the street as a cut through to avoid traffic on I-10 or 610.  If you make it more difficult to drive fast on 11st st, people will stop using it as a cut through street.  That will reduce traffic for everybody.  

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Sylvester-Turner-went-to-look-at-11th-Street-17199053.php#photo-22522841

[hbg.50]

You think people use 11th Street to avoid I10 and 610?  That's absurd.  These changes to 11th, along with the planned changes to White Oak will absolutely change traffic patterns into the neighborhood.  Brace yourself for more speed bumps on interior streets.

[springcityparts]

Bring on the speed bumps baby

[kbates2]

Braced.

[Ross]

11 hours ago, steve1363 said:

You think people use 11th Street to avoid I10 and 610?  That's absurd.  These changes to 11th, along with the planned changes to White Oak will absolutely change traffic patterns into the neighborhood.  Brace yourself for more speed bumps on interior streets.

Yes, drivers do actually use 11th to avoid I-10. Every time I-10 has a bad issue, 11th is packed. I live off of 11th, and have some idea of what happens. The may take 11th out to Hempstead to get to 290, or take 11th to get to Shepherd. It just depends on the issue and the time of day.

[s3mh]

11 hours ago, steve1363 said:

You think people use 11th Street to avoid I10 and 610?  That's absurd.  These changes to 11th, along with the planned changes to White Oak will absolutely change traffic patterns into the neighborhood.  Brace yourself for more speed bumps on interior streets.

Just want to know whether the people who are losing their sh#t over the possibility of a few extra cars coming down their street are the same people who shout down anyone complaining about the impact of restaurants and bars on residential streets.