HOUSTON – If getting around Houston isn’t tough enough already, traffic could get a little bit worse.
Parts of several downtown streets could close down for good to make way for the $2 billion expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
While neighbors welcome the idea of a newly expanded convention center, they aren’t big fans of the repercussions that come along with it, namely the abandonment of several city streets.
“Residents are not expressing any concern about the expansion,” said Lindsay Williams, the president of Super Neighborhood 64 & 88. “Actually, most residents seem to be rather excited about the Expansion Project itself. But losing Polk St. and losing that vital east-west connection into downtown is the most upsetting for residents.”
What Is Abandoning a Street?
In Houston, abandoning a city street is a formal process in which the city relinquishes its public ownership of a roadway, typically at the request of the property owners whose land borders it.
Once initiated, the request is reviewed by multiple city departments to ensure there are no essential public needs—such as access, utilities, or emergency services—tied to the street.
If approved, ownership of the land beneath the street is transferred to the adjacent property owners, and the roadway is no longer considered part of the public right-of-way.
The process involves detailed evaluation, permitting, and a public notification period before any final decision is made.
The streets impacted by the expansion of the convention center and will have portions abandoned include:
- Polk Street
- Chenevert Street
- Hamilton Street
- Jackson Street
- Clay Street
Abandoning Polk Street
The problem with abandoning Polk Street is that the road serves as one of only a few remaining connectors that link the east and west side of the city, according to residents.
“Historically there were 12, four are remaining, and we’re being asked to lose one. And it’s not just to downtown. This is the road that you would take to connect to the Heights and to Montrose,” said Lisa Hunt, an organizer of People for Polk Street. “So, essentially, we’re getting ghettoized from the rest of the city and other economic centers within the city.”
The closing of the portion of Polk Street could lead to longer drive times, more congestion and less walkability in the area.
A traffic study released by Houston First Corporation, the organization who operates the convention center, says the impacts would only increase drive times by no more than two minutes.
“It feels like that traffic study was telling them what they wanted to hear rather than what they needed to know,” Williams said.
STATEMENT FROM HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION:
“The purpose of the study conducted by Transcend Engineers & Planners LLC and released by Houston First was to evaluate the impact of the GRB South building and JRC abandonments on 48 intersections in the immediate vicinity of the project. Intersection operations are a key metric used to determine impacts of roadway abandonments and future developments.
It’s important to note that the study did not focus solely on trips to and from the GRB but rather explored how the closure of Polk affects existing traffic patterns and accounts for all trips within the study area. The additional trips generated by the GRB South building are added to baseline trips at the anticipated growth rate.
While it was not part of the study, engineers did take the extra step of doing a high-level analysis of what this impact is by the GRB and by NHHIP (assuming 20 mph average travel speed) and expect the reroute to impact vehicular commute times by less than 2 minutes.
Houston First and the project team are working with Houston Public Works to ensure that the traffic study sufficiently addresses what is needed as part of the JRC abandonment process."
A Solution for All
There is a way for the convention center to expand and the city to keep Polk Street open, but it would take some creative thinking and engineering.
“It feels like that traffic study was telling them what they wanted to hear rather than what they needed to know,” Williams said.
Whether that will happen or not is still to be seen, but Williams hopes the city and Houston First at least explore the option.
A community hearing was held at 6 p.m. on July 1 inside the convention center. Click here for more details.
