The 11th street corridor in Houston’s Heights neighborhood recently underwent construction to make it safer for bikers and pedestrians to cross.
A month later, some business owners are saying those improvements are now making it harder for customers to access their businesses.
Dany Ou has been baking and selling donuts and kolaches at her store, Bakery Donut Fresh Bake Daily, located along 11th and Dorothy Street, for 26 years.
Ou said she’s noticed a decline in customers about a month ago.
Around the same time, the city of Houston put in a bike lane and added a pedestrian refuge island as part of the 11th Street Safety Improvement Project, to help address crashes, speeding and difficulties for pedestrians and bikers crossing the street. The project spans a 1.5-mile stretch of 11th Street from Shepherd to Michaux.
Ou said the change is affecting her dough because if you’re driving eastbound down 11th, you can no longer turn left into her parking lot due to the pedestrian refuge island. Drivers must now drive past her business to try to make a U-turn.
“I lose business everyday cause of the left-hand lane for the customer that doesn’t know us. At least 20-25% every day,” she said.
Daddy’s Chicken Shack is located right beside Ou’s donut shop. General manager Larry Norman said he’s also noticed a decline in business between 4-6 p.m., which is during peak traffic hours.
“So now, because of the construction with the median, it’s making it more difficult for people to come in because you have to figure if I’m going to wait 20 to 30 minutes in that line to come to Daddy’s Chicken Shack, and a lot of times it’s like, ‘no,’” Norman said.
Norman said he’s all for road safety, but not at the expense of his business, which opened six months ago.
“I just wish they would have made it fair for everyone, beneficial to everyone, not just the bikers and the walkers,” he said.
Ou says her loyal customers are keeping her doors open for now, but she worries about the future.
David Fields, the city of Houston’s Chief Transportation Planner sent KPRC2 the following statement:
“The 11th Street Safety Project was a response from community members who wanted the street redesigned to prioritize safety and multimodal access. 11th Street just east of Shepherd was one of the major hot spots for crashes, mostly due to left turns so close to the major intersection, which is the reason for the median. Travel patterns typically change during construction, which is not yet complete along 11th Street. To ensure the project is creating the safe, multimodal street the community requested, the City is monitoring both crash data and sales tax revenue, which will help determine if additional design adjustments are needed after construction is completed and travel returns to normal in the area.”