HOUSTON – For everyone disappointed about the Brazos Greenway Project, there is a silver lining.
This is the area we’re talking about where the City of Houston decided to reconstruct the Brazos Street Bridge on the Spur 527, instead of creating a progressive green space concept some people wanted.
Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers can expect improvements to come soon. The city’s planner tells Traffic Expert Anavid Reyes they worked hard to improve the intersection where Bagby, Smith and Holman street all come together underneath the Brazos Street Bridge for this type of active transportation.
The plan is to rebuild the Brazos Street Bridge on the Spur 527 first. This is located in the Montrose/Midtown area. That should be done in the coming months, according to the City of Houston’s planning department.
The goal for the Bagby/ Holman/Smith street intersection underneath that bridge is to make it safer, especially because right now, residents say it’s not.
“...Cars really zoom by right here,” said Houston resident Jose Martinez.
The City of Houston is confident, getting around safely by bike, foot, or car can happen, both comfortably and safely.
So, in this new project, they are working on signal timings, improving curbs and safer crossings.
Bikers and pedestrians should look forward to a safer route, including more curb ramps and a lot more space for pedestrians to wait in between lights inside Bagby and Holman Street, just east of Hawthorne.
“Crews are already out there working on that, and that’ll take them several months... and that whole project should wrap up by the end of the year and wrap up early 2021,” Ian Hvalcek, a City of Houston engineer, said.
An update for drivers: the southbound turning lane from Smith onto Holman Street will also be removed at this intersection because not a lot of people use it anyway.
Hvalcek said more than several hundred people walk and bike through this intersection every single day, so these improvements are vital as it serves as the main connection for people walking and biking between Montrose and Midtown.
KPRC2 Traffic Expert Anavid Reyes spoke with the City of Houston’s transportation planning department and a City of Houston engineer overseeing design on this project. Houston residents were asked about their experience traveling through the Bagby/Holman/Smith intersection.