Houston: Spur 527 overpass survives intense removal effort

[MaxConcrete]

From tweet

https://twitter.com/HOUstreets/status/1245726272367493123

https://stopbagbyclosure.com/

Background
Spur 527 is a short freeway connection from US 59/IH 69 into downtown Houston. Most of it was rebuilt in the early 2000s, but the northernmost bridge into Brazos street was owned by the City of Houston, not TxDOT, so it remained original from its early 1960s construction. Last year the pavement was failing and CoH awarded a $3.4 million contract to replace the bridge deck. Work was already underway when opposition launched the effort to remove the bridge rather than repair it. CoH was supportive and then released a plan which closed not only the bridge, but also the adjacent surface street. Both the bridge and surface street are important connections, but alternate routes are available on adjacent streets. The bridge opposition seemed to have momentum and CoH support, but local interests organized to save the connections (see link above). I thought this process would be on hold due to coronavirus, but instead it appears the CoH just authorized completion of the repair work.

While the traffic impact of this closure would have been modest, the closure would have set a very dangerous precedent and emboldened opposition to seek more infrastructure removal. So this is a big win (assuming the apparent decision is final).

All the street in this view was proposed to be shut down and the overpass removed
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7421545,-95.3818956,3a,75y,28.12h,91.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7meWDU_v600qu2UzApLE-A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

[TXtoNJ]

I'm generally in favor of urban core freeway removal, but this was a bad plan. As someone who lived off Allen Parkway at one point, I used that ramp from Bagby to 527 constantly. Removing it just distributes the traffic to residential streets.

[In_Correct]

Removing any freeway distributes traffic to residential streets.

[sprjus4]

Removing any freeway distributes traffic to residential streets.

And satisfies RE/T groups.

[bwana39]

Back in the day when the Freeways terminated on either end of Downtown, this was the outlet for the Southwest freeway (US-59) It is still the primary route for most of the western side of downtown from 59.

The real problems is the freeway againers don't just want the freeways gone. They want the access from the freeways gone.  There is this thought that the woes of the city centers were ALL caused by the freeways separating them from the rest of the city.

The woes of the city center came from the growth of the suburbs. The growth of the suburbs lent to a good labor force near to what was historically much lower cost locations for businesses. Instead of a high rise, in the suburbs, they could build a campus of five story or shorter buildings for less cost per square foot than the highrises not to mention the ability t have free onsite parking for the work force. This led to vacancies all over downtown and lower rents that brought business back downtown. The real boon to downtown was the building of residential units in surplus buildings. 

So now they think the freeways especially the elevated ones cause all the problems.  I am more familiar with Dallas (I lived there a while. )  Much of the services for downtown (groceries, mass market retail <Sears / JC Penney>, etc) were in East Dallas.  (Between Ross and Columbia) As the incomes in those areas decreased, the stores all closed.  Likewise as the amount of people who were willing to commute back to downtown and pay not insignificant fees and delays to park declined, the stores Downtown did as well. Every Mall had a Sangar Harris (Macys) and a Tiches (Dillards).


In Dallas they built Woodall-Rogers Freeway. It was below ground level in the middle. It was elevated on either end to connect to Central Expressway and Stemmons Freeway. Building across Woodall Rogers was slowed little if any by the freeway, Including the areas adjacent to the elevated sections. (American Airlines Center is two blocks from the western elevated section. ) Mid-Town (the area north of Woodall Rogers) is still the fastest growing part of the city center. Klyde Warren Park came about well after the growth was in full speed. It was more about where to put a park as  opposed to covering the freeway for asthetics.

Back to where the services were in East Dallas. The elevated freeway in Dallas truncated very few streets. Pedestrian traffic was as easy to cross the freeway as it was to walk down the sidewalks downtown.  While it was a blank block it still was just another block to traverse. The issue was the quality of the adjacent neighborhoods.
That is more a function of modern cities. I say the cities, it is the same in small towns and even rural areas. A house is used until it is used up. What that means is the more affluent build new houses and sell them. In most cases, the new resident is either younger, less affluent, or both.  So while the areas close to downtown were initally middle to upper class, they eventually became lower income or ethnic ghettos. Getting rid of a freeway is not going to improve the conditions of the neighborhoods. One of two things has to happen. Either the land has to become valuable enough to tear down the older beat up housing units or they have to have buyers willing to purchase them and refurbish them. Either of these are going to drive out the lower income residents. The issue there is where do they go when their housing options disappear. 

Tearing out a freeway is not going to solve this. I cannot see for the life of me what good it is going to do to remove the Pierce Elevated.  I remember years ago on the East Side had two freeways, I think it was I-10 and 59 side by side. In either of the two middle lanes, you had opposing direction traffic on both sides. It was kind of hairy for my early twenties wife even with the fencing between them.  Surreal is what I thought of it slightly buzzed on the passenger seat.

There ARE situations where freeway removal is warranted. The ALaskan Way definitely made way for something good. When it was BUILT there was a different idea. There were the docks on one side and city center on the other. The freeway was purposely built to keep the rough hewn docks and their unions away from downtown.

The Embarcadaro Freeway in San Francisco may have been about the same thing, Its removal has led to a renisance in San Francisco. That said: Neither Dallas nor Houston set to hide anything with their freeways. Just a way to go from A to B.

All of this said, perhaps had the freeways initially bypassed the inner cities by tens of miles, then maybe dropping the feeder freeways into downtown MIGHT be a good idea.  This all said, we did not. We barely missed the central business districts. Just because these downtowns are outgrowing these tight circles, doesn't mean they cannot grow past them. A surface freeway cuts off the ability to walk from one side to the other.  Yes, if everyone could build a tunnel like they did in Seattle, GREAT.  If it can't be done, then a relook at what actually is best, is a real issue.

From tweet

https://twitter.com/HOUstreets/status/1245726272367493123

https://stopbagbyclosure.com/

Background
Spur 527 is a short freeway connection from US 59/IH 69 into downtown Houston. Most of it was rebuilt in the early 2000s, but the northernmost bridge into Brazos street was owned by the City of Houston, not TxDOT, so it remained original from its early 1960s construction. Last year the pavement was failing and CoH awarded a $3.4 million contract to replace the bridge deck. Work was already underway when opposition launched the effort to remove the bridge rather than repair it. CoH was supportive and then released a plan which closed not only the bridge, but also the adjacent surface street. Both the bridge and surface street are important connections, but alternate routes are available on adjacent streets. The bridge opposition seemed to have momentum and CoH support, but local interests organized to save the connections (see link above). I thought this process would be on hold due to coronavirus, but instead it appears the CoH just authorized completion of the repair work.

While the traffic impact of this closure would have been modest, the closure would have set a very dangerous precedent and emboldened opposition to seek more infrastructure removal. So this is a big win (assuming the apparent decision is final).

All the street in this view was proposed to be shut down and the overpass removed
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7421545,-95.3818956,3a,75y,28.12h,91.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7meWDU_v600qu2UzApLE-A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

[MaxConcrete]

The repaved connector ramp is now open. But this episode is certainly emblematic of the new reality that road and freeway improvements in Houston are no longer going to proceed easily, if they can proceed at all. Exhibit B: the embattled North Houston Highway Improvement project.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transportation/article/Houston-reopens-Spur-527-connection-in-Midtown-15903478.php#photo-20543269

Video:

[The Ghostbuster]

Are there any Houston freeways or tollways that could theoretically be removed without too much trouble. not that I would support doing so.

[MaxConcrete]

Are there any Houston freeways or tollways that could theoretically be removed without too much trouble. not that I would support doing so.

The North Houston Highway Improvement Project is planned to relocate IH-45 and remove the Pierce Elevated. Other than that, I can't think of any in-use freeway or tollway that is a potential candidate for removal.

The short section of frontage roads of the long-canceled 225 freeway inside the loop could eventually be downsized.

There is a long-term plan to remove the loop connector interchange at Memorial and Waugh. (Memorial is a quasi-freeway in that area). However that will be expensive and would require replacement of the existing Waugh bridge which has a bat colony, so I don't see that happening as long as it has a bat colony.

The bigger risk is that future improvements will be nixed. For example, the initial planning for improving the Southwest Freeway seems to have been suspended. It's not a huge loss since the freeway was modernized in 1992, but I think the City of Houston is looking to shut down the planning pipeline for future freeway expansions. https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects/studies/houston/houston-pel-i-69.html

The City of Houston does have plans for road diets, for example on Shepherd/Durham inside the Loop.

[Bobby5280]

I think if various groups in Houston succeed in blocking the North Houston Highway Improvement project then TX DOT should re-direct that funding to other highway improvements elsewhere in Texas rather than Houston. I'll bet all those anti-freeway civic groups still want TX DOT to blow billions of dollars in Houston, but on pet projects they choose (more parks, light rail, jogging paths, etc).

Texas has a LOT of other highway corridors greatly in need of improvement. The cost of the North Houston Highway Improvement project would go a long way at completing the rest of I-69 in Texas outside of Houston. I-14 is another mouth to feed. Improvements on I-35 and I-45 in the triangle are not finished. Same goes for I-10 between Houston and San Antonio. Then there are corridors that need serious upgrades: US-290 from Austin to Hempstead, TX-71 from Austin to Columbus, US-287 from Fort Worth to Amarillo, US-380 from Decatur to Greenville, US-82 in the Lake Texoma Region, etc. The list can go on and on.

[TXtoNJ]

Memorial and Waugh is a perfect candidate for a Parclo A4, especially since the lights would calm the traffic on Waugh/Heights Blvd (often going at very high speeds).

Edit: remembered that they're putting in a SPUI there. They want the extra park space over the reduction in cost.

[bwana39]

Memorial and Waugh is a perfect candidate for a Parclo A4, especially since the lights would calm the traffic on Waugh/Heights Blvd (often going at very high speeds).

Edit: remembered that they're putting in a SPUI there. They want the extra park space over the reduction in cost.

Texas and Texans are not fans of any sort of CLOVERLEAF intersections. While we would love everything to be all direction flyovers, we prefer stopping at traffic lights to any curve over 45 degrees.  While roundabouts seemingly reduce T-bone wrecks, they also increase fender benders especially lane incursions.  Where is the worst freeway intersection in the whole US? Most people would say the I-55 Crump BLVD intersection.  While it is viewed by freeway purists as Turn Off to Stay ON, it is more simply a cloverleaf exit from US-78 (which continues through the intersection.)  We pretty much look at any cloverleaf the same way.

[hotdogPi]

Where is the worst freeway intersection in the whole US? Most people would say the I-55 Crump BLVD intersection.

I've never even heard of that intersection, and I had to look it up myself.

[MaxConcrete]

Memorial and Waugh is a perfect candidate for a Parclo A4, especially since the lights would calm the traffic on Waugh/Heights Blvd (often going at very high speeds).

Edit: remembered that they're putting in a SPUI there. They want the extra park space over the reduction in cost.

The concept I saw keeps the intersection grade-separated, with Memorial on the lower level and signal-free. The upper level would have a SPUI. The existing cloverleaf uses a large amount of land and I don't think it is needed for the traffic counts. In the concept, Waugh would also be straightened, which would require a new bridge over the bayou, which I mentioned is an environmental issue. Of course they could leave Waugh on its current alignment, which would allow the existing bridge to remain.

However, this project is expensive, speculative and very far in the future if it ever happens, so the concept I saw is just that - a concept.

[In_Correct]

Removing any freeway distributes traffic to residential streets.

And satisfies RE/T groups.

It is not possible to satisfy them.

Are there any Houston freeways or tollways that could theoretically be removed without too much trouble. not that I would support doing so.

Toll Roads must never be removed. Freeways can stay, as long as they are converted to Toll Roads.

Memorial and Waugh is a perfect candidate for a Parclo A4, especially since the lights would calm the traffic on Waugh/Heights Blvd (often going at very high speeds).

Edit: remembered that they're putting in a SPUI there. They want the extra park space over the reduction in cost.

Texas and Texans are not fans of any sort of CLOVERLEAF intersections. While we would love everything to be all direction flyovers, we prefer stopping at traffic lights to any curve over 45 degrees.  While roundabouts seemingly reduce T-bone wrecks, they also increase fender benders especially lane incursions.  Where is the worst freeway intersection in the whole US? Most people would say the I-55 Crump BLVD intersection.  While it is viewed by freeway purists as Turn Off to Stay ON, it is more simply a cloverleaf exit from US-78 (which continues through the intersection.)  We pretty much look at any cloverleaf the same way.

Roundabouts guarantee you would take the wrong direction.

As for Interchanges: My favourite is Americas Interchange in El Paso.