Houston Ave improvements removal – how you can help.

Mayor Whitmire announced Friday that he's tearing out the new medians on Houston Avenue between Memorial Drive and Center Street. These pedestrian safety improvements, which were just installed a few weeks ago, have made this wide, multilane street easier to cross, and drivers are going slower and making less erratic movements. By taking out the safety improvements, Mayor Whitmire is going to make the street more dangerous. Furthermore, removing these safety improvements would jeopardize any future safety projects.

Please send an email to the mayor, hundreds of people emailing him sincerely WILL make a difference. Some ideas for what to say below.

Send the email to mayor@houstontx.gov and copy districth@houstontx.gov

In the bcc field, please add

atlarge1@houstontx.gov atlarge2@houstontx.gov atlarge3@houstontx.gov atlarge4@houstontx.gov atlarge5@houstontx.gov engage@houstontx.gov info@bikehouston.org

Write your own subject line; we don't want these emails to appear like they were generated by a form.

Remember: we all are receiving these bullet points, so please do not copy and paste them into an email. Use your own words as much as possible.

Some key words and phrases to use: public safety, quality of life, great cities, solve/solving problems, government waste, efficient

Be sure to personalize your email If you walk, bike, or drive along or across Houston Avenue regularly, say so. If you live or work nearby, say so. If you spend money at businesses on or near Houston Avenue, say so. If you like how Houston has become safer for walking and biking in recent years, say so. Tell him that Houston Avenue was dangerous before the safety improvements were made, and that the medians made it feel much safer. Tell him you’re concerned that removing the safety improvements will lead to more crashes, injuries, and deaths. Tell him that great cities are cities where it’s easy to cross the street. Cities where people have real transportation options. Cities where people can get around safely, without constantly worrying about being run over. Tell him we can’t solve problems by moving backwards and undoing projects that make streets safer. Tell him you read that Houston is headed for a financial crisis. Tearing out new safety improvements is incredibly wasteful and inefficient. Tell him how horrible it would look if someone were injured or killed after he takes away safety improvements. Tell him we need more medians, pedestrian islands, crosswalks, and other safety measures — not less.