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Stop TXDOT I-45!
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THE TALK THAT CHANGED OUR MINDS
MORE LANES = MORE CONGESTION!
MORE LANES DO NOT MEAN LESS CONGESTION!
SEE THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF ROAD CONGESTIONNOT NEEDED! NOT WANTED!
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE
AND TXDOT DOES NOT CARE
TXDOT SAYS: “All alternatives [of the construction project] would cause disproportionate high and adverse impacts to minority or low-income populations. . . . no reasonable alternatives would avoid adverse impacts or have substantially less overall adverse impacts than other alternatives.”
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE - Forced Dislocation
DESTRUCTION OF RESIDENCES
TXDOT will destroy residences (both single and multifamily) in the Near Town Neighborhoods, resulting in a considerable loss of affordable housing and low rent residences. Some of the residents' families being displaced have lived in the Near Town Neighborhoods for generations. Due to gentrification and the tremendous increase in the cost of near town property, these displaced residents - many of whom are low income - will have no place to go except out - way out - to places where there are no services available for low income folks.
DESTRUCTION OF BUSINESSES
There will be a significant loss of tax revenue and business income from the I-45 expansion.
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE - For Those Who "Get" to Stay
MORE NOISE POLLUTION
More lanes mean more vehicles - cars, semis, trucks, etc - mean MORE NOISE POLLUTION.
MORE DEATHS
Studies have shown that the more lanes a freeway has, the more congestion and the more accidents result.
Moreover, kids and pedestrians will be at risk of death crossing more lanes
MORE AIR POLLUTION
More lanes mean more vehicles - cars, semis, trucks, etc - mean MORE AIR POLLUTION.
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE - Increased Flooding
Increasing the number of lanes will increase our flooding potential. TXDOT puts its faith in the retention pond and says it plans to a 100 year flood plain. We who live here know how worthless that "assurance" is.
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE - Neighborhood Isolation
NEAR TOWN NEIGHBORHOODS ISOLATED
TXDOT WILL remove access into and out of the Near Town Neighborhoods. They will disproportionately bear the burden of the project and will create greater economic and environmental injustice. Among these disproportionate burdens are significantly increased travel times, increased traffic on residential streets, increased noise and air pollution, decreased desirability of the area and decreased opportunity for economic development.
ISOLATION: EVACUATION
Restricted egress from the Near Town Neighborhoods through the loss of entrances to I-45 and I-610 will be a further burden on low-income residents in the case of an evacuation (due to a hurricane or other disaster). Traffic will further back up inside the areas and more time will be spent getting on the evacuation routes, thus inequitably decreasing the safety of these residents.
ISOLATION: DECREASED RESPONSE TIME BY 1ST RESPONDERS
LOSS OF ACCESS TO THE Near Town Neighborhoods adversely impacts the ability of first responders to travel to and from the neighborhoods. Many of our first responders are headquartered outside these areas For example, the Central Division of Houston Police Department (“HPD”) is located downtown. Precinct 6 and Precinct 1 Constables are headquartered in the East End and downtown.
OTHER LOSSES - To The Near Northside
BLOCKED VIEW OF DOWNTOWN
The beautiful view of downtown from many areas in the Near Northside is one of the advantages of the neighborhood. These beautiful views will be blocked by TXDOT'S new placement of I-10 and I-45 coming out of downtown, thus, again, unduly burdening the residents of the Near Northside, making the area less desirable for development and economic growth.
DANGEROUS RETENTION PONDS
TXDOT proposes a number of retention ponds in the Near Northside. They will be the subject to urban blight (trash, overgrown plants, places for the homeless to congregate and kids to do drugs, etc.). The last thing the Near Northside needs is more vacant land succumbing to urban blight.
LOSS OF BIKE TRAIL ACCESS
Bike trails in the Near Northside are critical to its residents because of the number of residents using their bikes out of necessity for transportation. The White Oak Bayou Bike Trail currently connects to the Spring Street Bike Trail and creates the ability for Near Northside cyclists to ride to the First Ward and its shopping areas (including Target) without endangering themselves on busy city streets. TXDOT'S proposal would cut off the connection between these bike trails.
LOSS OF NORTH AVENUE BRIDGE
TXDOT'S proposed removal of the North Street bridge isolates the Near Northside from the Greater Heights, as well as from Houston Avenue, a connection into downtown, to the First Ward and to the growing shopping areas on Sawyer, Studemont & Yale Streets.
The North Street bridge is also vital to the surrounding neighborhood because of the existence of the White Oak Music Hall (“WOMH”) and the traffic/parking issues from concerts there. Removing with North Street Bridge would significantly increase back-up and congestion in an area that already suffers a tremendous amount of congestion due to concert attendance. WOMH is one of the few new business endeavors in the Near Northside. Removing the North Street bridge would have a debilitating impact on its patrons as well as the nearby residents, resulting in further economic injustice.
The North Street bridge is also a vital bike & pedestrian connector into the Greater Heights, First Ward and downtown. The alternative bridge at North Main St. is far too busy to be conducive to bikes or pedestrians.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT US
We are a grassroots organization concerned about the many negative effects of TXDot's proposed I-45 expansion on adjoining neighborhoods between Beltway 8 and downtown. Our mission: To put pressure on elected officials and decision makers to send TXDot back to the drawing board to fix the structural and design problems of the current I-45 WITHOUT expanding the right of way or otherwise affecting the quality of life and business in these neighborhoods & To inform the residents that live in adjoining neighborhoods regarding the potential negative effects on their health and quality of life if the I-45 Expansion is realized.
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