Without prior announcement, the city of Houston has begun removing the dedicated bike lane on a key street, raising concerns among residents about transparency and the city’s commitment to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.
The potential loss of the Austin Street bike lane in Midtown first came to light through a Texas Public Information Act request by a community activist. The request revealed emails between city engineers discussing plans to replace the dedicated bike lane between Holman and Pierce streets with sharrows — shared lane markings that indicate cyclists and motorists must share the road.
The emails were shared publicly last Thursday. The Houston Chronicle contacted Houston Public Works on Friday to confirm whether the city was proceeding with the removal, but the department did not provide an answer.
By Monday, BikeHouston Executive Director Joe Cutrufo received a call informing him that crews were actively dismantling the bike lane. He rode down Austin Street to confirm it himself.
“It’s one thing if you’re going to redesign a street,” Cutrufo said. “It’s entirely another to do it first thing on a Monday morning without any announcement whatsoever.”
As of Monday morning, Houston Public Works still hadn’t responded to questions about the project.
Cutrufo called the bike lane the backbone of Houston’s cycling network between Hermann Park and Buffalo Bayou.
“This bikeway is widely used by commuters who rely on it to safely get to and from work every day,” he said. “And it’s not just cyclists — running clubs and individual runners use Austin Street to create longer routes connecting Rice University, Hermann Park, and Buffalo Bayou. This is a critical piece of the city’s active transportation network.”
The emails obtained via the Public Information Act request date back to June 10 and 11, 2024. A city engineer wrote to a senior project manager at KCI Technologies:
“Please prepare a proposal for Work Order #7 on the N-321040-0087-3 contract. The project is a rehab (mill & overlay) of Austin St., from Holman to Pierce. Additionally, it will require some design work on the lane configuration. We would like to take out the dedicated bike lane and use sharrows instead.”
The Houston Chronicle asked Houston Public Works to confirm whether the city planned to remove the bike lane, what the timeline for the work was, and whether there was any justification for the decision. A department spokesperson acknowledged receiving the questions but never provided a response.
Crews began dismantling the bike lane’s protective barriers Monday morning.
The removal of Austin Street’s dedicated bike lane is the latest city action raising alarm among transportation advocates, who blame Mayor John Whitmire’s administration for a broader push away from pedestrian and cyclist friendly infrastructure.
“It’s bad enough that there was no notice, but it’s even worse that it’s happening at all,” said transportation advocate Michael Moritz. “It’s bewildering that the mayor would not only remove popular protected bike infrastructure, but also promote street projects that widen car lanes in urban areas, reducing safety for all users.”
Add in the removal of barriers from the Heights Blvd lanes last week and you begin to see this as a planned attack. I’m a lot more worried about West 11th Street now than I was before. The fact that it happened without notice and without the Public Works Department bothering to respond to questions about it makes it even more infuriating.
And for all of the yammering on about efficiency and cutting waste and so on, how is it fiscally responsible to tear out intact functional infrastructure that’s not even five years old? Even if the cost of doing so is relatively small, why was this a priority over all of the other things Public Works does? Were there no potholes to fill? No long-requested speed bumps to install? What are we doing here?
I’ll leave you with this:
Here’s some B roll of the lane removal, in case your camera crews don’t make it there on time @abc13houston @FOX26Houston @KPRC2 @KHOU @CW39Houston
— BikeHouston (@BikeHouston) 12:16 PM – 31 March 2025
I hope a lot of people show up at the next Council meeting to yell at the Mayor about this. I know I’ve just been critical of the Recall Houston effort as it now stands, but nothing will make me root harder for them than crap like this. Houston Public Media has more.
UPDATE: You have got to be kidding me:
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis @RodneyEllis said his office fully funded the Austin St. bike lane project and it cost $1.6 million for construction, and $369,000 for design.
— Ryan Nickerson (@Rya_n_ickerson) 5:20 PM – 31 March 2025
My statement on the removal of the protected bike lanes on Austin St.
— Rodney Ellis (@RodneyEllis) 5:31 PM – 31 March 2025
So the city went in and destroyed a bike lane that they didn’t build? Honestly, I hope Harris County sues to recover the initial cost and the cost of rebuilding. Total amateur hour over there.
Kuff you will get a chance to put your name on that recall, but I would be shocked that one would be able to find it there.
I personally don’t care for bike lanes, but I don’t drive much anymore. But I will sign the petition for his failure to make”Houston Better.”
Yes this really stinks, and since they think they can do it without informing anyone tells me that many more contracts to remove bike lanes may have already been finalized. Since there is no way this is any kind of priority work, it seems likely to me that one of Whitmire’s big (Republican) donors must have gotten a promise to kill off the bike lanes.
Basically any road work is more important than this, and people should be mad that this unnecessary nastiness towards bike riders is getting priority, or happening at all.
Just speculation, but the people who really don’t like bikes, pedestrians, and public transit are the oil and gas lobbyists. Go figure.
J I hated bicyclists because I would slow down and pass them carefully when I used to drive to work. I would get to a stop sign, and they would come and pass all the cars and either run the light or stop. Either way, I had to go through the trouble of trying to avoid hitting them again.
I was downtown yesterday and saw bikes going down the Austin bike lane. I’ve used it several times in the past. Whitmire is not interested in anything other than cars, and more cars, and pickups.
Meme, I understand your frustration. This scenario won’t happen with a bike lane. The worst thing about the Austin St bike lane removal is that Austin is one way and the bike lane is two-way so some bike riders will now have to go the wrong way on Austin to get through the newly created gap in the bike lane between Holman and Pierce.
I highly recommend an electric bike for seniors if you like riding and can’t really push pedals on a standard bike anymore. Better able to keep up with residential traffic too.
I no longer pass up cars at intersections, it is safer to just go with the traffic flow. Turning cars and especially pickup trucks just don’t see me if I am to their right.
Rodney Ellis is a king maker and enabled this by not talking SJL out of running for a race she had no chance of possibly winning. None of this would happen with Mayor Chris Hollins or if Ellis had entered the race himself.