Overview

• Houston First released a June 27 traffic study showing the Polk Street closure would add less than two minutes to average commutes and maintain acceptable flow at 48 nearby intersections.
• The report recommends converting Leeland Street into a two-way corridor between Chartres and Austin to absorb displaced traffic, and Houston First says engineering on that conversion is being accelerated.
• People for Polk, East End residents and BikeHouston argue the study fails to assess pedestrian, bicycle and transit detours or impacts on the broader Greater East End.
• Houston City Council must vote this summer to surrender the two-block stretch of Polk Street, with district member Joaquin Martinez backing the plan and at-large member Julian Ramirez warning of harm to East Side connectivity.
• Polk Street is slated to close in September or October 2025 and the first phase of the $2 billion George R. Brown expansion is scheduled to open in May 2028.