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Saturday, September 3, 2022 • Vol. 67 • No. 34
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It’s not just my business, It’s my neighborhood
Houston finalizing plans for 11th Street bikeway By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com City staffers are finalizing a plan to add protected bike lanes along 11th Street in the Heights and reduce the number of driving lanes, despite pushback from some residents in the area. Crews will begin work rehabilitating 11th Street this month, with plans to start construction on the bikeway part of the project in October, said Erin Jones, spokesperson for the city’s public works department. “The bikeway design is still being finalized to include MET-
Turner
RO bus stop improvements/relocations,” she said.
The 11th Street safety improvements project has been in the works for several years, but has received pushback from some area residents who argue it will make traffic worse, lead to more cars taking side streets and potentially hurt businesses along 11th Street. Mayor Sylvester Turner and other city officials, meanwhile, argue the project will transform the neighborhood by increasing safety and make the road more multimodal. It calls for crews to install 6-foot bike lanes on both sides of 11th Street in the 1.5 miles
Strike up the band
INSIDE.
between Shepherd Drive and Michaux Street while adding a 3-foot buffer separation between the rest of traffic and reducing the street to one lane running in each direction, according to a city presentation. While some residents are unhappy with the project, other groups, such as the advocacy group BikeHouston, have written in support of the plan. “When Mayor Turner announced the 11th Street project would move forward after that short pause, he said something See PLANS P. 7
Advocacy group: Heights is model for city’s bike future By Matt deGrood news@theleadernews.com
Football roundup The first weekend of the high school football season is complete. Take a look at how your favorite schools fared last week.
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Back to normal Goode Company on Highway 290 is resuming normal service, and a familiar face has a new concept at the old Heights Revival Market. Check out this week’s Nibbles and Sips for that news and more.
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Photo by Gwen Juarez Photography The Heights High School band performs during a football game. In November, the band will be heading to perform in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Heights band headed to Chicago Thanksgiving parade Grand return The First Saturday Arts Market plans to return this weekend, with several local artists’ work on display.
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THE INDEX. Sports............................................................. 2 Church........................................................... 3 Coupons....................................................... 6 Classifieds.................................................. 7 Food/Drink...............................8
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
When Heights High School band director Antwuan Walters made the decision in February to submit an application for his students to perform in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day parade, he wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t tell anyone else about it. In essence, he said he didn’t want to get his students’ hopes up, knowing there were hundreds of submissions from high school and collegiate bands around the country. His decision, it turned
out, paid off. A few months later, he found out that the Heights band had been selected as one of just 24 bands nationwide – and the only band from Texas – to take part in the parade in the Windy City this November. “I just decided to do it,” he said. “…A couple of months later, I got an email saying they had been selected. I let the staff know, then I brought the kids down here later that evening and told them.” That selection putting the band in rare company isn’t just luck, either, but more results from the work the band has done in recent years,
Walters said. Just last year, for instance, the band received straight 1s from UIL judges for the first time in Heights history at the regional competition last October. A 1 is a “superior” rating, the highest mark a performance piece can receive in competition. It is the first time the Heights band has ever been selected to perform in a national parade, according Walters. “(This selection) continues to push us to the next level,” said Walters, who is in his fourth year leading the Heights band. “It’s one of those things where we’re excited, and we’re thankful that the work we’ve
done the last few years has led us to this point.” The band is now trying to raise funds for the trip that will see them perform on a national stage in just a few months. It will cost about $200,000 to fund the trip, according to Walters. So far, Walters said they have raised about half of that money for the trip, and will have additional fundraising opportunities in the coming months to help cover the remaining expenses that will cover airfare, hotel stays and more for the 160-member band. There has also been See PARADE P. 6
Long known as the city where the automobile is king, Houston is working to shed that reputation with a host of projects aimed at providing bicyclists more options around town. And the Heights and surrounding neighborhoods might be leading the way. “I think in the core of the city, you can see the beginnings of a really strong bike network,” said Joe Cutrufo, executive director of BikeHouston, a local advocacy group. “Not only is it more extensive than people realize, but it’s higher quality than people realize.” The Heights and surrounding neighborhoods are especially promising when people are looking for examples of what multimodal transportation might look like in the area, Cutrufo said, especially with some of the ongoing projects the city is working on in the area. Crews in October will begin work on a plan to revamp 11th Street between Shepherd Drive and Michaux Street by removing driving lanes and replacing them with protected bike lanes, according to the city. And that’s in addition to existing trails and bike lanes, such as the MKT Trail, Cutrufo said. “Combined, these projects are going to change the way that a lot of people in the Heights get around,” he said. Heights residents earlier this See FUTURE P. 6
Photo by Matt deGrood Bike advocacy group Bike Houston says bike trails in the Heights ike the one pictured here make the neghborhood a model for Houston’s bike future.
New apartment complex begins work in Garden Oaks By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
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The local area is bustling with new developments and living spaces, and another one is set to become available late next year. Developer Mill Creek Residential began construction on the Modera Garden Oaks, a planned five-story apartment complex that is anticipated to be ready for move-ins in late 2023, on Aug. 25 according to a news release from the developer. The development is situated at 641 W. CrossContributed rendering Pictured is a rendering of the planned Modera Garden Oaks apart- timbers Street, a mile north of Interstate 610 and a mile west of Interstate 45 in Garden Oaks. Mill ment complex.
Creek Mill LLC is a national rental housing company focused on the “development, acquisition and operation of rental communities in targeted markets nationwide,” according to its website. Mills Creek Residential did respond to a Tuesday request for comment on how much was invested into the complex prior to publication. “We’re excited to join the (Garden Oaks) neighborhood,” said Lucas Sandidge, Mill Creek Residential’s vice president of development. Mill Creek also has other developments in the area such as the Modera Shepherd at 611 See APARTMENT P. 6
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