Advocates decry planned Polk Street closure 6 years earlier than expected

• Critics who live in the East End say city leaders and Houston First, the city's tourism agency, sprung the proposed closure on them earlier than they had anticipated the thoroughfare would be severed by the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, slated for 2031.

Catch up quick: Earlier this year, Houston First formally asked the city to close Polk Street between Avenida de las Americas and Hamilton Street just south of the George R. Brown Convention Center.

• The closure would make way for the first phase of a planned expansion of the convention district that city leaders announced this month. The proposed closure also includes parts of Jackson, Chenevert and Hamilton streets, according to city emails shared with Axios.

The latest: People For Polk, an advocacy group formed by East End residents who oppose the closure, hosted a community forum with Houston First leadership and City Council member Joaquin Martinez on Monday.

• Leaders at the meeting said the road could potentially close in October, not April like they'd initially said.

The other side: Houston First calls the street closure a crucial step in expanding the convention center and ultimately keeping the Bayou City competitive as a host for global events.

• "World-class cities have to have a strong downtown, a thriving downtown," Michael Heckman, president and CEO of the tourism corporation, told the Houston Chronicle. "We look at this as a renaissance for downtown, not simply a convention product."
• Mayor John Whitmire also supports the project for its eventual economic and tourism benefits.

The intrigue: Houston First has justified the closure in part because the Texas Department of Transportation plans to permanently close an adjacent stretch of Polk for the upcoming but unrelated highway improvement project.

• But that's six years away, TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez tells Axios.

What they're saying: Amy Erickson, a People For Polk organizer, said the group is concerned about the timing of the street closure and lack of adequate detours.

• "We're talking about a whole generation of people who won't be able to access (downtown or the East End) on bike or by foot," Erickson tells Axios. "That's alarming."
• "The public is hungry to engage about this."

What happened: The public was only notified about the proposal in early February when the city erected signs along Polk Street offering a phone number to call to leave feedback.

• Records obtained by People For Polk and reviewed by Axios show the project received 40 comments that city staff categorized as "negative" and zero "positive" comments in the first 20 days of the official public comment period, which ends April 3.

Friction point: The city has not made Houston First's application or map of the proposed closure public.

• When asked for a map or application showing how much of the corridor Houston First wants to be abandoned, the city referred Axios to file an open records request.
• City staff have until March 28 to respond to Axios with the records or ask the Texas Attorney General to allow them to be withheld.

What's next: Once the public comment period ends, the Joint Referral Committee will confer with Houston First on the application before sending the proposal to the City Council.

• City staff say the public can email the committee or call 832-395-3122 or 832-395-3118 to leave a comment.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information, including the announcement made Monday evening that construction on Polk could begin as soon as October (not April, as previously planned). Also, a map showing the closure could start in April was removed.