Whitmire's Senate successor decries West Alabama plan
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West Alabama at Mulberry Street. Photo: Jay R. Jordan/Axios
Community leaders say a shift in priorities at City Hall is causing unnecessary dangers and delays to the $28.5 million West Alabama Street rebuild.
Why it matters: Mayor John Whitmire's unraveling of the previous administration's transportation planning continues to receive blowback, now from his successor in the Texas Senate, Molly Cook (D-Houston).
Catch up quick: West Alabama Street through Montrose, lined with homes, businesses, schools and restaurants, has long been in poor condition with potholes, broken sidewalks and aging street lights.
- In 2022, the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), created by the city to redirect a portion of tax dollars to fund various projects in the neighborhood, started working on a plan to rebuild the street with bike lanes, wider 6-foot sidewalks and narrower 10-foot driving lanes.
- It was part of a larger plan to reimagine West Alabama Street from Buffalo Speedway to Chenevert Street. The Montrose TIRZ's portion stretches 1.6 miles from Shepherd Drive to Spur 527.
- Montrose TIRZ officials submitted draft designs to the city in November 2022 and by December 2023, was granted more than $11 million in federal funding.
Yes, but: Whitmire overhauled the TIRZ board after taking over as mayor in January 2024, and plans for the West Alabama project started to change shape.
- In June 2025, the new board presented new schematics that eliminated the planned bike lanes, maintained the planned sidewalk width of 6 feet, and kept the driving lanes 12 feet and a constant center turn lane — essentially unchanged from the current configuration.
- The work includes a full roadway rebuild, drainage and new traffic signals.
Driving the news: Cook this month asked the TIRZ to reconsider its plans and align them more closely to the initial designs.
- "The board essentially voted to make Montrose more dangerous for families and less welcoming to businesses," Cook wrote in a letter to the TIRZ board.
The other side: Whitmire has been focused on relieving inner-city traffic congestion by limiting the expansion of bike lanes.
Threat level: Between 2018 and 2024, there were nearly 500 crashes on that stretch of West Alabama, per state data collected by the TIRZ.
- The original designs from 2022 with narrower driving lanes were intended to slow traffic and cause fewer crashes.
What they're saying: "It's pretty outrageous, because community outreach had been done already," Alex Spike of Montrose community group Friends of the Boulevard, tells Axios. "Suddenly, the rug's being pulled out from under the entire community."
- "To us, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to turn West Alabama from a freeway-like corridor into a true neighborhood main street," Spike said.
- His group got more than 50 signatures from Montrose businesses, neighborhood associations and faith organizations in a letter last month calling for the TIRZ to reverse course.
Between the lines: In a TIRZ FAQ document shared with Axios on Monday, the TIRZ board says it is requesting 11-foot driving lane widths on West Alabama, but that the 60 feet of available right-of-way would not be able to fit bike lanes.
- Asked about Cook's letter, TIRZ spokesperson Suzy Hartgrove tells Axios, "Instead of sending her a letter, we are reaching out to set up a meeting with her. We think having a discussion will be more productive."
What's next: Hartgrove said final designs will be presented later this year, and construction is slated to begin sometime in 2027.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect that:
- The Montrose TIRZ board is requesting 11-foot lane widths on West Alabama Street (not that the city is dictating 12-foot lane widths)
- The previously planned 6-foot sidewalks have not changed in the amended plans.
- $11 million in federal funding has been granted (but has not yet been received).