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.

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..

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.

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.

Go deeper

A Houston-area car wash chain is giving a year's worth of free car washes to the owner of the region's dirtiest car.

Why it matters: Ocean Express is trying to get your mind on your car ahead of National Car Wash Day March 28.

Driving the news: To enter, follow @OceanExpressCarWash on Instagram, post a photo of your vehicle and tag Ocean Express.

• The winner will receive free "The Works" washes for a year at any of the chain's locations throughout Houston's suburbs.

What they're saying: "Some people don't wash their cars more than once a year," Amanda Beckett, marketing director for Ocean Express, tells Axios. "We're really looking to give someone the opportunity to keep their car clean for the year to come."

The intrigue: Southeast Texas often experiences dirty rain, especially around spring when the weather shifts into warmer and wetter conditions.

• "We see a lot of pollen and a lot of dust," Beckett said of their typical customer. That's the kind of mess they're looking to award with a year of washes, she said.

The fine print: "Dirtiest car" is open to the judging panel's interpretations, Beckett said. They're also not considering cars with excessive mud.

What's next: The winner will be announced on National Car Wash Day.

The bottom line: It's time to give your dirty car some love.

Share this story

🛢️ ExxonMobil plans to change its legal place of business from New Jersey to Texas. (Texas Tribune)

🏫 The Fort Bend ISD school board voted to close seven elementary schools amid a budget deficit. (Click2Houston)

💰 Houston-based Jiffy Lube was purchased by an East Coast private equity firm in a $1.3 billion deal. (KHOU)

You can drive to Hempstead to dine at a "Pizza Hut Classic," retro-themed restaurant that still has red checkerboard tablecloths, branded hanging lamps and original menus.

Driving the news: "Pizza Hut Classic" locations take the chain's fans "on a time trip back to a simpler, warmer era," The New York Times reports.

🤷 Pizza Hut parent Yum Brands "does not promote or even acknowledge their existence," per The Times.

• But "retrologist" Rolando Pujol has assembled a list of about 80 locations.

Pujol tells The Times: "I did feel like I was giving people a passport to find a piece of their personal history that they had lost track of."

• "I am doing a public service."