City of Houston Completes Resilient Sidewalks Plan

“The Resilient Sidewalks Plan is an in-depth look at the broad inter-connectivity between mobility, sidewalks and drainage for two communities severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey,” said Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner. “With the input from stakeholders and those who live in these communities, we now have a significant toolkit to produce an actionable plan to secure funding for future projects.”

The Citywide Toolkit provides guidance to create a safe and more reliable pedestrian network while mitigating flooding caused by future events. It focuses on multifunctional design developers can use citywide. It uses the city’s Infrastructure Design Manual (IDM), current standard construction details, and Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) standards to support a resilient pedestrian network for the city.

The Gulfton community is the most densely populated community and one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Houston, with nearly 36 miles of streets that have either no sidewalks or sidewalks in very poor condition. It also has the highest rates of pedestrian-vehicle crashes compared to all of Houston’s Complete Communities. Drainage is 80% curb and gutter with inlets and gravity mains, along with 20% of open ditches. Community outreach for the plan included a project website, 360 multilingual surveys, eight community events and four Super Neighborhood Council meetings.

The Gulfton Resilient Sidewalks Plan illustrates the need to mitigate concrete sidewalks with some degree of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). The Gulfton Resilient Sidewalks Plan calls for multiple action items:

1. Advocate and monitor plan implementation
2. Improve Awareness of existing funding sources
3. Review and update existing city funding sources
4. Create a maintenance training program
5. Develop designs and refined cost estimates for two high-priority projects

KASHMERE GARDENS – RESILIENT SIDEWALKS PLAN

Kashmere Gardens is considered one of the oldest, well-established communities in the city and one with historic underinvestment. Only 30% of streets in Kashmere Gardens have sidewalks, with many in poor condition and lacking adequate drainage infrastructure. There are 81 miles of missing sidewalks in Kashmere Gardens. Community outreach for the plan included a project website, 140 multilingual surveys, 10 community events and four Super Neighborhood Council meetings.

The Kashmere Gardens Resilient Sidewalks Plan is the first step towards creating a resilient pedestrian network in the neighborhood. The Kashmere Gardens Resilient Sidewalks Plan calls for multiple action items:

1. Advocate and monitor plan implementation
2. Develop designs and refined cost estimates for three high-priority projects
3. Improve awareness of existing funding sources
4. Review and update existing city funding sources
5. Create a maintenance training program

The Resilient Sidewalks Plan was developed in partnership with the Housing and Community Development Department utilizing CBDG-DR17 funds, which are awarded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Texas General Land Office.

The Resilient Sidewalks Plan included collaboration from the following city departments:

• Housing and Community Development (HCD)
• Houston Public Works (HPW)
• Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability (MORS)
• Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)
• Planning & Development Department (PDD)

The City of Houston would like to thank the following organizations for their participation:

• MIG, Inc.
• Watearth
• Connect Community
• Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council (NEHRC)
• CGES | Bailey
• Design Jones

The community can read the full Resilient Sidewalks Plan for Gulfton and Kashmere Gardens at EngageHouton.org/resilient-sidewalks.