Polk Street in Peril
Back in February 2025, residents of Houston’s East End saw signs requesting public feedback about the potential abandonment of Polk Street.
(Polk Street abandonment sign, provided by the Houston Chronicle)
Houston First, responsible for the George R. Brown Convention Center (“GRB”), submitted an application to abandon Polk Street. The GRB is slated for a $2 billion expansion—all paid for with state hotel occupancy tax funds. Houston First claims that Polk Street must go to make way for “the largest ballroom in Texas” which will be connected to the newly-renovated GRB. This expansion is advertised as an economic benefit to Houston.
(Approximation of GRB expansion showing 2,500 feet of total area with Polk Street takeover, provided by People for Polk)
So is Trading Polk Street Worth it? No.
Polk is a Vital Two-Way:
Polk Street is one of the only two-way connectors between Houston’s East End and downtown, and the only one with a bike lane. Two-way streets come with a host of benefits, such as fewer accidents, reduced speeds, and increased accessibility to businesses on either side of that street. In Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, for example, a one-way to two-way conversion on Vine Street in 1999 saw a boom in economic growth and productivity. Cincinnati’s success on Vine Street should be a lesson for Houston leaders: make as many two-way streets as possible, especially one as important as Polk.
(Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio)
The Texas Department of Transportation’s North Houston Highway Improvement Project (“NHHIP”) will close off Polk and turn it into a U-turn, but that’s no reason to shut off what’s left of Polk. The NHHIP will be a disaster for Houston, but one bad idea does not justify another. And while the City of Houston is considering converting nearby Leeland Street into a two-way as a concession for losing Polk, urban planning should not be a zero-sum game. We need more two-way streets, not net-zero.
And do not listen to the traffic study from Houston First saying that closing Polk will not impact Houston’s downtown streets. All traffic models are wrong; they are a series of unrealistic guesses.
Polk is Worth More Now:
Polk Street is more valuable now than the GRB’s plans for it. Convention centers drain local resources and do not deliver on economic promises. State funds support not just the GRB but other convention centers across Texas, creating a race to the bottom. In short, convention center spending pools massive amount of public dollars to subsidize huge projects in hopes that this “build it and they will come” project stimulates the local economy. But they, like may other moonshots, rely too much on revenue forecasting and models that have no basis in reality. Houston will bear the maintenance and infrastructure costs for the GRB expansion, hoping it will pay for itself. Instead, Houston should invest in Polk Street today to boost the East End economy.
Houston is in poor financial shape and cannot afford risky bets like abandoning Polk Street. Urban3’s map of Harris County shows that we have valuable land downtown that can be put to good use, and so we should use this space for a vibrant community. Houston needs to rethink its approach to infrastructure and reverse the decades long drain resulting from the Growth Ponzi Scheme. Houston is the face of the Ponzi Scheme, and it is time we reverse this trend by adopting a Strong Towns approach to growth: focus on long term sustainability, rather than chase short term growth.
People for Polk:
People For Polk, a grassroots collection of East End residents fighting to keep their street alive, is the silver lining in this Polk Street story (check out their op-ed in the Houston Chronicle). These local leaders have done the work to prove why this vital two-way street needs to stay open. They have done their own traffic counts, started their own information campaign, proposed a community benefits agreement, and even designed route alternatives to keep Polk Street alive despite the NHHIP and the GRB expansion. People for Polk is the “bottom-up revolution” Strong Towns has been talking about for years.
Strong Towns Houston stands with People for Polk and opposes the Polk Street abandonment.
The city of Houston needs to re-think this project and work with community leaders to get Houston First to change its mind about abandoning Polk. Strong Towns Houston members, People for Polk, and all Houstonians should consider speaking at city council, contacting local officials, and signing petitions to let Houston know that Polk Street will not make way for a ballroom. Houston’s city council will be voting on the Polk Street closure at some point in the near future, but you can make a difference today. Together, we can make Polk Street one busy street in a Strong Houston.
