Flooded Houston Avenue tunnel spotlights Houston’s sidewalk problems

Water pooled for about a week in the pedestrian tunnel along Houston Avenue near Washington, turning a route meant to protect people in the First Ward into a dead end for cyclists and walkers. The tunnel, which should give residents a safer way across the area, became waterlogged, littered with trash and known for camping activity, forcing some people back into traffic lanes.

One nearby resident said the flooding that started during the first weekend of June made the tunnel unusable enough that he had to choose between riding in the street or carrying his bike across the railroad tracks. In the Third Ward, pedestrians described a different but familiar version of the same problem: construction detours and damaged sidewalks that made even short trips harder than they should be.

The tunnel’s drainage problem was traced to a trash-clogged drain. Houston Public Works said it cleaned the drain and pumped the tunnel, and lights were expected to be repaired within two weeks. The response points to the basic question behind many of Houston’s sidewalk complaints: who is responsible for fixing the route before the next heavy rain makes it impassable again. For immediate hazards, residents can report problems through Houston 311, the city’s non-emergency system for sidewalk and other infrastructure issues.

The flooded tunnel is only one visible piece of a much larger problem. Houston Public Works says it manages streets, drainage and pedestrian infrastructure across about 671 square miles, including about 16,000 lane miles of streets and roughly 3,900 miles of stormwater lines. Its sidewalk program builds new sidewalks and ramps along streets leading to schools and major thoroughfares, with priority projects identified through the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities Pedestrian Accessibility Review.

City rules have tried to push Houston toward a more walkable network. Sidewalk Ordinance 2020-684 took effect on October 1, 2020, alongside broader Complete Streets, Vision Zero and walkable places planning. Yet a Houston Chronicle analysis found only 61% of the city’s roughly 5,800-mile sidewalk network was in good condition, with the rest rated fair or poor.

The Houston Avenue tunnel also sits in a city with a long history of separating pedestrians from traffic. Downtown Houston’s tunnel system, which began in the 1930s, runs about six miles and sits about 20 feet below street level. First Ward, one of Houston’s original four wards founded by 1840, shows how old and new mobility problems now meet on the same streets.