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East End advocates urge pause on Polk Street closure for GRB work, ask mayor to require alternatives
Summary
People for Polk and other speakers asked Mayor Whitmire and council to pause Houston First’s Polk Street closure plans for the convention district and present alternatives that keep Polk open.
Residents and advocates for the East End told the Houston City Council on Sept. 9 they are opposed to closing Polk Street as part of the George R. Brown (GRB) convention‑district redesign and asked Mayor John Whitmire to pause the project and engage the community.
“Polk Street matters,” Roy Hirsch, a member of People for Polk, told the council. He urged the mayor to pause Houston First’s current work, hold a two‑way dialogue with community members and consider designs that preserve Polk’s east‑west connection through the convention district.
Speakers said the group has developed alternatives that would retain Polk Street while still accommodating a convention‑district expansion and that state Representative Yolanda Jones had met with them in support. Amy Erickson, who also spoke in solidarity with hotel workers, said Houston First has moved forward on a $40 million Bell Street parking garage and a broader convention expansion without publishing an updated master plan, a current budget or detailed alternatives that preserve Polk.
Why it matters: Polk Street is a key east‑west arterial in the East End; advocates warned that permanent closure would sever neighborhood connections and undermine trust between residents and city officials. Erickson said the most recent publicly available master plan dates to 2011 and preserved Polk; she asked the council to demand an updated plan and to delay any abandonment votes until the community has seen alternatives and budget details.
Council response and next steps
Advocates said they plan to bring more than 50 residents to an evening session next week. Hirsch called on the mayor to replicate prior council actions that paused projects — citing a previous pause on an Astros–Hermann Park partnership — and to allow time for additional public engagement. No city action or vote occurred on Polk Street during the Sept. 9 meeting. Council members who heard the testimony said they would follow up and encouraged direct contact with the two council members who sit on the Houston First board.
