Those who have driven in Montrose with a hot cup of coffee in hand know that it ought to be an Olympic sport. That's why area residents might be surprised to find that road repairs along Westheimer Road and West Alabama aren't on the city of Houston's immediate to-do list.
At a recent Capital Improvement Program meeting, a Montrose Management District consultant presented evidence of "serious gaps" in ReBuild Houston's project list . . . and in the actual roads.
"Observing images . . . it's hard to fathom how such conditions had kept these decaying surfaces from rising to the top of the project list."
"The analysis of [Montrose District's consultant team from Walter P. Moore] documented significant stretches of roadway along West Alabama and Westheimer that span the district from its boundaries of Spur 527 on the east and Shepherd Drive on the west," architect and former planning commission member David W. Robinson wrote in a blog post.
"Observing images . . . it's hard to fathom how such conditions had kept these decaying surfaces from rising to the top of the project list. Yet it appears that somehow they haven't registered as a concern."
That's amazing, given the size and the severity of potholes along the residential roads as well as the major thoroughfares. It's downright dangerous, and it's been a while since the area received substantial attention.
"It's been decades," Bill Calderon, executive director of the Montrose District, tells CultureMap. While he understands the city's finite funds and respects the challenge of fairly distributing them, Calderon notes, "There are a lot of contributions that this area makes to the city."
The Montrose District is asking area residents to submit pictures of potholes via Twitter (find the district at @MontroseHTX and tag photos #MMDpothole) and report them on the city's 3-1-1 app.
Montrose's potholes are no joke. (Photo from Montrose Management District anti-pothole campaign via Twitter.)
