The Last Mile

A streetcar in EaDo? District aims to make public transportation retro cool inHouston

With METRO's easternmost line nearing completion, the East End is looking toward more alternative transit options.

Foremost in its sights? A streetcar.

"Part of our goal is to eliminate the number of cars that are being used for short trips in this neighborhood," Diane Schenke, president of the Greater East End District, tells CultureMap.

Schenke said that a streetcar line to supplement the light rail would help to solve the "last mile" problem, inevitable once METRO's construction is complete. It would ease the workday commutes of area residents, many of whom wouldn't walk all the way to the nearest station wearing business attire during Houston's hot and humid months. Once on the METRO line, though, they would be connected to downtown and the Texas Medical Center, with future expansions on the way.

Schenke says that streetcars would solve the "last mile" problem, inevitable once light rail construction is complete.

But a streetcar would also present another way for EaDo residents to enjoy their neighborhood, transporting families to its jewels — to dinner at the Original Ninfa's, to Houston Dynamo games at the BBVA Compass Stadium — and facilitating nearby errands.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the line could use tracks that still exist along stretches of Commerce Street, with "the possibility of excavating a long-filled tunnel at Preston and Dowling for a low-cost underpass beneath a freight rail line." Schenke tells CultureMap that the line would be developed in two phases, considering where the centers of population are now and where the growth will be in the future.

The Greater East End District has enlisted the expertise of HDR, Inc. in producing an alternative analysis for a streetcar line. The study will reveal potential benefits and possible routes.

A steering committee will receive those results in mid-October, then mix and match them for presentation to the public in early November. In the meantime, find more information about the East End's streetcar initiative here and the project timeline here.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”