Sunday Streets HTX Returns

Look Houston, no cars! Popular Sunday Streets HTX program returns this fall

After a successful run this summer, the Sunday Streets HTX program is back to help Houstonians get outdoors and get moving.

What began as a three-month pilot initiative back in April as part of Mayor Annise Parker's Go Healthy Houston program is starting up again next month. The program, which opens up city streets to pedestrians and cyclists on the first Sunday of each month, is intended to promote a healthy lifestyle among Houstonians.

On Sunday, Oct. 12, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a route through the Heights, from 19th Street to Shepherd, will be closed off to cars, allowing area residents to take over the road on foot or bicycle.

The event will shift on Nov. 2 to an area of the Third Ward/Museum Park, from Dowling/Elgin to West Alabama to Almeda/Arbor. And on Dec. 7, an area in the East End/Fifth Ward (from Navigation/Jenson to York Clinton) will be close to vehicular traffic for the Sunday Streets festivities,

According to a post from the group's Twitter account, the date was moved from Oct. 5, so not to conflict with the Houston Heights Association bike rally.

It's official! 10/12: Heights, 11/2: Third Ward/Museum Pk, 12/7: East End/Fifth Ward! Come out and play in the streets of Houston 12-4pm!

— Sunday Streets HTX (@SundayStreetHTX) September 18, 2014

@BikeTexas 10/12! We didn't want to conflict with HHA Bike Rally on the 5th. Looks like Bike October in the Heights! @houheightsnews

— Sunday Streets HTX (@SundayStreetHTX) September 18, 2014

During the first three months of the program, which started back in April, the program featured partial closures of Westheimer, White Oak Drive and Washington Avenue. Pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders and Rollerbladers took over the streets in droves, taking advantage of the unique opportunity car-free streets provided.

The initiative is part of the Open Streets Project, a global program started more than 30 years ago. It's currently estimated that there are at least 200 large-scale Open Streets initiatives worldwide and approximately 90 in the United States, with cities like San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles participating in the program.

Houstonians took to car-less Westheimer in the successful Sunday Streets HTX initiative last spring.

Photo by Rolando Dans

Houstonians took to car-less Westheimer in the successful Sunday Streets HTX initiative last spring.

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Cashing In

Texas cashes in among top-10 best U.S. state economies in 2026 report

Outline map of texas with transparent american dollar banknotes

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A new study gauging the success or decline in economic performance in every state has revealed Texas' economy remains stable in 2026 after it dropped out of the top five to No. 8 last year.

Texas boasts the No. 8 best state economy in the U.S. this year, according to WalletHub's annual "Best & Worst State Economies" report. The personal finance website's analysts ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 relevant metrics to measure each state's economic activity and health status, and its "innovation potential."

Notably, Texas leads the nation for the most exports per capita in the U.S. in a five-way tie with Louisiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Indiana. Across the study's three main categories, Texas ranked highly for its economic activity (No. 7) and economic health (No. 11), and the state's "innovation potential" rank is the 24th best in the nation.

This is how WalletHub ranked Texas' economic performance, where No. 1 is considered the best and No. 25 is considered average:

No. 6 – Change in non-farm payrolls
No. 8 – Change in GDP
No. 8 – Startup activity
No. 11 – Annual median household income
No. 18 – Government surplus/deficit per capita
No. 21 – Percentage of jobs in high-tech industries
No. 30 – Unemployment rate

WalletHub previously ranked Texas one of the top three states to start a business in 2026, with Houston earning its own entrepreneurial acclaim in separate rankings of the best big cities for new businesses and for starting a career.

"U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states, and some contribute more than others," the report's author wrote. "For example, California, Texas, New York and Florida have economies so large that if they were countries, they would rank in the top 20 in the world."

The five states with the worst state economies in 2026 are Rhode Island (No. 47), Maine (No. 48), Louisana (No. 49), Kentucky (No. 50), and West Virginia (No. 51).

The top 10 best state economies for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Massachusetts
No. 2 – Washington
No. 3 – Utah
No. 4 – California
No. 5 – Delaware
No. 6 – North Carolina
No. 7 – New York
No. 8 – Texas
No. 9 – Colorado
No. 10 – Florida

wallethub texas innovation economy