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If it rains this Sunday, I will be dancing in the puddles down the middle of White Oak / Quitman. And if you follow this blog, you already know that our writers have proposed, petitioned, documented, analyzed, and publicized the temporary closure of streets to cars and opening up of them to pedestrians and cyclists. Rain or shine, the inaugural Sunday Streets HTX will be from 11 am to 3 pm between Heights Boulevard and Fulton Street along White Oak / Quitman.
The Houston Chronicle recently published my op-ed on Sunday Streets HTX. I argue that Sunday Streets will help us see anew the city we already have and that the activity during the events will come from the ground up. In this blog post, I provide a little guide to what's already there on the route and the extra fun being planned.
The Houston Bakery near Davis High School. Photo by Raj Mankad.
Fiesta on Quitman. Photo by Raj Mankad.
Ketelsen Elementary Spark Park. Photo by Raj Mankad.
Avenue CDC. Photo by Raj Mankad.
Avenue CDC will be providing information about affordable homes and some refreshments.
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Quitman Stop on the new North Line. Photo from houstoncompletestreets.org.
The new North Line has a stop right on the route at North Main and Quitman.
Near Northside along Quitman. Photo by Raj Mankad.
B Cycles at the Leonel Castillo Center. Photo by Raj Mankad.
View from Castillo Center to MKT & White Oak Trail Intersection. Photo Raj Mankad.
Bridge over I-45 North Freeway. Photo by Raj Mankad.
Scenic overlook? Photo by Raj Mankad.
Photo by Raj Mankad.
At White Oak and Houston, Lucky's is holding a crawfish boil.
A kid's bicycle parade will begin near the Avis Frank Gallery at noon. Photo by Raj Mankad.
You can get something cool to drink at Mango Beach.Photo by Raj Mankad.
Fitzgerald's might have live music in the parking lot. Between Studewood and Heights, the restaurants, bars, and small shops are many.
Onion Creek and Pop Shop are relaunching the Eat Farmers' Market.Photo from devourhouston.blogspot.com.
Coltivare Pizza and Garden has some shiny new bicycle racks.Photo from Coltivare.
Blue Line Bike Lab will have snow cones and a great band called The Witherees will be playing their lot. Photo by Raj Mankad.
New installation by Dan Havel. Photo by Marci Oesch Bahr.
Before I begin, one key thing to understand is that there is no start and finish as in a parade. You can enter and leave from any point on the 2.5-mile linear route. Moreover, if you count the White Oak, MKT, and Heights trails, the route can be made into longer loops. That said, I'll start from the east and move west.
There's likely to be much more happening along the street than I have covered. In my op-ed, I argue that if we want a "walkable" city then imagination and discovery are needed most. Here's how the op-ed ended: "A year ago, I had never walked down White Oak/Quitman. I didn't know it's one continuous street. The two communities on either end --- Woodland Heights and Near Northside --- seemed farther apart than they are. That's the beauty of Sunday Streets. I hope to see you there and we can dare to see more streets anew."
