Paris restricted cars in some neighborhoods, and Houston could, too

Paris restricted automobile traffic in certain parts of the city on Sunday, and amazingly, the city didn't devolve to the Middle Ages during the seven hours of the experiment. A lot of people said it was really nice, and it started a decent conversation on the effects vehicles have on air quality in cities. The Guardian has a great write-up.

So could it happen here in Houston? Sure it could, but with a lot of caveats. First, let's run through some of the things worth noting.

Interactive map: Mobility and more at a crossroads in Houston

Paris officials limited vehicle access in some areas on Sunday, and politely asked people to refrain from driving in other parts of the central city.

Paris, as a place, dates back to 3rd Century BC. It was founded by  a group of Celts called the Parisii. That's where the name comes from. It is one of the most established and culturally significant major cities in the Western world. It has one of the top public transit systems in the world.

Houston sometimes closes a few blocks of streets for its Sunday Streets initiative, which participants have said is a great way to visit different parts of the city. (Critics who didn't attend the events called them socialism. Seriously, someone called one of the Sunday Streets events socialism in an email to me because it affected their brunch.)

Houston, as a place, dates to 1836. Speculators bought land along Buffalo Bayou and named it after Sam Houston, the general who defeated Mexican forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. It is the most diverse major city in the United States and arguably the world capital of oil. It has a transit system.

I'll see your Louvre and raise you a Menil. That's all to say there are certainly differences in scale and reputation, but a lot of similarities as well.

Still, the discussion is worth having. Could Houston curtail cars for a few hours in a large part of the city, say, inside Loop 610? First off, if an official such as Mayor Annise Parker suggested a car-free inner-loop day, someone would try to impeach her. 

Most of Houston drives, and most of Houston is built for the car. That's an incontrovertible fact. Almost four-fifths of the people who work in the city drive alone. It's more than that if you look at the entire region. When someone builds a new building, the city requires that parking be provided. Many, many people like their cars.

There are limits to that, however. Sure, we want to drive a lot of places, but when we visit Memorial Park, we at least have the decency to park in the lots and walk to the grass. Same goes for Minute Maid Park and other destinations.

Some neighborhoods, meanwhile, are rather walkable, despite the crooked sidewalks. Shopping and dining for some people (myself included) are quicker and easier on foot than parking because of what's available in the neighborhoods.

Still, most places don't fit the bill.

"We also don't have large pedestrian oriented city like central Paris, so it doesn't make near as much sense," said Tory Gattis, founding senior fellow for the Center for Opportunity Urbanism. "I could maybe see the Rice Village do it – but still most people would need to get there by car and park somewhere before walking around, so the major garages would need to be connected to open streets."

Challenges aside, I wondered if it could work here -- a car break for a few hours in certain places? I reached out to a bunch of people Monday morning, and the  consensus, so far, is yes, Houston could pull this off for a few hours with a lot of caveats. It might even do some good.

"I think a large scale, car-free day in Houston could really change the way people see the streets we use each day," said Kyle Shelton, a researcher with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. "Often we don't think, 'Oh I could bike to breakfast or to the store' and that is often both because we don't feel safe/welcome as pedestrians or bicyclists and because our daily lives are so linked to the idea of mobility meaning cars. I think people might realize new spaces and new connections to the city if they are asked to stay out of their cars for the day."

Part of considering a car-free Houston involves recognizing that some people in parts of the city already do this,  just not on a broad scale.

"Every time there's a damned running race, traffic is prohibited on Allen Parkway — one of the most important arteries in the central city — and on other streets as well (I say this as a runner)," said Kinder Institute Director Bill Fulton. "Every day, thousands and thousands of commuters go to downtown, the Texas Medical Center, and even The Galleria without using a car, even though cars are permitted. And how many gated neighborhoods are there in Houston? They don't literally prohibit traffic, but they make it difficult for most cars to go in and out of the neighborhood, and they make it impossible for cars to cut through."

Some were skeptical that taking cars and trucks out of entire neighborhoods would work.

"I do think that the Sunday Streets program was started to take a small area and show that for a limited time, vehicles would not be allowed down that particular street," said Suzy Hartgrove, spokeswoman for Houston's planning department. "However, it only extends to a portion of a street and not an area. I think in car-centric Houston, a large area unavailable to cars could be problematic."

No question, it would be a change, Fulton said.

"Could you block off downtown during the day? Could you block off all of Montrose on a Sunday? This would certainly screw up the traffic at first, and people would be mad, but over time they might get used to it and even enjoy it," Fulton said.

Contrary to what some people think is possible, many in Houston do just fine without a car, and even see the city differently. Alexandra Landon, who works for a local green energy company, said a car-free day could persuade others to experience that.

"The best thing about not having driving as an option is that it forces you to explore your neighborhood and try new things," Landon said. "We've learned where we can eat, shop and workout within walking distance of our house. I tried out kickboxing because I could walk there – although I could barely make the walk home, I was so tired. It's like college where you make friends just because of geography. Those turn out to be some of your best friends."

Houston also cuts back on gas in tough times, said Michael Skelly, LAndon's boss and president of Clean Line Energy Partners.

"We run this experiment every ten years or so in Houston when a hurricane comes to town," Skelly said. "In the days before, people walk around to save gas. They see their neighbors and they appreciate the new perspective. In short, they see their world from a whole new perspective. This holds true when you walk, run, or bike in Houston or anywhere else. You just see and feel the place in a totally different light – it's almost like you get a whole new place."

That might be a selling point, some said, to give it a try.

"The typical Houston approach to this would be, 'Hell, let's try it and see what happens,'" Fulton said. "I'd say that the risk is, once you do it and people get used to it, everybody's going to want it in their own neighborhood."

Actually, that's similar to how Sunday Streets developed. Raj Mankad, editor of Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston, connected to Rice, proposed the idea as part of a moveon.org petition and the city tried it. Open Streets have been tried in many cities. After some successes, Houston kept doing it. 

Mankad said that model could grow.

"Houston would do well to incrementally grow its Open Streets the way Bogota did," Mankad said. "With every Sunday Streets, we've learned more about the city and what it takes to go car-free for just a few hours. At the end, the streets are cleaner. The businesses did well."

As with many things in Houston, business is where things start to get complicated. We've designed Houston to almost need a car to grab coffee or buy things. Still, some business owners see a big upside.

"If this were to happen in Houston, it might actually result in a drop in our massive DUI rate," said Bobby Heugel, co-owner of Anvil Bar & Refuge, Blacksmith Coffee Bar, Underbelly and a bunch of other places people eat and drink.

Heugel has some first-hand experience, as his Westheimer area businesses were the epicenter of Sunday Streets along the street.

"However long this mythical, no-driving period lasted, I am sure that some recreational cocktails would be consumed in the meantime (possibly out of Houstonian carless depression)," Heugel said. "Actually, I can only see this being a good thing - maybe bar patrons would realize that our city is much smaller inside the loop than we all believe, and the next time they venture out to their favorite watering hole they might consider a safer option. By whatever means we have to help Houstonians realize viable option to driving under the influence, we need to pursue it."