HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Some Midtown residents are banding together to oppose a proposed convenience store and gas station on McGowen Street between Milam Street and Travis Street.
City officials are scheduled to meet Thursday to decide whether to approve the development.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘Well, we’re just going to have more people hanging out at a gas station,’ and that discourages me from wanting to walk,” said Brenda Franco, who lives across the street.
Franco moved to the area because she can walk to and from work, and she often uses the light rail, which is just a block away.
“Thinking of the impatience of drivers here, more than likely cutting through this gas station parking lot,” she said. “That’s concerning. I’m definitely against it. I want to keep Midtown as it is, which is walkable.”
Midtown is one of three neighborhoods in our city that the city council has designated as a walkable place, which means special rules apply to development.
But the developer is asking city officials to make an exception.
The plan is to build not just a convenience store and gas station, but also a canopy, parking lot, and two new driveways.
“It wouldn’t look like a main street grocery store or corner store,” said Alexander Spike, vice president of the Midtown Super Neighborhood organization. “It would look more like a generic plop-and-build gas station.”
Spike’s group is urging residents to protest against the development, saying a new gas station would bring more car traffic without improving the neighborhood.
“We feel that this is not a really urgent community need. There are already five gas stations within a quarter mile,” Spike said. “We are a pro-growth and pro-business city, and I think we are, too. We want to see lots and lots of small businesses. Rent is high here; we want to see more apartments get built, more homes that people can live in.”
Those against the project plan on speaking at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting.
The developer said these are all preliminary plans and it’s too early to say what will happen next.
“This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.“