Clear Lake City Boulevard won't be widened

Don't look for Clear Lake City Boulevard to be widened anytime soon.
Most of the street is already four lanes, but last fall Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan proposed also going up to four lanes on the two-lane stretch that begins just before El Dorado and runs east. That was Friendswood Development Co.'s plan all along -- the right of way was already in place -- and Sullivan says he wanted to move the project along in "an effort to deliver tax dollars back to the community."
Then he started hearing from residents in the Pinebrook subdivision and other nearby neighborhoods. Speaking at community association meetings, he found out that most people didn't think there was enough traffic congestion to warrant a wider road. Many residents, moreover, worried that a wider road would invite more traffic, noise and danger to pedestrians using the trails that run along the road.
So Sullivan changed his mind. He won't submit the project to the city for consideration, and he promised to make sure it's not on anyone's near-term "to do" list.
"We certainly want to be respectful of the residents' wishes," he said. "They don't think the project would be a benefit, and they live there. I'm not ashamed to make a change in decision."
Instead, Sullivan said he's already talking with the mayor about moving forward with projects that engineers consider easy fixes to congestion, like adding right turn lanes at key intersections and extending left-turn lanes at intersections so they can hold more cars.