District K Friends,

Happy Holidays! It’s hard to believe it’s already December and we are heading into the year 2023. Thank you to all of the neighborhood groups that invited the District K Team to your holiday celebrations. We enjoyed sharing this time with our constituents and friends.

2022 has been a phenomenal year in our district and city. I am just as excited and honored to represent District K and the city of Houston as I was on May 5, 2018, when I won the special election. I have to thank the outstanding District K staff for showing up and working alongside me each and every day as I represent you. Didi, Joe, Barbara, Melvin, Eddie and Brandon, I could not do this work without your dedicated support. To our neighborhood Civic Club, HOA and Super Neighborhood presidents, thank you for your leadership in your community. Your volunteerism continues to keep our district strong. The Brays Oaks Management District, 5 Corners Management District, TIRZ 9 and TIRZ 25 Board Members continue to move projects forward and work to keep our district clean and safe. To every constituent who has engaged with our office and volunteered in any capacity, thank you very much. It takes all of us to make our District better.

I hope you are noticing the projects and improvements happening around our entire district. I am committed to continuing to improve our District every day. In the words of the great Maya Angelou- “I do my best because I’m counting on you, counting on me!”

I enjoyed looking back at our accomplishments in 2022. I can’t wait to do even more in 2023. Here’s the link to our 2022 newsletters as a reminder of how far we’ve come this year. Feel free to follow me on social media too.

Link to 2022 District K Newsletters: Council District K Newsletters 2022

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa. Warmest wishes for a holiday full of peace, joy and love.

In service,
Martha

Solid Waste Management Department 
Collection and Facility Schedule for Christmas Holiday and New Year’s Day

The Solid Waste collection schedule will be modified in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The curbside recycling schedule for Thursday, December 22nd, Friday, December 23rd, Thursday, December 29th, and Friday, December 30th will be follows as: follows:
 
Thursday, December 22 – Friday, December 23, 2022:

Residents will receive normal garbage, yard waste, and junk waste collections.
Curbside recycling will be serviced on your next scheduled collection day, which will be January 6th and 7th, 2023. All facilities, including Neighborhood Depositories, Westpark Recycling Center, Environmental Service Center, and the Reuse Warehouse will maintain normal operating hours. All administrative offices will be closed on Friday, December 23, 2022.
  
Saturday, December 24 – Sunday, December 25, 2022:

All facilities, including Neighborhood Depositories, Westpark Recycling Center, Environmental Service Center, and the Reuse Warehouse will be closed. 
 
Monday, December 26, 2022:

All collection services will resume normal operations. All facilities including Neighborhood Depositories, Westpark Recycling Center, Environmental Service Center, Reuse Warehouse, and administrative offices will be closed.
 
Tuesday, December 27, 2022:

All collection services and facilities will resume normal operating hours.
 
Thursday, December 29 – Friday, December 30, 2022:

Residents will receive normal garbage, yard waste, and junk waste collections.
Curbside recycling will be serviced on your next scheduled collection day, which will be January 13th and 14th, 2023. All facilities, including Neighborhood Depositories, Westpark Recycling Center, Environmental Service Center, the Reuse Warehouse, and administrative offices will maintain normal operating hours. 
 
Sunday, January 1 – Monday, January 2, 2023: (New Year’s Holiday)
CITY HOLIDAY: All Solid Waste facilities and offices are closed.
 
Tuesday, January 3, 2023:

All services resume. Monday’s garbage, recycling, yard waste, and 1st Monday and 1stTuesday’s tree waste will be collected. All facilities will be open.
 
Wednesday, January 4, 2023:

Tuesday’s garbage, recycling, yard waste, and 1st Wednesday’s tree waste will be collected. 
 
Thursday, January 5, 2023:

Normal collection services resume.
 
For more information about SWMD and our services, visit us atwww.houstonsolidwaste.org, “LIKE” us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/houstonsolidwaste, follow us on Twitter @HoustonTrash, download our app HTX Collects on Google Play or IOS Store to Never Miss an Update again! or call 3-1-1, 713.837.0311 the City of Houston’s Customer Service Helpline. 

Concrete Panel Replacements Completed on Roark Road
The District K Office is happy to announce the completion of Work Authorization #9: Asphalt overlay on Roark Road ( from Bellfort to Murphy Rd.) under WBS#: N-321040-0058-4 substantially completed December 9, 2022. Glad to have these improvements done for the residents in Brays Oaks!

Concrete Panel Replacements in Westbury Neighborhood
Residents in the Westbury community will soon see much needed street improvements. This project will replace the existing damaged concrete pavement panels surrounded by W. Bellfort Avenue, Chimney Rock Road and S. Post Oak Road.

Construction is scheduled to begin this month and is anticipated to end May 29, 2023. Please take extra precaution when driving through the construction sites in the neighborhoods. We are looking forward to these improved streets in Westbury. The project contractor is Tikon Group, Inc.

Update: Intersection of Chimney Rock and Willowbend – Westbury
Several residents have reached out to our office in reference to the intersection of Chimney Rock and Willowbend. Here is the response we received from Houston Public Works.

The City of Houston Multimodal Safety and Design Branch reviewed the signal operations at this intersection as well as the nearby school operations. Modifications were made to improve safety and operations. Below is a quick summary of the actions taken.

  • Staff reviewed and adjusted the red & yellow clearance intervals for the segment (bridge) between the signal pair and for the northbound and southbound approaches. The adjustments should reduce red light violations and the risk of total crashes.
  • Staff reviewed and requested refreshing the stop bar for the eastbound approach. The other stop bars are in acceptable conditions.
  • Staff adjusted the conflicting overlaps to ensure the signal controller follows ring structure during transitions. This will add an additional layer of protection.
  • Staff reviewed and determined that the existing cycle lengths of 60s and 90s are adequate.
  • Work orders have been issued to the maintenance group to remove the louvers from yellow and red indications. Due to the short distances between the intersections, the red indications should be clearly visible and not louvered. With the louvers removed, the red indication will clearly indicate to drivers when not to cross the bridge.
  • Staff reviewed student crossing activity at the intersection of Chimney Rock Rd & Willowbend Blvd. 3 to 4 Students were observed crossing at the signalized intersection of Chimney Rock and Willowbend with no conflict or safety concerns.
  • Staff also reviewed the existing school zone assemblies on Chimney Rock Rd. Staff determined that an additional school flashing beacon should be installed in the southbound direction. A work order has been issued to the maintenance group to install the beacon. 20mph School Speed Limit signs have been installed temporarily until the flashing beacon can be installed.

NOTE: Red light cameras are currently prohibited by state laws and traffic calming devices (vertical deflection options to reduce speed) are not allowed on thoroughfares per the City Ordinance. 

NURO Announces Partnership with Uber Eats

Whether it’s pizza, produce, or packages, Nuro is on a mission to get communities the things they need when they need them—with less driving, lower emissions, and a delightful user experience. In September, Nuro took another big step towards that goal by announcing a 10-year partnership with Uber to use our autonomous, electric vehicles for Uber Eats food deliveries.
 
We are incredibly excited about this partnership as it allows us to deliver food and goods from local businesses to users across the Uber Eats platform.

Vice Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex Tatum previously testified in support of autonomous vehicles before the United States Congressional House Transportation and infrastructure Committee and is excited to see this partnership expanding the use of autonomous vehicles. Let us know if you have seen the NURO vehicles in Houston.

Asphalt Overlay Rehabilitation in Fort Bend
A work order has been issued for mill and overlay in Fort Bend Houston Super Neighborhood 41 communities of Pine Island, South Main Plaza and Willow Park. The map below shows asphalt streets scheduled for improvements in blue. The work is set to begin this month and is anticipated to end around March 6, 2023.
 

District K Salutes Eagle Scout Tony Ned III
District K Congratulates Tony Ned III for completion of his Eagle Scout Project titled “Blessing in a Box”. The project is described as a 24/7 community food pantry, which assists with meeting the needs of under resourced communities. Troy is a 10th grader in HISD and is a member of Boy Scout troop 426, led by Scout Master, Mr. Theo Moody and Assistant Scout Master, Mr. Floyd Johnson. Thank you for sharing your project with the District K office and our community. We are super proud to see this outstanding communty service.

Complete Communities University Graduation
Congratulations to the Complete Communities University Fall 2022 Cohort District K graduates:

  • Kahlia Columbus
  • Tameka Bannarbie
  • Dannika Simpson
  • Gwendolyn Smith-Johnson

We look forward to your engagement throughout the community.

Greater Houston Partnership
Economy at a Glance

Please find the attached December 2022 Economy at a Glance publication, which offers the latest data and expert commentary on the Houston region’s economy. We hope it can be used as a resource as you communicate with constituents.

In this issue, the Partnership provides insights into the economic recovery, population growth, and Global Houston recap.

We hope you find this informative and helpful. 

City of Houston Protect Our Pipes