Sunny skies for Sunday Streets in Spring Branch Initiative to build community reaches outside of Loop

Ambling right down the center of Gessner, Peaches couldn't take two steps without someone reaching down to pet her. She was a star of Sunday's open streets event, held for only the second time far outside the confines of Loop 610.

"I can't take her anywhere," Tim Nguyen said of his golden retriever, as a woman took a photo of the dog.

With conditions near perfection, Cigna Sunday Streets came to Spring Branch with city crews closing Gessner from Kempwood to Tiger Trail. The street played host to the screams of children and chatter of adults on foot or riding bicycles, scooters, unicycles and even, in a few cases, rolling by in wheelchairs.

"Closing Gessner's not an easy thing," said District A Councilwoman Brenda Stardig as neighbors stopped by to congratulate her on the event.

With the exception of an event last year in the Energy Corridor, Sunday's marked the first held outside more urban Houston neighborhoods. The event has also taken place in Montrose, the Heights, Oak Forest and other communities closer to downtown.

Begun three years ago, the Sunday Street events are geared to get Houstonians out and about to increase health awareness and open up streets commonly crowded with cars to local residents. Cigna, a health insurance company, is the sponsor.

Raising Houston's reputation

Officials have said polls taken at the events have indicated nearly 90 percent of attendees have a more positive impression of the city after participating.

"It helps build community," said Matthew LeBrun, who lives near Sunday's event, as his daughter, Dini, dashed off to hold another snake at a reptile exhibit set up under a shade tree. "To bring everybody together is always better in my eyes."

Officials warned local businesses about the closing and coordinated with community officials, notably Super Neighborhood 84, which represents the area.

David Durham, president of the super neighborhood, said most of the responses were positive, though some headed to the nearby Kroger lamented the closing.

Four-year-old Molly McGrath, meanwhile, was having a ball, circling her grandmother, Helen Graham, on a scooter. Graham said she brought her granddaughter from Timbergrove strictly to see a new neighborhood, after enjoying a previous street closing in the Museum District a year ago.

The big difference, she said, was the weather.

"It was raining then, so we splashed around," Graham recalled. "Today is just … glorious."

Suburban surprise

The positive response was encouraging, said Raj Mankad, who started a petition in 2013 aimed at convincing the city to shut down a street for exploration. The idea morphed into Sunday Streets.

Riding his unicycle down Gessner, Mankad said the idea's export to a suburban community is "more than I could have dreamed" and also a sign Houston can embrace safer streets and enhancements such as bike lanes and sidewalks.

Gessner, which currently features narrow sidewalks and many intersections that are uninviting for cyclists and pedestrians, has close access to Houston's broader trail system if runners and cyclists can make the connections to Bear Creek Pioneers Park or the White Oak Bayou trail system.

"If we can re-imagine streets like this, then we have a shot of addressing the challenges and opportunities of any street around Houston," Mankad said.