Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered his eighth and final "State of Mobility" speech today in front of a sold-out crowd at the annual Transportation Advocacy Group (TAG) luncheon. The mayor showcased Houston as a safe, pedestrian-friendly, multimodal transportation city well-positioned for the future.

In 2016, the mayor first called for a paradigm shift to tackle the mobility challenges of our state and urban areas. During today's speech, he reminded Houstonians how much has been accomplished by his administration.

One example is the 26 percent decrease in crashes on streets that were rebuilt since adopting Vision Zero, a plan that has put Houston streets on a safer path.

The mayor also touted significant street reconstruction and pothole repairs as making a difference in the city.

"A testament to our paradigm shift is Shepherd and Durham, which includes portions being reconstructed by two TIRZs and the City of Houston, reimaging the corridor for all users to be able to move safely," said Mayor Turner. "I also thank municipal employees for keeping my promise to be able to hold a cup of coffee while driving around Houston. They filled nearly 70,000 potholes last year and almost 500,000 since the beginning of my term, rehabbing nearly 250 miles of streets last year and over 1000 lane miles since the start of the Mayor's Street Rehab Initiative in 2020 and retiming over 800 traffic signals."

Other highlights of the mayor's mobility speech:

• Since the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Houston has received nearly $50 million for safer streets. This includes capital dollars for Telephone Road and Bissonnet Street, plus planning dollars for Hillcroft Avenue. That's in addition to METRO's $20 million for electric buses and planning for Transit Oriented Development at the Tidwell Transit Center. I thank the Biden Administration for validating our vision and investing in Houston's new transportation system.

Paradigms are shifting on our roads, and they are also shifting in how we work together. The North Houston Highway Improvement Project can be transformative only if the partners can come together.

"It's a transportation project that can make right historical wrongs of flooding in Houston's neighborhoods; it can help people walk, bike, ride transit, and drive, and it can do all that while keeping our residents in their homes. All those goals are now possible because the City of Houston, Harris County, METRO, and TxDOT all came together and agreed on a path forward. The Federal Highway Administration confirmed they would help us all stay on track," said Mayor Turner.