Houston City Council has approved a $5.09 million package aimed at making the city safer in several very different ways. The money will support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, add pedestrian protections on Ella Boulevard, improve sidewalks and intersections across four major corridors, and move utilities for a future SH 35 buildout. In other words, City Hall is trying to tackle both immediate safety needs and the infrastructure headaches that tend to hang around much longer.
City Council approved key investments in public safety & infrastructure: $400K for the Houston Area Women’s Center, $157.5K for Ella Blvd pedestrian safety, $1.7M for Safe Streets upgrades, and $2.83M for SH 35 utility relocations supporting flood mitigation & mobility. pic.twitter.com/alUeO1tHtR
— Houston Mayor's Office (@houmayor) July 29, 2026
In a Wednesday post, the Houston Mayor's Office said council approved four allocations totaling $5,087,500. The largest pieces are tied to transportation and utility work, but the package also includes $400,000 for the Houston Area Women’s Center, making survivor services part of the city’s public-safety spending alongside roads and crossings.
Money Targets Survivors, Sidewalks And High-Injury Corridors
The $400,000 award will help the Houston Area Women’s Center continue providing shelter and support services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. HAWC says it serves thousands of women, children and families each year and provides crisis response, emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy through its Houston-based programs.
Another $157,500 is set aside for pedestrian-safety work along Ella Boulevard, including a high-intensity activated crosswalk beacon at West 22nd Street and/or West 23rd Street. The improvement fits into the city’s broader transportation approach, which includes intersection safety upgrades, pedestrian facilities and new sidewalks through Houston Public Works programs.
The council also approved $1.7 million for the Safe Streets project, which is expected to add sidewalks and intersection upgrades along Eldridge, Tidwell, Jensen and Bissonnet. Those corridors have already been part of Houston’s broader safety push; the city has described Bissonnet, in particular, as a high-risk corridor requiring redesigned crossings, sidewalks and other protections for people walking, biking, riding transit and driving.
SH 35 Utility Relocation Moves With Flood And Mobility Plans
The final allocation is $2.83 million to relocate water and sewer lines from Dixie Drive to Long Drive along SH 35, also known as the Mykawa Road corridor. The work will be coordinated with TxDOT and is intended to support flood mitigation and mobility, according to the mayor’s office.
That utility work is tied to a larger corridor already in TxDOT’s plans. The agency says its SH 35 project will connect into the local street network at Dixie Drive and is designed to improve north-south mobility, reduce congestion and increase evacuation capacity, though the council announcement did not provide a construction schedule for the newly approved relocation work.
The city’s announcement did not include vote totals, individual project timelines or a detailed breakdown of funding sources. For residents near Ella Boulevard, the four Safe Streets corridors and the SH 35 route, the practical test will be whether these approvals turn into visible crosswalks, sidewalks, utility work and safer trips rather than remaining another set of numbers in a council recap.
