If you have ever driven on Cullen Boulevard, you know what it is like to be tossed around inside your car. Not because you are an irresponsible driver, but because of the horrendous conditions of the road.
The conditions of Cullen have potential hazards for anyone who drives on it. Unfortunately, the University has yet to make an apparent effort to do anything about it. From bumpy bus rides that seem more like rollercoaster rides to car rides that seem like rides, from hell, Cullen has the potential to give any person a bad day.
Cullen has been an issue for at least three years now and the University – as well as the city of Houston – has been aware of it. In 2005 at the UH Staff Council’s annual Spring Forum, there were several questions asked about fixing the street. Despite the fact that the first question was about repaving Cullen to make it more attractive, not safer, the idea of fixing it was addressed. The response was that Cullen was a city street and therefore any renovations made must not conflict with the nearby community.
The problem with this is that the majority of the people driving along Cullen are UH students, faculty and staff. Clearly the nearby community is important, but those whose cars bump and bounce down this street every single day should be just as important if not moreso – for the amount of tuition we are paying each semester, some action to have it fixed has to be taken.
And it turns out there is. The University has a campus "master plan" which includes not only changes to the campus itself but also the surrounding streets. One would think that because the streets are public property, the city of Houston would be responsible for repairs and improvements to Cullen.
However, the Texas Education Code 51.904 authorizes higher education institutions to take possession of streets if they own all adjacent property, or 20 or more acres of property, on the campus where the streets are located. Therefore, if taking possession of these streets are in the master plan the University is clearly responsible for the "Road from Hell."
In a University press release, "UH begins initial steps in controlling streets," Dave Irvin, associate vice president for Plant Operations, said, "At some point, our plan is to close Cullen Boulevard, but this will be a phased project that will not roll out slowly."
But ultimately, the problem with this master plan is that it only addresses the future, and not the present problems we have to deal with.
Undergraduates Eddie Tran, Nikul Patel and Amanda Roberts can be reached via [email protected].
