One nonprofit in the Heights is hoping that users of Nicholson Trail might reimagine the space as a place of community.
Every Sunday in March, there will be a series of five trailside music concerts along Nicholson Trail. The concerts are held by A Tale of Two Bridges, a nonprofit that aims to make the Heights more walkable, bikeable and connected, through its Soundscapes on the Trail program.
The local impact
The goal of the Soundscapes concert series is to serenade trail users as they pass by and “reimagining our trail spaces as places to gather and spend time,” said Emmanuel Nunez, a director with ATOTB.
“A lot of what A Tale of Two Bridges has done is basically to create spaces that are more interesting, safer for people outside of cars to be able to walk around,” he said. “And we really believe that just like those accidental moments of, for example, just encountering music on your walk or while you’re just out shopping or eating, is something that is just very unique to cities, and just something that we thought was important to bring back and to try to encourage a little bit more.”
Funded through the Houston Art Alliance, Soundscapes also provides an opportunity to have demonstrations. The March 1 concert was held at 19th Street and 20th Street, which Nunez said is one of the most unsafe crossings on the hike-and-bike trail.
“We have neighbors that live really close to that intersection with parents of kids that go to Helms [Elementary School] that are just kind of like fed up with the fact that they’ve been having to live with those crossings like that for so long,” Nunez said. “We just thought it was a really great idea to be able to put on this demonstration of what the neighborhood envisions in terms of safety for pedestrians at that intersection.”
The action taken
ATOTB has several pedestrian safety campaigns, but Soundscapes is done in conjunction with the Safe Crossings on Nicholson Now campaign, whose goal is to establish controlled crossings at every intersection along Nicholson Trail between West Seventh Street and West 28th Street.
Part of that plan includes having a pedestrian island, a space for people to stand while crossing. During Soundscapes, the group set up a temporary pedestrian island in the middle of the street using chairs and plants.
What’s next
Soundscapes has had a diverse group of musicians, including an all-female mariachi band, an R&B trio and a Mardi Gras performance. Its next concert will be at Nicholson Street and West 19th Street on March 14 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and will feature an R&B/zydeco singer.
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