Allen Parkway
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Allen Parkway is an arterial road west of
Downtown Houston, Texas Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...
. It has a distance of approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km), running from
Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...
west to Shepherd Drive, where it becomes
Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Lofts, a building in Houston, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby Ho ...
Drive. Originally known as Buffalo Parkway,Historic Photos of the Houston Area
TexasFreeway.com, Erik Slotboom.
it was later named after
John Kirby Allen John Kirby Allen (1810 – August 15, 1838) was a co-founder of the city of Houston and a former member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. He was born in Canaseraga Village, New York (the present-day hamlet of Sullivan in the To ...
and Augustus Chapman Allen, the founders of Houston.


Location and interchanges

The entire length of Allen Parkway is considered a
limited-access A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare. The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded. Over the years, many different types of roads have been labeled p ...
and closely follows the south bank of
Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Texas, Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately ...
. Memorial Drive, another limited-access parkway, closely follows the north bank of the bayou. Allen Parkway passes under Studemont Street/Montrose Boulevard, Waugh Drive, and Shepherd Drive. At the Waugh Drive and Studemont/Montrose interchanges, which have exit and entrance ramps and feeder roads on each side, Allen Parkway is below grade. The south side (eastbound) has continuous feeder roads, the north side (westbound) has discontinuous feeder roads. Access is not controlled at Dunlavy Street, where traffic to or from Allen Parkway can cross the median. A
continuous green T-intersection Continuity or continuous may refer to: Mathematics * Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include ** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics ** Continuous g ...
at Taft Street, allowing controlled access for westbound traffic, with a stoplight for eastbound traffic existed prior to 2015 where the conversion of the westbound lanes to parking spaces (east of Montrose Boulevard) eliminated the intersection where the Taft and Gillette Street intersections have traffic signals.


Unusual configuration

The intersection of Allen Parkway and I-45 was once known as the ''Spaghetti Bowl'' because of the numerous curving entrance and exit ramps. Motorists traveling eastbound at the eastern terminus can exit to Clay Street, Dallas Street, I-45 northbound, or I-45 southbound. The ramp from eastbound Allen Parkway to southbound I-45 was known by long-time Houston residents as one of the most difficult in the Houston area, with a blind merge into the far left lane. However, this ramp was relocated to enter I-45 south from the right as of January 2017. Motorists wishing to travel westbound on Allen Parkway can enter via Walker Street, Lamar Street, or by way of an entrance ramp which collects traffic from Sabine Street, and I-45 northbound and southbound. The eastbound feeder ends at West Dallas Street. A portion of the roadway also used to be known as "The Deathtrap" because of an odd number of travel lanes and bridge supports for a railroad positioned in the middle of the road. In 2015 the City of Houston re-routed Allen Parkway by eliminating the southbound service lane by converting it to eastbound traffic (the existing eastbound traffic now flows west) - as a result the former westbound right of way has been converted into metered parking spaces for access to Eleanor Tinsley/Buffalo Bayou Park. This particular section terminates east of Montrose Boulevard. One oddity of the metered parking spaces is that the meters operate on Sundays - same with the Washington Avenue Parking Management District (Downtown Houston (including those in Midtown) parking meters are not operational on Sundays).


Traffic

Allen Parkway rarely suffers from heavy traffic congestion. At the Montrose Boulevard interchange, the busiest location, there are fewer than 29,000 vehicles per day. Allen Parkway has three main lanes in each direction, except at underpasses. In addition, Allen Parkway ends at the eastern boundary of the River Oaks neighborhood, providing a means for these residents to quickly reach downtown Houston.


Flooding

Due to its proximity to the flood-prone Buffalo Bayou, the
underpass A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic. Terminology In the United States, as ...
es are subject to flooding during heavy rains and flood gauges can be seen. In June 2001, though, heavy rains from Tropical Storm Allison caused Buffalo Bayou to overtop its banks and flood the entire parkway, in some places, to a depth of eight feet. Even the
KHOU KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe-licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). The two stations share studios on Westheimer Road near ...
television studios, at a slightly higher elevation than Allen Parkway, were flooded. Most of Allen Parkway is more than 30 feet (9 m) above the normal level of Buffalo Bayou. However, the level of the bayou during the storm was more than above normal. On November 16, 2017, KHOU announced that it would not return to its studios after they were severely damaged by flooding from
Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...
in August of that year; the building was subsequently sold to an affiliate of Service Corporation International (whose headquarters are located in a building that was adjacent to the studios) and was later demolished. KHOU, which would temporarily share studios with
KUHT KUHT (channel 8) is a PBS member television station in Houston, Texas, United States. Owned by the University of Houston System, it is sister station, sister to NPR member station KUHF (88.7 FM). The two stations share studios and offices in th ...
, subsequently announced plans to relocate its studios to a high-rise building in the Galleria district beginning in early 2019.


Recreation

Allen Parkway forms the entire southern boundary of Buffalo Bayou Park. The parkway also ends just west of Sam Houston Park in downtown. Jogging and bike paths follow Allen Parkway for its entire length, though the trails occasionally dip downwards towards the bayou. The road itself is used as part of the route for the annual Chevron
Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...
. There are several rest area exits along the north side of the parkway which provide motorists with access to the park. Concerts are also held on the south side of the
bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
, next to Allen Parkway, including the official City of Houston
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
celebration and concert. Also, the annual Houston Art Car Parade (prior to the 2016 season) is located on the eastern half of Allen Parkway.2005 Everyone's Art Car Parade (map)


See also


References

{{Reflist, 2 Roads in Houston Parkways in the United States