Missouri City residents have unreadable street signs, but city says it's their problem to fix

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Published  December 13, 2024 9:53pm CST
FOX 26 Houston

The Brief

    • Missouri City residents in the Meadowcreek neighborhood are frustrated with unreadable street signs, but the city claims maintenance responsibility lies with the Homeowners Association for private streets.
    • Residents argue that faded signs pose safety risks and express confusion over the division of responsibility, with some believing the city should address the issue.
    • Despite paying taxes, only residents on city-owned streets receive maintenance, leading to dissatisfaction and calls for the city to take action.
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MISSOURI CITY, Texas - Residents of Missouri City's Meadowcreek neighborhood are grappling with safety concerns due to unreadable street signs, but the city insists that maintenance is the responsibility of the Homeowners Association.

In a statement, Missouri City tells us some streets in the Meadowcreek Residential Neighborhood are owned by the city. That means the city will maintain and take care of everything.

But if you live on private streets in the same subdivision, the Homeowners Association is responsible.

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Missouri City residents have unreadable street signs, but city says it's their problem to fix 

Residents of Missouri City's Meadowcreek neighborhood are facing safety concerns due to unreadable street signs, but the city claims it's not their responsibility to fix them.

"All the signs are faded back here you can not even see," said Meadowcreek homeowner Morayo Adebiyi. 

"Everyone would agree having faded street signs isn't safe for residents. In this subdivision.

"I'm a caregiver for my mother," said Caleb Huntsberry. "I would hate to see them not find my mother's street because you can't even see the Saint James, it just says James,"

When residents complain to Missouri City officials, they're told the section of the subdivision they live in is private property.

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"That's not necessarily the case because the HOA says it's actually a city of Missouri City issue," Morayo said.

Morayo got so frustrated she wrote to the governor.

"He actually responded and said this is an issue with Missouri City," she said.

"The local government has jurisdiction and autonomy over what happens in their community."

But Missouri City elected officials aren't budging.

They contend some roads in the subdivision are city property, while other streets are private property.

"We pay county taxes, flood taxes, MUD taxes, and we're the downtrodden of the neighborhood back here," said homeowner Bruce Callahan. 

"When I moved, I didn't realize what exactly private meant," said homeowner Tamika Denson. "To me, it means that they don't do anything, they don't do upkeep, they don't do maintenance, from what I understand, it's up to the residents, we're supposed to take care of it not and pay taxes everybody pays taxes and I don't think it's fair."

While everyone in this neighborhood pays taxes, only those living on certain streets can get the city to finance improvements.

"They should step up and do their job and make it right ," said homeowner Dawn Bailey. "They say this is a welcoming place. Well, nobody wants to live back here."

The Missouri City government issued the following official response:

The street signs in question are located on private streets within the Meadowcreek residential subdivision, and as such, their maintenance and replacement fall under the responsibility of the homeowners association (HOA) for that area, not the City. If the HOA desires to purchase street signs from the City in the same manner that other HOA’s with private streets purchase street signs for their private streets, those requests may be submitted to the City’s Public Works Department at 281-403-8570.