Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Photo By BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Photo By Bob Levey/Associated Press
Photo By Bob Levey/Associated Press
Photo By Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
Photo By Bob Levey/Associated Press
When President Barack Obama arrived in Houston about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, former President George H. W. Bush was there to greet him.
'When the president comes to your home town, you show up to meet him,' said Bush, who looked hale as he chatted with Obama and the First Lady for about five minutes at the foot of the steps next to Air Force 1 at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Obama greeted about 50 well wishers behind a barricade and chatted and shook hands for about 10 minutes before leaving for a meeting with approximately 30 members of the Democratic National Committee at the Museum District home of trial attorney Steve Mostyn.
The round table discussion was attended by major Democratic Party contributors. The Mostyns, for example, contributed $3 million to the Democratic PAC Priority USA.
After the meeting, Obama was headed to a fundraiser at the home of another trial lawyer, John Eddie Williams. Couples would pay about $64,000 to have dinner with the president.
Earlier in the day, Obama had attended a memorial service at Fort Hood, site of another mass shooting last week. He was scheduled to fly to Austin Thursday to address a civil rights gathering.
In the meantime, Obama won't share in one truly Houston experience: Sitting in traffic.
Drivers meanwhile faced an extra dose of gridlock because of the Obama's visit. By 5 p.m., buses and traffic on Smith Street was already leading to lengthy waits. Buses lined up to grab commuters, one after another.
About two dozen Metropolitan Transit Authority park and ride routes are re-routed because of closures along Smith and Jefferson Streets.
Smith at Clay Street, and Interstate 45 southbound access to Jefferson will closed at noon Wednesday. Both will reopen at noon Thursday.
Portions of Pease and Brazos will also be closed, Metro said.
Officials do not disclose the president's route or scheduled road closings for safety reasons, said Cynthia Marble, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Houston office.
'I can tell you we are doing everything we can to minimize the impact,' Marble said. 'It is not for a long period of time.'
Marble said delays are inevitable. The good news for travelers is the closings are relatively brief. Local police and the Secret Service will close the roads, then reopen them after the motorcade speeds through the route.
The motorcade, which varies in size depending on the event and who accompanies the president, can reach speeds that might arouse jealousy in commuters who often get stuck on Loop 610.
The best way to avoid the melee of congestion around the motorcade is check online - at houstontranstar.org, for example - for traffic information shortly before taking a trip.
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