Office of Houston Mayor John Whitmire
Houston Mayor John Whitmire visits the intersection of Westheimer Road and Eastside Street after a driver hit a 15-year-old pedestrian at the location.
Houston transportation advocates and city officials are calling for safer pedestrian crossings after a teenager was struck and injured by a motorist Tuesday afternoon while crossing a street near his school.
An 85-year-old driver failed to yield the right of way and hit a 15-year-old who was trying to cross the street at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Eastside Street, near Lamar High School, according to the Houston Police Department.
A video of the incident, published by local TV station KHOU, has reignited calls to improve traffic safety not only at the busy intersection but across the city.
Houston City Council member Mary Nan Huffman said during Wednesday’s council meeting that she visited the intersection and voiced her concerns about the area’s safety.
“I saw three more children almost get hit at this same crosswalk,” she said. “Because of how Eastside aligns, the crosswalk doesn’t actually align with the sidewalks, so the crosswalk kind of zigzags across the street, which I think is causing some confusion. … It’s extremely dangerous.”
Later Wednesday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the city would install a pedestrian-activated traffic signal at the intersection.
“The mayor agrees the current crosswalk design is flawed and has directed Houston Public Works to begin the process to install a High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK),” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “This system will allow students to activate a red light for safe crossing.”
Robin Holzer, the executive director of LINK Houston, an equitable transportation advocacy group, said a HAWK signal could be expensive and may not be best for that particular intersection. The signal would cost between $400,000 and $500,000, according to a spokesperson for Whitmire.
“We love hearing Council Member Huffman and Mayor Whitmire talk about street safety and traffic because it’s super important,” she said. “However, the mayor’s current policies take most of the affordable solutions off the table right now. So I heard him say we should spend half a million dollars to add a particular kind of traffic signal at this intersection … that’s the most expensive, partly effective way to do this.”
Holzer said several more affordable options could be adopted along Westheimer and throughout the city to improve pedestrian safety — specifically, reducing the width of traffic lanes from 10 to 12 feet so as not to promote speeding.
“Right-sizing travel lanes is a tactic. Hardening the double yellow line so drivers don’t drift across it is a tactic,” she said. “Adding a splitter island or a pedestrian refuge so that a person walking can cross the first two lanes safely and then tackle the next two lanes safely is a tactic. … There’s lots of good tactics.”
In a statement to Houston Public Media, a Houston ISD spokesperson said the district was working with local officials to ensure safety for students traveling to and from school.
“HISD PD is coordinating with HPD and METRO Police to strengthen traffic enforcement in the area,” the district spokesperson said. “The safety and security of our students is our top priority, and families can expect to see officers in the area during arrival and dismissal times as we work with our partners to support safe crossings.”
Whitmire has come under repeated criticism regarding his administration’s decisions on road design. METRO, in conjunction with the city, began removing a raised crosswalk along Westheimer Road near Crocker Street in March, just two years after the crosswalk was installed at the request of residents.
Other traffic safety features were removed along Houston Avenue. In the Montrose area, Whitmire revised a plan that would have rebuilt Montrose Boulevard with narrower vehicle lanes and shared-use paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
Holzer said that while it may be easiest to blame incidents like Tuesday’s on distracted drivers, safety measures must be taken to prevent future collisions.
“When it comes to public safety, we can’t just say, ‘Well, that driver messed up. Shame on them,'” she said. “We have to make the context work better for everybody because every Houstonian deserves to get home safely tonight. We can do better.”