traffic watch

Houston's 12 most dangerous intersections are putting drivers at risk

An intersection at Allen Parkway makes the list.

Photo by ©Morris Malakoff

Driving in Houston can be dangerous, but do you know the most dangerous intersections in Houston?

In southwest Houston, the intersection of Bellaire and Ranchester has wide sidewalks and updated crossing signals, but advocacy groups have named it one of the most dangerous intersections in Houston from 2013 to 2017.

"At this particular intersection, there were 11 crashes, and that includes one person walking who was killed in a crash," says Oni Blair, executive director of LINK Houston.

The advocacy group is interested in how walkers, cyclists, and drivers all use the roads to reach opportunities in the region. Reporter Elissa Rivas walked the intersection and noticed a large metal control box sitting on the corner, blocking drivers' view from the sidewalk.

"There's no definition for where the driver should stop, or where the walker should be going across," Blair says.

Beverly Edwards, a resident in the area, says people often find themselves dodging traffic. "You have to run and get out the way because they're going pretty fast," Edwards says.

The City of Houston has made dozens of intersections priority for safety evaluations based on recommendations by LINK Houston and the cycling advocacy group, BikeHouston.

City officials say they have worked with the Federal Highway Administration to conduct what is calls "road safety audits."

The audits include the input of Houston Public Works staff, the Houston Police Department, METRO, BikeHouston, and Link Houston.

The city says they are reviewing traffic volumes, historical crash data and have gone to each of the sites to see the conditions first-hand and brainstorm safety recommendations.

Here's a list of the intersections undergoing road safety audits:

Bellaire and Ranchester
Bellaire and Gessner
Fondren and W. Bellfort
Bissonnet and Wilcrest
Taylor near Spring
Washington and Patterson
Nicholson at 11th
Spur 527 & Hawthorne
Shepherd and Allen Parkway
Fannin at Pierce
Longpoint and Gessner
West and Airline

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transportation traffic

better than last year

Texas struggles as one of the 15 worst states to live in 2026

Photo by Vik Chan on Unsplash

Livability apparently isn't Texas' strong suit, according to the study.

After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Here's how Texas fared in other nationwide rankings in the study:

No. 27 – Income Growth
No. 30 – Housing Costs
No. 39 – Percentage of Population in Poverty
No. 42 – Percentage of Adults in Fair or Poor Health
No. 46 – Homeownership Rate
No. 49 – Percentage of Population Aged 25 and Older with a High School Diploma or Higher
No. 48 – Average Weekly Work Hours
No. 50 – Percentage of Insured Population

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

But the very worst states to live prove that life could be much worse. New Mexico ranks 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom of the list.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

wallethub texas reports