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

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”