Here’s the rundown of all the locations where vehicles injured (purple) or killed (black) cyclists and pedestrians in 2016 and 2017. Transit-focused organization LINK Houston used TxDOT reports to create the map, which plots out 85 percent of all the 641 major walk-and-bike crashes that occurred within city limits during those 2 years. (Locations for 15 percent couldn’t be nailed down.) Of all those collisions, just under a fifth involved bikers; the rest impacted pedestrians. Click on a dot to reveal more about the specific accident that happened at that location.
Even more data shows up here on the full-screen map, which tallies up demographics like the ages, races, and genders of those hit as you move around different neighborhoods. Citywide, one of the brightest constellations is an elbow-shaped one that stretches from Montrose through Midtown and into Downtown — where 22 crashes occurred over the last 2 years. But despite its dimmer glow, Sharpstown had the highest hit rate of any Houston neighborhood: 29. Throughout the entire city, 158 people were killed and 389 were injured.
- Ped/Bike Safety in Houston 2016-2017 [LINK Houston]
Map: LINK Houston
Monstrose Rice Military Downtown Village Heights University Of Houston Meyerland Westbury Sharpstown areas seems to have the most walkable and bikeable areas of town that is why you see the most dots.
Well, at least its spread all over town, so as not to have a racial conspiracy. I’m so relieved. In all seriousness, this is a shocking amount of accidents. I have the utmost respect for bikes using the road, however I often observe them not following correct bike etiquette or traffic laws. Remember you are exposed and weigh maybe 250 pounds, while this SUV weights 4500. Think about it.
To me the map just seems to identify the areas where more people use alternate modes of transportation rather than saying anything about walkability.
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All the higher income areas show up as large pockets with no incidents.
@Brian D: Should we really call that walkable or bikeable if people are being killed by cars?
kind of a houston murder map.
I’m near where Chelsea Norman was hit ( on Waugh Dr. just South of W.Gray ) by a way too drunk alcoholic driver(who got 15+ years in the slammer -Margaret deserved life as far as I’m concerned ). Chelsea was a sweet, beautiful , lovely soul who was taken from her loved ones way too early. May she RIP. The penalty for drunk driving resulting in death needs to be increased significantly.
Gender and race? How about religion and sexual preference and one or two parent home and…….. Why is that needed?
This is not just an issue in Houston. Although more densely populate, from June 1, 2014 through February 1, 2016 Boston had the stats below. The incidents that occurred were concentrated in specific trouble spots a similar pattern like here in Houston. Drivers AND Pedestrians/Cyclists need to be vigilant and alert. Just because you have the right of way doesn’t protect you nor absolve you. This goes for drivers and pedestrians/cyclists. For me, as a pedestrian, I trust no one walking across a street unless I make eye contact with the driver.
Boston stats 6/1/2014-2/1/2016
-512 cyclists injured
-3 cyclists killed
-789 pedestrians injured
-9 pedestrians killed
Umm, if those areas were walkable, you would see FEWER dots.
Part of the problem is that our traffic engineers design roads for 50mph, then put a 30 mph speed limit on them. A lot of the hot spots are on 2×2 lane roads, many of which have traffic counts that could be supported by a 3-lane design. Narrower lanes, more on-street parking, curb bump-outs at intersections (to shorten the crossing distance and slow turning cars), and other low-cost changes could save a lot of lives.
Pedestrian survival rates are ~95% when the vehicle that strikes them is traveling 20mph, and less than 20% when the vehicle that strikes them is traveling 40 mph. If we want to kill fewer people, we should have grade-separated freeways with typical speeds of 70mph, surface streets with typical speeds of 20 mph, and very little in between.
I don’t know if it was meant to be a play on words, but Heres the RUNDOWN on bikers and pedestrians run over by cars, seems a little edgy there.
Memebag More people walking or biking in a small are the chances of someone getting hit increase a lot.
Looks like Montrose Boulevard needs some work–unsurprising, given it’s a street with a lot of combined foot and vehicle traffic, while being extremely wide with few obstructions to get motorists to slow down. Notice that Westheimer has fewer incidents even though it’s an even busier street with a lot more foot traffic.
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It will probably never happen, but Montrose Blvd could really benefit safety-wise from much narrower lanes, and bike lanes and on-street parking substituted instead. It certainly has the space to do it, especially if you subtract the center turn lane in some places.
I often walk, run, ride my bike, or take public transit wihin the Loop. I try my best to stay alert and pay attention to my surroundings. Some things I have observed:
1. Some pedestrians walk with their heads down, glued to their cell phone screens. I have seen pedestrians walk right into an intersection without looking up, or slip off the curb because they are not paying attention to where they step.
2. Drivers ignoring the limit lines at intersections with stop signs and traffic lights. I have nearly been hit by drivers who blow pass the limit line or into a crosswalk without any regard for pedestrians who may enter it. I’ve slammed my hands on hoods to get their attention after avoiding a collision.
3. Cyclists ignoring or breaking traffic rules/laws. In the state of Texas, cyclists are considered motor vehicles and are supposed to follow the same rules and laws as cars when using the road.
4. Cyclists on their cell phones.
5. Drivers on their cell phones.
The city can build more bike lanes and sidewalks to create safe barriers for cyclists and pedestrians. But that isn’t going to stop injuries and deaths until we can change the culture on the road.
I frequently see bike riders and runners who come to a crosswalk and wait for the light to change but never hit the walk button. I don’t know the law on that but if you’re crossing on a don’t walk light and get hit your case can’t be as good as crossing with a go walk light.
I walk around Montrose a lot and drive also. I think the speed limits should be 15 everywhere in Montrose. I’m both terrified of being run down and terrified of running someone down. I’m as careful as I beleive I can be but have still had close calls as both a pedestrian and a driver.
I live on West Dallas and Gillette and I myself have had issues with drivers almost hitting me as I walk my dog across the intersection. Most are already going to fast, or distracted by their phones, or not expecting to see someone walking. I just think we need to place rumble strips on our city streets, especially in the dense Inner Loop.
One complaint that I do have for many runners is that they just dart out into the street without stopping, as if a short pause will ruin their run. This happens all the time along Allen Parkway and the Montrose area.
When crashes are preventable, which most of them are, we should stray away from calling “accidents.”
#CrashNotAccident
@ Texas Walker
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I’m dubious that those “walk for signal” pedestrian/bike buttons on the poles actually work. So, one could theoretically push it but it may all just be a feel good moment until the signal is tripped by a car sensor or the regular normal time cycle.
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I like to walk but primarily on designated bike/hike trails. If I have to walk on a city sidewalk, I have my head on a constant swivel since I’ll lose in any confrontation with a car.
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To Jgriff’s wish for a 15 MPH speed limit everywhere in Montrose: That’s a nice wish.
@jgriff… 15!!!!!?? Mph? First of all, NOBODY would obey such a ridiculous speed and you’d have traffic tie ups everywhere. God help us if you were ever an Urban Planner. SMH.
Re the crosswalk buttons: Some of them do stuff. In the nicer parts of town, they make noises and tell you what’s going on. Some of them speed up the signal cycle so you get to walk, and some of them have to be pushed just to get the walk symbol to display.
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But a bunch of them don’t do anything, especially in the less nice parts of town. And a bunch of them are positioned in a weird orientation, making them hard to push while standing over a bike on the correct (right) side of a multi-use path.
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@Brian D: All true, but calling them “walkable” or “bikeable” is deceptive. It’s like calling a mysterious white van with no windows “candy filled”.
I don’t want to seem an insensitive troll, but consider Darwin Awards.
I think kids/people raised on bikes (like the Dutch) are forever defensive & alert, but, those raised in cars – both pedestrians & cyclists – who act flakey in this dangerous environment may be getting what is natural and obvious.
And drivers have to deal with them.
@Thayer: Axtually in a lot of montrose it’s pretty difficult to get over 15mph. If you’re going significantly over that on all but a few streets you are part of the problem. We have people in Hyde Park running off the road and into people’s houses. If you go faster than that in Hyde Park it’s just a matter of time before something happens. I wish we could get rid of all the pickup trucks and suburbans in Montrose too. Sit on the El Rey patio sometime. You’ll almost always hear one going up over the curb on the curve there because their car is too fat.
@movocelot: in my opinion it’s a little of both. Many bike riders and pedestrians have unrealistic expectations… they think just because it’s legal to ride in the street that there is no need for good judgement. Many drivers in Montrose grew up in the suburbs and almost never saw pedestrians or bikes in the road or crosswalks. They are not expecting pedestrians to be there. If you grow up in the hill country or east Texas you are taught from birth to stay out of the road, even the dogs know it.
The dutch do not have to worry about being defensive, they have the luxury of the right-of-way. Look at the dots… I could find only one that blamed the car and that was only because it was coming out of a private driveway. Every other dot is the pedestrian failed to yield the right of way! The law and the culture should protect the walker and rider not the driver.
@movecelot
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it’s actually the other way ’round. in Holland drivers are so aware of cyclists because there is 100% chance that they have ridden a bicycle for a purpose other than recreation.
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as a matter of fact, the driving test in Holland has parts specifically emphasizing cycling, even to the level of making sure you reach across your body with your right hand to open the door from the drivers seat. (the action forces the driver to turn their body and look in their mirror, studies have shown that there are less door impacts when a driver opens their door in this fashion).
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Anyway, point is, everyone in Holland is a cyclist first, and a driver second. this is the biggest reason drivers pay attention to cyclists.
Also, if you hit a cyclist in the Netherlands with your car … wait that sounds weird … if you hit a cyclist with your car in the Netherlands, thousands of other cyclists will see it and beat you down.