What Midtown residents have to say about traffic safety

We asked, you answered. More than 500 comments were submitted in response to our eight-week online survey for feedback about mobility safety concerns in Midtown Houston. Participants were asked to drop pins on a map to mark locations they believe to be hotspots for traffic accidents. The results will position the Midtown Redevelopment Authority (MRA) to be more competitive for state and federal grant opportunities and help guide decision-making for future capital improvement projects.

“The survey allowed stakeholders to identify locations in Midtown where traffic safety is of concern,” said MRA Director of Engineering and Construction Marlon Marshall. “The community’s input will be included in the Midtown Safe Streets and Roads for All study with the aim to build projects that will result in a safer Midtown Houston for everyone.”

MRA is working with The Goodman Corporation to develop mobility safety projects focused on leveraging federal funding opportunities through the Safe Roads and Streets Program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Midtown Safe Streets and Roads for All effort builds upon the City of Houston’s Vision Zero Plan and its goal of ending severe injuries and deaths from traffic accidents.

“We want everyone – those who walk, those who ride, and those who drive – to feel safe in Midtown,” said Marshall. “Asking residents and business owners for their input will help to prioritize existing projects and identify additional new projects.”

Ultimately, this task will culminate in developing transportation safety-oriented projects related to improvements for intersections, bicycle facilities, pedestrian access, access management, and other mobility safety elements.

The survey comments were varied in scope, but a few common concerns emerged about speeding, signage, more protections for pedestrians, the need for better lighting in places, and enhanced accommodations for cyclists.  

There was also a commonality in the locations survey respondents identified as having automobile traffic safety issues, with the area bounded roughly by Bagby Street, Elgin Street, Main Street, and McGowen Street receiving the most pin drops.  There was a high concentration of pins placed in the area centered near the intersection of Gray Street and Bagby Street.

The areas pedestrians identified were clustered in the northwest part of Midtown and between the Tuam Stret and Elgin Street corridors, especially where they intersect I-59. 

The main hotspots for cyclists were on McGowen Street near Fannin Street and San Jacinto Street.

Nearly two-thirds of the responses came from pedestrians and cyclists, bolstering the results of an earlier survey showing multimodal mobility is a top priority for Midtown residents and business owners.

MRA will now use the survey results to identify potential new projects and reprioritize projects already in the hopper. You can always find out more about our capital improvements projects here.