Houston Public Media hosted Vivian Ho to discuss her co-authored report that compared price and quality at Houston-area hospitals. It suggested hospitals with a higher cost may not necessarily provide better quality care.
“While we focused on the most dangerous areas for our data in this study, the big picture is that the areas of Houston where children were injured by motor vehicles over the last five years are as diverse as the city itself,” Hafeez said. “If we know where the worst areas for kids to walk and bike are, we can improve sidewalks, shared-use paths and crosswalks to create a better environment for all road users.”
"In the Houston area, one of the biggest limiting factors to children using active transportation is the risk of motor vehicle injury," Hafeez wrote. Hazardous road conditions prevent walking and biking and contribute to national rise in childhood obesity and mental health problems.
According to the study, between 2018-2023 there were 629 incidents of children being injured or killed while using the Houston streets. "Most young people's active transportation is on foot or via bicycle," Hafeez wrote. "This means that widening sidewalks into shared-use pathways, minimizing unsignalized conflict points, and creating pedestrian friendly intersections can have outsized benefits."
A new report identified hotspots where child pedestrian injuries and fatalities are occurring in Houston. "It's really going to come down to engaging the people of those neighborhoods and asking them how we can help," Hafeez said.