By David Taylor / Managing Editor
Following the auto-pedestrian tragic accident two-and-a-half years ago that took the life of a Channelview resident, the area has received much-needed safety improvements and was dedicated by county and local officials last Tuesday.
With most of the work completed, Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia and a representative from Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Rodney Ellis’s office led a brief ceremony to dedicate the critical work done to protect pedestrians in the busy few blocks of Wallisville next to The Shops at Stone Park.
The half mile or so includes the intersection of Wallisville and Beltway 8 traffic, combined with vehicles entering The Shops at Stone Park, a strip center across the street, the Harris County Public Library, and Anthony Aguirre Middle School, creating a dangerous area with high traffic. Add to it a heavily used trail on the south side of Wallisville with no crosswalk, the risk to pedestrians wanting to make use of the trail increases exponentially.
When 65-year-old Eduardo Reyes left for his morning walk in October 2022, the senior didn’t know it would be his last one. In the early hours while it was still dark outside, Reyes left his Carpenter’s Landing community and took a walk down Hyacinth Path Way street to Wallisville. His morning ritual was to cross over Wallisville and use the Carpenter’s Landing Trail. He was on his way back wearing dark clothes around 6:30 p.m. when he was hit by a 35-year-old man taking his daughter to school. He was traveling westbound in his black Chevy Silverado truck and said he didn’t see Reyes.
According to police reports, he stayed on the scene and cooperated with officials.
On Tuesday at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Carpenter’s Bayou Trail and Pedestrian Bridge project net to Anthony Aguirre Junior High School, Reyes was remembered.
“We will be installing a sign here naming the bridge after Eduardo Reyes,” said Commissioner Garcia. Reyes’ family was present at the ceremony.
The $3.7 million infrastructure investment, made possible by combined contributions from Ellis and Garcia’s budgets, includes the new pedestrian bridge that crosses Carpenter’s Bayou, a new crosswalk, and traffic signal that significantly enhance safety and accessibility for students and residents.
Previously, there was no traffic signal or crosswalk. Garcia said at the ceremony that the new safety measures were a part of Vision Zero by Harris County.
“Vision Zero is an internationally recognized strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries on roadways while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all,” he said.
Bright yellow bumpers with reflectors on both sides are not only highly visible during both the day and night but provide a buffer zone that protects pedestrians from being hit should a car leave the outside lane of traffic.
“This joint effort between our office and Precinct 2, is about more than just a physical structure; it is a clear commitment to our community’s safety, connectivity, and progress,” Ellis said in a Tweet on X (previously known at Twitter).
Channelview ISD superintendent Dr. Tory Hill also helped lead the charge to get both commissioners to come out and provide safety for pedestrians, and particularly for students walking home to their neighboring communities.
“We delayed school that day because traffic was shut down in both directions,” Hill said. “Our students or faculty couldn’t see anything, but it was still tragic and heartbreaking.”
Hill was grateful to both commissioners who partnered together to get the project done.
“This trail also honors the memory of Eduardo Reyes, a beloved community member whose tragic loss in 2022 reminded us of the urgent need for safe pedestrian spaces,” Hill stressed.
“With a new trail, pedestrian bridge, sidewalks, and traffic signal in place, we’re sending a powerful message: You matter. Your safety matters. Channelview ISD is proud to support and stand behind initiatives that protect and uplift our community,” Hill told the gathering of officials and members of the public.
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