By Andy Sevilla.
A recent walkability audit by the Buda-based National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) identified Bebee Road in east Kyle as hazardous for pedestrian traffic.
The study focused on the 1.7-mile stretch of Bebee Road between its intersection with Dacy Lane, where Science Hall Elementary is located, east to the Goforth Road and High Road intersection. Lack of sidewalks and safe passages along most of the examined roadway caused officials to rank it as hazardous for pedestrians.
Though most of that stretch of roadway is in Kyle’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ), the portion alongside the elementary school and the Kensington Trails subdivision is inside the city limits.
The neighborhood, which is immediately east of the school, has sidewalks and those walkways connect to the school’s sidewalk at the fence line.
Kensington Trails is home to a predominantly Hispanic population who, according to the study, lack safe walkways to the school, a nearby clinic and small businesses.
“We understand that putting sidewalks in the community is going to be a long and probably expensive process, but what can we be doing now to meet what we see as a strong interest of the community to have safe places to walk?” Dahlia Ture, NCFH spokesperson, said is the question her organization hopes to answer.
| At top, a woman and her children, one in a stroller, participated in a walkability audit on Bebee Rd. in Kyle. It was part of a study on improving access to healthy foods and safe environments. This map shows the results from the walkability audit on Bebee Rd. in east Kyle found the area hazardous for walking. (Photos courtesy of NCHF) |
NCFH is a nonprofit that provides information, training and technical assistance and several products to community and migrant health centers nationwide, according to its website.
With grant money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with Hidalgo Medical Services, NCFH conducted a needs assessment in northeast Hays County, of which the walkability audit was included.
The study goals were to identify solutions to improve access to healthy foods and safe environments for physical activity, Ture said.
East of Interstate 35 in Hays County is home to scores of Hispanic communities where obesity issues are on the rise, she said.
Ture said Hispanics have higher risks of developing obesity and diabetes due to their environmental system that doesn’t necessarily foster health, and due to lack of access to healthy food, parks and resources for physical activity, as evidenced in eastern Kyle.
About 30 area residents, including five kids, participated in the audit and walked the 1.7-mile stretch of the roadway.
Ture said she was walking alongside a lady who came out to participate in the audit. The lady had two young kids with her, one in a stroller, and for Ture that woman’s walking experience was “eye-opening.”
“I can experience one thing, with a relatively healthy body and two walking feet, but it’s different for her pushing the stroller and having to navigate the side of the road with wheels,” Ture said. “In order for her to navigate the road, she often was stuck on that small shoulder; and I could see that anxiety of trying to protect her children.”
She added that in a recent NCFH-sponsored survey, sidewalks were seen as a thing of luxury.
The part of Bebee Road examined in the audit was found to be hazardous for walking for the most part, but the section of the roadway alongside Science Hall Elementary was found to be “moderately walkable,” because a sidewalk exists there. East of the school, the roadway is considered “hazardous,” according to the audit.
“If there were sidewalks there we’re pretty confident that they would be highly-utilized and have a tremendous benefit for the community,” Ture said.
Connectivity is part of the equation. The newly improved Dacy Lane has sidewalks that connect Science Hall Elementary south to the Seton Medical Center, which connect to Kyle Parkway and its sidewalks extend west, over the interstate.
“If connectivity can be created to that area, then that opens up a world of opportunities for physical activity, as well as connecting the community with those area resources,” Ture said.
For now, Ture said NCFH will begin discussions with Kyle and Hays County about how to improve pedestrian mobility in the area.
“This was an eye-opening thing for me,” she said. “I take being able to walk in my neighborhood for granted, seeing sidewalks is kind of a common thing.”
