A Sad and Familiar Warning for Wedgewood Houston
On the morning of June 26, a tragic accident on Fourth Avenue South sent a shockwave through our neighborhood. According to Metro Police, one person was struck and killed by a freight train at approximately 2:30 a.m. The incident occurred near the Nationa Fairgrounds along the dual-line railroad that cuts straight through Wedgewood-Houston, forcing investigators and a medical examiner to remain on-site for hours and halting all train traffic in the area.
This heartbreaking event is one that many of us feared was inevitable.
While Wedgewood-Houston has celebrated tremendous growth—welcoming new restaurants like Il Forno, cocktail spots like NVR NVR, and becoming a popular destination for soccer fans—it continues to face serious safety challenges. Our community’s rail crossings remain woefully under-protected, with no pedestrian guardrails or proper barriers to keep people safe.
Despite years of discussions about improving this dangerous corridor, the reality on the ground tells a different story. On any given day, you will find pedestrians and residents climbing over parked freight trains just to reach their dinner reservation or soccer match, often squeezed between train cars as they navigate between home and destination.
Long trains routinely stop for hour at a time across Fourth Avenue and nearby streets, cutting off access and forcing people to take serious risks. This morning’s tragedy underscores what so many in our neighborhood have been warning about for years.While the investigation into this specific incident is ongoing, it is impossible not to recognize that Wedgewood-Houston deserves better. It deserves investment in crossings that put people first and train schedules that don’t sever our streets for hours at a time. Until these safety measures are prioritized, none of us will be truly safe.
We will continue to advocate for action and WEHO Social will keep residents informed as the story develops.
