Another crash on Allen Parkway

A friend of Houstonist's told us about a four-car spinout on Allen Parkway just east of Shepherd this morning, which brings to mind a question we've been wondering for a long time: Why do so many people crash on Allen Parkway?

Some people say the increased accident rate is the result of the Spur 527 reconstruction, which has forced people to find alternate routes to downtown. Others blame the road itself, as the Chronicle noted last fall:

After Monday's fatal crash, motorists contacted the Houston Chronicle to offer theories on why Allen Parkway is risky, pointing to increased traffic from the housing boom, the road's drainage culverts, trees in the median, water on the street and even occasional glare from the sun.

Houstonist suspects it's little more than people disregarding the speed limit, which is a reasonable 40 along Allen Parkway — but try going 40 during the evening rush hour and see where it gets you. The odd thing is, according to the Chronicle, there were no severe accidents for two years after the speed limit was increased to 40 from 35, and then there were a spate of fatal crashes in mid-2004. Go figure.

A historical sidenote to Allen Parkway: When it was built in the 1920s, the road only had three lanes of traffic (two inbound and one outbound) and it was crossed by a railroad trestle just east of Montrose Boulevard. Motorists often became unable to cope with the odd number of lanes and bridge supports in the middle of the street and ended up crashing into things. The more things change ...