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Humza Arfeen -
A TxDOT CRIS search shows 126 individual car wrecks occurred on this stretch of Gladys Avenue between 2018 and 2022. Humza Arfeen calls for safety implementations to curb the issue in his neighborhood
There to take his school project further than the rubric required, a local Kelly High School senior told those assembled for Beaumont City Council’s Nov. 15 meeting that traffic on Thomas Road near his home is growing increasingly dangerous and offered research-based solutions he believes will improve safety in his frequently traversed neighborhood.
“It was a school project,” 18-year-old Humza Arfeen told The Examiner of his political science class assignment which snowballed into a full-fledged, in-person appeal to the city officials. “I knew right away that this would be the issue, and it kind of evolved.
“You had to write a letter to a public official, so I thought, ‘Why not take it even further?’”
Humza, son of well-known Beaumont pulmonologist Dr. Qamar Arfeen, told councilors speeding and erratic driving is plaguing his neck of the Beaumont woods.
“Speeding is one of the main issues that causes many accidents,” he said. “Everybody speeds in every city, but the mass volume of cars and the length of my narrow street creates issues. In 2016, the annual average daily traffic was 1,865 cars, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
“On top of that, with the approximate width of my street being 28 feet and length around 6,430 feet, serving as a gateway from Delaware to Calder for people to get to work, people see my street as a cutaway, and they take advantage of it.”
“My dad started to walk on Thomas Road for exercise, and, due to the speeding, he and other residents soon stopped. This issue doesn’t just apply to walkers, but to car accidents, as well. There have been many car accidents and collisions at the Gladys Avenue and Thomas Road intersection. People running red lights and speeding are the cause of these accidents.”
According to TxDOT’s Crash Record Information System (CRIS), the aforementioned intersection has seen 28 wrecks, causing at least nine reported injuries, since Nov. 16, 2018. In that same time frame, at least 126 wrecks transpired along Gladys, between North Major Drive and Interstate 10.
Humza told The Examiner the issue has been present for years, but, “I would say, months ago I began to draft up the letter. I learned a lot of stuff, especially about the amount of traffic. So, it was quite a good learning experience.
“Personal experience and research, when you combine that, you get a really good result of pure-blood, good facts and information.”
Humza said possible solutions the city should explore include constructing sidewalks, which would likely ease worries felt by would-be walkers, as well as assigning a traffic officer to that location during especially hectic time periods.
City councilors lauded the teen’s courage and the sense of civic duty which inspired him to go above and beyond his school requirements in an effort to make his community safer. Beaumont City Councilor Taylor Neild, who represents Humza’s ward, commended him for bringing the issue to the city’s attention, saying the city would share a recent traffic study with the high schooler.
“This was all him,” Dr. Qamar Arfeen said, explaining the pride it gave him, “I didn’t even know what he wrote in there; I just came to listen. I wanted him to do it on his own.”