When dealing with traffic in Houston, most of us try to avoid congestion, road closures and anything that might slow us down. But there are some areas of town that might best be avoided altogether. They run the gamut from the creepy to the downright dangerous. They are the scariest roads in Houston. We still have a long time before Halloween, but best not to tempt fate and (literally) steer clear. We are certain you have more suggestions, so please add them in the comments.

10. Farrell Road

This small stretch of almost-country road in north Houston borders the northwest corner of Bush Intercontinental Airport and is only really notable for that factoid. Nevertheless, outside of a few machine shops and storage places, it's a fairly remote area and pitch black at night. If they needed a place to film an episode of The Walking Dead in Houston, this would qualify.

9. Hempstead Highway (between the North Loop and Beltway 8)

If barren industrial landscape, hot-sheet motels and "modeling studios" are your thing, this is your street. In certain portions, it feels like a lost highway, and in others, more postapocalyptic. In fact, this was Highway 290 before 290 was constructed, but instead of chain restaurants and gas stations, there are barbed wire fences and sadness.

8. Yale Street (between the North Loop and Tidwell)

It would be ironic that middle-six-figure homes are just mere feet west of Yale Street if the contrast weren't so depressing. Unfortunately, with blight comes crime. For every Barbecue Inn (God bless them), there is a dilapidated shack waiting for gentrification...or the wrecking ball.

7. Greens Road (between Greenspoint Drive and the Hardy Toll Road)



In the 1990s, Greenspoint was famously nicknamed "Gunspoint" for the rash of crime spurred on by low-income housing along Greens Road east of Greens Bayou. Many of those apartments were demolished, but plenty remain and the area has never fully recovered. It's a handy quick route to the airport as long as it is daylight out.

6. Telephone Road

As the East End has begun to change and increase in popularity, certain portions along Telephone Road and the surrounding area have become shining examples of urban revitalization. Unfortunately, many other parts are to be avoided thanks to high crime rates.

5. Fannin Street (in Midtown)

It's odd to think an area so affluent and popular could also be frightening, but among the new high-rises and luxury homes are large populations of people seriously down on their luck. You find them congregated around gas stations and in the parking lots of Sears and Fiesta or near the methadone clinic (yes, that exists). We once saw a man with bloody knuckles slap the hood of our car because we dared to drive down the street when he wanted to cross. Yikes.

4. Holmes Road (between Main and Kirby)

Few parts of Houston are more industrial and, as a result, more hellish-looking than stretches along the South Loop. It's a great place for a warehouse...and MURDER (he said, dramatically)! In fact, a dead body was recently found by police along Holmes Road, and the only thing scarier than the lack of lighting is the massive trucks that zip by you, probably because they want to get the hell out of the area as quickly as possible.

3. West Montgomery Road

Our newly elected mayor, Sylvester Turner, hails from Acres Homes, a remarkably rural, predominantly low-income northside neighborhood that is experiencing a rebirth as young professionals push farther north looking for affordable homes. But the area is still rife with crime, and its main artery is West Montgomery, which cuts through Acres Homes on the diagonal from South Shepherd to the Tomball Parkway.

2. Tidwell Road (between Antoine and Bingle)

Speaking of the near northside, one of the most dangerous half miles in the city is Tidwell running east and west between Antoine and Bingle. It's flooded with low-income apartments, and nearby residents are treated to gunfire on an almost nightly basis. Driving through there at night is like criss-crossing Hamsterdam from The Wire.

1. Scott Street (north of Airport Boulevard)

If crime were a train station, Scott Street north of Airport Boulevard would be Grand Central Station. Neighborhood Scout named it the second most dangerous neighborhood in America. You have a one-in-11 chance of being a victim of crime if you live there. Needless to say, don't drive there.