When William is on a horse, it doesn’t matter that he can’t run or jump, according to ManeGait, thewhere he rides. The National Institute of Health says he's only one of two children with his diagnosis who don’t use a nighttime ventilator. Both ride horses.
But the Texas Department of Transportation has plans for a new U.S. 380 highway, and one option, option B, brings high-speed traffic within 100 feet of where the riders do their therapy sessions. This causes concern for the center’s future and how it might function with a highway being built so close.
But Madison Schein, the public information officer for TxDOT, explained that while studies have been performed to assess the possible effects the highway might have on the facility, the investigation is still ongoing. “The centers that they looked at in comparison were not apples to apples,” ManeGait Executive Director Patricia Nelson said. “One of them is out of business now. One of them actually had to move from the location that they were at because [of] the proximity to the highway and the noise.”
Although though there are issues with option B and its possible effects on ManeGait, option B is still the cheaper, shorter option for the proposed state highway and affects fewer business, residents, wetlands, and wildlife.