Yesterday afternoon was a little interesting. First, because a child was hit at the corner of Brown and Collins a school crossing was proposed and passed on the first reading. My concern about this crossing is that traffic would be limited to 35 mph north of Brown on Collins all the time, even when the school zone is not in affect. This concerned me because Collins/Brown is a major thoroughfare in our city, and I didn’t want to see further congestion in Arlington
The second item of interest is that I put the subject of a senior recreation center on the floor as a future agenda item. What I am trying to accomplish is to put this subject to the voters on the May 2015 ballot. Funding for this center would be a 1/8th or 1/4 cent sales tax increase. This would allow the center to be paid off in 3 yrs. or 1 ½ yrs. respectively. The Citizen’s Bond Committee had little interest in this subject because it was not on the Parks Master Plan and of course who presents to that committee, Parks and Recreation. So I will try to get this subject on the ballot for the people to decide if they want a facility like the Summit in Grand Prairie
Last night there was an issue concerning a storage facility in the south 360 area. Planning and Zoning put certain stipulations on the development and Councilman Shepard added to that list. The vote was unanimous with the stipulations in place, however it is unclear whether the applicant will want to comply with those requests.
There will be a budget town hall meeting this Thursday night at the South Police Station at 6:00. I suggest that anyone who is passionate about next year’s budget be there so that our City Manager Trey Yelverton can explain the budget and answer all of your questions.
Noticed the new school crossing at the intersection of Brown/Collins this past week. I personally know of people who've been asking for YEARS for a school crossing to be added at this location... always told it wasn't needed. There are numerous families with school-age children that live in the apartment complex on the NE corner of the intersection, and having to cross this five-lane state highway, on a hill, without any safety zone or crossing guard has been an accident waiting to happen for a long time.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Conventional Citizen Common Sense holds that something like this WILL suddenly become a priority, after a person is injured. Viola, overnight a school crossing is approved and installed. Glad to see it finally happen, but not that it took a child being hit to prove that residents' concerns should be respected and appreciated rather than ignored.
I hope the addition of this school crossing slows down traffic; cannot count the number of times I've waited for a green light at this intersection and routinely witness petroleum tanker trucks and dump trucks traveling at high speeds on this stretch of Collins. Both of these types of vehicles can cause terrific injury and property damage accidents.... impossible to stop within a short distance, and rarely do the drivers appear to be obeying the speed limit in this vicinity. With Collins being the only way to get to either the landfill or the petroleum facility in Euless, I hope this stretch of road will receive regular attention from APD traffic enforcement department. (and Lincoln Drive as well.)
Can push-button stoplight pedestrian crossings now be installed adjacent to Crystal Canyon and Elzie Odom? These are two other high-pedestrian-use facilities on major, multiple-lane thoroughfares... more injuries waiting to happen. With as much money and energy being wasted on bike lanes that few people will use, safe pedestrian crossings are actually something that benefit EVERYONE. And they would encourage more people to walk, if crossing the streets is not such a dangerous proposition.
To be extremely honest, the most helpful comodity to promote safety in our streets would be for parents of children to teach their children to cross only on a green light. I agree that one should still look both ways before entering an intersection, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids cross on a red. We don't want anyone injured in our streets, but children need to be taught the proper respect for crossing safely.
ReplyDeleteSummit International prep on Center has no school zone there even though there is a blind curve directly across from the entrance. The school does not want to foot the $18K bill to the city to get it done because they feel not enough kids make that crossing. The city wont do it because its a charter school. There is no cross walk or anything. Its just a matter of time before something bad happens there.
ReplyDeleteLonnie there is no crosswalk their because there is no foot traffic. I know about the problems at Summit because every year we have the same problems with the traffic before parents understand how the traffic flows are supposed to work, or establilsh car pools. I have had the warning signs with flags on top installed to ensure that people are aware they might have to slow down.
ReplyDeleteThen we had our traffic advisors go to Summit and put up signs on the east side of the school to try and mitigate traffic concerns on that side. The problem has been caused by Summit's unbridled expansion without regard to traffic issues. Truth be told, there is very little if any, foot traffic to this school. That precludes the requirement for a school crossing.