TxDOT begins installation of pedestrian safety medians in Longview

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Some unique medians are being placed in one East Texas city to reduce the chances of pedestrian crashes.

It’s happening in Longview as four areas have been designated for the new medians by TxDOT.

They’re called “mid-block crossings” and are designed to give pedestrians a refuge island when crossing the wide roadway.

“It’s a mid-block crossing; it is similar to different kinds of medians,” said TxDOT Public Information Officer Jeff Williford.

There is a reason why the mini-medians are strategically placed. A traffic study showed there are some problems with the intersections.

People sometimes cross roadways where there are no crossing lights, and those areas have been identified as places where crashes involving pedestrians take place.

“We look at those numbers; we take them very seriously. There have been accidents involving pedestrians, or high potential of involving pedestrians, on some of those roadways,” Williford said.

The owner of a Gilmer road business is curious about their placement.

“They should put like a red stoplight that’s flashing, so people don’t run over it, but I have seen accidents before that was up,” said Noel Arroyo, owner of Legends Barber Shop.

Signage in advance of the crossing warns motorists to stop for pedestrians.

There are four: one on Gilmer Road, two on Highway 80 near the Alpine Road intersection and one on Estes Parkway just north of I-20. The locations were chosen because there have been pedestrian crashes in those areas.

“Safety’s our top priority. It’s to bring awareness to pedestrians. We always say one death is too many; one fatality is too many,” said Williford.

The Longview projects are expected to be complete by late this month or early next month.

TxDOT has about 12 of these pedestrian improvement projects scheduled throughout eight counties in the TxDOT Tyler district.

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