Discussion: Yellow Center Striping on Watercress Initiative
I have received an update from our Engineering team concerning your traffic safety concerns and requests regarding Watercress Dr. While the roadway does not comply with TMUTCD guidelines (a travel way of 20 feet or more in width and an ADT of 4,000 vehicles per day or greater) for centerline implementation, our Engineering team analyzed traffic count data for both eastbound and westbound Watercress Dr in relation to your request for an exception. The daily volume is very low (667 vehicles /day). The findings also revealed that this location does not present significant speeding issues. The recorded 85th percentile speed on Watercress Dr was 33 mph eastbound and 29 mph westbound. The posted speed limit is 30 mph. Consequently, a petition is also not recommended.
The Engineering team also examined the crash data for this area, which indicated that there have been 6 reported crashes since 2022. Contributing factors for these crashes included an animal on the road, driver inattention, failure to control speed and changing lanes when unsafe.
We are currently inventorying all signage along Watercress Dr, including your request for additional speed limit signs. The length of the roadway under investigation is approximately 3.5 miles, so the investigation may take up to 90 business days to complete. We will inform you with an update once a determination has been made.
Additionally, regarding your request for the installation of speed cushions on Watercress Dr, we are in the process of modifying our Neighborhood Traffic Calming program for speed cushion installation. Each year, ten locations will be chosen for implementation. Five of these locations will be selected based on citizen requests, while the other five will be chosen from the Top 50 roadway segments in the Vision Zero High Injury Network. Your location has been included in the list of areas to be reviewed under this process, with data collection scheduled to take place between December and February 2026. The finalized list of the ten selected locations will be published on the Neighborhood Traffic Calming website between February and March 2026. If your location is chosen, mail notifications will be sent to confirm 2/3 support for installation, along with a neighborhood meeting arranged to finalize the scope of work.
We recognize that there might be some frustration concerning the decision on the centerline striping, as we realize it was not the preferred outcome that was communicated. We sincerely value the feedback from the community and will persist in our initiatives to improve safety on Watercress Dr. Thank you again for bringing the concerns of the Scenic Shores Neighborhood Association to our attention for consideration.
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Originally the city stated that with a petition that we initiated, we could request that a centerline be put down Watercress. In a follow up email the city stated Watercress does not meet the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices standards for implementation of a yellow centerline marking and they would inquire with the Pavement Management staff if the marking can still be implemented through a petition process. Adrienne and I drove Watercress on Oct 22 to identify the start and stop location for a center line, and documented several areas of concerns where drivers are speeding around tight turns in the middle of the road. We identified areas for additional speed limit signs and slow down areas, and submitted those to the city along with a formal request to clear/trim back the brush along the entire Watercress stretch. I was informed that there are 600 requests in the cities que to clear back brush. I have requested a ride along with the city safety team to share our concerns, answer any questions to help them assess the safety of our area. Hoping that our SSNA concerns for safety, our proposed recommendations and ride along with the city, will prioritize the brush cut back and get a safety plan in place for implementation
ReplyDeletePhelisha Bollin from the City of FW responded to our request from SSNA for a center stripe and speed limit signs.... They appreciated the map that Adrienne drew from our ride along which had potential areas for speed limit signs and the start and stop locations on Watercress. She has requested a city investigation with each dept, noting that it will take 30 bus days for a response on the striping and 60 bus days on speed limit signs.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to upload the map that was submitted, so we can see? Also, it would be great if the tress could be trimmed up to a height of 16' so that RVs could move along the road without damage, in addition to the bushes / trees that are growing into the roadway from the sides. Thanks!
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