Waco-area traffic trials go for federal funding

The small-scale, temporary infrastructure projects would be installed at six sites in Greater Waco, including on La Salle Avenue, Valley Mills Drive and Loop 340.

The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking $1.2 million for the improvements from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All competitive grant program. The results would influence the comprehensive safety action plan for McLennan County.

The MPO is working on the comprehensive plan using its $560,000 allocation of Safe Streets funding won last year, Director Mukesh Kumar said. The plan will take an overall stock of safety across the county, “and also identify projects that need to be taken up sooner than later,” he said.

Kumar said the federal funds would require a local match of $300,000. The program is part of the $500 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.

Demonstration projects can be as simple as using traffic cones to move cars on the road differently, shifting turn lanes or moving islands and bike lanes, Kumar said. They’re all part of dynamic place-based strategies that provide more local solutions than what everyone already knows works.

“Traffic is behavioral,” he said. “Most of us would respond to the design of the streets and where we want to go.”

The county averages about three fatal accidents per month, with some 30 to 40 roadway fatalities per year, Kumar said.

“Our rate is higher than average rate for Texas, which is already higher than national average,” he said.

The projects aim to not only keep occupants inside vehicles safe, but also protect vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists. Kumar said very young and elderly people in cars are the next group to consider after vulnerable road users, who are disproportionately represented in crashes.

Kumar pointed to the uncontrolled, marked crosswalk at 19th Street and Meridian Avenue in North Waco which has a pedestrian warning sign accompanied by a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon with LED lights that flash when activated as an example of a successful demonstration project.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends several proven safety countermeasures for reducing roadway fatalities, including the beacons, variable and appropriate speed limits, medians and pedestrian refuge islands, wider edge lanes, and manipulation of yellow light change intervals.

The six sites identified in the MPO’s grant application are considered high-impact corridors with a historically high number of crashes located near points of interest, such as schools. They have high daily traffic and are near historically disadvantaged communities or areas of persistent poverty.

The intersection of Loop 340 and U.S. Highway 77 in Robinson made the list, as the addition of service roads to Loop 340 has created issues with highly variable speed limits near neighborhood streets, Kumar said. He said the city of Robinson has asked for assistance and TxDOT installed a traffic light nearby.

But with the highway, service road and residential streets each having drastically different speed limits, there have been several crashes since the service road’s installation.

He said the MPO will likely experiment with more than one demonstration project to make sure the traffic slows down earlier, which could include another red light signal or traffic cones.

The other five chosen sites include:

La Salle Avenue between University Parks Drive and the traffic circle, which presents an uninviting and unsafe corridor to cross for local or Baylor University pedestrians and cyclists

South Valley Mills Drive, an eight-lane crash hotspot that lacks pedestrian crossings and is home to Harmony School of Innovation

Loop 340 in Bellmead between U.S. Highway 84 and Interstate 35, an area that includes La Vega High School and the city’s retail hub

Hewitt Drive and Panther Way, a peak area for crashes on Hewitt Drive and an unsafe crossing for Midway Middle School students

Downtown Waco, a place with already low posted speeds. The area is a candidate for International Parking Day, a placemaking event where on-street parking is blocked off and shops and restaurants extend their business onto the sidewalk. Kumar said the event would show how extending the sidewalk improves the quality of the space and encourages more careful driving.

Projects that do not work will be removed or reevaluated, and Kumar hopes the ones that do justify further federal funding become permanent installations. Kumar said if the projects show success, the affected cities or TxDOT might implement similar projects on their own.

If awarded the funding, the projects would likely begin in May or June. After their implementation the MPO will monitor their effectiveness, make tweaks, remove unsuccessful projects and form reports that will then inform the county’s comprehensive safety action plan and future permanent projects.