Trophy Club police present two-year traffic safety study, recommend lighting, crosswalk and pavement upgrades

Police presented results of a two‑year traffic safety study at a Trophy Club Town Council workshop and proposed a package of engineering and education measures focused on school routes, parks and the town’s main thoroughfares.

The police presentation combined radar‑trailer counts and on‑site observations by a traffic safety working group to target improvements on Bobcat Boulevard, Trophy Club Drive, Indian Creek, Parkview Drive and Trophy Park Drive. The working group included police officers, town staff and residents and produced recommendations that the department described as “data driven, realistic, and particular for our town.”

The study used a mobile radar trailer that records vehicle counts, speeds, time of day and motorists’ reactions to a posted speed display. On Trophy Club Drive the trailer monitored both directions over three deployments and the presentation reported about 100,000 vehicle passes during that sampling period; 0.21% (reported as 234 vehicles) exceeded 36 mph. Chief (police chief, name not specified) said the corridor had approximately 25 accidents over two years, including two bicycle strikes; Bobcat Boulevard, Marshall Creek and sections near the Quorum Apartments were identified as other recurring locations for collisions.

Bobcat Boulevard drew special attention because it carries school and park traffic and recorded a higher share of over‑speed events in the sample (about 0.9%, or roughly 851 vehicles in the measured period). The presentation noted 23 accidents on or around Bobcat, 14 of which were in a high‑school parking lot. The chief described one evening bicycle collision where the driver said “they had food in the lap, wasn't paying attention” and that poor nighttime visibility contributed to the crash.

Parkview Drive — the short corridor in front of Beck Elementary, the middle school, pool and ballfields — was sampled for six days and drew recommendations for added crosswalk visibility and a raised crosswalk in places where trails or school crossings meet the roadway. The town recommended raised crossings with enhanced flashers at the middle‑school and pool crossings to increase driver awareness without installing speed bumps.

On Indian Creek the trailer recorded a small percent of drivers above 36 mph (reported as 0.28%) but included individual vehicles recorded at 46–47 mph on the hills; the road’s narrow geometry and “calming lane” were cited as complicating enforcement. Trophy Park Drive was monitored (the presentation listed approximately 28,000 vehicle passes) and drew proposals for additional crosswalks tied to future sidewalk and park construction.

Recommended engineering actions included: increasing lighting along Bobcat near schools and parks; enhancing crosswalk markings and adding embedded flashers; painting pavement lane markings to support lane‑keeping and bike lanes; adding in‑ground light fixtures where appropriate; and targeted raised crosswalks on Parkview near schools. Staff flagged the need to coordinate any streetlight design and placement with ongoing park/roundabout projects and with Matt Wright (town staff) and TMP engineers working on a Marshall Creek/Bobcat roundabout and park plan.

Council members raised design and environmental concerns — specifically dark‑sky compatibility and up‑light/glare — and sought clarification that lighting choices would be coordinated so residential areas are not adversely affected. The police presentation said the Bobcat/park corridor is largely nonresidential and that fixtures would be selected to limit residential impacts; staff said final pole styles and placement would be determined during the design phase.

The department also recommended painting pavement markings across the town to help lane detection and to allow vehicle safety systems to better identify curves and crosswalks. The police said painting and markings would improve safety “as cars start doing more things for us,” and noted that technology and vehicle sensors often respond better to clearly marked lanes and crosswalks.

The presentation emphasized an outreach and data transparency component: the police plan calls for a public web page that will publish ongoing radar‑trailer data and crash summaries and for continued use of a smaller radar unit placed on poles at targeted locations. Chief Wise said the radar trailer purchase has already provided “incredible” intelligence and that the town will rotate equipment to gather seasonal patterns.

Council members and working‑group participants agreed the recommendations were practical but asked staff to return with cost estimates before any construction is proposed. Multiple council members described the workshop as the start of longer project planning rather than immediate capital spending.

A final project step noted in the presentation was implementation sequencing and further coordination with the parks master plan and TMP’s Marshall Creek roundabout design to ensure lighting, crosswalks and traffic calming are integrated into future construction.

The police and working group materials are available in the meeting packet for members of the public and staff said they will return with refined designs and budget figures at a later date.