Resident urges detailed crash-type analysis in Texas Avenue median removal study

Karen Hall, a local resident, asked the council to direct the city's consultant studying the removal of medians on Texas Avenue to analyze crash types rather than only total crash counts. Hall said the consultant's existing materials rely on CRIS (Crash Records Information System) totals and that the breakdown of crash types—single-vehicle, same-direction, angle and opposite-direction—matters to determining whether median removal would affect safety. She pointed to a large increase in opposite-direction crashes recorded for 2023 during construction and asked the consultant to examine whether those crashes were related to construction, intersections, U-turns or other factors. Hall urged the council not to be limited to overall crash totals and to require the consultant to provide the type-level breakdown when assessing the safety implications of median removal. The council thanked Hall and did not record any formal action on the request during the meeting; the comment was made during the public-comment portion of the agenda.