Commissioner Webb: Collin County saw 17.7% rise in road deaths; RTC working on unified transit plan

Commissioner Webb, Precinct 4, told the Collin County Commissioners Court that the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) reported a 17.74% increase in traffic fatalities in Collin County compared with the previous year and that the RTC has launched a subcommittee to pursue a unified transit policy across the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

The increase makes Collin County the only one of the four major urban counties in the DFW region to see a rise in fatalities, Webb said, and prompted discussion about working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on roadway design and other countermeasures. “Because of the 4 major urban counties in the DFW region, we're the only 1 that is going up, and we went up substantially,” Webb said.

Webb told the court the RTC subcommittee will meet twice a month for at least a year to draft recommendations intended to make transit agencies more equitable and to encourage both member and non‑member cities to adopt services they want. He said the goal is to produce a marketable restructuring before 2026, when withdrawal elections for several large cities are possible. “If something doesn't get restructured, or for those withdrawal elections are called upon, then I think you're gonna see the whole system collapse,” Webb said.

Why it matters: a sustained increase in fatalities and a fragmented regional transit system can affect public safety, congestion and long‑term planning in a rapidly growing region. Webb said Collin County’s projected growth and broader metroplex projections — he said the region could reach about 16,000,000 people in the next 30 years — increase the urgency of coordinated solutions.

Webb outlined several issues under consideration: comparing fatality data with population growth and construction activity, exploring micro‑transit paid for with maintenance and operations (M&O) funds, and seeking ways to attract non‑member cities to participate without coercive funding conditions. He described a tension in how some transit agencies treat jurisdictions as “members” rather than customers and said part of the committee’s work is to equalize expectations across agencies.

“There's so many big think tanks that are out there. I would hope they would engage with those groups,” Webb said, noting Transit 2 — the yearlong study by outside experts the RTC commissioned — as the basis for some recommendations. He also mentioned proposals that have been discussed elsewhere in the region, such as a dedicated transit corridor along the Dallas North Tollway, and noted public‑cost concerns voiced by other court members about who should pay for transit services.

Court members asked Webb to ask the RTC to break down the fatality data by population change and construction locations so local officials can better target safety improvements. Webb said he will follow up with TxDOT and the RTC to seek that analysis.

Webb credited the first subcommittee meeting as productive and said he expects additional policy drafts to be circulated to cities and transit agencies as work continues. The RTC update was reported during the general discussion portion of the meeting; no formal action was taken by the Commissioners Court on the RTC items during this session.