Study: failure-to-yield left turns drive crashes at FM 2499/Live Oak; council asks for more data and a $42,000 timing study

City staff presented a traffic engineering study of the signalized FM 2499 and Live Oak Marketplace intersection during the Feb. 10 meeting, reporting 41 crashes from 2020–2025 and recommending a suite of short- and mid-term countermeasures.

The consultant and staff said the most common contributing factor in the data was failure to yield on left-turn movements, especially northbound lefts onto Live Oak, followed by driver inattention and occasional speed-control failures. The study identified three serious injuries in the period, several minor injuries and multiple non-injury crashes.

Short-term recommendations included removing sight-obscuring vegetation (about a 150-foot clearing in the left-turn approach) and installing MUTCD-approved "traffic signal ahead" signage (subject to TxDOT Denton-area approval); mid-term options included upgrading signal heads, near-side heads and signage and performing a signal timing coordination study estimated at roughly $42,000 to better synchronize nearby signals and reduce queueing.

Council discussion focused on whether switching to protected left arrows would reduce crashes tied to failed-yield movements. Staff said protected-left timing is an option but warned it may create queueing and could change driver behavior (including red-light running) in other phases. Several councilmembers emphasized that engineering changes alone cannot fully remove risks caused by driver inattention and recommended combining infrastructure, enforcement and signage solutions.

Council directed staff to return with updated crash data (including the most recent incidents reported by police) and to further evaluate signal-timing coordination with TxDOT; the item will be revisited at a future agenda once staff compiles the updated numbers and cost/implementation options.