For months NBC 5 Investigates has exposed the stunning number of traffic deaths and injuries on Loop 12 in southern Dallas. On Thursday night, the community's top transportation officials came together, pledging action to address the problems, at a town hall meeting organized by Dallas State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.
Neighbors like Anthony Peterson, who lives near the roadway, asked what could be done to stop the constant stream of speeding cars and traffic deaths on Loop 12.
“I expect you guys to solve this problem. You're the experts. You guys make the final decision. You make the big dollars,” said Peterson.
In February, the ongoing NBC 5 Investigates series "Driven to Death" revealed at least 105 people were killed and 479 seriously injured on Loop 12 in just five years.
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Safety experts told NBC 5 that the road, built in the 1950s as a highway, encouraged high speeds and was not designed to accommodate the pedestrians who use it today.
“It's the road designers who have really failed in the beginning. And I would say it's still a failure that it hasn't been fixed yet because this road looks like it's been here for decades,” said urban planner, David Zipper in an interview that was part of the February report.
Near Loop 12 and Bonnie View Road we discovered five pedestrians were killed in just 11 months, within less than a mile stretch of the road.
Arthur Fleming’s sister was one of them.
“My question is, who will be held accountable for these lives?” asked Fleming as he addressed officials at Thursday night’s meeting.
Officials from TxDOT, the city of Dallas and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Regional Transportation Council promised to make short and long-term changes.
“We personally pledge our commitment to this corridor we commit our institutions to help solve this problem. We plead with the community to help us get into the details and the science,” said Michael Morris, director of transportation with the NCTCOG.
Officials said they would install new traffic signals and crosswalks and possibly mid-block signals to slow or stop traffic and give pedestrians more safe places to cross.
“We have a lot of bus stops along the corridor and not all of them are close to a crosswalk,” said Ceason Clemens, district engineer for TxDOT’s Dallas District.
In previous reports, NBC 5 Investigates showed how people constantly cross Loop 12 in the middle of the road, often in places where there is no crosswalk nearby.
Officials promised new stoplights in 12-18 months and said they would develop a long-term plan to re-shape the Loop into more of a city street than a highway.
“The first thing I think you are going to see is this laser focus on traffic signals, crosswalks, the illumination of those particular crosswalks,” said Morris.
West organized the meeting after NBC 5 Investigates questioned him about the Loop earlier this year. He promised to hold agencies accountable now for making the promised changes.
“As more neighborhoods age, more and more roads age. We're going to have this issue,” said West.
It's an issue getting extra attention now in a neighborhood where some felt their concerns were not being heard.
City and state officials also promised to work with DART to move bus stops closer to crosswalks.
Road planners said they hope to provide progress updates every three months.
