Navarro St. May Get Median Installed for Safety
We all know how heavy traffic can be on Navarro here in Victoria. The volume of traffic seems to go up every day, and in fact, according to a report from the Texas Department of Transportation, Navarro has eight of the busiest intersections in the city. That volume of traffic makes the street dangerous, especially when people use the center turn lane to either sit and wait to merge, or even worse, to get up speed like its a freeway on ramp. Then there's the issue of 2 vehicles making turns opposite from each other at the same time. I can't tell you the number of times I was waiting to turning left onto North Star Drive, and someone was right in front of me wanting to turn into the Victory car lot across the street. Very dangerous when both the side street and the business entrance are directly across from each other. Now, I avoid that turn altogether just because of too many close calls.
I have always thought that the best way to solve that problem would be by installing a median. That's what TxDOT is proposing for Navarro, running from Airline Road heading north, all the way to Loop 463. Personally, I think it's a good idea. Now, I know some business owners say it would keep potential customers from shopping at their stores, but I disagree. Where I grew up, we had many boulevards that had medians running the entire length of the street, and that never kept business away. I mean, if I want to shop at Hall Electric for example, I will drive the extra few feet or half a block or whatever to turn around and go there. We already have a few medians on Navarro and they work just fine, and according to TxDOT, they have reduced accidents by over 1/3.
A preliminary design of the proposal is expected this summer, with public meetings for comments to be set for either this fall or early next year,
I think a little inconvenience is worth a lot more safety. What do you think? Feel free to let us know.