An analysis of crash records by NBC 5 Investigates found that some of the deadliest streets for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists in Fort Worth are the same ones identified in a safety study done four years ago. As Fort Worth ramps up its Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic deaths on city streets, we asked what will be done to address troublesome locations, years after they were first marked as danger zones.
In far northeast Fort Worth, a picture showing where a car crashed through a playground fence captures the frustrations of families who say something needs to be done to slow drivers along Park Vista Boulevard.
"It's almost to the point that our residents are losing faith in the city," said Chad Pack, president of the Woodland Springs HOA.
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Pack reached out to NBC 5 Investigates saying his neighborhood has been asking the city for crosswalks, stop signs, stop lights, and traffic circles -- anything to calm the speeds along the divided, four-lane road. But as months passed with no action taken, some in the neighborhood wondered if the city was serious about its commitment to "Vision Zero," a program designed to help cities reduce traffic injuries and deaths.
"If they really were interested in having it at zero fatalities and zero accidents, we wouldn't have to be begging for them to put these items in. They would be taking care of it," said Martina Worley, a Fort Worth resident who is a member of the Woodland Springs HOA.
A portion of Park Vista was flagged in a city safety study four years ago as one of the worst locations for crashes involving bicycles.
Chelsea St. Louis, with the Fort Worth Transportation Department, said the concerns voiced by residents are being heard and said the city has "implemented improvements on Park Vista, especially at some of our pedestrian crossings" and that they "continue to look at what transportation needs are."
In interviews, city transportation officials told NBC 5 Investigates they recently restriped portions of Park Vista Boulevard to narrow traffic lanes and slow speeds. They said they made other improvements, too, at an intersection where a child was recently injured by a car while crossing the street.
In February 2024, the city announced it was working on a new Vision Zero action plan.
"As part of this Vision Zero action plan, part of what we're going to be doing is addressing these speeding concerns," St. Louis said during the February announcement.
The speeding concerns are something the city has discussed since 2019 when the City Council first passed a resolution supporting Vision Zero.
Kelly Porter, the assistant transportation director for the city of Fort Worth, said the city's next step is to map out the "High Injury Network," a map showing the streets with the highest numbers of serious crashes.
Records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates however show the city has already done a high-injury network study once before, in 2020.
According to our analysis of crash data from the Texas Department of Transportation, NBC 5 Investigates discovered some of the most dangerous streets identified four years ago continue to be among the most dangerous streets in 2024. A finding that raises questions about the city's Vision Zero progress in recent years.
For example, on McCart Avenue, three stretches of the roadway were ranked among the Top 6 on the city's high injury list in 2019. New data we analyzed suggested it may now be the most deadly street in the city with 15 crashes that killed 17 people between 2019-2024.
NBC 5 Investigates asked Porter if he was concerned things may have gotten worse, and not better, in the last five years since the city adopted Vision Zero.
"When you say five years, you're talking also through a pandemic, and driving behavior really got pretty serious during the pandemic," Porter said. "That slowed a lot of our progress down on things we saw before the pandemic."
Despite the pandemic, the city has made some progress on McCart Avenue.
Martin Phillips, who is also an assistant transportation director for the city of Fort Worth, said they are working to make the intersection at McCart Avenue and Altamesa Boulevard safer for drivers and pedestrians.
Phillips showed us one Vision Zero project currently underway at the intersection where new turn lanes and crosswalks are being installed.
The goal, Phillips agreed, would be to look back at the statistics in five years and see that fewer people had been injured or killed in the corridor.
Fort Worth is also in the planning stages to modernize the entire McCart Avenue corridor. However, it could be more than four years before that larger project takes shape.
"But you could also see interim improvements, such as better lighting or improved sidewalks," Porter said.
Another area that was high on the injury list in 2019, along East Berry Street, was one of the seven worst streets for pedestrian deaths. New data from the Texas Department of Transportation indicated East Berry Street is now the second-deadliest street in the city with 10 fatalities over the same five-year span.
The city said they are fast-tracking plans to address the issues on Berry Street.
"So it's a comprehensive approach that we're actually taking. And so it's fast as local government can move. Things are happening on that corridor," Porter said.
Progress seems mixed on some other streets previously identified by the city as dangerous. In 2022, a city consultant's report recommended changes on eight high-injury corridors including along Miller Avenue and Eastland Street near Pate Park.
Some intersections on Miller Avenue have been improved, but many recommended improvements on Eastland Street have not happened, such as recommendations that crosswalks be added and curb extensions be installed to slow cars and protect pedestrians.
"If we could make all of the streets as friendly for pedestrians as possible across the entire city, that would be ideal," said Ann Zadeh, with Community Design Fort Worth.
We walked Eastland with Zadeh, a former member of the Fort Worth City Council who now heads a nonprofit focused on quality-of-life issues. Zadeh said the city is trying to accelerate the pace of Vision Zero, but she wishes it would move faster to roll out smaller, quick-build solutions.
"I think low-hanging fruit could be addressed more quickly. And refreshing striping and calming. Maybe narrowing the lanes here, making the crosswalks very bold," Zadeh said.
The city is installing traffic-calming bumps in more neighborhoods and has a program now where people can request them.
Back on Park Vista Boulevard, Chad Pack is pleading for the city to fix two intersections.
"You know, our residents need the safety to be able to enjoy the parks," Pack said.
Shortly after we met with Pack's neighbors, they met with city officials who pledged to conduct traffic studies a possibly a new stoplight at one intersection. However, some question how long it will take to move from studies to solutions.
"I shouldn't have to be this scared of my kids coming to this park or walking down the street," said Worley.
NBC 5 Investigates' look at TxDOT crash data also revealed traffic deaths and injuries have increased nearly 30% in the four years since the city first mapped its most dangerous streets. So, even if we didn't mention your neighborhood in this report the numbers show how the issue affects everyone who drives in Fort Worth.
