Fort Worth Police, Public Works Address Reckless Driving in Neighborhoods, Street Racing Events

Fort Worth traffic enforcement has issued almost 13,000 citations over the last months related to speeding, according to a new report.

At a briefing Tuesday before Fort Worth City Council members, Fort Worth Assistant Chief Robert Allredge presented an informal report explaining the scope of speeding, street racing and street takeover issues in Fort Worth.

Of the nearly 13,000 citations, Alldredge said 1,700 stops were in Fort Worth’s school zones. Police also use neighborhood police officers and crash data to place radar trailers and vacant marked cars patrol cars in certain areas to modify driving behaviors, according to Allredge.

“Really, what they do is they try and stay in those high trafficked areas where we have reckless driving or high speeds to try and calm that behavior down,” he said.

Fort Worth Public Works has also been involved in alleviating speeding issues. According to the informal reports, its approach focuses on the implementation of traffic calming measures on neighborhood streets. Through a program launched in March 2022, residents and neighborhoods have the ability to request the installation of countermeasures like speed cushions to slow car speeds.

Installation in some neighborhoods like Carter Riverside is expected to begin this summer, according to the report.

Naomi Dillard lives along Primrose Avenue between Gwynne Street and Eagle Drive. Dillard said speeding has been an issue she has brought up to city leaders.

“It’s a beautiful street. We have wonderful neighbors, but the quality of life is just taken away from us with all these young speeders,” she said. “It’s very dangerous. We have noticed people trying to walk and the car’s trying to go.”

Dillard said she saw a driver lose control of their vehicle early Tuesday.

“There was a horrible noise when I was inside. I thought two cars had hit each other,” she said. “A car had lost control at the end of the street, and they went from one side all the way around to the other side. Hit the curb, bad enough that it gave him a flat.”

She is hopeful speed cushions will make a difference.

“It’s just a long battle but hopefully, we’ll be winning it soon,” she said.

On the north side, Lou Ann Montes said the sounds of speeding are disruptive. Beyond that, she said she is concerned as a resident on Clinton Avenue.

“You have to be careful when you pull out of the driveway. Just sitting up here on the porch, I feel safe. But they could easily run up in the road, in the yard,” Montes said.

At the briefing Tuesday, Allredge also addressed the issue of street racing and takeovers. The challenges of addressing those issues are vastly different than speeding, Allredge said.

“That sometimes can be spur of the moment. That, sometimes can be well orchestrated. But some of the challenges we’ve talked about before are on social media, they go underground,” he said. “We usually only get about 15, 20 minutes notice before they kind of pop up. Sometimes we don’t get any notice until citizens start calling in saying, 'hey, this event has happened.'"

Fort Worth law enforcement has partnered with a Dallas task force on street racing and intel, aiming to get knowledge of takeover events before they happen.

“But what happens is, sometimes they come into town. Sometimes, they don’t,” Allredge said.

To address the issues of street racing, Fort Worth police say there are several strategies in place. They include the continued use of installing pole cameras in identified hot spot locations, using mobile speed radar and license plate reader trailers, and monitoring social media sites specifically for racing.