There have been more than a dozen crashes at the same corner at Barton Creek in Highland Village, and police say something needs to change now.
The City of Highland Village is requesting a traffic study and solution at the crash-prone Farm-to-Market Road 2499 and Barton Creek.
In a letter to the Texas Department of Transportation, City Manager Michael Leavitt asked for a permanent traffic light at the corner that serves as a cutaway from the highway into the Shops at Highland Village on one side and the Marketplace at Highland Village on the other.
Since September 2010 the city has reported 16 accidents at the corner where two or more vehicles collided. Of those, 10 resulted in injuries, but none were fatal.
Surveillance video from a 2011 crash shows the main problem as vehicles try to cross the highway from one shopping center to the other, traveling across four 40-mph lanes and four additional turn lanes.
Police fear the problem is only going to get worse as the area continues to grow.
"With the addition of all the businesses and commercial development, it's just, it's becoming more and more unsafe," said Highland Village Police Chief Doug Reim.
Since signing on with the department about three weeks ago, Reim has taken on the cutaway intersection as one of serious concern.
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The department has set up temporary traffic delineators to force traffic coming out of the shopping centers to turn right and only enter into one lane of traffic. However, that solution is very temporary.
Because FM2499 is a state highway, the city said it can only utilize the temporary fix for 120 days.
They can request an extension after that, but it would still only buy them a short period of time.
"Traffic lights would absolutely be beneficial to citizens and the police department from a safety standpoint to control people entering that intersection or that cutaway and still give them that opportunity they're looking for to get across," said Reim.
It could take time, though, as TxDOT will likely have to study the section first. The city also fears they might have issues with the timing from other traffic lights to this intersection that would have to be resolved before anything can move forward.
They hope to speed up the process in any way possible but encourage residents to pay close attention when driving in the area, especially given the increased traffic from the new Whole Foods that just opened on the stretch.
"Give it the attention that it really needs," said Reim.
