COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — As College Station continues to grow, city officials are considering major road safety upgrades near Texas A&M University.
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On Wednesday, the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization proposed changes for University Drive and South College Avenue to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
The push comes as crashes climb at some of the area's busiest intersections.
"So we've seen a definite increase in the number of accidents along University Drive, uh, primarily with bicyclists and pedestrians," Daniel Rudge said.
Rudge is the director of the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Some of the ideas include bridges or tunnels to divide foot traffic from vehicles at some of the city's busiest intersections.
"So along University Drive, we're looking at doing grade separations that would be either going above or below the existing roadway," Rudge said.
Local resident Rafael Pena said he sees the need for change.
"I think there's definitely a need in the community to improve traffic congestion, especially with respect to pedestrian crossings," Pena said.
Pena pointed to a design already in use on campus as a model.
"Some of the NPO designs that I was looking at, you know, especially the pedestrian tunnels, you know, there's one already on campus that looks, that works well, and I think that's a good idea," Pena said.
The cost for the upgrades is substantial.
"The covered option at College Maine is the most expensive at about $200 million. The other ones are less than that. The cheapest one is at Spence Street, which is around $27 million," Rudge said.
Rudge told me they are looking at ways to pay for the projects — and they have some time to secure the funding.
"We look for, uh, what we call alternative or creative funding solutions to find the money to build these grade separations as we move along. So the earliest we would start construction on any of these would be 2030," Rudge said.
Residents can share input at a public meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Legends Event Center.
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