Photo of an overturned car near Jefferson and Winnetka in July 2021, courtesy of the Jefferson Boulevard Task Force.
A four-month Jefferson Boulevard traffic study showed that slimming the road to four lanes instead of six made it safer, with virtually no impediment to vehicular flow.
The 1.1-mile stretch of Jefferson between Hampton Road and Polk Street saw 25 accidents from Jan. 1-Aug. 16 2021. In the months that the study closed the the right lanes of the roadway on both sides, Aug. 17-Dec. 10, there were 11 accidents.
That’s an average of 1.45 crashes per day before the lane closures and .26 crashes per day after, which represents an 82% decline.
The speed limit through this corridor is 30 miles per hour, but the study found that about half of vehicles that travel it are speeding, and most of those are doing over 40.
Mayor Pro-Tem Chad West wants to close the lanes permanently, using paint and road markings.
“Assuming the three neighborhood associations provide letters of support, my plan will be to move forward with lane reductions along the demonstration route – for now, the lanes would simply be painted and “closed” for uses other than parking/walking,” West wrote in an email to city staff.
Closing the lanes can be done within 5-8 months, West wrote.
The Jefferson Boulevard Task Force, led by neighbor Russ Aikman, has been working since February 2021. If they’re willing to continue, West wants them to come up with recommendations for infrastructure changes, such as protected bike lanes or expanded sidewalks, which would require a complicated process, amending the City of Dallas thoroughfare plan.
Here are some of the task force’s other recommendations, which could be achieved soon:
- Install additional speed-limit signs.
- Review stoplight progression to see if there are ways to time the lights for better traffic calming.
- Repaint crosswalks at intersections.
- Add new crosswalks on Jefferson at Rosemont, which is near the future site of the Kessler School, and Jefferson at Windomere, which is two blocks from Greiner Middle School.
These are long-term recommendations, where funding has to be identified:
- Install two speed-limit signs that show drivers their speed
- Install flashing lights at intersections that don’t have stoplights.
- Install a turning lane on the traffic island near Sunset High School, for eastbound traffic at Tennant.
- Review and update traffic-light patterns.
- Design and install beautification elements such as benches and landscaping.
