By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
The Texas Department of Transportation installed a new traffic signal Thursday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Wagon Wheel Road, and local residents and county officials are not happy about it.
The signal used to be a cautionary yellow light and is now a red-yellow-green light.
While the TX-DoT news release said the light is designed to, “regulate traffic efficiently, providing the traveling public with improved safety,” a local business owner isn’t buying it.
Cory Taylor, who owns Arc-Rite Welding and Truck Accessories, located about 300 yards from the light, had strong feelings about the new light Thursday morning.
“It’s going to kill somebody,” Taylor said, after sitting at the light for 2 minutes. “You have to go from 70 miles per hour to a dead stop.”
The county judge and sheriff agree with Taylor.
“If you’re going towards the lake, you’re going to pass Agarita, you’ll hit 55 miles per hour, then 60 and then 70 and then you’re going to have to come to a complete stop,” said Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens on a 4-minute Facebook video he posted Wednesday night. “They (TX-DoT) should have lit more of the area but they didn’t.”
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez said he had similar concerns during an appearance on The 830 Radio Hour, heard on KTDR 96.3 from 7 to 8 a.m. weekday mornings.
“I told TX-DoT they need more signage there to slow people down and I assigned deputies there last night to have their lights activated to warn people and slow them down. We weren’t there to take enforcement action, just trying to slow people down and keep them safe.”
Martinez said TX-DoT did bring two lighted signs later in the evening Wednesday in an effort to warn and slow drivers down.
Martinez said the yellow light lasts about 5 seconds. “How long does it take a vehicle to see that and stop if they’re going 70 miles per hour?” he asked. “We really need their engineers to take a look at that and adjust the speed limit in that zone.”
Owens wasn’t optimistic that local residents would get much help from the state agency. “Going out towards the lake, we need to be careful,” Owens said. “It’s always on us, it’s obvious we’re not going to get any help from TX-DoT.”
The writer can be reached at joelalangton@gmail.com .
