Pearland targets blocked intersections
City launches new campaign aimed at motorists to improve commuting times
The city of Pearland is conducting a new campaign aimed at educating drivers of the hazards of blocking intersections and at reducing traffic gridlock.
Tens of thousands of commuters pass through the city on a daily basis. When drivers attempt to cross intersections but are unable to travel all the way through and end up preventing cross traffic movement, commute times can become longer. Blocked intersections also prevent emergency vehicles from getting through and can become dangerous for pedestrians who must then weave between vehicles if crosswalks are blocked.
To help decrease the time drivers spend in traffic and make intersections safer, the city launched its “Don’t Block the Box” campaign late last month. The city initiative began by focusing on the intersection at FM 518 and Business Center Drive near Texas 288. It’s an area city officials say is often a plagued with blocked intersections that create a domino effect of delays up and down the roadways.
“It is just such a busy intersection that (drivers) get impatient, and they’ll try to make it
through the intersection but the light will turn on them and then they are stuck out in the middle of the intersection,” said Michael Leech, assistant director of Pearland’s public works department.
Traditional “Do Not Block the Intersection” warning signs placed near the intersection haven’t done much to deter impatient drivers, he said and added, “We had to get creative and try something new.”
To help improve traffic conditions, the city has switched out advanced warning “Do Not Block the Intersection” signs with signs that read “Don’t Block the Box.” The city also painted street lanes with the warning at the intersection and hung “Don’t Block the Box” signs on signal light mast arms.
“We are trying to get the word out to the public about this program and ‘Don’t Block the Box’ is catchier than ‘Do Not Block the Intersection,’” Leech said.
The city also created a Web page, www.pearl-andtx.gov/thebox, which includes a video asking the public to help prevent gridlock by not blocking intersections.
According to the Web page, motorists should wait to enter an intersection until they see there is enough room for them to make it through without stopping in the intersection. According to the city Web page, motorists also should be mindful not to block crosswalks.
Leech said the city’s explosive population growth is partially to blame for the traffic woes the area is experiencing.
“In 2000, the population was 30,000 people,” he said. “Now it is over 110,000. This is kind of the stuff you get when growth is that explosive.”
Many motorists may be unaware, but it is illegal to block intersections of Texas streets. Doing so can result in fines of up to $200. Leech said the city would rather educate people than fine them, and that is what it is doing through its new campaign.
There is more to the campaign than a catchy slogan. In addition to signage, the city is looking into modifying traffic signal timing, among other measures. Pearland’s public works department, engineering department and police department have all been working to improve traffic flow and reduce intersection blocking.
“There are physical improvements forthcoming,” said Clay Pearson, Pearland’s city manager, in a news release announcing the “Don’t Block the Box” campaign.
“For example, we are working with (the Texas Department of Transportation) to potentially add dual left-turn lanes when traveling eastbound to northbound on the Texas 288 frontage road and working with Brazoria County to increase the number of lanes under Texas 288 as part of the SH 288 Toll Lane Project.”
City officials hope to receive permission from Tx-DOT to add the turn lanes soon.
If the plan is approved by the state’s transportation department, Leech said the left-turn lanes could be added within months. The addition of the lanes wouldn’t require any major construction since it would not involve tearing up the pavement.
The improvements would require the removal of old pavement markings and installation of new pavement markers outlining the turn lanes. Leech couldn’t recall if the plan required installation of any new traffic signals but said if that’s the case, the city has that type of hardware at its offices. In terms of construction dollars, it is nominal, he said.
City officials would like to have the left-turn lanes in place before the holiday shopping season starts. Leech said in addition to stifling mobility, traffic can hurt economic development.
“The mall out there is a huge economic driver for us,” he said. “If you go to a destination and the traffic is miserable, you are not going to come back.”