Safety advocate says more needs to be done
Research for a $300,000 transportation plan by HDR Engineering indicates more off-street pathways are needed in Taylor to reduce vehicle crashes involving pedestrians or bicycles.
City Council reviewed that suggestion and others during a recent special-called meeting to consider a survey and an update to the combined Active Transportation Plan and Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.
The plan will be based on a study HDR conducted on existing sidewalks and trails. HDR’s Leslie Pollack said there were 35 crashes involving motor vehicles and bicycles or pedestrians from 2015 to 2024, with 17 resulting in deaths or serious injury. A majority happened along the Texas 95 and Main Street corridor.
“As part of this study we’re looking in more detail at those locations, those fatal and serious injury crashes, looking to see if there’s systemic safety issues that we can implement a crashmodification factor, something to infrastructure to help improve the safety of those locations,” Pollack said.
The project is funded by the Texas General Land Office under the Resilient Communities Program. The
SURVEY SAYS …
• Direct resources to repaving streets
• Repair potholes
• More sidewalks needed near residential areas, schools, parks and trails Source: Recent city transportation survey “
That data doesn’t really give me much of an answer.”
— Carla Hoffman, bicyclist who survived being dragged under a car city was awarded the grant in 2023 and HDR began work on the study in November 2024.
The engineering firm found that 70% of Taylor’s 50 miles of existing sidewalks are in good condition. The majority of poor and failed sidewalks are in the core of the city, in older neighborhoods near downtown.
The condition and number of sidewalks, shared paths and trails apply not only to the bicycling and walking transportation but to ADA compliance. The study looked at barriers to easy transportation for people who may have mobility challenges including lack of sidewalks, lack of ramps, failing sidewalks, railroad tracks and railroad crossings.
The city conducted a community survey as part of the project and received 165 responses. There was also a town hall attended by 35 people.
More than 50% of those who answered the survey said they walk for recreation and 28% bike for fun or exercise. Results indicated the community believes more sidewalks are needed near schools, in residential areas and near parks and trails.
However, when asked how they would invest community money, the top survey results were to repave worn streets and repair potholes, while just less than 10% was invested in adding or widening sidewalks.
Safety for cyclists
That’s not a data point that sits well with Carla Hoffman. Hoffman survived a near-fatal collision with a car in June 2024.
According to the Police Department, Hoffman was on her bicycle crossing Third and Main Streets when a vehicle turned into the intersection, striking and dragging her.
Since her accident, Hoffman has advocated for safer conditions for bicyclists in Taylor.
“It’s a little frustrating to think they based their whole study on 165 people taking a survey in a town of 17,000 and the first two questions on the survey are basically, ‘Do you want your streets fixed?’ ‘Do you want your potholes fixed?’ That’s not much of a transportation question. That data doesn’t really give me much of an answer,” Hoffman said.
She also questioned why a citizens advisory committee originally part of the plan has been cut from the project. Hoffman said a city spokesperson told her the committee was cut because there wasn’t enough money to fund it, yet the budget includes $40,000 for stakeholder engagement.
“The engineers come in, they have their maps and stuff, but I think it would be more beneficial to actually talk to people who use it, the bicyclists and walkers, the people who use the wheelchairs on North Main that get hit all the time. I think it would be nice to talk to people like that and really get an idea of what’s needed,” Hoffman said.
On June 5, a vehicle turning onto North Main Street struck and killed 59-year-old Ramona Pavlas, who was riding her motorized mobility scooter in the crosswalk of an intersection.
Nine months earlier, a 66-year-old man was killed by an oncoming vehicle in the same crosswalk in the 3700 block of North Main Street.
Cross section
While talking to those who ride bikes or walk around Taylor would help pinpoint needs for those groups, city spokesman Daniel Seguin said soliciting input from a crosssection of people helps give the city a better idea of how the community prioritizes transportation projects.
Seguin used a platform called Flash Vote to do the online community survey. Community members sign up to be part of Flash Vote and answer surveys on multiple topics. About 400 people have signed up to be included. Seguin said those who participate represent a sample of the entire community with a broad spectrum of beliefs and opinions.
To get within a fivepoint margin of error on a survey, Seguin said he needs about 350 respondents. The sidewalk survey, with 165 respondents, had an eight-point margin of error. He said the survey indicated only a very small percentage of the community is interested in investing in bike lanes rather than road maintenance.
He is working on ways to collect more direct feedback for the project, potentially by having a suggestion table at upcoming city events.
The project calls for two more public input sessions and two more council presentations as HDR works on prioritizing projects for the plan.
