Safety changes coming to Loop 12, 'the deadliest roadway in Dallas'
DALLAS - The city of Dallas is working to make Loop 12 – dubbed the deadliest roadway in Dallas – safer.
Texas Sen. Royce West held a news conference on Friday to highlight the changes underway, especially on the southern part of the loop.
By the Numbers: In five years, there have been 500 accidents involving serious injury on Loop 12, 105 of them fatalities.
Interim Dallas Police Chief Michael Igo said there were 16 fatalities on an 8.6-mile stretch of Loop 12 in Southern Dallas this past year.
He said the factors include speeding, pedestrian crossings, driver intoxication, and distraction.
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What People Are Saying: Sen. West wants Dallas residents to know that he has heard their concerns about the dangerous and far too often deadly stretch of highway that loops around the city of Dallas.
"We know Dallas has grown so much Loop 12 is no longer an outer loop. It is the inner loop. We have to adjust accordingly," he said.
"We hear them. We are here for them. Statistics show we are losing lives. Anytime we lose one life is one too many," added Dallas City Councilmember Caroline King Arnold.
What’s Next: West said changes to make the highway safer are already underway, but they’re not done yet.
Among the changes are a reduced speed limit from 45 mph to 40 mph on southern Loop 12 from Interstate 35 past Bonnie View Road in Sunnyvale to past Interstate 45 and Great Trinity Forest Way.
There are plans to add speed feedback signs, as well as the speed painted on the highway to alert drivers.
The Texas Department of Public Safety also identified 16 locations for traffic signals that will be installed over the next year and a half.
The city will also install a signal near Glendale Park.
Chief Igo said the Dallas Police Department launched enforcement that resulted in 2,500 citations so far this year.
The department has also launched traffic calming software that monitors speed throughout the city.
Igo urged people who see reckless driving to call 911, saying every call counts.