SAN ANTONIO – Fences have been toppled, light posts pummeled and houses have been hit in a family neighborhood on the Southeast Side.
KSAT first reported on the constant pace of crashes back in February when neighbors were trying to get the city’s attention with no luck.
“We went to the city, we went through our HOA, we’ve done a couple of surveys, signed petitions and things of that nature. So we’ve really been asking for help. We just are hitting walls and haven’t gotten too far,” Musgray said.
Meanwhile, the crashes continue, and neighbors worry people will be hit next.
“I can hear it, the cars just on that main road wrecking. There are so many joggers and walkers. I walk my young daughter to the park,” said Jenavie Musgray, who lives close to the main road, Heather Meadow, where most of the crashes happen.
Musgray said the main road connects the Blue Ridge Ranch neighborhood where she lives to another neighborhood. She said people speed through the road to get from one neighborhood to the other.
“People (are) just speeding in and out of the neighborhood,” she said. “There’s no speed signs actually. Nothing to slow us down. It’s hard to tell what the speed limit is, and it’s hard to see around the little curves, too,” Musgray said.
She said some cars are going 30 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Musgray showed KSAT recent pictures of new crashes that happened since she first spoke about the issue in February.
“This woman sped and drove straight into this ditch. She was okay, but it’s still scary. It makes me extremely nervous to walk with my young daughter because I don’t know who’s coming around the corner,” Musgray said.
Musgray and her neighbors banded together to contact the city, but it wasn’t until KSAT reached out that Public Works responded about their plans.
Public Works told KSAT they are going to install speed bumps in the area.
“I’m glad. I think it’s a great start. I still think we need speed limit signs, and even roundabouts,” Musgray said.
She said the exploding growth in the area is contributing to the speeding; it will likely get worse. That may require different prevention methods.
“There’s so many more communities popping up in the area, and we’re all getting connected, so I really think that we should definitely have some sort of speed limit signs at least.
The speed bumps are planned for three streets: Lakeland Drive, Lake Tahoe Street, and Lake Meadow. Those streets are between the two neighborhoods.
Traffic engineers are expected to complete their evaluation in July.
The results will be sent to City Council District 2, which will use the Neighborhood Access and Mobility Program to fund the speed bump project. They will need to take time to decide how that funding will be allocated.
Musgray said it seems like the project won’t be happening immediately.
Her message to the city is, “Communicate and show (the) importance of the urgency behind this issue. So we just really need action taken ... like yesterday.”
Musgray hopes Public Works will communicate with her and her neighbors so they can give their own input.
