DALLAS — Doyle Rader has no problem pointing out the long list of issues he has with the intersection at Beachview St. and Garland Rd. in Dallas.
“When you look at cars trying to turn out here, especially during rush hour, this traffic is coming hot and heavy. It's going, drivers are going 60 miles an hour,” Rader said.
Currently, there’s only one stop sign for the cars coming out of the many businesses and apartments and going onto the six lanes of Garland Rd.
“It's just kind of a mess,” Doyle said.
Since 2020, TxDOT data shows there have been 31 crashes at the intersection with the overwhelming majority due to the design of the intersection.
The people who work at Dentists of White Rock, right on the corner, have a front-row seat to how dangerous it is.
“At least 2 to 3 times a month we see an accident at this intersection,” said office manager Tenecia Al-Uqdah. “A lot of the time I'm the one who calls the police.”
Rader who’s made it his mission to try to make getting around Dallas safer, submitted a request last year on Dallas’ 3-1-1 app.
“Basically that I thought that this was a dangerous intersection and that it warranted a traffic light,” Rader said. “I've put in a lot of requests for crosswalks, stop signs and a few stoplights over the years.”
He didn’t hold his breath for a response.
But, months later in January, he got an email from the city.
“It said that it was the number of crashes that have occurred at this intersection that met the criteria to look into it further to install a stoplight,” Rader said.
Eight more months when by – then in September – the city followed up again.
“They did a traffic study after it met those basic criteria and they did that back in January and then I got the notification that it met all the criteria for a light just last month,” Doyle said.
The city did not give a timeline on when the light might go up, but the response has already been positive.
“We’ll be able to get across this intersection clearly and safely,” Al-Uqdah said.
Rader hopes others will see this and be motivated to push for needed changes if they see problem spots too.
“You can take matters into your own hands,” he said. “It might not work, it may work, but it's at least gonna get a log and a record of your request in and then you can contact your city council members and just keep going up the chain until you actually see that action come into effect.”
The City of Dallas explained the process in an email, saying:
The City of Dallas actively encourages residents to submit 311 service requests for any concerns, including traffic signals and other infrastructure needs. The process for evaluating a traffic signal begins with an engineer's review, followed by a signal warrant analysis for the specific location. This analysis adheres to federal criteria and assesses safety and operational conditions at the intersection and its approaches. Key factors considered include vehicle and pedestrian volumes, the severity and frequency of preventable crashes, school crossings, and the overall road network in the area.
To be eligible for a traffic signal, a location must meet at least one of these criteria. However, the decision to install a traffic signal also relies on engineering judgment and additional considerations.
They also laid out the next steps for this project, saying that since Garland Rd. is designated as a state highway (Texas 78), TxDOT must review the city’s analysis to approve the construction of a signal within its right-of-way.
Once TxDOT grants its concurrence, it will proceed to secure funding for the design and construction of the signal.
Watch the full interview with Doyle Rader below