For a safer San Marcos, leaders must see transportation as a complex system, not as a disconnected series of infrastructure projects.
Last Wednesday, the City and TxDOT held a public meeting. The subject: a 10-foot shared-use path on East Hopkins, between CM Allen and Thorpe Lane. This half-mile track will increase access and ensure safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and other alternative commuters. Two pedestrian stop lights, or “hybrid beacons,” will direct movement across the main road.
The project has merit in promoting a more sustainable and connected San Marcos. Hopefully, it will encourage east San Martians to keep cars in the garage and to dust off their bikes and tennis shoes.
But the project doesn’t adequately solve a glaring safety issue: East Hopkins’ current speed limit.
Why is this a concern? Installing a shared-use path may be a positive disruption to car-dependent traffic flow, but changes should not end at the project’s conclusion. East Hopkins interlinks with an intricate transportation system—one that facilitates access to businesses, residences, I-35, Thorpe Ln., Texas State University, and the City Square. Other improvements, in addition to pouring more concrete, must be considered in future decisions.
On this section of East Hopkins, vehicles can zoom past City Hall, the library, and community center at a swift 40 mph (okay, more like 45-50 mph). Having biked and driven that route, I remain unsure how a couple pedestrian stop lights will ensure safe, multimodal transport.
Speed limit matters when users venture off the shared-use path to meet the road. Cars come off of I-70 moving quickly. Drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists get distracted. Some may not be accustomed to stopping or crossing at hybrid beacons.
Worst-case scenario, a cyclist or runner may be hit by a vehicle. In a 2013 article in Accident Analysis and Prevention by Brian C. Tefft, pedestrians have a 50/50 chance of surviving a 40-mph car crash.
The City rightfully aspires to make policies that significantly cut the number of traffic-related deaths and injuries. Its updated Transportation Master Plan suggests adopting a Vision Zero Safety Plan by 2023.
A Vision Zero for East Hopkins cannot be achieved without decreasing car speeds. Shared-use paths alter a road’s overall system of movement. These changes prompt the need to change vehicle flow. If a crash occurs, a 30-35-mph speed limit gives pedestrians a much better fighting chance. Risk of death would be 25 percent, compared to 50 percent at 40 mph.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, base speed limits for roads like East Hopkins are determined by (1) how the road is designed and (2) how fast 85 percent of cars travel.
The East Hopkins road system will change with the new shared-use path project. That transformation may not necessarily reflect the street’s original design speed or existing average vehicle speeds.
The City should seriously consider lowering the speed limit as East Hopkins converts from a vehicle-dominant road to a multimodal corridor.
