According to a citizen-led group – and the majority of 2,300 survey responses from local residents and businesses – the medians along Texas Avenue and other roadways have caused serious harm to the local economy AND hindered rescue services from reaching people in need.
The findings from The BCS Medians Survey Project, formed one year ago by Jack Robbins and Joey Ganem, may come as no surprise.
An overwhelming 93 per cent of survey respondents expressed discontent and negativity about the medians. Robbins says, “Over 93% of them have a negative feeling about the medians, and that’s kind of amazing because I haven’t found (out of) 2,000 people 93% of them agree on anything”.
There are especially major concerns with public safety, as first responders have been forced to reroute during emergencies. This can severely delay fire trucks, paramedics, and police officers from saving lives. Ganem states, “I took a video, myself, of that fire truck having to do the 5-point U-turn at Rosemary. We witnessed it firsthand. That’s been, overwhelmingly, the number one concern of the citizens and survey respondents as well.”
Businesses, including Fargo’s BBQ and Babe’s Donuts, closed in the last year due to financial turmoil, a struggle that was exacerbated by the medians. “They (Fargo’s) had just moved into that building, trying to expand his business when COVID hit. When they’re coming out of COVID, all of a sudden, the southbound traffic coming out of Bryan cannot turn into his establishment,” Ganem explained. He noted Babe’s Donuts was facing similar challenges, with the owner voicing his concerns repeatedly before shutting down.
The group is pleading with local officials for change. The group has shared their findings with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Reaching out to city leaders is the next step for Robbins and Ganem.
“I’m not going to go away on this issue. I’ve collected a lot of information that I think is very, very valuable, and I’d be more than happy to share it with the city. I’ve already shared it with TxDOT. So, they know what information I have and how we’re going to go forward with it, and we [would] just like them to engage with us,” Robbins added.
Information and data source:
Link to Fargo’s BBQ (closure)
https://www.kbtx.com/2024/07/07/fargos-pit-bbq-closes-after-24-years-service/
