Construction is about halfway done on the median that is being installed on North 10th between Trenton and the outer rim of the universe and everybody, especially me, hate the fuck out of it.
2 months ago, the McAllen city commission, infamous for voting on things that no one McAllen is down with and helping keep tax payer money in the dark, voted to approve the construction of a median on 10th between Trenton and University to the tune of $500,000 of tax payer money.
The reasons why? What’s being floated around is “safety” due to a number of crashes that have happened along that strip, but in reality, I don’t think anyone’s got a fucking clue as to why they’re REALLY being installed. Another reason TxDOT presented was the congestion and growth in the area during a presentation last April, however most residents are making the argument that they’re actually making the congestion worse by backing up left turn lanes with cars needing to take U-turns. On McAllen’s website, the public hearing summary states the the official reasons:
Need and Purpose: SH 336 (10th St.) is a roadway that has experienced a significant increase in development in the area, both residential and commercial making travel within the area more time consuming, especially during the peak hour periods. With this growth and increased traffic volume, safety has becomes a concern. The proposed project would separate opposing traffic and improve congestion, mobility and safety by:
1. Introducing a raised median, reducing potential crash points
2. Creating full median opening at cross-streets and directional median openings in
between (approximately every quarter mile)
3. Providing a better flow of traffic.
In other words, speculative analysis on crashes that haven’t happened or may never happen.
McAllen City Commissioner Dist. 1, and possible inner-city, illiterate, abused black woman, Richard Cortez hasn’t been shy about showing off his giant hard-on for this project. He’s been the go-to cheerleader/punching bag for other city commissioners to lean on in supporting these medians, even in the face of wide-spread opposition from McAllen residents and business owners.
Debbie Crane-Aliseda, who lost to Cortez in the most recent City Commission election, wrote an opinion peace opposing the median. It’s mostly speculative and offers up little facts as to why the median is a bad idea, so..umm..good try, Debbie(?)
The truth is: this median is a bad idea that was proposed on half-assed intentions.
Just hit the reset button on 2016 already, McAllen.
