TxDOT lauded for curbing pedestrian fatalities along I-35

Efforts to reduce pedestrian fatalities on Interstate 35 have earned the Texas Department of Transportation federal recognition in the form of a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award. The Mobility35 pedestrian safety program was launched in 2017 to address the safety of those living in homeless encampments, who represented 80 percent of pedestrian fatalities in the 3.3 miles of I-35 between 51st Street and Rundberg Lane. With many of the fatalities involving pedestrians crossing the 250-foot, 15-lane section of roadway to reach stores and a fast food restaurant, state officials gave out reflective “Be Safe, Be Seen” bags to people living in the encampments to help them be seen at night by drivers. TxDOT also gave the bags to children who had to cross the highway to reach Webb Middle School. TxDOT also installed a 2-foot panel atop the highway median’s concrete barrier with “no pedestrian crossing” signs to deter people from risking death or injury by trying to make the illegal crossing. As of last summer, the same section of I-35 experienced 64 percent fewer pedestrian fatalities – and 89 percent fewer fatalities involving homeless pedestrians – compared to 2019 statistics.