SAN ANTONIO – A stretch of Pleasanton Road on San Antonio’s South Side that has seen years of serious crashes and fatalities is now home to three new pedestrian hybrid beacons designed to give people a safer way to cross the busy corridor.
The beacons were installed as part of a 3.4-mile improvement project along Pleasanton Road, including one near West Amber Street. The pedestrian hybrid beacons allow people to cross while stopping traffic.
Luis Rodriguez said close calls have been common in the area. “I cannot tell you how many times that we’ve had people come close to getting hit by a car here,” Rodriguez said.
City data shows the corridor experiences nearly 200 serious crashes annually, and the roadway has been the site of numerous major crashes over the years, including several fatalities.
Catherine Hernandez, the city’s transportation department director, said the crash history along the corridor includes deadly incidents involving pedestrians.
“Over a five-year time period, we had severe crashes and injuries. We even had five pedestrian deaths along this corridor. So even just one, we want to make a difference,” Hernandez said.
People who cross Pleasanton Road regularly said they are already noticing changes.
One San Antonio resident described what it was like before the improvements: “Before, it was just rush, rush, rush. You’d have cars blowing their horns, and you’d have to run across to the median, wait for traffic to pass, then run across the other side.”
District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran said the goal is to improve safety for everyone using the roadway. “The corridor has experienced nearly 200 serious crashes annually, including multiple fatalities. These improvements aim to reduce crashes and enhance safety for all road users, drivers and pedestrians alike,” Viagran said.
A $3 million grant from TxDOT paid for the project, with the goal of reducing the crash rate. The funding also covered a new traffic signal at the H-E-B intersection, raised medians and signal retiming along Pleasanton Road.
Some residents said additional safety measures are still needed in other parts of the corridor. “There’s a need for it maybe farther down the street, especially for the children because I know that they have a lot of people that will not use the regular crosswalks,” Rodriguez said.
The city said the changes are already making an impact, citing about a 13% drop in crashes in the last eight months. Hernandez said more traffic-calming work is underway in other areas.
“Right now my team is working on a traffic-calming project within the neighborhoods along San Pedro,” she said.
City officials also said they plan to increase public awareness through the Keep the Crossing Safe campaign.