Bryan College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization holding survey

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Those with any concerns about safety in the community have an opportunity to participate in a survey that helps the Bryan College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization make improvements in the twin cities.

The survey is part of the organization’s Community Action Safety Plan, which includes an interactive map allowing residents to pinpoint safety concerns in the area. People can access it both on the computer and on their phone. They can make anonymous comments on their pin that others can like or dislike to help the organization have a better idea of the issue and how many people agree. It looks at pedestrian safety issues, traffic issues, bike issues, lighting issues, and more.

BCS MPO Executive Director Dan Rudge said the survey is part of a Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant that they received from the federal government which includes all users.

“We really encourage the citizen to go in and place their pins because sometimes the data doesn’t actually show us where there are close calls, and the user would see where those close calls are but we wouldn’t see it in the data,” Rudge said. “It’s why it’s important for them to place a pin in those and let us know we need to do further investigation.”

Local cyclist Thomas Runge has participated in the survey and even shared it. He has ridden a bike most of his life since he was able to walk, and it’s something he does frequently in Aggieland.

“Here in College Station, I’ve been cycling for about 2 years, I moved over from Germany I biked, commuted basically every single day, and I’m trying to do the same in College Station as well,” Runge said.

Over those two years, he said he has seen some issues such as bike lanes merging into a street or sidewalks suddenly coming to an end.

“Close to Target and Texas I see like two sidewalks that barely meet each other but there is a gap of a few feet of grass in between and all these little things make it so difficult, for a fit person like me it’s ok, but for people with strollers wheelchairs and so it’s a huge difficulty,” Runge said.

Another cyclist, Neo Jang who serves on the steering committee, said he bike commutes with his eight and five-year-old, so safety is near and dear to him. From the results they’ve seen so far things seem fine from the driver’s perspective and most of the issues they’re seeing are when someone decides to go on foot or bike.

“So there are certain intersections with turning radius, cars want to get through fast, but to allow them to go fast, it jeopardizes the safety of people outside cars. So that is the perspective that is being addressed right now,” Jang said. “More people are coming out saying hey this intersection is not safe so let’s do something about it. It’s crucial for the community to come together to figure out where we need to fix the system.”

Runge said once the survey wraps up in April they will begin the implementation phase of the plan which includes creating countermeasures.

“The less expensive countermeasures that are selected can be done fairly quickly within the first six months to a year,” Runge said. “The ones that are more expensive the local governments will be able to put in grant requests to the Federal Highway Administration to make some more significant improvements if it happens to a long or particular corridor.”

A comprehensive safety event will be held on March 26th from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Brazos Center to go over the results, Runge said.

“There are a lot of accidents that are occurring in Brazos County, safety is a big issue in Brazos County and just because we’ve lived here for a long time and we’re comfortable with the way that we get around the network, we have a lot of students and new people coming into the area and they have to get used to the transportation network as well,” Runge said.

As for Ronge, he hopes this survey will help the city fix those dangerous areas to create a safer community.

“Of course, it shouldn’t be just bike people giving their thoughts on this, but like all modes of transportation including car drivers because having a good and integrated system makes it so much better for all modes of transportation,” Ronge said.

Those interested in taking the survey can do so at this link.