TxDOT to begin Mesa Street study this summer

Pedestrian safety along Mesa Street is one of the main priorities of an upcoming study.

The University of Texas at El Paso area has been identified as one of the most congested areas on the entire Mesa Street corridor. Texas Department of Transportation officials are hoping a study they’ll launch this summer can save lives, and reduce problems for those behind the wheel.

“Late at night, you really can’t see anything,” one man said. “With people jaywalking, crossing in unmarked areas, it’s just a recipe for disaster.”

Ben Collins, 93, and his wife, 86-year-old Mary Gene Collins, were the most recent pedestrians killed on Mesa Street last November.

People familiar with one of the busiest streets across the city say people are hurt or killed far too often.

It’s not just the busy part of Mesa Street near UTEP that’s being studied. The study will cover the entire Mesa Street corridor from Interstate 10 all the way to downtown El Paso.

TxDOT District Engineer Bob Bielek said TxDOT is already working with the city to synchronize traffic lights, remove a couple of traffic lights and possibly add one new light so traffic flow can be improved during peak times. But, he also said there’s only so much TxDOT can do, and the most recent fatalities involved jaywalkers.

“What we can do are put in discouraging elements like landscaping, railings, fences. Trying to change human behavior is beyond something that we can really do,” Bielek said.

Work can not begin on Mesa Street any time soon, Bielek said, because the collector-distributor lanes project along I-10 between Executive Center Boulevard and Sunland Park Drive begins this April, and will be forcing a lot of traffic onto Mesa Street.