BACKGROUND

The citizens of Fort Worth, specifically in the Summer Creek area of District 6 urge action from the City of Fort Worth to address the rampant problem of illegal street racing. Long has this been a problem, but unfortunately the issue of illegal street racing has grown to the point of shattering a young family forever due to little to no action by the City of Fort Worth, the City of Fort Worth City Council, the Fort Worth Police Department and our local District 6 Councilmember.

WHAT HAPPENED

On the morning of November 6, 2020 an unfortunate and massive traffic accident resulted in the deaths of 3 individuals. The accident occurred at the intersection of W. Risinger Rd. And Burr Oak Ln. According to local reports and witnesses at the scene of the accident, two illegal street racers were drag racing west on Risinger Road when another vehicle, who was turning left onto Burr Oak Ln. (into their own neighborhood) was struck at an extremely high rate of speed. The couple was killed along with one of the drivers of the illegal street race. Both vehicles were unrecognizable with one vehicle (the street racers vehicle) having caught fire and burned because of the sheer force of the accident. There is no evidence on the road of any attempt to slow down by the street racer. The second driver involved in the street race is still at large. Two families devastated for a cheap thrill.

ITS A CONTINUED PROBLEM

Illegal street racing has been a major issue consistently spoken about among local residents. It is a daily/nightly occurrence. The area of issues is the 1.04 mile stretch of road where West Risinger Road intersects Summer Creek Drive to the west and South Hulen Street to the east. This 1.04 mile stretch of road is flawed in its design. It incites and unknowingly promotes illegal street racing by not having traffic slow down areas, which gives potential street racers just over a one mile stretch of road to race down. There are 6 neighborhood turn-ins that stretch this 1.04 mile section of roadway which presents incredible dangers for drivers.

Among the drivers that call this area their home, we also have a very active neighborhood filled with walkers, joggers, dog walkers, retirees, families, bike riders, etc. A majority of these people cross W. Risinger Rd. to the North and South to access various points of interest. There is also an elementary school, Dallas Park Elementary off W. Risinger Road. During the school year, there is a school zone with flashing warning lights, however that school zone is rarely observed by drivers. The speed limit during an active school zone is 25mph, and time and time again, it is consistently broken by drivers going 40-50mph. It is an extremely rare occurrence to see an on-duty police officer actively patrolling this area to discourage drivers from speeding.

WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?

The community citizens have come together to strongly urge action in regards to the incredibly dangerous traffic flow design of the street area detailed above. We do not feel safe, and we do not feel the city (Fort Worth), the police department (Fort Worth) or the District 6 Councilmember (Jungus Jordan) take the illegal street racing problem serious enough. And now, a family is forever shattered leaving 4 children without their parents. We strongly urge action to be taken. 

Some potential solutions include:

- Adding 4-way stops at 3 of the 6 neighborhood turn-ins. These 4-way stops would have flashing stop signs, along with a ground lit flashing pedestrian crosswalk. These 3 proposed 4-way stops would be located at the following cross streets: S. Shavano Dr., Tangleridge Dr. and Whisper Dr.

- Assigning a police presence to the area to patrol during the daytime and nighttime hours, actively seeking out illegal street racers and ticketing speeding drivers. This would help to change the perception of the area which is currently “a never a police officer on this road” area. A perfect example of this would be in the town of Dalworthington Gardens in Arlington, TX. In this town, from the cross streets of W. Park Row and Bowen Rd. to the north and W. Pioneer Parkway and Bowen Rd. to the south, it is known to be a zero tolerance speed area. Police actively patrol this area at all times of the day and actively ticket drivers to help discourage speeding. This is an example of how this would work.

- Another solution would be to add stop lights at 2 of the neighborhood turn-ins at Tangleridge Dr. and Whisper Dr. This would not be the ideal solution, rather an option of consideration.

- Adding speed humps (10ft wide humps) with actively lit and flashing warning signs at 3 of the 6 neighborhood turn-ins. While this may not be the ideal solution, it is a proven method to dissuade drivers from speeding. Speed humps are an effective way to control the speed of vehicles, but have negative effects to emergency vehicle routes, etc. Studies have been done in Michigan regarding traffic safety zones and the methods they went through to address their own street safety issues.

- Edited addition 1/9/2022: Adding a round-a-bout on the stretch of Risinger in focus. Even after the accident, there are daily/nightly street races that are occurring, but adding a forced slow down zone would potentially help. With Risinger being a 4-lane street with a large center median area, adding a round-a-bout would be possible and effective. With all the new homes and apartment units being built to the east side of the CTP, there will be a heavy increase of traffic and much needed city attention to this area. 

WRAP UP

As concerned citizens of the City of Fort Worth, it was only a matter of time before something like this occurred where someone was killed due to the rampant illegal street racing that infests this 1.04 mile stretch of W. Risinger Road. Unfortunately, it happened to a beautiful family with 4 young children that will now have to trod through life with no parents. We urge that action be taken swiftly to address this problem. In the days since November 6, 2020, more illegal street racing has occurred, despite the obvious marks of a major crash.

The following people have genuine and legitimate concerns that the City of Fort Worth, the City of Fort Worth City Council, Mayor Betsy Price, District 6 Councilmember Jungus Jordan and Police Chief Ed Kraus along with the Fort Worth Police department needs to take serious. For the safety of our community and in remembrance of the couple who perished, please take serious our petition and address the issue of illegal street racing with due diligence and haste. Anyone in our community would be willing to help as this problem has been going on for 15 years plus, with no meaningful action.