Downtown drivers have trouble staying off track

07:34 AM CDT on Tuesday, April 12, 2005

By Jeremy Desel

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Many downtown commuters deal with trouble on the tracks every single day.

KHOU-TV

Signage at Wheeler and Main causes confusion, plus some drivers just ignore it -- forcing other drivers onto light rail tracks.

Accident after accident appears to be waiting to happen at the intersection of Wheeler and Main, where drivers and trains could be on a collision course.

Here, one problem leads to another, especially after dark.

The light rail train can be intimidating, and at one intersection so are the signs -- stop here, turn right or wait.

There is a lot going on at this intersection. Turn lanes come from all directions and light rail tracks merge onto Main Street.

It's challenging enough during the day, but it gets even worse at night. The right lane of Main is marked and intended for right turns on to Wheeler only, allowing traffic from the left lane to merge right and away from the tracks.

Bt if the right turn lane' vehicle doesn't turn, the other cars have few options -- stop, hit the car that didn't turn or drive on the tracks.

"It is really confusing," says driver Felicia Ughanze.

She's not alone. Where Richmond becomes Wheeler, just south of downtown, the light rail tracks also are merging.

Time after time it happens, cars just keep on going, not turning right.

Felicia Ughanze wasn't sure what to do. "When I saw someone coming in front of me, I was just trying to give space. I didn't even notice nothing," she says.

In the time 11 News was at the intersection, car after car ignored the signs, totaling about 40 percent of all cars going through the intersection.

"Almost every day," says Steven McMillian about how often he sees problems at the location.

"I know for some drivers it is a temptation to go ahead and run those lights," he says.

Sometimes the consequence means ending up on the tracks. They also may stop where they want, and try to avoid the train.

At one point, four vehicles stopped, with the crossing arm behind them.

The train can do nothing but sound the horn, waiting for someone to move. All of this happened while a Metro officer sat at the intersection, watching the whole thing.

There was no damage, but this time, everybody gets to have a chat with the Metro officer, just like Uganze did.

Metro says that any signage that would make the turn only lane clearer is the city's responsibility.

Many drivers say a sign on the crossbar above the lane might help, or at least a sign with an arrow. Right now the signs are only text, with a washed out arrow on the pavement.

More officers later came to the location and said that they monitor the spot all the time and often write dozens of tickets at a time for various vilations.

Metro says they have researched the location and think it is safe.

HPD says there have been 13 vehicle accidents in the last year.