Following the Aaron Lancaster hit-and-run, City of Fort Worth officials and concerned citizens devised a plan for the Alta Vista and Funnel Street intersection.
Jacob Wurman, a concerned citizen, Dennis Shingeton, Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Fort Worth, Doug Wiersig, Director of Transportation and Public Works department and Officer Barry Sawyer, Fort Worth Police Officer and local Neighborhood Police Officer had a meeting on March 25 at 2 p.m. to discuss changes made for the intersection and surrounding areas.
The plan is to turn the Funnel Street and Alta Vista intersection into a four-way lighted intersection with a protected left turn onto Funnel as soon as possible, which is about one year. There will also be an extended amount of time for pedestrians to cross Alta Vista. The intersection will need to be redesigned for the light installation and the user activated LEDs that are currently in place will be removed and put in another location in the neighborhood.
Another part of the plan is changing the speed limit for all school zones in the City of Fort Worth. Current plans include lowering limits to 20 mph and having speed indicators installed telling a driver their speed as they approach the intersection. This plan was already in place before the Aaron Lancaster hit-and-run on March 19. Warning lights will be installed on the north and south sides approaching the Funnel intersection to warn drivers that a crosswalk has been activated and they must be prepared to stop.
The final part of the plan is to get 96 Fort Worth Police Officers to patrol the streets of the neighborhood as well and watch the traffic flow on Alta Vista and Funnel Street. This, however, will not be implemented until the Division Headquarters is built to encompass more of the populated regions.
Wurman hopes the funding will be paid for as a part of the expanded Transportation and Public Works budget in the 2018 bond package.
Wurman will be presenting this plan to City Council in the coming weeks. There will be more updates as we receive them.
Editor’s Note: Earlier published version of this story inaccurately referenced Texas Parks and Wildlife instead of Transportation and Public Works due to a mistake in transcription. This has been corrected in the story above.
Community Continues to Raise Funds for Lancaster
The Timber Creek community is continuing to raise funds for Aaron Lancaster, who was involved in a hit-and-run collision on March 19 at the aforementioned intersection.
On April 7, the TCHS Theatre UIL One Act Play company will perform “Ugly Lies the Bone,” the 2017 show for which Lancaster was an alternate cast member. Though admission is free, donations will be collected and sent to Lancaster’s family as he continues to recover.
Then, on April 25, there will be a spirit night at the Chick-fil-A on Keller Parkway from 5 to 8 p.m. Proceeds from the night will go to Lancaster’s medical expenses.
As previously reported, Timber Creek’s PTSA is hosting a quarter drive for the Lancaster family to help with this hardship they are enduring. These donations will help them with meals at the hospital cafeteria or meals from the vending machines at the hospital. There will be two donation buckets located in the AP office and in the Counseling office.
Additionally, a GoFundMe for the Lancaster family has been established by other TCHS theatre parents. Use the following link to share your monetary support: http://www.gofundme.com/fundsforaaron