Abilene High School Traffic Management Plan

The City of Abilene, Texas selected Kimley-Horn to examine hazardous traffic patterns on the main roadways surrounding Abilene High School. With increased amounts of foot and vehicle traffic during arrival and dismissal times, excessive jaywalking, illegal vehicle maneuvers, and vehicle collisions have become primary safety concerns for the local stakeholders.

Innovative Traffic Evaluation

With safety as the top priority, our team took an innovative approach when developing the new traffic management plan for the 1,300 feet of affected roadway surrounding the high school. Due to the magnitude of the campus and the desire to easily view traffic patterns from an aerial view, our team used drone stills and drone video to capture a holistic view of the traffic flow. With this complete visualization, they identified specific points of safety concern. These findings were used to develop a final plan equipped with tailored solutions to address the key safety issues.

Kimley-Horn’s traffic evaluation included the following:

• Traffic operations analysis
• Vehicle queueing and circulation evaluation
• Project visualization
• Pedestrian conflict zone analysis

In addition to these services, Kimley-Horn maintained close coordination with the City of Abilene, the Abilene Independent School District administrators, and Abilene High School administrators to engage them early and gain mutual consensus to benefit the Abilene High School student body and the surrounding community.

To address the safety concerns, Kimley-Horn proposed funneling pedestrians through two designated crosswalks that were placed where the drone footage showed increased levels of jaywalking. The corridor design includes a fence that runs along the center of the median to safely funnel pedestrians through designated areas, preventing them from crossing at any point other than the marked crosswalks. The fenced median will also inhibit drivers from making dangerous traffic maneuvers, such as illegal U-turns. Ultimately, this plan would create a safer, more efficient flow of foot and vehicular traffic, benefitting pedestrians and commuters alike.