• BY GABE SEMENZA - GSEMENZA@VICAD.COM
• Originally published December 29, 2009 at 7:39 p.m., updated December 30, 2009 at 12:25 a.m.

• Proposed Lone Tree Trail changes.pdf

• THE BACK STORY

  Work on the city's new 2.1-mile, $2.1-million hike-and-bike trail finished in mid-June.

  Almost immediately, residents used the trail en masse.

  Within days of the trail's official opening, many residents said the four crosswalks pose ...

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THE BACK STORY

Work on the city's new 2.1-mile, $2.1-million hike-and-bike trail finished in mid-June.

Almost immediately, residents used the trail en masse.

Within days of the trail's official opening, many residents said the four crosswalks pose dangers to motorists and trail users. Confusion arose about who has the right-of-way.

To supposedly quell confusion, the city installed in early July new crosswalk signs that feature a small yield marker, bicycle, pedestrian, arrow and the words, "Here" and "To." The signs added to the right-of-way confusion, many residents said.

By mid-July, the city installed yellow flashing caution lights and signs facing the crosswalks that read: "Vehicles Do Not Stop."

In mid-August - amid ongoing concerns about crosswalk safety - a mid-size car struck Danny Herrera, a 12-year-old who suffered a leg injury and minor bleeding from his forehead, according to witnesses.

Days later, the city council agreed to alter the confusing signs, add reflective markings and rumble strips to the roadway.

The city then closed the John Stockbauer Drive crosswalk - the span of crosswalk where the car struck Herrera - and tabled the discussion during a review of options.

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Twelve-year-old Danny Herrera still suffers from injuries sustained during an August collision, the boy's lawyer said.

A car struck the Victoria boy as he walked the hike-and-bike trail crosswalk at John Stockbauer Drive. He suffered a leg injury and minor bleeding from his forehead, the boy's father said at the scene.

"He's still scared, still complains. He's a kid," said Alex Hernandez, Danny's lawyer. "He used to go outside and play. He kind of shut down from doing that."

While the family still fights to collect insurance money, the city draws closer to a January date set to discuss rerouting the crosswalk.

After the collision, Hernandez filed a claim on behalf of the family. The lawyer seeks the at-fault driver's full insurance policy amount to cover pain, suffering and mental anguish, he said.

"A normal policy would be about $25,000," Hernandez said. "The driver's insurance isn't enough to cover what I think Danny should get."

While efforts so far remain outside a courtroom, Hernandez said he's willing to battle before a judge.

"We're still considering a possible lawsuit against the city if there's not enough money in the driver's policy to cover the damages," Hernandez said. "They put the crosswalk near one of the busiest intersections in north Victoria. They finally had to shut it down. The injuries were foreseeable."

After the collision, the city closed both sides of the crosswalk. City staff placed temporary fences on the street side of both trail heads. The city council then opted to table the issue.

Now, the council eyes a more permanent solution.

"Higher traffic volume, higher speeds and the curve presented additional complications there," said Lynn Short, the city's public works director. "There were safety concerns. The staff offered some possible solutions: Closing the crossing and rerouting the crosswalk to Ben Jordan Street where there is already a traffic signal."

That option - moving the crossing to a nearby intersection with a traffic light - appears to be the frontrunner leading into January talks.

Was this idea ever suggested at any point before workers built the trail? "Not that I can recall," Short said.

Mayor Will Armstrong said preliminary plans include:

Adding a permanent block to the trail face that approaches John Stockbauer Drive from the south.

Using existing right of way on the northeast side of Stockbauer Drive to reroute the trail from the current crosswalk to the Ben Jordan Street intersection.

Continuing the trail across the intersection and down the southeast side of Ben Jordan Street until it links again with the current trail.

While Armstrong said the reroute will be expensive, the council has yet to receive estimates. The city plans to discuss this - as well as details about the trail stretch that continues down Ben Jordan Street - during a mid-January capital improvement work session.

"I feel certain we'll have that before the school opens," Armstrong said. "I feel like it's going to be a high priority."

The new Victoria East High School, a backdrop to the controversial crosswalk, is set to open in August.

The meeting to discuss crosswalk options was originally slated for December. Ongoing council debate about the location for a new sewer plant, however, pushed talks back to January, Armstrong said.

Hernandez, the lawyer, said he eyes a permanent fix of a different variety.

"I want the little kid to grow up being normal, to basically put him back to where he was before he was run over," Hernandez said. "That can't be done with money. It'll have to be done with time."

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