Total crashes on Texas Avenue in Bryan have dropped by roughly 17% since the city's raised medians were installed, according to an independent review of state crash data that KBTX reported Wednesday night, as early voting continues on a Bryan ballot measure aimed at removing them.
Andrew Moodie, a Bryan resident who works in academia, pulled records from TxDOT's public Crash Records Information System for the stretch of Texas Avenue between Highway 21 and Highway 6. He compared years from 2017 through 2026, leaving out 2023, when the medians were built, and the incomplete 2026 numbers.
What the numbers show
By his count the corridor now sees about 80 fewer crashes a year. Most of the decline came from rear-end collisions, which Moodie told KBTX surprised him; he had expected the larger change to show up in crashes involving left turns.
The most serious crashes were harder to judge. Pedestrian-involved collisions and deaths along the road are rare enough, he said, that he could find "no detectable change." Pedestrian crash counts looked a little higher in recent years, but that difference did not hold up statistically.
Moodie also flagged the limits of his work. Only two full years of data exist since the medians went in, and he said it is hard to know for certain whether the medians caused the trends. His review does not address two of the main complaints from opponents: emergency response times and the effect on businesses.
The vote
Bryan voters are deciding City of Bryan Proposition A. City officials have said the medians were built because Texas Avenue was dangerous, citing data presented in 2021 that counted 580 crashes and five deaths between Highway 21 and University Drive from 2017 to 2019.
