CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A new street light in Bishop is leaving drivers confused and residents complaining to the Bishop Police Department.
What was once a yellow flashing light and a two-way stop at the intersection of Business 77 and County Road 4 is now a four-way traffic light.
The Texas Department of Transportation activated the light two weeks ago and placed signage on the road to prepare drivers for the change.
However, that isn’t enough to get drivers to slow down and stop, according to officials.
"I came out here early this week for about thirty minutes, and in those thirty minutes I had four people run through the red light at speeds of 65 mph without slowing down," Bishop PD officer Jay Clement said.
BPD Chief of Police Edward Day said TxDOT changed the street light from flashing yellow to a four-way to help with the new traffic in the area.
"It wasn’t a frequently traveled road, but over with the Celanese plant there and workers coming in and out, it’s being traveled more," Day said.
In the two weeks that the light has been activated, the BPD has seen many close calls.
"We had a young lady that almost ran a red light, slammed her brakes. She had an accident and almost hit the telephone pole literally right in front of me," Clement said.
The BPD has received many complaints about the new light. Some even suggested that a gradually decreasing speed limit leading up to the light would help drivers adjust.
Although BPD officials agree, they said that's out of their control.
"It’s outside of Bishop. It’s Nueces County, but TxDOT is the one that controls the speed limit for this area," Clement said.
The BPD urges drivers in the area to pay attention and be aware of the change when driving down the intersection, hoping to prevent more accidents from happening.
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