City of Magnolia considering right-turn only signs at FM 1488 and Commerce, 10th streets

Magnolia City Council passed a resolution July 13 to draft an ordinance requiring right-turn only signs at the intersections of FM 1488 and Commerce Street, and FM 1488 and 10th Street. Police Chief Kyle Montgomery said the idea is to help mitigate the number of crashes that occur at these intersections.

“This is where we have most of our crashes, and they typically end up being our worst crashes,” Montgomery said during the council meeting.

There have been 37 crashes at these intersections over the past two years and the vast majority have resulted in injuries, Montgomery said in an email.

“That’s the main goal behind this—to create a safer intersection,” Montgomery said in the email.

Montgomery said drivers often attempt to cross FM 1488 from Commerce Street into the Walgreens parking lot on the other side or make left turns from Commerce and 10th streets onto FM 1488. When traffic backs up, he said it makes these moves dangerous, as drivers cannot see other cars coming.

Council Member Brenda Hoppe said she is concerned about enforcing the potential traffic change.

“You can’t not take steps for public safety because you’re afraid it won’t get enforced,” Mayor Todd Kana said during the meeting.

The ordinance to add the signs will be drafted by City Council and voted on at the next meeting Aug. 10.