MCALLEN, Texas - McAllen City Manager Isaac “Ike” Tawil says he is pleased to see traffic congestion in McAllen because that means people are living and working in the city.
Tawil took a question about traffic at a recent McAllen Citizens League luncheon. Retired businessman John Della Maggiora wanted to know whether a $4 bond the city issued a while back to study and help synchronize traffic lights had been worthwhile.
“Has that investment paid dividends?” Maggiora asked. “Driving in and out of McAllen every day, it appears that we need to have some plan to decongest, especially during the commute hours.”
Tawil responded: “Let me talk about that. So, we had a bond issue. The implementation of the results of a (traffic) study was delayed because of COVID, and we did go back through with our traffic engineers and rework the flow of traffic.”
Tawil said traffic engineers look at McAllen’s major arterial roads every day.
“We are looking for ways to enhance traffic flow all the time. The lights were sequenced such that major arterials are given more priority for traffic flow and our feeder roads might seem little longer wait times,” Tawil said.
“Look, when I when I hear people tell me, man, traffic is bad, in my mind, that's good. That means people are here. Yes, our traffic during the rush hours is challenging, but we're worlds ahead of other larger areas.”
Tawil added: “I am confident that as we re-envision what mobility in the city looks like, true implementation of the UDC (Unified Development Code), true design walkable communities, continued enhancements to public transportation options, I think that it will get better. But I wouldn't consider that (study) defunct at all. I think the implementation had the intended effect. We're seeing traffic flow much better than it did, and I'm glad that people are here, creating congestion and bringing dollars to McAllen.”
Editor’s Note: The above news story is the fourth in a four-part series about McAllen City Manager Isaac Tawil’s recent presentation to the McAllen Citizens League. Click here to read the first story, about the growth of the city. Click here to read the second story, about a new Unified Development Code. Click here to read the third story, about McAllen reaching out to Mexican investors.
