Should Lubbock Invest in More Landscaped Medians? The Pros, Cons and Potential Benefits

I love to visit other places when I can, and one of the first things I tend to notice when I visit other places is that their streets don't look like Lubbock. In Lubbock, we have massive stretches of perfectly straight "stroads"* with uninterrupted asphalt and plenty of places for folks to make questionable turns. Is this something Lubbock should fix?

*A stroad is a hybrid roadway combining the high-speed transit features of a road with the local property-access and commerce features of a street, ultimately failing to perform either function well.

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Why Landscaped Medians Matter in Lubbock

We do have some examples of landscaped medians in Lubbock, and I think they are lovely. More importantly, they provide an extra layer of safety for pedestrians. There are very nice landscaped medians near Texas Tech, which have native, low-water/ low maintence plants. There are some grassy medians nearby as well. This gives pedestrians a safer middle place to cross. Yes, I agree they should cross at the crosswalk, but that is not always going to happen.

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The Case for More Landscaped Medians

In addition to mitigating some danger for pedestrians, landscaped medians also improve the appearance of the area. If placed strategically, they can also prevent accidents by reducing turning conflicts and providing visual separation of different flows of traffic. On the other hand, poorly designed or maintained landscaped medians could reduce visibility.

Water Conservation Is a Major Consideration

Obviously, planting water-loving and heat-intolerant plants would be a waste of taxpayer dollars. However, if Lubbock uses xeriscaping, that is, using drought-tolerant plants and other methods to eliminate or nearly eliminate the need for watering, the plants would only need minimal routine maintenance to ensure they don't overgrow and cause visibility issues. Think plants like red yucca, sage shrubs, succulents, etc. It could be so pretty!

Lubbock can and should beautify our area and design infrastructure smartly for safety and ease of use. I believe both things are not only possible, but actually complementary to each other.