HARLINGEN —Following the severe thunderstorm that hit the area, law enforcement officials remind drivers of the importance of observing traffic safety and to be aware of street closures.
In Harlingen barricades have been placed to block areas where flooding remains.
According to Assistant Police Chief Miryam Anderson, it is unknown whether citizens are receiving citations for traffic violations like moving street barricades.
“We are making some exceptions when it comes to a situation where an emergency can be expected,” she said.
“In downtown Jackson Street and Commerce, after the railroad tracks the area was flooded and cars had to go back on a one-way street. In this case it is OK because they are avoiding being flooded.”
Anderson mentioned it’s business as usual, and someone who passes a traffic light will be stopped. Officials are being vigilant to keep accidents from happening.
“People are still going through the streets and disregarding them, and once they did that they got stuck,” Anderson said. “If they are being set up, it is for a reason and it has been determined the area is unsafe. The community needs to pay attention to closed-off areas and stay off the streets as much as possible.”
Chief of Police Manuel Trevino of La Feria and Chief Ronnie Hernandez of Santa Rosa stated they have not had any trouble with traffic rules being violated.
They are encouraging drivers to be as carefully as possible and stay cautious.
Octavio Saenz, Public Information Officer of the Texas Department of Transportation agrees safety should be enforced at all costs.
“We work with our law enforcement partners in advocating safety with programs such as Click it or Ticket or the new Heads Up campaign that focuses on texting and driving,” Saenz said.
“We work in conjunction with those departments but we all want the same thing, which is safety on our highways and safety in our community.”
