FORT WORTH, Texas — If you're traveling down Foch Street in the heart of Fort Worth's entertainment district, it won't take you long to catch a wrong-way driver.
It's been nearly a year since Foch and some other roads in the area became one-way. The intent was to better control traffic, especially during the wild weekend nights. There are dozens of bars and restaurants in a 12-block radius, the city previously told WFAA.
But at least on Foch, people are still not abiding by the new traffic laws. WFAA spent an hour Friday afternoon on Foch and saw about 10 wrong-way drivers in that time.
Fort Worth Officer Ivan Gomez spoke to and educated some of the wrong-way drivers Friday, on a Memorial Day weekend where Fort Worth will be full of people with the PGA tournament in town. That may mean more people will be in the area who aren't familiar with the street changes.
"If we get that overflow with traffic where people are confused, we'll have our [West] 7th street unit down here directing vehicles where to go," said Gomez, referencing the unit that's devoted to the area and comprised of officers on foot patrol, bikes, in cars, and soon on horseback.
Officials with the city of Fort Worth, which said in February it was looking into the issues, said this Friday:
"Traffic engineering is working with police and stakeholders to evaluate current signage and parking. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic should continue to follow pavement markings and signage to avoid collisions."
The City previously told WFAA it would look into installing bumps on the road that would help drivers feel when they've turned the wrong way.
During a short interview with area resident Josh Houser about wrong-way drivers, WFAA saw three of them. Houser was shocked, having initially thought drivers had improved their behavior on Foch.
"That's very concerning," Houser said. "I thought I was doing my part by yelling at people when they go the wrong way. Apparently, I'm not yelling at enough people."
For now, it's a case of driver beware if you head to Cowtown.