Rockwall is known for a lot of things. Everyone knows that Rockwall is usually acclaimed to be the Wealthiest County in Texas. Although there are short periods, often during oil booms, that Rockwall is unseated from that throne, Rockwall is always near the top. Why? Because it is close to Dallas and other major business hubs, and it is located in a beautiful area overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard. People like that.
Rockwall is also known for Lake Ray Hubbard. A great lake for catching bass and perch. Occasionally, you will hear of reports of an Alligator swimming around. We live in North East Texas. It happens. The lake has drawn a lot of people and retail shopping to the Rockwall area. Theoretically, it is easy to get to Rockwall with access from I-30, the tollway, Highway 67, Highway 205, you name it. The problem is the third main thing that Rockwall is known for: Traffic.
ROCKWALL TRAFFIC IS NOTORIOUS
Raise your hand if you have tried to cross the I-30 bridge after 4 o’clock on, just about, any day of the week? How long did it take you? That long, huh? Don’t get me wrong, Rockwall is great, but Rockwall traffic is bad! Anyone who grew up here or has lived here for a while knows that. So, why exactly is Rockwall traffic so bad?
Rockwall’s traffic problems are several fold: (1) it is 100% a commuter city. (2) It is the retail hub for the surrounding areas. (3) It is the recreational hub for the area. (4) It is an interstate city.
Rockwall County is a Pure Commuter City
What does that mean? It means that everyone who lives in Rockwall must drive to get to where they want to go. Work. Play. Anywhere. Doing just about anything in Rockwall requires a vehicle. That means that the 120,000+ people who actually live in Rockwall have to get in their cars and drive around to get food, shop, go to work, or just anything else for that matter. This means that there has to be a lot of roads. Major roads. Side streets. Highways. You name it, Rockwall has a lot of them. To the untrained, Rockwall is a pretty confusing place to drive.
Rockwall is the Retail Hub of the Area
To add fuel to the traffic-y fire, Rockwall is the local retail hub. It has tons of local, as well as national, retail shopping and dining. Going along I-30 into Rockwall, outlet shopping stretches for miles and miles, and the shops always seem to be full of people. Why? Because not only do Rockwallians love their local shopping, so does everyone else who lives in the Rockwall, Kaufman, Hunt and Dallas county areas. This means that people drive in from all directions to shop here as well. Which is great! America! Free Market! We love it. What we don’t love is all the traffic it creates. It doesn’t seem to matter what time of day it is, Rockwall is loaded up with traffic.
Rockwall is also the Recreational Hub
To pile onto the traffic problems that being the major retail hub in the area brings, Rockwall also has the best lake in the area. Now, I don’t want to dismiss the greatness of Lake Tawakoni or Cedar Creek, but Lake Ray Hubbard is in a great spot. Both Tawakoni and Cedar Creek are just really far out there. Which is great! But Rockwall is close. They have great marinas. The water is pretty consistent, even in drought. The fishing is always good and the weather in Texas is only really too cold for fishing in late-January and February. The rest of the year, its pretty warm to blazing hot, which is great for jumping in a lake.
The problem is that word has gotten out about Lake Ray Hubbard. More people are showing up to the lake every year. Not only has this created issues with traffic in Rockwall, but it has also led to increase in boating and fishing accidents on the lake. Just Google: Boating Accidents Lake Ray Hubbard. Or don’t. The results are not good. In fact, its really horribly sad. People are dying every year on our lake due to boating accidents and drowning.
Rockwall is an Interstate City
Rockwall, for the most part, has built up around I-30. Now, I know that there is a whole lot more to old Rockwall than I-30. I love the old downtown area. The old neighborhoods. The square. I really enjoy that side of Rockwall. However, Rockwall is a typical modern North Texas City in that, once the interstate is built, commerce builds up around it, and boy has it! Rockwall is loaded with shopping and eating lined up through its I-30 corridor. Which is great, but it will cause traffic because, well, see above.
There is another reason that I-30 is creating additional traffic: I-30 through Rockwall is the main corridor from North East Texas, Arkansas, etc.. It is a major trucking and travel route for people from all over looking to access Dallas and the surrounding areas. People from Fate, Greenville, Paris, Winnsboro, and other areas use I-30 to commute into the Dallas area. Likewise, people from Dallas, Rockwall, Rowlett, Garland etc.. use I-30 to access those areas in North East Texas and Arkansas. This means traffic.
Traffic Means Accidents. Period.
Rockwall traffic is notorious. Now that we have a better understanding of why traffic occurs in our area, we can better understand why so many accidents happen on our roadways. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people drive in and through Rockwall going from destination to destination. That is a lot of opportunity for an accident. All it takes is one bad lane change, or one look at the phone, and lives can be changed forever.
At Guest and Gray Law Firm, we have handled countless accident and injury matters in Rockwall. We know that negligence comes in all forms. Most of them seemingly innocent. A check of phone. Changing the radio station. Lane changes. However, those innocent seeming actions can have major consequences for the people that are trying to share the road and get where they want to go. Over the last several years, Rockwall County has seen an increase in the number of accidents, severe accidents and fatality accidents. Rockwall has also seen a drastic increase in commercial accidents as a result of a booming local and national economy.
GUEST AND GRAY LAW FIRM IS HERE TO SERVE ROCKWALL’S INJURED ACCIDENT VICTIMS
