Mark Outing, owner of Mark’s Outing, said he arrived at the restaurant Saturday morning to find the fence destroyed.
SAN ANTONIO — The owner of a longtime east-side restaurant is calling for safety improvements at a busy intersection after a vehicle crashed into his property over the weekend, damaging a fence outside the business.
Mark Outing, owner of Mark’s Outing, said he arrived at the restaurant Saturday morning to find the fence destroyed following an overnight crash near the intersection of East Commerce Street and North Pine Street.
“It was pretty alarming to me and concerning,” Outing said.
Outing said a woman later approached him and told him her son had been a passenger in the vehicle involved in the crash. According to Outing, the woman shared a photo showing the car after it struck the fence.
The restaurant owner said the incident is one of several crashes he has witnessed in the area over the years.
“I actually seen a guy and his lady literally killed in this area, right in the front right here from accidents,” Outing said. “It’s alarming that nothing’s being done about it.”
Outing said he has operated the restaurant for more than 20 years and has repeatedly advocated for traffic safety improvements at the intersection. He believes stoplights or additional traffic-control measures could help reduce speeding and prevent future crashes.
“We need to get some lights there, something that’ll cause traffic to slow down, so it doesn’t become a catastrophe here,” he said.
Outing also expressed concern for pedestrians, particularly children who cross the street during school hours to catch buses or wait for their parents.
“They cross the street to catch the bus, they cross the street to come here to wait for their parents,” he said.
Outing said he has spoken with District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez about the issue and received guidance on how to pursue traffic safety changes through city channels.
“I’m born and raised on the east side of San Antonio,” Outing said. “As someone that’s a part of this community, I just think it’s my responsibility to say something about it.”
A request for comment sent to McKee-Rodriguez’s office was not immediately returned.