The writer defines a stroad as a hybrid of a road and a street that ends up doing neither job well. Lubbock has massive stretches of uninterrupted asphalt, the column says, with plenty of spots for drivers to make questionable turns.

Some medians already exist. The column points to landscaped ones near Texas Tech, planted with native, low-water, low-maintenance plants, and says grassy medians sit nearby too. Placed strategically, medians can reduce turning conflicts and visually separate different flows of traffic. Poorly designed or poorly maintained ones could cut visibility instead.

For people on foot, a median gives a safer spot in the middle of the street to stop while crossing. The writer says pedestrians should use crosswalks but admits that doesn't always happen. Medians also improve how an area looks.

Water is the catch. The column says planting water-loving, heat-intolerant plants would waste taxpayer dollars. The alternative it favors is xeriscaping, which uses drought-tolerant plants and other methods to eliminate or nearly eliminate watering.

The writer's starting point is simple. When visiting other places, the first thing noticed is that their streets don't look like Lubbock's.