After a handful of attacks on Dallas' popular Katy Trail and pressure from the public to make the area safer, city officials on Friday unveiled the trail's latest safety device – 911 markers.

The round white and green signs, installed along the 3.5-mile trail, display numbers corresponding to nearby addresses. The addresses allow the city's computer-aided dispatch system to generate GPS coordinates, which in turn allow emergency responders to pinpoint locations.

Police said the markers will help prevent officers from wasting time trying to find people along the trail or responding to an incorrect location.

"This will take seconds or minutes off our response time," Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said.

There are about 20 signs along the trail, and they cost about $50 each, said Michael Hellmann of the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.

The marker system joins initiatives such as lighting and patrols on the trail, which snakes by Highland Park and the Oak Lawn and Uptown neighborhoods.

Chad Francis, 39, who's on the trail three times a day with his Rottweiler, Fitzgerald, said trail users have responded to safety concerns by doing such things as running only in lit areas at night.

He said he hopes to see more trail improvements in the future. "I'm glad these programs are finally getting a lot of support," he said.

Officials say the trail is safe. Chief Kunkle said attacks along the Katy Trail get a lot of media attention because they happen so rarely. Eric Van Steenburg, executive director of Friends of the Katy Trail, agreed.

"The Katy Trail is probably the safest place in Dallas because of how many people are on it every day," he said. "It's a de facto crime watch."