ROUND ROCK LEADER
November 12, 2007
KATHRYN EAKENS
Leader Staff
The Round Rock City Council, at its meeting Thursday, unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Nyle Maxwell to execute an interlocal agreement with Williamson County to widen Wyoming Springs Road from RM 620 north to Brightwater Boulevard.
Under the agreement, Williamson County will contribute $3 million to the city for the $6.4 million project, which must be completed before or at the same time as the extension of Creek Bend Boulevard. Upon completion of the project, the city will annex, accept and maintain the portions of Wyoming Springs currently outside the city limits.
"The agreement, in essence, establishes a partnership with the county for the construction of this project," said Tom Word, director of Public Works for the city. "It puts the city in charge of the development and construction of the project on behalf of the county as well as the city."
The city of Round Rock will contribute $3.4 million to the project, which will come from bonds approved by voters in a 2001 bond election as well as sales tax revenue and contributions from other governmental entities and the private sector.
The widening of Wyoming Springs from two lanes to four has been a source of contention among residents of nearby subdivisions, who are concerned the project will create a safety hazard for children who cross Wyoming Springs to attend Fern Bluff Elementary as well as to increase traffic into the residential area. Also included in the city's Transportation Master Plan is the extension of Wyoming Springs to connect two existing portions and the extension of Creek Bend Boulevard to intersect with the road.
"The approval of the resolution is a big disappointment," said James Cunningham, a Fern Bluff Elementary parent. "I would have liked to see the City Council delay the decision until they can receive more input from citizens. Tom Word spoke about best practices and I'm disappointed to learn the city and the Round Rock Independent School District don't understand best practices. You never put a four-lane arterial road in front of an elementary school."
City officials say the project is necessary to alleviate congestion on Sam Bass Road, RM 620 and FM 3406 caused by a lack of roads that provide crossings of Brushy Creek west of I-35. Though residents are concerned the project will increase congestion by creating space for more traffic, city officials say without the project congestion will continue to worsen as the city's population increases.
"Some of the traffic on RM 620 and the interstate are people who are leaving the subdivision and have destinations to the north," said Word. "The extension of Creek Bend to Wyoming Springs will give people in that neighborhood another way in and out of their neighborhood. Yes, more people will drive through it but there will be another way in and out, resulting potentially in fewer trips on 620."
Word compared the situation to one on the east side of Interstate 35 prior to the extension of A.W. Grimes from Gattis School Road to U.S. Highway 79.
"As you recall, we had a lot of traffic on Gattis School Road going east and west but their real destination was to the north," he said. "When we opened A.W. Grimes the traffic decreased. The people didn't go away; they just had a shorter, more direct route from those neighborhoods to the destinations they were trying to get to."
City leaders are considering a number of ways to improve pedestrian safety in the area, including building a pedestrian tunnel or bridge south of the student drop-off area - located across Wyoming Springs from the school - directly onto school property. Currently, Fern Bluff Elementary students cross Wyoming Springs between blocks in an area without an intersection.
"We have pledged to the school and the PTA that we will be meeting with them frequently to deal with safety issues," said Word. "Some of these issues are issues today even in the absence of the expansion of the roadway. We think we will be able to successfully deal with most of these in a way that enhances the quality of the school and the safety of the school even over what it is today."
When Wyoming Springs was initially built, the developer acquired right-of-way for six lanes of roadway but because of concerns expressed by residents, the city changed its original plan to widen the road to six lanes down to four. According to Word, the right-of-way for the six-lane arterial was already present when the land for Fern Bluff Elementary was acquired. Word also said there are a number of elementary schools in the district build on similar roadways, an example being Turtle Creek Elementary - currently under construction along a five-lane major arterial.
"The school district continues to choose sites on these kinds of facilities. We work with them in every way we can to make sure the safety is there but when they chose one of these sites, we don't close the road because they chose the site," he said. "We work with them to make sure the safety is handled to the greatest extent we possibly can."
Now that the resolution has been approved, the next step is for the city to hire an engineer to help design the expansion - looking at environmental and safety issues, performing traffic studies and preparing construction plans. The council will also have to approve any future design or contract to build the road.
According to Word, the city expects to be in a position to begin talking with neighborhoods adjacent to the project about details in March.
"We'll have about a six- or seven-month time period where we will be meeting frequently with stakeholders to develop the best project we can with the most input from the neighborhoods that we can," he said.
Word expects construction on the project to begin in February or March of 2009 and be completed at the beginning of 2010.
"We're not talking details right now," said Mayor Pro-tem Alan McGraw. "The details are going to come later and everyone will have time to look at exactly what details we're talking about. If we don't feel comfortable at that time with the details we're being presented we can send it back to the drawing board again and again and again until we're happy with it.
"But this is nothing but a funding agreement with the county."
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Monday, November 12, 2007
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