An impassioned but seemingly misguided mass of Kendall County residents flooded Boerne City Hall Tuesday afternoon to protest the controversial Kendall Gateway loop, but the countywide transportation committee has been adamant it won’t be considering the project.
A social media post caused a stir among the local community after it claimed local officials were reconsidering the Texas Department of Transportation’s Kendall Gateway study, which included a large, raised highway loop around the city. The project has been shrouded in chaos because it included oft-mentioned “lines on a map” through several private properties, but members of the Kendall County, Boerne and Fair Oaks Transportation Committee have been very clear in saying they will not consider the loop project for its recommendations to local municipalities.
“Our committee, the folks that you see here and others that are not joining us, have been working diligently for three years,” KCBFOTC Co-chair Don Durden said. “We did take a little time off during COVID suspension. We have worked hard to develop a citizen-based, citizen-led, consensus-based transportation plan for Kendall County. Our meetings have been open and transparent. Those of you in the audience I think can attest to that. …
“During our time in existence, the committee has solicited and received many ideas and comments from the public. We’ve also generated some of our own. Each idea that was put forward was considered by the committee carefully, and it was either rejected as not worth pursuing further or it was put in a stack that says, ‘We’ll carry that forward and look at it in more detail as we move forward.’”
Both Durden and his co-chair, Bob Manning, made it clear the committee has chosen to operate in full public view and with complete transparency. Both chairs said the Kendall Gateway study was not up for consideration.
The Kendall County commissioners issued a resolution in 2017 denouncing the large-scale study and took a firm stance against the Kendall Gateway loop. During the meeting Tuesday, several residents called for the Boerne City Council to issue a similar resolution, noting the city can opt to operate outside of the recommendations issued by the advisory transportation committee.
In response, both during and after the meeting, several transportation committee members urged the residents to play a role in holding both city and county officials accountable to the recommendations made by the citizen-led committee.
While the initial arguments against the city loop project were tied to a fear that property would be forcibly taken from landowners through eminent domain, the conversation Tuesday seemed to suggest residents oppose a TxDOT bypass route whether the land for the project is taken or is given through development projects. Based on public comment, the residents appeared to be in opposition of a city loop outright.
Several residents pointed to the Boerne major thoroughfare plan, saying city officials are still eyeing a citywide loop. However, city staff has been clear that the thoroughfare plan is laid out on a grid and acknowledged that any number of connecting roads can be looked at as a loop. However, city staff and officials have been clear that the gateway project specifically is not being considered.
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