Fair Oaks Ranch closes intersection near school

BY JEFF B. FLINN Managing Editor

When Boerne ISD schools reopen on Monday, Fair Oaks Ranch parents who use Noble Lark Drive to get to Van Raub Elementary School need to map out a different route.

Since December 18, the intersection of Noble Lark and Dietz Elkhorn Road has been temporarily closed and will remain so as a trial period, to eliminate cut-through traffic in Fair Oaks Ranch neighborhoods.

City Manager Scott Huizenga said the intent of the closure is to reroute traffic onto the major connectors for the school – Fair Oaks Parkway to the Interstate 10 access road or Old Fredericksburg Road, and onto Dietz Elkhorn, where the elementary is situated.

“From a traffic flow perspective, (the intent is to) to keep the traffic going to primary destinations on the primary connectors, and not through the neighborhoods,” Huizenga said Tuesday.

Huizenga said the road closure was first discussed back in September with an eye toward the school winter break for initiating the planned closure.

“We intentionally planned to ... block the intersection on December 18, the Monday after winter break started,” the city manager said. “Our thought process was to get a lot of lead-time ... to acclimate as many people as possible to the change, and to give a little lead time before school starts back up.”

Residents of The Woods at Fair Oaks Ranch are among those primarily affected, he said. Parents who live on streets such as Monument Oak, Woodland Parkway and Heritage Trail will no longer be able to traverse Noble Lark in the mornings, and after school.

Signs warning of the intersection's closure have been posted on Fair Oaks Parkway, where Noble Lark and Kalkallo Drive connect.

“As of right now, it remains a trial closure, to see how traffic patterns change, to see if there are any unintended consequences ... in lieu of this block,” he said. “We want to see if this change has a significant effect on Fair Oaks Parkway and the access road.”

“We’ll keep it in place for a whole quarter, to give it time, so people get into a pattern,” he said.

“The totality of the issue, the timing to re-establish those patterns for people, will take a few weeks, at least. Once those routes are in place, the impact will be minimal.”