The countywide transportation committee began moving projects forward for final recommendation to the city on Tuesday, and several proposed roundabouts may be rolling out of favor.
The Kendall County, Boerne and Fair Oaks Transportation Committee has 77 projects over 40 roadways to consider for its final list of recommendations, and the group made its way through more than 20 this week.
While there was some concern about making final decisions while seven members were missing, KCBFOTC Cochair Bob Manning said members have decided a quorum is whatever they want it to be or whoever shows up. The reason is because there are several members who have failed to show up and have no historical context for what has been discussed. So, Manning said if the group waited for 75 percent of the members to attend, they’d never have a quorum.
Three roundabouts recommended where residential streets intersect Highway 46 led to some debate among committee members, with John Kight questioning whether a mix of residential traffic with highway traffic in a roundabout was the best solution.
Committee Cochair Don Durden said a series of roundabouts along Highway 46 could change the entire character and speed of the highway toward Champion High School. However, he pointed out the roadway is owned by Texas Department of Transportation, and he said the agency is not inclined to commit to such a change anytime soon.
“Early on, we all were instructed to not let our recommendations be altered by what city staff told us they supported because they didn’t support much of anything on our initial list of proposed projects,” Manning said. “Nor are we to have our decisions unduly effected by what TxDOT’s opinion is because they’ve been unable to get consensus in this community. So, just because we’re up against TxDOT’s barrier doesn’t mean to me we ought not to take our ideas seriously.”
Committee member Ben Eldredge suggested maybe it was time TxDOT “opened their minds” to new solutions, adding that Carmel, Indiana, used roundabouts in very sim ilar situations with successful outcomes – a city that served as inspiration for the committee’s early commitment to the circular solutions.
In the end, the series of roundabouts lining the state highway were lumped into one recommendation, essentially urging Boerne staff and officials to research the intersections along Highway 46 with a focus on roundabouts.
Kight said several of the intersections with the state highway could be resolved by adding acceleration lanes, left turn lanes and center refuge lanes. Thinking long term, Kight said overpasses could be built at those intersections with roundabouts underneath.
A roundabout at the intersection of North School and North Main streets and Adler Road was also placed under scrutiny Tuesday afternoon as Kight pointed out TxDOT would not support the project, adding it would be a difficult project with the fuel station nearby and the “wild angles” at which the three streets converge.
Durden said there was strong support for a roundabout at the intersection, noting it was included in the committee’s interim report in 2020, but he acknowledged the committee didn’t have enough technical information to know if that was a feasible solution. So, Durden said there would need to be an assessment to determine if the project would work.
One greenfield project was moved forward as a final recommendation. However, the committee agreed members would speak to any impacted landowners before a clear path was made.
The committee moved a project forward that would connect Johns Road to Farmto-Market Road 1376, but it’s still unclear what that connection might look like. The only road currently running off Johns Road heading north is Honey Bee Lane, which the committee members agreed is less than ideal since it is a narrow, underdeveloped road.
With the city of Boerne’s bond discussions moving to roads Tuesday, the committee is beginning to whittle down its massive project list. The committee is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. March 29 at Boerne City Hall.
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