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Brodie Lane proposalPosted May 2, 2006, 8:10 p.m.
on Brodie Lane closure |
Hays Highway Editor
AUSTIN – The Travis Commissioners Court started out Tuesday considering the closure of Brodie Lane at FM 1626. Three hours of testimony later, the court seemed more interested in seeking alternatives, including pressure to begin construction on the southwest portion of SH 45, which remains a dream of Hays County commuters more than two years after it was first scheduled to open in November 2003.
The commissioners heard from 39 speakers, the overwhelming majority of whom oppose the Brodie Lane closing. Most of the opposition came from Hays County residents, though some of the opposition lives in or around Shady Hollow, the Brodie Lane subdivision where residents launched the move to close the street out of safety concerns.
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe suggested waiting a couple weeks before action, adding, "some of the options make sense, but I think we should do more due diligence before we land on it." The commissioners agreed to consider the closure and alternatives at the court's May 16 meeting. The closing would take effect only if the court votes for it unanimously, an unlikely scenario.
Meanwhile, Travis County Pct. 3 Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, who serves the county's southwest portions and placed the road closure on the agenda, has scheduled a meeting next Monday between his staff, the Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS) and TxDOT. Daughtery said he wants to find out exactly where SOS and TxDOT stand on the SH 45 project, particularly the conditions under which construction can take place without threat of a lawsuit from SOS.
Though the threat of an SOS lawsuit for building a highway over the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge zone is a concern, Daugherty said SOS isn't the major or only impediment to building the road. Daugherty said the requirements of a federal environmental impact study (EIS) loom as a substantial hurdle. Any construction in the area would have to satisfy guidelines by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is a bureau in the Department of Interior.
Daughtery said funding for the road already is in place, the design is finished and the right of way has been acquired.
"The money is not the issue with southwest 45," Daugherty said. "We could start 45 southwest tomorrow if we could get through the EIS."
While SH 45 waits, traffic continues to build on Brodie Lane and Slaughter Lane, which compose the most direct route to the MoPac Expressway (Loop 1) for Hays County residents using FM 1626. Debbie Peterson of the Shady Hollow Homeowners Association, citing March 2006 TxDOT traffic figures, said 23,412 cars per day reach the intersection of Brodie and Slaughter Lanes, which exceeds the daily traffic at U.S. 183 and Airport Blvd. or the intersection of West SH 71 and U.S. 290.
"This is a bid to solve an immediate problem that has gotten worse and worse," Peterson said of the move to close Brodie Lane.
With the extension of FM 1626 from the Bunton Overpass in Kyle up to FM 2770 soon to open, Brodie Lane residents can expect to entertain even more traffic as Kyle residents seek a straighter shot into and out of Austin for the morning and evening employment commutes.
Some south Travis County residents opposed the suggestion by Brodie Lane residents that traffic be diverted to Manchaca Road, saying the intersection between that road and FM 1626 already is unsafe, particularly where FM 1626 curves just west of Manchaca Road. Kay Manis, representing parents involved with Menchaca Elementary School at that corner, said an extra 5,000 cars per day in the area would endanger school children even more than children at Brodie Lane area schools already are endangered.
Brodie Lane residents advocating the closure said the street is corrupt with accidents that have gone so far as to involve vehicles smashing into bedrooms where people were sleeping. Many said hurried commuters routinely run red lights to save time, adding that it has become nearly impossible to enter the street from their driveways during the rush hours.
Daugherty said in court that he hopes the issue will bring urgency to the construction of SH 45, which would link FM 1626 directly to MoPac. In addition to easing Brodie Lane traffic, SH 45 would substantially reduce daily commute times for Hays County residents using FM 1626.
"I think 99 percent of the people who voted for the Brodie Lane closing can not look you in the eye and tell you it's the right thing to do," Daughtery said. "... But what has to happen to get something to happen?"
SH 45 originally was conceived two decades ago as a loop running around the entire Austin metropolitan area. However, it only runs as far south as MoPac on the southwest while environmental concerns and TxDOT’s perennial funding issues through the years have stood in the way of completion.
Hays County Judge Jim Powers assembled a delegation of local officials to plead before Travis County commissioners against the road closing, including Buda Mayor John Trube, Hays County Pct. 2 Commissioner Susie Carter and District 45 State Representative Patrick Rose.
Buda resident Jim Camp, the former President of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation Commission, told commissioners he opposes the road closing, adding that he has always supported a four- or six-lane SH 45 connection provided it follows a federal EIS and is built as a limited-access parkway.
Among the alternatives brought to the commissioners are a Brodie Lane closure that would only take place during rush hours, adding lanes or building sidewalks so children can walk more safely. Sandy McMinn, a Shady Hollow resident, suggested taking out the bicycle lanes on Brodie Lane to produce a three-lane road, then dedicating the middle lane to north-bound traffic in the morning and south-bound traffic in the evening.
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