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Posted November 16, 2005, 9:30 p.m.
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BUDA — The city's hope for putting a transportation plan in place has been delayed by a couple weeks.
The city scheduled a public hearing for Thursday night (Nov. 17), but pushed it back to Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
The city's transportation commission met last week for one last run-through with Eddy Etherege, the former Hays County Judge now putting together the plan for the consulting firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newman.
The transportation plan will serve two purposes. First, it will give the city a leg up as it seeks funding from agencies that require such a plan before dispersing money. Second, it enables the city to control development.
"Without a plan," transportation commissioner Danny Levin said, "a developer can try to develop and we can't say, 'No, we have a collector planned for that area.'"
Said Etherege, "If you don't get that plan in place today, there may be a developer there tomorrow."
The plan includes numerous new roads. However, commissioners asked Etherege to take another look at Old San Antonio Road, which isn't connected with IH-35 in the plan.
With a Wal-Mart scheduled to open next summer at the intersection of Main Street and Old San Antonio Road, commissioners fear congestion if an outlet from Old San Antonio Road to the interstate isn't provided.
The intersection, commissioners said, will otherwise turn unbearable with traffic from Wal-Mart, Cabela's and HEB, not to mention ordinary city traffic attempting to access the interstate.
Etherege said he will take another look at the area.
The transportation plan includes seven new arterials and collectors, not including those to be located in the Winfield MUD on the east side of Buda.
Among the roads planned west of the interstate are an east-west route parallel with and one-half mile north of Kohlers Krossing between Jack C. Hays Trail and IH-35, a truck bypass that will run east-west across FM 1626 and Jack C. Hays Trail about 1 1/2 miles north of where those roads intersect, a road to proposed SH 45 north of town from the point at which RM 967 takes a 90-degree turn approaching downtown and a road from RM 967 about a mile north of downtown to the interstate.
Commissioners said the roads would be built and funded over time, using all the federal, state and county funds available.
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