Transportation Plan Update

The Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board is meeting Friday, January,9, 2015 (http://agendas.georgetown.org/). The Executive Summary of the Overall Transportation Plan Update is to be presented and discussed.  The Executive Summary can be viewed at the link.

There are several items to note:

1.  The following roads are outside the jurisdiction of the city: Interstate Highway 35, Business Highway 35 (Austin Avenue), State Highways 29 and 195, as well as the tolled State Highway 130, also Farm-to-Market Roads 971, 972 and 1460, as well as Ranch-to-Market roads 2243 (Leander Road) and 2338(Williams Drive).

2.  The last public meetings on the Transportation Plan were held in 2010.  Only 20 people attended the morning session and only four people attended the evening session.  Wake up people!  You have to participate if you want to have input into the road projects here in Georgetown!

The following transportation goals and objectives identified are:

· Implement improvements to the local road and traffic control system, including new thoroughfare linkages to enhance connectivity, improved and coordinated traffic signalization, standards for access management to enhance traffic flow and safety.

· Progress toward a functional, well-integrated, multi-modal transportation system that provides a variety of choices – bicycle, public transportation, and pedestrian – on a local and regional level.

· Reduce reliance on single-occupant automobile traffic by retrofitting bicycle lanes and sidewalks in underserved areas to enhance bicycle and pedestrian mobility; incorporating these facilities in new developments; and encouraging compact mixed-use and other “walkable” development types.

· Guide the future growth and development of the City toward a more balanced approach between employment and commercial centers, schools and other high traffic generators.

Notice that there is no "goal" to increase the capacity of existing roads and streets, other than through the "traffic control system", but there is a goal to reduce automobile traffic.  There are many other goals and objectives articulated in the Executive Summary that includes such things as considering social and environmental impacts.

The plan also recognizes the concept of an Activity Center that has been developed as part of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (CAMPO) 2035 Transportation Plan.  This Activity Center, with a 1-mile radius, is centered on the proposed Lone Star Rail station in the City's southeast quadrant.

A thorough review of the many interconnected plans is required to get a true picture of the planning for the future of Georgetown. The City's transportation plan ostensibly was developed with three primary components: (1) community input; (2) community needs; and (3) Traffic Demand Model.  The community input of 24 people five years ago seems woefully inadequate and the methods for identifying community needs were not specifically discussed in the Executive Summary.

The proposed thoroughfare plan is shown in the figure below.

This Executive Summary projects the tone of Agenda 21 with it's emphasis on non-transportation specific objectives, such as balancing employment and commercial centers.  The emphasis of such a plan should be on meeting the needs of the citizens in the most economically beneficial manner while respecting the property rights of land owners.