PRESENTER: Presenter
Garry Ford, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider a recommendation to City Council regarding the determination of right-of-way of E. Common Street, identified as a Principal Arterial in the City of New Braunfels Regional Transportation Plan, between the intersections with Gruene Road and FM 306.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning and Development Services, Public Works
Staff Contact: Garry Ford, Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer
gford@nbtexas.org <mailto:gford@nbtexas.org>
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 4
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of New Braunfels received an Application for Regional Transportation Plan Amendment requesting right-of-way determination on E. Common Street between Gruene Road and FM 306. The request is to reduce the right-of-way width from 150 feet to 98 feet. Per the applicant’s letter of request, this comes from discussions with the city and is in line with the proposed thoroughfare plan updates.
Common Street is identified as a principal arterial in the City of New Braunfels Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) approved by City Council on March 12, 2012. The RTP is the City's adopted plan for guiding thoroughfare system improvements, including the existing and planned extension of city streets and highways. The thoroughfare system is comprised of existing and planned interstates, expressways, parkways, arterials, and collectors which require wider or new rights-of-way. The primary objective of the RTP is to ensure the dedication of adequate right-of-way on appropriate alignments and of enough width to serve existing and future transportation needs. The Texas Local Government Code allows the City to require development plans and subdivision plats to conform to the general plan for current and future roadways.
A Principal Arterial is a roadway with a high traffic volume and is frequently the route of choice for trucks and other large vehicles. Common Street provides regional connectivity from Union Avenue north into the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction when it changes into FM 1102 and is the primary parallel arterial west of IH 35. In the current RTP, Principal Arterials include up to six lanes and have a right-of-way width of up to 150 feet. The proposed update to the city’s Thoroughfare Plan would reduce the number of lines to four and right-of-way width to 98 feet, with additional considerations to be made at intersections with major collectors, arterials, parkways, expressways, and interstates.
The E. Common Street segment reviewed with the request is from the intersection with Gruene Road to the intersection with FM 306. Gruene Road is designated as a Minor Collector and FM 306 is also designated as a Principal Arterial in the RTP. Both intersections of Gruene Road and FM 306 with Common Street are important intersections for traffic operations and safety. This segment of E. Common Street also intersects three roadways designated as Minor Collectors in the RTP; Hanz Drive, Waterway Lane, and Old FM 306. The existing right-of-way width on this segment of E. Common Street is approximately 80 feet with pavement width varying between 36 to 43 feet. The typical section is a three-lane roadway at the intersection with Gruene Road transitioning to a two-lane roadway north of the intersection with Waterway Lane. There is no on-street parking and there are some 5-foot wide sidewalks adjacent to the street. The roadway serves various land uses, including residential and commercial.
The existing westbound E. Common Street section at the intersection with Gruene Road includes one travel lane in each direction and a left turn lane. Similarly, the intersection of E. Common Street with FM 306 has one travel lane in each direction and a left turn lane. The E. Common Street approaches to both intersections currently experience significant queues and delays. As such, additional capacity is needed approaching the intersection and the right-of-way needs to be preserved in order to make improvements such as an additional right turn lane. Right-of-way dedication provides the opportunity to improve overall operations and safety.
Based on existing and future land use, constraints, and traffic activity, it is recommended that the right-of-way be reduced from 150 feet to the requested 98 feet with the exception of the 325 feet approaching both the intersection with Gruene Road and FM 306 where the right-of-way would be reduced from 150 feet to 110 feet. This will allow for additional lanes, turn lanes, roadside buffer, 6-foot sidewalks, and any necessary drainage improvements at the approaches to these intersections.
ISSUE:
Staff received a request for a right-of-way determination on E. Common Street between Gruene Road and FM 306 to reduce the right-of-way width from 150 feet to 98 feet.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the right-of-way on E. Common Street between Gruene Road and FM 306 be reduced from 150 feet to 98 feet with the exception of the 325 feet approaching both the intersection with Gruene Road and FM 306 where the right-of-way would be reduced from 150 feet to 110 feet.