Council backs hybrid left-turn lane at Fair Oaks Parkway and Front Gate after traffic study

Fair Oaks Ranch city officials on Sept. 4 agreed to proceed with a hybrid left-turn lane to improve safety at the Fair Oaks Parkway and Front Gate intersection, following public comment and a traffic analysis presented by the city's public works director.

Public speakers at the meeting urged immediate action. Harold Prasadik, a Front Gate resident who submitted traffic items to the Transportation and Safety Advisory Committee earlier in the year, told council the intersection had 23 crashes over 10 years and urged stop signs until the city had complete speed/radar data. "Please install stop signs to stop these crashes. It's cheap and it's effective," Prasadik said during citizen comment.

Public Works Director Grant Watanabe summarized a traffic engineering memo showing peak left-turn volumes of 76 (AM) and 170 (PM) vehicles and said both levels exceed San Antonio UDC and NCHRP 745 criteria for a dedicated left-turn lane. Watanabe said staff's preferred compromise was a hybrid left-turn lane estimated at about $90,000 that would widen pavement to provide a 10-foot left-turn lane, a 12-foot through lane and two-foot shoulders; the hybrid stacks roughly three to four vehicles.

Council members debated whether the hybrid could create sight-line or queuing issues for vehicles exiting Front Gate. Watanabe and other staff said the hybrid avoids more substantial drainage and tree impacts that a full 250-foot left-turn lane would require and that the hybrid could be extended later if necessary. Construction time for the hybrid striping and paving was described as likely under one month; permitting, design and procurement could extend the calendar time before work starts but staff estimated the project could be completed within six months of authorization.

Several council members expressed concern about unintended safety trade-offs for vehicles exiting Front Gate; staff said they would include supplemental signing and monitor conditions after installation and that the hybrid option improves the safety of northbound left-turners by providing a refuge rather than an ad-hoc shoulder maneuver.

The council consensus (no roll-call tally recorded) was to proceed with the hybrid left-turn lane option and include the cost in upcoming budget considerations. Staff said the hybrid would be constructed incrementally and could later be lengthened to a full left-turn lane if traffic counts and crash data justify the change.

Actions: Council directed staff to proceed with the hybrid left-turn lane design and budgeting; further design, procurement and construction scheduling to follow.