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Commission approves four highest-ranked sidewalk-link projects; staff to use scoring matrix to prioritize more gaps
Summary
The Transportation Commission voted to fund four sidewalk-link projects recommended by staff and to continue developing a scored master list of sidewalk gap locations to guide future capital and annual sidewalk work.
The Flower Mound Transportation Commission on May 13 approved staff recommendations to advance four sidewalk-link projects from the town’s gap master list into the FY25–26 program.
Manny Palacios, assistant director of public works over operations, presented a scoring matrix and a master list of more than 100 sidewalk gaps. Staff used safety and proximity metrics (accident history, street classification, proximity to schools, parks and trails, length of gap, estimated construction cost and project complexity) to rank locations. Palacios said the top-ranked projects are ready to advance with the town’s current annual sidewalk allocation.
Palacios recommended four projects for immediate funding and further design: a sidewalk gap linking a neighborhood to a school and an existing trail (score: 48), two segments on Kirkpatrick Drive (including a gap near a park and commercial area), and a gap on King’s Drive in a residential neighborhood. Palacios told the commission he had evaluated more than 50 locations to date and that the master list exceeds 120 candidate gaps.
Commissioners asked about funding and schedule. Palacios said the sidewalk-links program is typically funded at $150,000 per year from the town’s annual allocations and that higher-cost projects may need capital funding requests. He described a strategy of packaging certain high-cost gaps for capital funding and using the annual allocation for lower-cost, lower-complexity projects.
After discussion, a motion to approve the four sidewalk-link projects as presented passed on a roll-call vote. Commissioners recorded as voting aye were: Commissioner Van Duen; Commissioner Morier; Commissioner Hughes; Commissioner Mulder; Commissioner Landry; and Commissioner Clark. The motion passed.
Palacios said staff will return with cost estimates and, where appropriate, capital funding requests for higher-cost stands, and that if annual-contract savings arise staff would recommend adding more projects from the scored list.
The commission also asked staff to produce clearer user-focused materials (maps and a short explanation of scoring) so the public and council can understand selections and that staff will flag projects that are candidates for capital funding.
