Commissioner Webb outlines Mobility 2050 roadway recommendations, local projects and DART developments

Commissioner Webb told Collin County Commissioners Court that the North Central Texas Council of Governments' Mobility 2050 plan projects major roadway and arterial capacity increases across the county and that the plan will go out for a 60-day public comment period.

Webb said the Mobility 2050 materials he distributed show proposed new and additional freeway capacity along U.S. 380 and other corridors and identify arterial capacity improvements concentrated in the county’s northwest and around Lake Lavon. "This 380 plus for 399 is shown on there as new and additional freeway capacity," Webb said. He also pointed to a map showing an "outer outer loop" and possible connections from the new 380 freeway to that loop and mentioned the 78 corridor as a potential freeway corridor.

Webb described a heat map in the plan that projects most of the county west of U.S. 75 becoming urban core and much of the remaining area becoming suburban over the next 25 years. He said projected regional transportation revenues for 2050 are approximately $216,500,000,000, an increase of about $68,200,000,000 from 2045, but cautioned that inflation and rising costs could limit what those dollars will build in practice. Webb said the plan projects a 2050 population of 2,400,000 and an employment base of 8,700,000.

Webb also summarized a strategic transportation funding program that approved several county-area projects. He said the county or cities in the county received approvals for these projects and gave the following figures: - Ferguson Parkway expansion (Elm Street to Collin County Outer Loop): about $48,000,000 to expand from two to four lanes divided. - Legacy Drive in Frisco (Main Street to Panther Creek Parkway): about $20,000,000 to widen from four to six lanes. - McKinney — Loud Howe Parkway (FM 1461 to U.S. 75) including a bridge over Honey Creek: about $44,000,000 to construct a four-lane roadway and a six-lane bridge. - Two Richland projects (Renter Road and Surnoji Park Boulevard): roughly $10,000,000 total. - Wiley Kreimeyer Lane (FM 78 to Crescent Oak): about $24,000,000 to widen from two to four lanes divided.

On regional transit governance, Webb said the Regional Transportation Council remained neutral in negotiations between agencies and that talks with DART (the Dallas Area Rapid Transit) continue. He said DART has proposed changes, including seeking to remove a rule tied to the one-cent sales tax that currently triggers a public vote after three years of a contract arrangement. Webb said RTC members had set a deadline for DART and its partners to reach agreement; the deadline passed without an agreement, and the council extended its neutral stance through the end of the month while negotiations continue. Webb said a DART board vote to consider abolishing the “three-year rule” is scheduled later this month and that mediation discussions are underway.

Webb said Mobility 2050 and the associated materials are being circulated for public comment for 60 days. He encouraged commissioners to review the roadway recommendations and the density projections included in the plan. "It's going out for public comment for 60 days," Webb said.

The update was presented during the Commissioners Court session and drew no formal votes at the meeting; Webb answered clarifying questions from the court before the session moved on to other agenda items.