Bryan staff brief council on Villa Maria Road shared-use path design; right-of-way may affect some commercial parking

City of Bryan staff briefed the council on plans to design a shared-use path and lighting for Villa Maria Road Phase 2 and explained how the project’s TxDOT grant structure affects right-of-way and property impacts. Paul, a city staff member involved with the project, told councilmembers the city intends to prepare designs for construction under a TxDOT grant but must resolve any additional right-of-way needs before applying for or proceeding with grant-funded construction.

Paul said the existing right-of-way is not wide enough in some locations and the design team expects to identify a small number of commercial properties where head-in parking currently encroaches into TxDOT right-of-way. “There’s going to be a couple of properties where there are some head in parking that actually encroach into TxDOT’s right of way currently,” Paul said. He explained that, where the path would sit on top of existing parking, the city would need to determine right-of-way needs during design and negotiate acquisitions or compensatory arrangements with affected property owners.

Paul told the council that, because the project is a TxDOT grant project, the grant program generally expects right-of-way acquisition issues to be addressed before construction. He said that where construction would narrow driveways or remove parking, property owners could be compensated or could address replacement parking themselves, but the city will need to define these needs during design and bring parcel-by-parcel acquisition recommendations forward if necessary.

Councilmembers also asked whether the shared-use path would interfere with any potential future TxDOT-driven widening of Villa Maria Road. Paul said the design team has tried to locate the path so it would not require reconstruction in most places if the road were widened, but acknowledged sections that sit close to the roadway would need to be shifted or rebuilt if a full widening occurs.

No formal vote or direction beyond questions and answers occurred during the briefing. Councilmembers asked for more information and confirmed they were comfortable proceeding with detailed design work and right-of-way analysis so staff can identify any required parcel acquisitions and compensation options for affected owners.