Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Annexation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents warn of traffic impacts as council holds second hearing on annexing portions of West Travis Road
Summary
At a statutorily required second public hearing, residents urged Fredericksburg City Council to consider traffic, secondary access and roadway improvements before approving a county-requested voluntary annexation of right-of-way along West Travis, Catholic Cemetery Road and West Austin Street.
Fredericksburg — The City Council held a second public hearing on a county-requested voluntary annexation limited to right-of-way along West Travis Street, Catholic Cemetery Road and part of West Austin Street, and residents urged the council to study traffic and access consequences before taking action.
Martin Simon, a property owner whose backyard abuts West Travis, told councilors he counted 509 vehicles at the intersection of West Travis and Catholic Cemetery Road during a single day and warned that approving annexation could facilitate development with a single ingress and egress point. "I respectfully ask this council to carefully consider all the ramifications," Simon said, describing the possibility that future development would add traffic to a road not built for high volumes.
Neighbor Tim Dooley and resident Eric Harrison echoed concerns about one-way access for potential 48‑lot developments, asking whether the city would require secondary access or road improvements and who would pay for upgrades. Dooley asked whether improvements would be scheduled as part of the city’s paving program or wait until development occurs; city staff said streets taken into the city would fall under the annual paving program and that traffic counts would help determine needed improvements.
City staff explained the county requested annexation because adjacent development recently improved the eastern side of Cemetery Road and utilities (water and sewer mains) already run under that pavement, making a city takeover reasonable for maintenance. Staff emphasized the hearing concerned only the right-of-way and would not expand the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
The hearing produced no final action; council members thanked speakers and said staff would consider alternatives and monitor development patterns before any subsequent decisions on broader annexation or development agreements.
Council asked staff to note resident concerns and to continue looking at secondary access options and phasing, and encouraged coordination with developers on roadway easements and utility responsibilities.
