Council advances Town Creek Overlay District to manage access and development along new connector road

The council moved an item from the study agenda and suspended rules to consider creation of the Town Creek Overlay District on May 5.

City engineer Mr. Bonds explained the overlay's purpose: to establish access-management and design standards for a new connector road intended to link Gloucester Street with Barnes Crossing Road, preserve a minimum traffic level of service (targeted at Level B) and allow for targeted commercial and retail development along the corridor. He said the ordinance includes criteria for future signalization that will rely on professional traffic studies and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and Mississippi Department of Transportation access-management guidance.

Mr. Bonds said the overlay will also include cross-access allowances for properties that do not have direct driveway access to designated locations, allowing internal connections to preserve through-traffic flow. Council members asked clarifying questions about naming (Town Creek vs. Woodford overlay) and agreed the language will include highway-engineering specifications and design guidelines.

Councilors voted to proceed and approved consideration of the overlay tonight; no formal roll-call tally for the final adoption is included in the transcript excerpt. The item will move to the usual ordinance-enactment procedures and any required traffic studies and signalization decisions will be made according to established engineering manuals and MDOT guidance.

The council then moved to other items on the agenda.