Belle Chase Farms residents ask Williamson County for updated speed study; Highway Superintendent to contract Collier Engineering

Residents of the Belle Chase Farms subdivision raised safety concerns at the May 6 Williamson County Highway Commission meeting and asked the county to undertake an updated speed study.

Erica Akers, a Belle Chase Farms resident, signed up to speak during citizen communications and asked the commission to investigate reported speeding. Jon Ohrt, president of the Belle Chase Farms HOA, handed members a letter and described continuing concerns about excessive speeding. Ohrt told commissioners the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office performed a speed study last year but that the study "did not meet their requirements to go forward," according to the minutes.

Highway Superintendent Eddie Hood said staff had installed a stop bar at the identified area and that he would contact Collier Engineering to perform an updated speed study; Hood said he would keep Mr. Ohrt informed and return to the commission with Collier Engineering’s recommendations. The minutes do not record a timeline for the study or identify specific enforcement steps beyond the stop bar already installed.

The commission did not vote on the request; minutes record Hood’s commitment to pursue the study and to report back to the board. Commissioners and staff made no comment in the minutes about what speed threshold would prompt enforcement or signage changes.

Next steps recorded in the minutes: Hood will contact Collier Engineering for an updated study and return with recommendations to the commission. Any formal enforcement, signage changes or speed-limit adjustments would require further staff recommendations or a separate commission action.