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Consultants report higher adjusted growth projections as county's thoroughfare plan moves into modeling phase
Summary
Friese & Nichols told the court they are about 35% through the master thoroughfare plan update, reporting public outreach metrics and adjusted population/employment assumptions; commissioners requested precinct-level reviews after consultants projected faster growth than regional COG numbers in some scenarios.
Consultants from Friese & Nichols presented an update on the Rockwall County Master Thoroughfare Plan on April 28, saying the study is about 35% complete and that public engagement has produced strong response.
Brian Crooks (project manager) said the team completed stakeholder meetings and town halls and had extended the online survey to May 10 to boost participation. "We had 570 participants and over 800 responses," Crooks reported, and the consultants are using those inputs to code model networks and mark up proposed thoroughfare improvements.
Connor Roberts, handling demographics for the study, told commissioners the consultant's adjusted projections assume faster near-term growth in some TAZs than the regional Council of Governments (COG) baseline. Roberts said the team combined entitlement data, vacant acreage analysis and municipal future land-use maps to inform the adjusted 2036 estimate. "We're taking a look at entitled projects and vacant acreage and applying densities," Roberts said. Commissioners pressed for precinct-level checks: "If we need to sit down and take a look at a TAZ in your precinct, we're more than happy to do that," Roberts said in response to questions.
Commissioners also raised questions about a survey design item (question 6) that could pressure respondents to pick modal options; consultants agreed to revise the live survey to allow skipping and an 'other/none of the above' response. The consultant team will run updated models, incorporate comments from this court session and return with marked-up networks and policy recommendations ahead of final report development.
Next steps: close the survey on May 10, finalize issues-and-needs identification, complete network modeling and provide the court with draft report elements for review.
