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Council OK’s bike lane plan, land tracking system
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
It’s been a long ride for several boards, commissions and staff members in Flower Mound in their attempts to make town roads more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
Monday, the town council approved amendments to the transportation master plan, the parks and trails master plan and the land development regulations to designate bike lanes on various roads in Flower Mound.
The plan, went through several meetings dating back to January 2011, aims to provide pedestrian/bicycle lanes on existing roads in the eastern part of town, as well as future roads in the undeveloped areas on the west part of town.
Matt Hotelling, the town’s traffic engineer, said Canyon Falls officials have already incorporated these bike lanes into the project’s thoroughfare plan.
Another component of the plan is to re-designate the 5-foot shoulder on the greenway rural arterial as a bike lane. The greenway rural arterial is a future route that takes drivers from FM 1171 to the north side of Canyon Falls.
A third component is to make the existing 5-foot shoulder on rural collectors bike lanes as well. Some of those roads are Skillern Road, Wichita Trail, Scenic Drive, Shiloh Road, Simmons Road and Ridgecrest Drive. Monday’s amendment changes also calls for High Road to be a rural collector.
In the southwest and east side of town, there will be wide curb lanes in various locations, such as near the College Parkway area in the east. Those will be designated shared outer lanes that are wide enough for a vehicle to pass by a bicyclist who is in that outer lane.
Hotelling said the state is also proposing a plan that would include a 14-foot outside curb lane for bicyclists on sections two and three of the FM 1171 project, spanning from Shiloh Road to the west side of town.
Hotelling said the bike lanes at Canyon Falls will go in as the project’s infrastructure begins. He said the lane for the Wichita Trail Phase II project is being implemented now, and the rest of them will happen as the roads are reconstructed.
In other action, the council approved a development services agreement with CRW Systems, Inc. for a new land tracking software system.
The agreement, which is for $484,760, will provide a system that is used for code enforcement, building permits and development applications.
The system, which is part of the 2011-12 budget, will use a web portal to access it. That is expected to transform the way several services in town get done.
With the web portal, residents and customers will be able to track code complaints, development applications and permit applications. The portal will also provide a way to look up historical data and other information.
Town staff members can also use the system to access live data, something they are unable to do with the current system.
Information in the system will be integrated into the town’s GIS system, allowing data to be mapped and examined spatially.
Permits can also be paid for online using the system, and plans can be reviewed electronically.
“This will also give us reporting functions so that we can see better how long reviews are taking and what kind of hold-ups there are so that this whole queue-up of applications that are going through the system, the reporting of those will be much quicker,” said Doug Powell, director of development services.
Council members praised the new system as it comes at a time when they are trying to improve the permit process and other procedures residents and developers often encounter.
“This is another example that we’re serious about improving our customer service,” said Councilman Steve Dixon, “with our clients, the developers coming into town and our citizens. I’m really excited about this.”
The system is expected to be up and running by early 2013.
Also Monday, the council awarded the bid for construction of Post Oak Park to Northstar Construction for about $1.1 million.
The 19.1-acre undeveloped park land, which is located near the southeast corner of Skillern Road and Flower Mound Road, is expected to include 8-foot concrete and various surface trails, an interpretive nature pavilion, observation decks, a playground, a wetland boardwalk and scenic connectivity.
The project is about to begin in a month, and it should be complete by the spring of 2013.
Also Monday, Amy Weidner, a volunteer leader for the Fort Wildflower playground project, briefed the council on its status.
Fort Wildflower will be a community-built playground at the future 94-acre Heritage Park of Flower Mound, located at the northwest intersection of Spinks Road and Garden Ridge Boulevard.
Weidner touched on fundraising opportunities, adding that $50 pickets and $100 bricks for the playground are available for purchase. Deadline for those purchases is July 27.
Weidner said component sales, such as a sponsorship for the playground’s slide, as well as general sponsorships and in-kind donations are also being accepted.
She said the general sponsorships would help pay for several unique features of the playground, such as a rubberized pathway from the entrance to the first ramp that would help children in strollers or wheelchairs.
Weidner said there is also a need for pre-packaged snack items for the week of construction, as well as a truck to deliver the food. She said volunteers for construction and tools are also needed. Volunteer needs range from physical construction -- representatives from the playground design firm will be on site to assist -- to child care and check-in duties. Construction is set for Sept. 11-15.
For information, go to www.fortwildflower.com.
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