The following is one of the comments recieved in email. Published with her persmission
With 2499 expanding already and a super busy, traffic highway. I agree> that we need to keep Morris a 4 lane road. We can’t have another highway> like road just a few blocks away from 2499, for the safety of our kids,> property values and all the other things that have been mentioned. Morris is> the main path that kids and family cross to run, bike, walk etc. we need to> maintain what our town stands for and not turn it into Dallas or some other> big city.>>>> Thanks,>> Holly
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We live in Sherwood Estates Three and it is already difficult to safely turn right or left from our subdivision onto Morriss Road. Imagine how much more difficult it will be if the we have to look across 3-6 lanes of traffic to attempt to enter Morriss Road!!
ReplyDeleteAs I see it, this proposed expansion will benefit those who will use it to pass-through Flower Mound, those who live, work and play in the vicinity, will not benefit from the expansion. There will be more noise pollution, more air pollution and more physical waste to contend with as a result of this expansion.
We moved to Flower Mound for the "family" atmosphere, this expansion is unnecessary, unsafe and unwanted. The proposed expansion will only create more concrete... not a better place to live and work.
Agreed,
ReplyDeleteI confronted the city about this and they state that the Riverwalk project will require morriss to be six lanes due to increased traffic. Since when are people concerned about building the right sized roads before anything shows up. Morris is fine, and any increased traffic would just go down 2499 which is 6 lanes.
If anything Garden Ridge needs to be finished out to freeport parkway. It's 4 lanes up to about 300 feet of a road that connects to 121 and not 2499 which would give people alternatives to getting to 121 instead of the Grapevine mills bottleneck.
They're acting like droves of people are coming to a as yet undeveloped development. If history has been any proof, then I doubt the city will be able to attract any high profile shops that will drive all this traffic to the Riverwalk. First, Highland Village has a lock on anything we would want already, and second, people in surrounding communities have similar developments closer to them.
It sounds to me that the traffic engineer is being paid to tell the city they need more roads where we do not.
Also the city stated that the 6 lanes have been in the master plan for the last 26 years. I know as early as 2000 the mayor at that time had a bunch of disgruntled people stating they did not want to see morriss as a 6 lane road and the mayor said it would not happen in the forseeable future. So the people then let it stay that way on the master plan.
The problem is that the Riverwalk appeared after a master plan update of what most people think was a reserved area of trees. I feel that the current administration in Flower Mound do not represent the citizens of the city well if at all. They have systematically driven off good businesses and then bring in sub par businesses. It's fustrating to have to constantly leave town to get things we should be getting here.
Either way this expansion is unwarranted and destructive to the citizens and tax base of this city.
Hi, i live in Sherwood estates III, I simply cannot imagine that they will tear it down and build a concrete monstrosity. Who in their rational, sound, minds would conceive of such a thing? When I drive down the road today, one must be very careful even with pedestrians crossing from the park (Forestwood area). I've seen kids with Ipods on not even looking or knowing where they are. Can you imagine a huge, superhighway will now need to be negotiated by pedestrians, usually families, strollers. Yeah, you get the picture, "human leapfrog". What are our city leaders thinking? I moved to Flower Mound for exactly the reasons others have posted. Do some of us live in Flower Mound in the hopes of converting it to a concrete jungle in the future with little to no vegetation? apparently so? I could go on and on and hope I get a chance to voice my dismay, disbelief, dumb foundedness to the disconnected, dangerous developers and city officials. rob
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved back to TEXAS from California I wanted to live in an area that felt country with the convenience of city living. I loved driving past the pastures with cows and horses. What I drive past now are warehouses, concrete instead of fields. This town is called Flower Mound NOT concrete jungle. I live just off Morriss Road and have always enjoyed the boulevard dividing the street - it feels like "my hometown". A SIX lane "artery" is not "my hometown". It is a pollution in every sense of the word to all of my senses. I haven't even started to vent my feelings on the safety issues. I will save that for another comment.
ReplyDeleteFlower Mound's SmartGrowth Management Plan state that the plan was necessary to mitigate the ill effects of rapid and intense urbanization caused by explosive population growth.
ReplyDeleteSo what happened? Have our leaders in City Hall forgotten what was in the SmartGrowth plan? If so let me remind them of a why the plan was necessary in the first place:
• “Scrape and build” development and resulting environmental degradation
• Destruction of natural landforms and associated natural and ecological resources, including important plant and wildlife habitat
• Loss of open space, agricultural land and scenic vistas
• Degradation in the QUALITY of the community’ natural and built environments resulting in a loss of community character or sense of place (i.e. “placlessness”).
In addition here are a few of the objectives:
• Protect the open lands, natural landforms, agricultural landscapes and scenic vistas that create and DEFINE Flower Mound’s UNIQUE community character and quality of life.
• Ensure that the character and quality of Flower Mound’s built environment, relative to residential development, contribute to desired community character objectives and integrate with surrounding natural landscapes.
• Avoid conflicting interaction and/or relationships between new and existing development and a resulting diminution of property values.
I could go on and on about the failure of our Town to reference the SmartGrowth plan when continuing to develop what was once one of the great places to live.
The bottom line is that large developers with deep pockets manage to convince Town Hall what is best for “us”.
We don’t need two 6 lane arterial thoroughfares within a mile of each other. As mentioned in a few of the other comments, all it will do is make it easier for non-Flower Mound residents to zip thru what is left of our home town.
Agreed Bjorn. 2499 is so close and it connects to the outside highways why would anyone turn onto Gerault to get to this new development?
ReplyDeleteLets not forget how much disruption we would face with morris reduced to 1 lane on each side while they widen the road for the next year or two. Have we not suffered enough with 2499.
Why is it that all prime development in town has been on the border with Highland Village? Why has the southern portion of town near the lake not been developed. There is plenty of access, it's far enough away from Highland VIllage that we could score some of the same stores that they managed to get, better views, and it's not really near anyone's homes. The lake is an enormous resource for recreation and business and the city has ignored it completely.
Yes we could use a hospital, maybe our kids can list Flower Mound as their birthplace instead of other cities for once. The hospital does not need all the surrounding businesses to survive.
This is what we get for low voter turnout at our elections. 60k people in this town and if a quarter of them are voting adults that's not much and it appears that people are taking advantage.
Two of the people who approved this boondoggle are now running for city council seats after they approved these plans on the P&Z commission. This is something we need to work very hard, we have to find people willing to run against them and support these people so they win and represent us not the special interests who seek to ruin our city to line their pockets.
--=> Hi my name is Thomas Mullenix and I live in Forestwood Estates across from Forestwood Middle School where my son is a 6th grader and crosses Morriss Road every day . My daughter attends Children's Courtyard on the corner of Morriss and Forest Vista and I am scared to death to walk down the Morriss sidewalk to drop off and pick up as I should be able to safely. As well, we have already had the misfortune of a vehicle crashing into our fence and into our back yard which backs to Morriss Road. My children, our pets as well as ourselves would like to be able to spend time in our backyard without the fear of a repeat performance. The noise, safety factor and traffic with 4 lanes is more than enough now. <=--
ReplyDeleteIf they expand Morriss Road due to the need of decreasing congestion, the 3 lanes heading straight for 2499 would cause even more congestion in that area during rush hour traffic. Which will cause more people to just sit idle at those traffic lights on Gerault and G-vine mills to get onto 635/121/114/airport. And thats only on a good day - if there is an accident on 2499 anywhere south of Gerault on 2499, good luck because you'll be there for a while. FM/Grapevine need to figure out how to relieve the bottlenecks on 2499 between 3040 and G-vine Mills before potentially adding more cars to the headache that is already there. I don't see any other parts of Morriss/Gerault roads being congested at any other time of day that would require the need to spend money to add another lane, even if they do add in the Riverwalk they talk about. When they add a hospital, it is going to be tough for the ambulance and even the firetrucks to cross through onto Morriss safely if it is 6 lanes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe what FM and surrounding cities should discuss is the investment in public transportation (DART?) to decrease potential congestion?
I live in a community bordering Morriss Road and Fire Wheel. I agree with most of the comments here against building the 2 additional lanes for Morriss. Instead town should consider spending money to straighten the current road to the extent possible and make the road much more even. They can add more lights and small trees.
ReplyDeleteAs you see the development across the town and how the mature trees and nice vegetation is being removed (example site near Fire Wheel x 2499) I wonder why the current town hall is so much against the environmental policies of the earlier administrations. Again as some body pointed out earlier, number of people voting and there by influencing the city decisions is a major factor.... I will be there for Mar 10 meeting.
It always shocks me when people in our area get up in arms about road building. Don't you get sick of sitting in traffic? Morris already backs up during rush hour. I don't believe any of the garbage about reduced property values and our police force does an excellent job policing school zones. This just comes across as the same NIMBY attitude of Highland Village folks against 2499.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, what’s the alternative?
ReplyDeleteI drive down Morriss Road 3 times per week to go from our house near College and Morriss to the CAC on Morriss for my son's swim practice. It’s 10 minutes away without traffic, but often takes me 30 minutes or more when we go during rush hour (his practices are usually at 4:30 or 5 pm until 6 or 6:30 pm.) This not only wastes 1 hour of my day, but effectively prevents me from dropping him off and picking him up. Because it would take me so long to get home and then drive back, I wind up sitting through a 90 minute workout with 2 bored siblings in tow. We often sit in our car at each of those lights between Cross Timbers and Round Grove for several cycles of each light. It’s pretty miserable. It’s not a long-term solution. Without a widened road, how could traffic flow be improved? It’s a heavily-travelled road and seems to get heavier week by week.
We also moved here because of the wide open spaces and the trees, so it IS sad. But, there is a HUGE median between the northbound and southbound lanes – plenty of room for more lanes to be build without actually widening the road – it would get widened by filling in the center, not by expanding wider. FYI, there are no trees in the median to speak of, so the new lanes will really only take away grass. The space is already allocated. Anyways, that huge median is evidence to anyone purchasing a home next to it that it was going to be widened one day. I’ve often heard that when you buy a house next to a road or vacant lot, you should check with the city to see what’s planned for it or else you may be surprised. Those houses are mostly new – that info would have been available when they purchased their homes. Buyer beward. I do, however, feel bad for the owners of the 1960’s era ranch houses that have been rezoned commercial and are set for demolition. That is a loss of history and an era of ranch-home architecture style that will be lost from our community.
It is sad to see progress sometimes…but….not sure what the alternative is since Morriss Road is so congested as it is.
@ Your and Amy
ReplyDeleteYour, you know very little about real estate values. Call a relator and ask them what it would do to their home values. This is not a NIMBY attitude, it's about protecting people's investments in their homes and neighborhoods. I hear people complain they sit at morris for 30 minutes, you're free to get on 2499 and get around the lights on morriss any time you want. That's the way I go and it's much faster. Learn your way around town a bit.
Perhaps you live a distance off morriss, but have some consideration for the people who live 1-2 blocks off morriss. There will be no sound wall for starters, nothing to prevent cars from running off the roads into the backs of these houses. Raising the amount of cars going down the road increases that risk and increases noise and air pollution.
People who's back yards that border this road could lose 20k off the value of their homes or more because hardly anyone will buy a house up against a street of that size, especially with a lack of sound wall.
If they can not sell their house, know what some people do? They walk away and let it become foreclosed. What happens to home values near that home, they plummet, and the cycle continues. If you think it does not affect you, think again.
Corey, I do live just off Morriss and have for 15 years. i know plenty about property values in this community. Look at the Plano's of the world with 3 lanes each way by all the McMansions. Do you think their propery values went down when the road was built. NO. Mobility to a location has been shown time and time again to increase property values. Every time traffic congestion is relieved it improves the sales value of propery around it. Maybe you need to do a little research yourself.
ReplyDelete@Your, I have. Last time I looked there are no McMansions lining Morriss road and Flower Mound is not Plano. There are entire economic processes in Plano that drive home vales that do not exist in Flower Mound and certainly not on Morris Rd. You're comparing Apples to Oranges, and I do research. I called a relator and asked their opinion about the lack of a sound wall. They said it would impact home prices of homes lining Morriss Rd. If those homes are considered comps to homes further in the communities that border Morriss, then they would also be impacted. Perhaps the only good thing going for where I live is that I live near Forrest Vista and Morriss and there's that new development going in. Their lot prices are 3x what mine is worth and my lot is larger than the lots in there. So I may be lucky that one offsets the other.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that impact is only felt so far and there are far many more homes that are further away from that development that there is near it.
Fact is, when was the last time anyone in Texas built a road before it was needed? It's not sound economic policy. 2499 is and will be a 6 lane road. Morriss has a lot of traffic because people use it to bypass 2499. Proof of that is at Morriss and 407 where there's a mile long backup sometimes just to turn left or go straight into Highland Village.
It would be better to build the quarter mile extension of Garden Ridge down to Lakeside Pky which would give HV and FM residents a better route to 121, and would remove some congestion from 2499/121 merger near Grapevine. It would only cost perhaps a million dollars at most and would be an immediate benefit to residents. Right now Morriss will just be a 6 lane road to nowhere.
@ Corey, Your and Amy are spot on. The two additional lanes for Morriss are needed to combat current traffic levels. For your information, Garden Ridge backs to homes as well. Are you one of those "Put it in someone else's backyard" type of people? As for your million dollar estimate on expanding Garden Ridge, where is that coming from??? If you were in transportation engineering, which from reading your comments I'm guessing you aren't, you would know one million dollars just wouldn't cut it. For comparison, the completion of the .8 mile four lane section of Garden Ridge (between Forest Vista and Bellaire) cost approx $6 million...(And that was just for construction). That works out to almost two million dollars per lane-mile. You may also want to reference a map, because the distance between 3040 and Spinks is approx 3/4 mile in length. The reason that section of Garden Ridge has not been built is because of extensive bridge structure required to complete the section. (Oh, and by the way, structure is approx 10 times more expensive than building on ground). Finally, the section of Garden Ridge between Spinks and Lakeside Pkwy is already constructed.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your concern for property values, why would you purchase somewhere and not have done research prior? Any knowledgeable and honest Realtor out there will know what the proposed roadway plans are and advise you of the potential impact to property before you make a purchase. Also, the town has a thoroughfare plan in place, available to the public online that shows the proposed configuration of any roadway both existing and future.
Thank you Flower Mound, for not being Plano and not being another "Placelessness" community in North Texas.
ReplyDeleteAll of the posts (pro and con) certainly have merit. When it comes down to it we all know that the Council will do whatever they want - right? I understand sitting in traffic, waiting at lights and so on, but my main concern is for the safety of those children who attend the Forrestwood school. I just cannot see children crossing over 6 lanes of traffic with or without crossing guards as being safe. I drive Morriss every day and rarely find the traffic to be unbearable. The peak time is very limited, for those in a big hurry, I say slow down, leave earlier, or take a different route. There are other routes that can be taken if Morriss is backed up. While justifying the extra lanes because of the addition of the Riverwalk may seem to be a wise decision, I must back those in this case who are against adding additional lanes. We have 2499 getting wider and I believe most of us will utilize that route for accessing the "yet to be developed" Riverwalk. I say continue improving 2499 and the access to I35 as planned many years ago. Morris Road is mostly residential and we need to think about the safety of our children and pedestrians. Morris Road is already hazardous to cross on foot, adding additional lanes will cause more problems. I shiver to think about our school children having to navigate that street.
ReplyDeleteInteresting reading, these comments. On the one side, those opposed using logical arguments including property values, safety and yes, even the Smartgrowth Plan. On the other side, those in favor so upset at actually having to spend time at a child's activity (what else did you have to do...get to Starbuck's?), or otherwise aggrivated that they are personally being inconvenienced, with little to no regard for those that would actually incur most of the impact of this project.
ReplyDeleteA few things appear very clear. One...our current Town Council seems to have lost the vision and priorities of past councils. People moved to Flower Mound because of what it was...someplace we could escape the concrete jungles of Plano, Frisco, etc. Two...many of those who actually emerge from their bubbles long enough to go vote don't do the necessary research to see what they are actually voting on. Three...I agree with an earlier post...there's a little bit of me that thinks this is as much for those passing through FM on their way to Highland Village and what's quickly becoming their personal concrete monstrosity. Last comment, regarding the sound walls. A six-lane road without some form of sound protection will quickly become unbearable and will lead to more complaints. You have to know that if Morriss is widened it'll only be a matter of time before THOSE concrete monstrosities begin to appear. It may be just me that thinks this way, but I'd far prefer to not have a view of a concrete sound wall out my back window or from my patio. When the concrete takes over and one of those fool things appears in my back yard, it's time to leave Flower Mound.
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ReplyDeleteThe city has made it clear that the city of FM is not providing any funding for the expansion project. However, who will be responsible for the future maintenance and upkeep? The city?
ReplyDeleteWe are a pass-thru community. There are few businesses along Morriss for people in other communities to stop and spend their money. Doesn't it make more sense to keep most of the traffic on our main business artery 2499? We don't want to restrict people from driving through our town but we do want them to contribute to our tax base by spending their money in FM.
I have several posts under the Bond Election section.. DO not blame the current Council. This was decided over 20 years ago, before most you moved to FM. The Bond Election did not approve this project, it merely approved funding with county bond for a project long planned. Why start protesting now on something already planned for years? I just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteRE: John, I don't think anyone is blaming anyone, the point is to raise awareness of the latest plan for expanding Morriss Rd. There have been many projects/plans/proposals in the Master Plan, there have been many changes as well. The whole "vision statement" for Flower Mound is based on scenic vistas, urban forests, open fields, etc. Actions speak louder than the printed word it would seem. Everywhere one looks in Flower Mound all of the above mentioned are disappearing. Thankfully nothing is written in stone and Master Plans can be altered to meet the needs of the RESIDENTS of Flower Mouond. As a tax paying resident of FM, I would like the current Town Council to HEAR ME, Work with me in keeping my neighborhood a safe, comfortable and esthetically pleasing place to live.
ReplyDeleteAll I am saying is to look at facts, get the traffic engineers to talk to you. Stop listening to the fear mongers who compare Morriss to 2499. This is an emotional issue, but not the only issue in town. So if a candidate is using this issue as a stepping stone to office, look at their qualifcations for office. Have these candidates been involved in the town in any way in the past, or do they see an opportunity to push an agenda.
ReplyDelete