A few facts regarding the Bond Election results for Precinct 0304 (my prec for example):
2300 Ballots were cast.
Bond Proposition 1 (Denton County Road Improvements)
yes, it was passed by a majority For: 1561 Against: 739.
There were numerous projects for improvements encompassing the entire county.
In our area alone there were 8 projects including Morriss/Gerault.
I know not being aware of specifics of the Bonds is no excuse and most voters are always in favor of items that have the word "improvement". I personally, voted No. How many of you 1561 voters knew?
Denton County, please use the money for this somewhere else.
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The question is - Is it preferable to have long line at traffic lights on a 4 lane road, creating more noise and pollution or for traffic to flow smoothly with less time at traffic lights - with a 6 lane road. Yes. I will be disappointed on the loss of the wide medians. But they were created extra wide for one purpose. - future expansion!
ReplyDeleteI have also learned a lesson about knowing the specifics of a bond before voting to approve it. I will pay more attention in the future. The grass/tree lined medians are part of the beauty and charm of our neighborhood, expansion maybe appropriate in commercial areas not neighborhoods. Morriss Rd., Northbound, was completely closed Friday night because of a motor vehicle crash, (I hope everyone was okay). I think increasing the lanes will increase the speed, increasing the amount and intensity of motor vehicle crashes or worse yet motor pedistian crashes - bicycle crashes! We need to take care in what we create for our neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteJohn is correct in stating that there is a benefit to having 10,000 cars a day on 6 lanes versus 4 lanes. The problem is, once there are 6 lanes, we'll see 20,000 cars a day traveling at higher speeds. I hate traffic as much as anyone, but there are other measures that can be taken to alleviate rush hour congestion besides exposing a residential area to a 6 lane vehicular pipeline.
ReplyDeleteAnd to Carmen's post... you bet I'll dig a lot deeper before I vote for the next transportation funding proposal. I actually spent an hour the day of the election trying to find out what was included in that transportation measure and could not find an adequate description. I personally voted yes thinking county-wide funding for transportation improvements was generally a good thing. Little did I know I was advocating construction of a road 30ft from my front door with no funding for any mitigation measures for residents.
The cars will be there regardless. The problem with Flower Mound is we did not plan from day one for through traffic. Remember when towns were laid our on grids.. It made much more sense than what we have today. Emotion, not logic will guide the anti 6 lane forces. Again, with growth, we will have the traffic, the question is how we will handle it. When Morriss Road was a pot-holed riddled two lane asphalt road, there were probably people against improving it then.
ReplyDeleteThere's a solution to Morris. Close it off at 407. Done. We are not required to provide passage for Highland Village, they're not paying for the upkeep of the road. I know the expansion money is coming from other sources, but nobody builds roads before they're needed. Look at 2499, look at 407. One reason we never moved to Lantana was access. Communities continue to expand along 407 and it's through Flower Mound they will travel to get to places south. Why do we have to sacrifice our communities and end up looking like Plano?
ReplyDeleteThe Riverwalk is not going to provide much. The city (lets quit calling it a town please) has never done a good job at attracting businesses. We have a few mediocre local resturants, Texas Roadhouse is probably the best we have for commercial, and the majority of our shopping is concentrated closer to HV and Lantana than it is to the residents of FM!
The HV developments already have a hold on anything we have wanted so what's going to fill the Riverwalk? We do not need another parker square.
6 lane morriss and HV will probably sue to redirect the 35 extension to connect to it instead of 2499.
Improving a road and expansion are two completely different goals. I would support several different options to improve Morriss Rd., such as improved crosswalks, improved traffic light sensors to prevent cars from sitting at lights when there is no cross traffic. What about insentives to encourage ride sharing?? What can we do about the noise and pollution? These are ideas of improvement, expansion just brings about more problems. I am aware of just how painful it is to sit throught countless red lights at 2499 and Gerault, and I'm glad I rarely have to do it - however, widening Morriss throught our neighborhoods and schools are not the answer to solving that traffic problem.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever ask yourself or the Town why the extra wide median? Morris is and has always been designated a major feeder road for the town. It is not a neighborhood street. We are all for less pollution. Less time spent at traffic light lessens pollution. I am more optimist about the River Walk. They did not waste any time on starting the hospital. And even in this economic enviroment, they were able to sell land for over 300 apartment units, with plans to start construction this year.
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ReplyDeleteYes, let's pursue your idea and close off our roads to our neighbors to the north. Let's just hope that Lewisville, Coppell and Grapevine don't decide to do the same thing to us. Surely you must realize that for Flower Mound residents to get out of Flower Mound, we must pass through another City. The protectionist attitudes of the past town councils left a lot of bad blood between us and our surrounding neighbors. We are just starting to repair relations. Let's not go down that road again (no pun intended).
The county bond election did not "approve" this praoject. It approved funding through county bonds. The project has been on the books for over 20 years. Why are you just now protesting? I don't to appear harsh, but why did you move into your house with the widening already in the plans? It's just like someone moving into an neigborhood and suddenly surprised that the property behind them that is zoned retail will actually have retail. They suddenly show up at Council meetings protesting. Flower Mound's population has almost tripled since Morris was improved. The Town Council back then had the forethought to provide for future growth. So don't blame the current Council. This all most likely occurred before you moved to Flower Mound.
ReplyDeleteJohn, so let me make sure I understand you correctly. Our Town Council had the foresight to build roads for a six lane expansion. Why would they then allow developers to build sub-divisions along Morriss Road with no buffer zone? From FM3040 to FM1171 and several neighborhoods North of FM1171 have minimal distance between the curb and property lines. Take FM3040 as an example. There you have a greenbelt between the road and sub-division fences/walls. Also, why would our Town Council allow schools to be built next to a six lane major arterial? In my view plans can change and I fully support the StopMorriss6 group. How many times has the SmartGrowth Plan changed? If our Town can change it at will, we the residents can certainly try to protect what little green is left in this Town.
ReplyDeleteThat "greenbelt" along 3040 is called Right a way. - again for future expansion. Comparing Morriss Rd and 1171 or 3040 is comparing apples and oranges. My arguments in favor of expansion remain the same, based on logic rather than emotion. Take a look at Morriss Rd. Except for a few older home at the north end of the Road, not one home faces Morriss, except those along single load streets running parallel to Morriss. The traffic will be there regardless.
ReplyDeleteJohn, Where do you live? Are you a passerby through our neighborhoods? If your child is walking to school along Morris road will you now be comfortable letting that child walk to school with a 6 lane road just feet from their body? The rush of air from a speeding car brushing against them. Maybe we could slow this project by proposing that a 20mph school zone be in place from Sagebrush to 3040. Is your commute worth more than their lives. The town has done a poor job of planning as stated above. They have not looked at the master plan when approving projects. That is why we must protest this project. It is OUR Neighborhoods and homes that are being effected.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you assume that because there is emotion involved in this (and there is) that there is an abscence of logic. That people are concerned about having more traffic in their neighborhoods or exposing their children to more traffic hazards and they try to do something to prevent it is entirely logical. If they believe that it is going to create more noise and lower their proprty values, protesting it is a logical choice. You may think that it is worth the expansion to not sit through a light in the future and I might disagree, but that's a matter of priorities, not logic.
ReplyDeleteI live a few streets off of Morriss Rd. and I honestly don't even see the need to expand it. Other than a half an hour or so during the morning and late afternoon, there is very little traffic between 1171 and 3040. I leave my house at all different times during the day and never get bogged down in traffic jams. Whether this was planned years ago to occur specifically in 2010, or it all of a sudden became the time to do it because the money is available, aren't the questions. The questions are: Do we really need it? Is it worth the risk to our children? And are we willing to accept the decline in our prorerty values? My answer is no. I am running for City Council in May and if elected I will fight this measure until it's dead. We need to get back to the Smart Growth Plan and quit giving the okay to every developer that comes before the council.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty obvious to everyone that "John" either works on the Flower Mound city council, or is a Highland Village resident who prefers the expansion so he can get to and from work faster. I also use Morriss to get to and from work (I live in North Flower Mound) and I honestly do not see the need to expand Morriss to 6 lanes. Especially with the current expansion of Long Prarie, I believe most Highland Village residents who use Morriss to avoid the traffic and construction on Long Prarie will again begin using Long Prarie once it is complete (due to more lanes and faster speed limit). And I have mentioned this in another post: If town officials have known about the expansion of Morriss for years and years, then why would they approve a "Morriss Road STEP Grant Median Beautification Project" to be completed in March 2009?
ReplyDeleteI have a daughter who attended Forestwood Middle school a few years ago. She was afraid even back then to cross Morriss when she had to stay at school after class hours for activities, after the crossing guard had left for the day. Traffic has only gotten worse in the last few years, and I can't imagine those kids trying to cross it with 6 lanes. The city's response to the school crossing issue is that it would be safe because the schools have crossing guards. Well, they need to keep in mind that the crossing guards usually go home before the kids with after-school activities leave the campus, and by that time (4:30 to 5:00) the rush-hour traffic has also started.
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