More than 100 Hays County residents and stakeholders attended the FM 150 West Character Plan Open House on Oct. 16, where county commissioners and transportation planners spoke about the project, which is intended to gather community input about potential improvements to FM 150 from Kyle to Dripping Springs. Hays County Commissioners Will Conley and Ray Whisenant, whose jurisdictions cover the portion of FM 150 being discussed, emphasized the county is hoping to develop the road in a different manner than most road projects. The commissioners said the project—which would most likely be built in phases during the next decade or longer—will allow the character of the community to determine how the road is built, rather than allowing the road to determine the community's character. Joe Cantalupo, senior vice-president of K Friese and Associates, the engineering firm handling the project, cited population growth estimates that indicate Hays County's population is expected to quadruple between 2010 and 2040. "You can't have that population and employment growth and put it on the back of a system that is mostly made up of two-lane roads," Cantalupo said. The project is also intended to lessen traffic on RR 12, the other main corridor linking eastern and western Hays County, commissioners said. That road, which is straddled by many delicate and imposing environmental features, making it difficult to widen in many places, is expected to be over capacity soon, according to the county's transportation modeling. "This potential project will have an impact not just on the FM 150 area, but will have a huge impact on RR 12," Conley said. "If we are able to find a way to develop this project properly, it takes the traffic load off of RR 12 for the next 30 years." James Andrus, a western Hays County resident, attended the event because he was curious how the project might affect his family's 140-acre property that abuts FM 150. "I know that eventually FM 150 is going to have to be improved as we grow," Andrus said. "To me it will eventually be a four-lane road. The amount of subdivisions that are along there is going to continue to grow. We get offers [from developers] daily on our property." The FM 150 West Character Plan will include three phases: corridor features, which includes gathering community feedback about the distinctive and valuable features along FM 150; a nature and character plan, which includes improvement proposals based on the feedback gathered in the first phase; and the Corridor Master Plan, which adds detail to the project proposals from the previous phase. The first phase is expected to take 12–16 months, Cantalupo said. The entire study is expected to be completed by mid- to late-2016. Those interested in giving feedback can do so by visiting the project website, www.improvefm150.com. To sign up for email updates on the FM 150 Character Plan, emails can be sent to [email protected] with "Email Updates" in the subject line.