Georgetown City Council decided June 28 to keep a roadway between Sun City and the Woodland Park neighborhood open following about two hours of public comments from neighbors on both sides of the connection. The connection between the two neighborhoods at West Majestic Oak Lane and Apache Mountain Lane opened in April 2014, and Woodland Park residents said traffic soon began to overwhelm the neighborhood streets, which are narrower with no sidewalks. The neighborhood began petitioning the city to close the street in September 2014, and after a traffic impact analysis and the opening of a secondary exit from Sun City on Rocky Hollow Creek Drive, the council approved temporarily closing the street to thru traffic with the exception of emergency vehicles on Sept. 28, 2015. The roadway was reopened to thru traffic on Jan. 19, and residents near the shortcut said traffic has steadily increased since it was reopened and petitioned the council to again consider closing the connection. Residents in favor of closing the roadway cited safety concerns after seeing drivers speed through the neighborhood. “The traffic growth is already evident,” Sun City resident Kurt Shaller said. “I am in favor of closure not as a goal but as the best viable option to achieve the nonemergency traffic flow these streets are designed for and the basic safety deserved by people living in both Sun City and Woodland Park on this route.” However, those in favor of keeping the roadway open said the connection was important for access to and from Sun City in case of an emergency. “We need more access and connectivity in Georgetown as it grows, not less,” Sun City resident Kathy Powers said. Jim Briggs, Georgetown assistant city manager and general manager of utilities, said the city completed a traffic impact analysis, and traffic is expected to continue to increase on the roadway. According to the city’s analysis, there were 1,467 vehicles per day using the roadway prior to the road’s closure and 1,093 on May 13 after it was reopened. Briggs said 2,053 vehicles per day were counted on Rocky Hollow Creek Trail. “The average vehicles per day on [West Majestic Oak Lane] is now below county subdivision regulation limits for local roadways,” Briggs said. “We do recognize that there may be some trend upward in counts. … But those counts are still below the thoroughfare plan standards for local streets.” City Council could have voted to close the roadway or keep it open; however, because Woodland Park is located in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, any changes to the roadway, including speed deterrents such as speed bumps or stop signs, would have to come from Williamson County, Briggs said. City Council Member John Hesser, who represents District 3 in Sun City, said the council was doing what it could from the city’s perspective. “There is a problem, and unfortunately, it is split between the city and the county,” he said. “I would recommend everybody be the best neighbor they can be.”