As previously reported by Community Impact, the new school, Elementary School No. 8, was approved for construction following the passage of two propositions in November for $602 million.
The district is hoping to open the new elementary school for the 2024-25 school year, which will result in a “rigorous timeline” for construction, according to Lakeway city documents. As a result, LTISD has requested to enter into a development agreement with the city of Lakeway to “streamline the development process and address alternative development standards from the city’s ordinances,” the report said.
The proposed location for Elementary School No. 8 is off Bee Creek Road, just north of Lake Travis Middle School, and sits on 11 acres owned by the school district.
In a presentation to Council, City Manager Joseph Molis said there is currently only one proposed entrance from the new school onto Bee Creek Road. Based on traffic impact analysis, it will likely be a signalized entrance, he said.
The district's engineers and designers are also planning to build a loop around the school for cars to drive on during pickup and drop-off; they are estimating that the loop can hold 200 vehicles, Molis said.
“That’s quite a significant number of vehicles they will be keeping off of Bee Creek as part of the getting-into and leaving-school process,” he said.
Several community members said they were worried about how construction and management of the new school was going to impact traffic.
“I do want Council to remember how close Rough Hollow Elementary is to this proposed site. Very close, sort of insane close,” Lakeway resident Jennifer Fleck said. “I don’t know how the road [will handle] the added capacity.”
Mayor Pro Tem Gretchen Vance said she was also concerned about the school’s proposed location and asked why it was being built on the 11 acres off Bee Creek Road as opposed to another 89-acre property off Hwy. 71, which is also owned by the district.
In response, Robert Winovitch, the director of facilities and construction for LTISD, told Council the district did not want to build an elementary school off Hwy. 71 for safety reasons, as the highway has gotten a lot busier, he said.
Council Member Sanjeev Kumar said, based on the traffic pattern on RM 620, it will be important to make the left turn lanes coming into the school from Bee Creek Road long enough to collect traffic.
“The last thing we want to do is impact Bee Creek Road so much that people cannot move,” he said.
Because there is only one proposed entrance to the elementary school, Mayor Thomas Kilgore asked the school district to have a more extensive study of the traffic patterns to show Council at the second reading; he said he would like it to include pros and cons for a second entrance, as well as other factors, such as distances between traffic lights and all of the known traffic points.
“This council isn't going to vote for you until you come back with traffic solutions for us,” Kilgore said.
The second reading is currently set for the Lakeway City Council regular February meeting.
The city of Lakeway recently updated their code of ordinances to require development agreements to have two readings before the council before an item can be voted on, Molis said.
