City engineer Garry Ford spoke to the New Braunfels Economic Development Corp. on Dec. 19 about a possible streets improvement project that would overhaul parking and road options at the intersection of Landa Park Drive and Elizabeth Avenue.
The project would include parking upgrades to a lot located across Elizabeth near the Wurstfest festival grounds and Circle Arts Theatre.
“There’s probably two to three feet of sidewalk in front of Circle Arts, and we can’t come in and improve it or provide more accessibility,” Ford said.
As the Landa Park Drive-Elizabeth Avenue intersection is the one with the highest number of crash incidents in Landa Park, according to Ford, one goal of the project would be increased pedestrian mobility.
The lot has no crosswalks; it has 198 spaces and is actually three separate lots built at the same time, Ford said.
“It’s not a cohesive lot,” he said. “It really needs a lot of work to make it ideal.”
Crosswalks leading directly to Circle Arts or Wurstfest Gate No. 3 can’t be justified due to irregular use, Ford said, which leaves the option of street and parking lot reconfiguration.
Out of two options Ford proposed to the 4B Board, the first would simply reconfigure the parking lot to provide 213 total spaces and new driveway access.
“We [would] get a little more efficiency because we’re not breaking up the parking lot,” Ford said, noting the first plan would require multiple driveways to close in order to limit lot access.
The second option would realign Elizabeth and the Landa Park Drive intersection and create parking access directly adjacent to Wurstfest, Circle Arts and Landa Park Mini Golf. The new lot would have 200 total parking spaces.
“Now, [pedestrians] are no longer crossing the street or finding a way to cross at various locations,” Ford said. “Now, they [would] have direct access.”
In option two, Elizabeth would be redirected 90 degrees from Landa Park Drive and would follow along the Landa Park Golf Course netting, according to Ford.
The second option would also include four-foot sidewalks adjacent to the roadway and six-foot sidewalks adjacent to Wurstfest, Circle Arts and Mini-Golf. A shuttle path would be maintained through the new lot in anticipation of Wurstfest and future road closures, Ford said.
Ford noted the second option is preferred by the city, as well as by Wurstfest and New Braunfels Utilities. The cost of the first option would be $384,166, and the cost of the second option would total $917,634, including utility relocation, he said.
Overall, the second realignment option would address roadway needs and safety requests, realign buildings away from the roadway and improve the Landa Park Drive intersection by eliminating sight-distance issues, Ford said.
