Montgomery County commissioners in September approved a $42,500 contract with Amani Engineering for a traffic study to evaluate the effects of a proposed extension on the existing Woodlands Parkway.
While there are no immediate plans to follow through with the Woodlands Parkway extension, Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved the study to determine if an extension would improve mobility throughout the area, said Craig Doyal, Precinct 2 commissioner and county judge-elect.
"If we could open up Woodlands Parkway, it would open up an alternative route for people on the western side of The Woodlands to go west [to Hwy. 249], instead of trying to go down Woodlands Parkway where congestion is incredible," Doyal said. "It would be an alternative route to move traffic, and it would open up that segment of Montgomery County for development through there."
Montgomery County already purchased right of way between FM 2978 and Hwy. 249 in 2012 in preparation for a possible extension of Woodlands Parkway, Doyal said.
Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said he is in favor of a thorough analysis of all mobility improvement options. However, Noack said he has concerns regarding the effect additional traffic may have on mobility along sections of Woodlands Parkway west of Kuykendahl Road, where the thoroughfare drops from six lanes to four, as well as the rest of The Woodlands area.
"There are very real concerns about the effect of traffic in the community when you connect a neighborhood street like Woodlands Parkway from [Hwy.] 249 all the way to I-45," Noack said. "You have the potential of turning Woodlands Parkway into a freeway and cutting our neighborhood in two."
Still, Noack said he supports conducting the study in order to explore all avenues to improve mobility throughout the area.
"All alternatives need to be studied and looked at because the area in which we all live in South Montgomery County is highly congested, it is highly populated," Noack said. "Just because one person doesn't like it doesn't mean you scrap the whole thing, but you may come up with an idea on how to build it to minimize impact on the community."
