Residents at an Oct. 29 open house saw updated schematics and renderings for the Oak Hill Parkway environmental study to find traffic solutions for the intersection of Hwy. 290 and Hwy. 71, known as the Y at Oak Hill.

Representatives from the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and the Texas Department of Transportation, which are working together on the study, were on hand to answer questions and explain details of the project.

Residents at an Oct. 29 open house view updated renderings of potential roadwork designs.[/caption]

Southwest Austin resident Drew Tedford has lived in the area for three years and said he wanted to learn more about the proposed road designs. His concerns include the time the study has taken so far and the way residential development will affect traffic.

“It’s so discouraging to see that the statistics they give you to talk about traffic are 2035 [projections]. I know it will get here eventually, but I will be approaching retirement by the time those traffic stats [are reality],” he said.

Detailed schematics were displayed during the
Oct. 29 open house at Covington Middle School.[/caption]

Ford said he does not have a strong preference between Alternative A and Alternative C—the two project designs moving forward as part of the study—but hopes whichever one is chosen is the fastest to build.

“I just want to get started on something as quickly as possible,” he said. “There just seem to be so many phases and so many times for input. At some point you just have to stop with the input and start doing [construction].”

Residents had the opportunity to ask questions of the Oak Hill Parkway project team.[/caption]

Since the previous open house in January, the Mobility Authority has made changes to the project plans, including identifying additional large trees near William Cannon Drive for preservation, receiving an independent review through a value engineering study, updating connections of the planned shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians—including to the Y to Barton Creek Trail—and coordinating with the city’s Watershed Protection Department regarding flooding.

The Mobility Authority also redesigned the west end of the project and made changes based on residents’ input, said Mobility Authority engineering manager Sean Beal.

The team had proposed moving a bridge structure on Circle Drive and South View Road to Thunderbird Drive, but the Mobility Authority heard concerns about impacts on residents’ properties as well as emergency access to thoroughfares and moved it back to Circle Drive.

“This [revised proposal will] give [emergency vehicles] a lot more access to the main lanes and also is going to allow them to get across and serve this area much more easily,” Beal said.

Belterra resident Linda Kennedy said her experience driving through the area has gotten better since TxDOT opened continuous-flow intersections and other so-called “interim improvements” in the area.

She said Alternative C would benefit her the most as a driver because of where the overpasses are located, and she hopes transportation authorities will move forward swiftly with the project.

“It looks like it will really help the traffic flow,” Kennedy said. “I just think it is going to take an awful long time.”