Traffic in the area around Byron Nelson High School, Medlin Middle School and Beck Elementary School has been an issue for years, according to city documents. Normal commuter traffic, along with the increase in population in Trophy Club and the surrounding area, has compounded this issue even more.
According to town documents, a Signal Warrant Study was completed in 2018 at the intersections of Bobcat Boulevard and Parkview Drive, Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard, and Trophy Club Drive and Durango Drive. At that time the study showed traffic control, in this case signalization, was warranted during peak time hours for Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard as well as and Bobcat Boulevard and Parkview Drive. At the Aug. 28, 2018, council meeting, it was decided to not move forward with the intersection signalization, because there was concern of continued stacking of cars. The decision was made to train crossing guards in traffic control to assist with traffic congestion.
On Dec. 13, Tom Rutledge with Teague Nall and Perkins, a civil engineering firm based in Fort Worth, gave a presentation to the council about options moving forward with regard to the intersections at Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard, and Bobcat Boulevard and Parkview Drive.
“We looked at three different options," Rutledge said. "One was not to do anything, two was to put in a traffic signal, and then option three is a roundabout.”
Rutledge also gave a brief history of another intersection in town where a roundabout was used to relieve congestion.
"A traffic impact analysis looked at Trophy Lake Drive and Trophy Club Drive, and it said you need to put a signal there. And at that time with that current council and staff, they didn't want to have a signal that might not always function and operate, and also could create delays. So the option [for a roundabout] was presented and approved," he said.
TNP estimates the construction costs for two traffic roundabouts at Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard, and at Bobcat Boulevard and Parkview Drive to be approximately $8 million. Funding for the project would come from a mixture of grant, bond and unassigned general fund dollars.
According to town documents, staff has received approval for a grant from Denton County in the amount of $3.3 million to assist in the construction of roundabouts. The town has also applied for a Vision Zero grant from the Federal Government in the amount of $7,405,300.
The Vision Zero program supports Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways. If the Vision Zero Grant is not awarded, then the town would have the option to place a $2 million general obligation bond on the May 2023 ballot that would allow citizens to vote on the improvements.
Rutledge also mentioned that the major benefits of using roundabouts instead of signals is that it reduces traffic delays by providing a continuous flow of traffic while producing traffic calming by reducing speeds and therefore reducing the number of crashes and crash severity.
Town Manager Wade Carroll addressed the council’s concern about how a roundabout would address the bumper-to-bumper traffic at the intersection of Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard during heavy usage times.
“One of the things [TNP] can do is offset these roundabouts a little bit, which causes those vehicles to slow down a little bit more as they come to an intersection, which builds some bigger gaps for people to jump into through the roundabout,” he said. “We're trying to foresee and use this space as best we can but also kind of foresee some of these traffic issues as well and trying to mitigate those as much as possible. I'm afraid there's not a perfect scenario without us putting in for more lanes, and there's just not room to do that here.”
Council directed staff to move forward with the roundabout option by getting a proposal from TNP to construct a roundabout at Trophy Club Drive and Bobcat Boulevard.
