City Council continued the process of refining the potential $200 million bond package Dec. 1, discussing potential street, alley and sidewalk projects that could be included.
The big picture
Street projects funded by the city’s bond would be primarily made up of reconstruction projects that flagged as needing repairs in the city’s latest pavement analysis but were left off of the 2021 bond program due to funding constraints, Assistant City Manager Charles Goff said.
City staff presented various options for the streets and alleys proposition, ranging from $90 million-$115 million. All options included reconstruction projects on the following roads:
- Apollo Road
- Canyon Creek Plaza
- Deep Valley Drive
- Hidden Drive
- Little Creek Drive
- Maple Street
- Martha Manor
- Melrose Drive
- Mimosa Drive
- Presidential Drive
- Ridgehaven Place
- Royal Crest Drive
- Waterview Drive
Diving in deeper
Council also discussed potentially including funding for street rehabilitation projects that don’t require full reconstruction, something the city has not done in the past.
Doing so would direct $20 million-$25 million of the proposition to various concrete panel replacement projects around the city, freeing up “roughly $2 million” from the city’s Street Rehabilitation Fund, Goff said.
The additional funding could be used for more concrete replacements, more asphalt overlays, more neighborhood street rehabilitations or additional funding for existing asphalt replacement projects, according to a staff presentation. Council would allocate that funding during future budget discussions.
What they’re saying
Mayor Pro Tem Ken Hutchenrider expressed concern that the city would not be able to keep up with road construction needs as costs increase into the future.
“I worry that we’re trying to catch our tail, and our tail is getting further and further away from us,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of pressure about things we need to do in the city, and yet streets and alleys are gobbling up a huge component of our bond programs. ... We’re putting a lot of money towards it, and every time it feels like the map is shrinking as to how much we’re actually accomplishing.”
City Manager Don Magner said the city has seen a “disproportionate amount of need” for road projects arise in the last decade.
“When folks asked if we’re catching up, my answer was always, ‘No, but we’re not falling behind at the same rate,’” Magner said. “To truly catch up, we would probably spend $200 million per bond program on roads. Streets probably weren’t prioritized the way they should have been when our streets started hitting the 25-to-30-year mark, and now what we’re left with is 60% of our streets being 40 years old, and the water and sewer lines are also that old.”
Richardson’s 2010 and 2015 bond programs funded about $20 million and $30 million, respectively, in streets and alley projects. That number jumped to $93.1 million in 2021.
Another thing
Goff also presented staff recommendations on sidewalk projects to include in the 2026 bond package, which would total $10.5 million for sidewalk rehabilitation projects and $4.5 million to fill gaps in Richardson sidewalk network.
Goff added that the city has around 43 miles of sidewalk gaps. Mayor Amir Omar said he would want to see a larger focus on filling the gaps represented in the proposition.
“The repair work is navigable where the gap oftentimes is not,” he said.
What’s next
Council will hear one more staff presentation on potential facilities projects Dec. 8 before refining the bond propositions in January.
Council will decide whether or not to call a bond election Feb. 9, according to the presentation, and election day is May 2.
