As the wheels begin turning on the Broadway Street widening project, Pearland city staff and the Pearland Economic Development Corp. proposed the city work with Kimley-Horn and Associates for planning services related to the road, which would cost $404,700.

The Broadway Street project will be handled by the Texas Department of Transportation. Approving the resolution would ideally allow the city to work alongside TxDOT for parts of the project, City Manager Clay Pearson said.

“The road is undersized for the needs of today,” Pearson said. “To get out in front of that, staff has recommended that we take our own initiative to look at land uses in the corridor because of its importance.”

The project will eventually stretch from Hwy. 288 to Hwy. 35. The portion of Hwy. 288 to Cullen Boulevard has already been funded and is in the environmental clearance stage, Director of Engineering Robert Upton said. The project is still a few years away from construction, Upton said.

The city's involvement would allow the city to get ahead on the design of the project, as well as learn about the effect the project would have on mobility and existing business. While the project is in the early stages, widening Broadway Street might affect some of the locally owned businesses located on the corridor. Being involved with TxDOT could help the city know what businesses will be affected earlier on, Community Development Director John McDonald said.

A few council members voiced concerns the city would be financially involved so early in the process yet saw the need to have a say in the project overall.

"I’m not going to invalidate the purposefulness of this, and I think the expenditure is definitely something that would provide value to the citizens of Pearland. I just don’t know if I can feel comfortable moving forward with it right now until we have at least a 30% design on [FM] 518," Council Member Trent Perez said.

The council members decided to table the proposal until they could see similar work from Kimley-Horn. The motion passed 6-0, with Council Member David Little absent.