Major roadway renovations in Round Rock set to begin

As summer approaches, Round Rock city officials are conducting final preparations for a project they believe will usher in a new era for the look and feel of the downtown area.

The most visible alteration to downtown Round Rock's street layout—which has remained relatively consistent since the area was established in the 1870s—will be the construction of a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Round Rock Avenue and Blair Street. The roundabout will divert traffic coming east from I-35 before it reaches Mays Street, a strategic design the city hopes will transform the area from a traffic thoroughfare into a pedestrian-friendly shopping, dining and entertainment destination.

The roundabout project is the latest step in realizing Round Rock's Downtown Master Plan, a 2010 City Council–approved initiative to improve and revitalize the downtown business and residential districts. As part of the project, the city is also planning to extend Blair Street between the roundabout and Liberty Avenue, and to connect the east and west sections of Main Street across Mays Street.

"We have spent tens of millions of dollars on downtown," Round Rock City Manager Steve Norwood said. "That is everything from underground utilities, sidewalks, you name it. We didn't just do that so it would look pretty.

"There was a goal in mind in terms of return on the investment. To make downtown more attractive for businesses, residents and nonresidents."

City officials believe that by diverting traffic to the north, the intersection of Mays and Main streets will become more pedestrian-friendly and open up new business opportunities on West Main Street. The project also includes renovating the section of Round Rock Avenue between Blair and Mays streets for a public plaza to host concerts and events.

City Council approved the redesign of Round Rock Avenue along with sections of Blair and Main streets and Liberty Avenue in December, and city planning officials hope to break ground on the project this summer.

"This is imminent we are probably 50 percent through engineering and design, and then we are on to construction," Norwood said. "You are probably looking at less than a year [for the project to be completed]."

New downtown identity

From La Frontera and the Dell Inc. headquarters in the south to the higher education and medical campuses in the north, as well as all of the developments in between, Round Rock has undergone an identity transformation during the past two decades.

But while the city's infrastructure and population have expanded outward, Round Rock's downtown retains a tangible connection to the city's past. Dozens of buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries still stand along Main Street as reminders of the town's origins as an outpost of the now defunct International & Great Northern Railroad.

While several local businesses have also managed to weather the test of time, city officials believe the area lacks the destination identity normally associated with downtown districts.

"We are trying to sell our downtown area because we want to see it redeveloped," Round Rock City Councilman Joe Clifford said. "We want people to come downtown, we want them to shop, we want them to stroll and we want them to enjoy their experience."

Several owners of downtown businesses say they believe the project will benefit downtown in the long term, although there is apprehension toward the effects of construction and diverted traffic.

"I think once everything is done, it will be great for Round Rock," said Melinda Overstreet, co-owner of the Louisiana Longhorn Cafe, a downtown restaurant on Main Street. "But can we last through the construction phase? That is another question.

"For [a new business] coming in, it is going to be great. But for those of us that are already here, it is going to be a challenge."

City officials are also hoping to assist downtown businesses by adding additional public parking in the area. The city recently acquired land behind Overstreet's restaurant where it plans to add an additional 55–60 spots.

Jonathon Beltran is a lifelong Round Rock resident who works at his father's downtown business, Jorge's Hair Design.

Beltran said that while he supports the revitalization efforts the city is putting into downtown, some of his customers and acquaintances feel differently.

"I don't know if [the reconstruction] will help or hurt our business," he said. "But I have to embrace the impact and have an open mind."

Norwood said the city is sensitive to the concerns of local residents and business owners.

"We have talked to a lot of the downtown businesses on more than one occasion," Norwood said. "The last thing we want to do is hurt commerce or do anything that would deter from making downtown a viable entertainment and productive place."

However, with the exception of Overstreet—who said her husband reached out to city officials to discuss the project—none of the business owners with whom Community Impact Newspaper spoke said they had been presented with the city's construction plans.

"We haven't been formally told what is going on," Beltran said.

Round Rock–based developer Nelson Nagle built up more than 30,000 square feet of new office space near the Allen R. Baca Senior Center on West Bagdad Avenue during the past decade. Nagle believes the downtown project will help unite the east and west sections of Main Street currently divided by Mays Street.

"Main Street has not been connected for quite some time," Nagle said. "This is basically going to double the size of the downtown area. It is going to give downtown Round Rock a real solid identity."

Costs and benefits

According to City of Round Rock studies, approximately 70 percent of eastbound Round Rock Avenue traffic connects onto northbound Mays Street. With the new configuration, those cars will be forced away from downtown, city officials hope.

"Obviously those aren't people going into that downtown area as a destination," Round Rock Transportation Director Gary Hudder said. "They are just using that route to get someplace south.

"There is no question it is a paradigm shift for the traffic. [If] you go to any big city, you do not go into the downtown area as a cut-through or a bypass. You go into the downtown area for a purpose."

Not everyone on City Council, however, agrees the road reconstruction is in the best interest of the city. Councilman George White offered the lone dissenting vote to approve project funding.

"I am 100 percent in favor of downtown redevelopment and making it more pedestrian-friendly," White said. "But at the same time ... [Round Rock Avenue] is one of the most traveled connectors we have.

"The bottom line is ... I don't think the plan we have in front of us allows for the best traffic flow."

White favored a plan that would have diverted Round Rock Avenue to the south of its current route without cutting off its connection with Mays Street. The majority of the council members, however, believed removing Round Rock Avenue's connection with Mays was necessary in order to promote the downtown development the city hopes to see on Main Street in the future.

"We are going to make a gateway [to downtown]," Clifford said. "It is hard ... because of how our streets are aligned down there. So what you try to do is make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I think we have accomplished that."