Cedar Park considers redevelopment work on Bell Boulevard

"I'm willing to explore that and think about it, but when we raise a franchise fee, what does the utility [company] do? It passes it along to the citizens," Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Fuller said. "But I think we could have a discussion with the citizens about it and explain what's expected and likely going to happen. It would be for a dedicated purpose."

Urban lofts

The plan suggests allowing interested developers to place urban lofts at three key intersections: Whitestone Boulevard, Cypress Creek Road and the future extension of Little Elm Trail. The walkable, pedestrian-scale developments would ideally offer retail, office or dining space on the first floor of a building with living space on the second floor and above.

Permitting high-density land uses would enable the city to collect more tax revenue, but members of City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission were reluctant to firmly support multifamily housing along the already busy corridor.

"If we were to encourage the development of something like that, we would have to make sure there was plenty of parking for the people who live there," Councilman Don Tracy said. "Unless the marketplace says they really want to do this urban loft or whatever it is, I'm not very interested in that."

Alternative standards

A specially tailored overlay district would allow for such development along Bell Boulevard. The plan recommends the commission and council approve an alternative set of standards for businesses on US 183, with the goal to deter costs of repurposing existing structures that would otherwise have to meet strict citywide site design and architectural standards.

"If you are a chain restaurant ... the cost of doing development to our current standard, you'll probably be able to meet," said Rawls Howard, Cedar Park development services director. "But somebody who is up and starting, Bell Boulevard is probably the alternative to go to because the cost of getting into a building is going to be a little bit cheaper than if you have to go out and build."

Alternative development standards offer businesses more flexibility to expand at a lower cost, Sefko said. However, the city would still have the authority to mold the corridor.

"With the overlay district, we can strategize how we want this to look and feel," he said.

Traffic calming

Studies found that two-thirds of the traffic on the corridor originates outside of Cedar Park, creating an opportunity for the city to deter traffic to Toll 183A, Sefko said.

"Why can't we make it slower for that traffic to get through Cedar Park?" he asked. "Then maybe they'll take a faster route, pay the toll and we get the trucks off the road."

Fuller said the city should consider working with the organization that maintains the tollway—the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority—to make traveling the roadway more affordable.

"We've always wanted to move people from [US] 183 to [Toll] 183A," he said. "We have to reach out to people we know on the CTRMA and have a good, frank discussion about them about raising their tolls because they just did it again."

To calm traffic, the plan suggests lowering the speed limit, combining driveways, planting trees and creating paved parkways and medians. A high-volume roundabout at the intersection of Buttercup Creek Road–Brushy Creek Road is also part of the preliminary plan.

"What it does is it tends to slow down traffic a little bit and decreases conflict points," Sefko said. "But there are some pros and cons to this, as you can see. They are not the best solution for high-volume areas sometimes, and there may be more room for further study here."

But after seeing similar roundabouts effectively used in his home state of California, Powell showed support for the idea.

"They can be used in higher-density situations," he said. "It's a little bit out-of-the-box, and I don't mind if we become known for having some modern solutions to these things."

Branding

Creating a unique identity for the corridor would be key in attracting residents and visitors, Sefko said. City Council favored designating a new brand such as the Old Bell District, although the name of the road would not change.

Powell said branding the historic corridor in a new way could open the city to new opportunities.

"How many studies have we done, five or six? And every single one of them is aimed at the same thing: We have to make [US 183] modern and new," he said. "What if we went just completely in the other direction? After that many studies and nothing moving forward, maybe it's a bad idea. Maybe you can't study this into reality."

US 183 redevelopment plans coincide with the city's comprehensive master planning efforts, which are also being developed by Freese and Nichols and are set to come before City Council early next year. The engineering firm plans to incorporate the feedback about US 183 redevelopment and present an updated report to City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission sometime in the next few months, Howard said. The report will outline suggested funding methods and implementation strategies.