Town center, Robinson Road cited for upgrades
Significant transportation projects and the creation of a town center could soon change the landscape of the City of Oak Ridge North, as the city should finalize its comprehensive plan in June or July after more than a year of gathering data, surveying residents, conducting public forums and committee meetings.
The Oak Ridge North City Council should approve the comprehensive plan sometime in late June or early July, City Manager Vicky Rudy said. The plan was created by the Halff & Associates consulting firm in working with city staff and the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee.
Initiatives include dozens of potential changes and improvements over the next 10-to-20 years, although Rudy said the plan is malleable and will be examined every budget cycle.
"You have to have a vision like this to know where you're going so that when these things start to happen, you use this as a road map to make all those things work together," Rudy said. "[The city has] had hints of a road map before. The difference between then and now is we involved the community in [the process]."
Oak Ridge North begins its budget planning for 2014 this summer, but Rudy said many of the early changes planned for the first year of the project will involve more planning, including a water and sewer study, citywide streets policy and a sidewalk and pathway study. However, some visible changes could be funded for 2014, including money for a pocket park along Woodson Road and signage throughout the city.
"The first year is not just going to be planning," Economic Development Coordinator Susan Cates said. "There is going to be something feasible, tangible and real that is going to be done. I think it is very important for our citizens to see action taking place."
Robinson Road
Among the most significant issues presented by community members was traffic along Robinson Road.
Although engineers provided several options for alleviating traffic congestion, Rudy said the best route would be for Robinson to be rerouted south behind City Hall to match up with the section of Robinson east of Hanna Road and the Union Pacific railroad line. The project also proposes construction of a third, managed lane at the center of Robinson Road that would allow traffic to flow westbound in the morning and eastbound in the evening.
"We all recognize that you could blast through here with a four-lane elevated road to get over the track with a grade separation and go over the railroad and take care of traffic," Rudy said. "But how do you take care of traffic without destroying a community and with no chance of a town center?"
Rudy said the cost of the proposed changes to Robinson Road and funding sources are unknown, but the route will be included in the ongoing South Montgomery County Regional Mobility Plan—which should be complete in spring 2014—and construction could begin in three-to-five years. The route would cut through three properties, including the back of the land on which City Hall is located, a corner section of the A-1 Utility tract, and the middle of the parcel on which Oak Ridge Reformed Baptist Church is located.
The comprehensive plan also suggests improvements at other roadways, such as the intersections of Robinson and Harlan Lane, Maplewood Drive and Patsy Lane, and some Woodson Road intersections. The plan encourages the city to put a streets policy in place soon to determine which streets serve which purpose and how to manage those streets, Rudy said. The city will also undergo a complete citywide street overlay project in the next five years.
Economic development
The planned rerouting of Robinson Road provides a benefit other than alleviating traffic through the creation of a town center area, which would include City Hall, the area along the current Robinson and Hanna intersection and extending as far north as homes along Blueberry Hill Road.
The town center would be a gathering center for the community, Cates said, possibly including an urban park, a spray ground, tables to play chess, and a gazebo for performances. Rudy said the city can develop a plan for its town center over the next three-to-five years while Robinson Road awaits construction, establishing private and public partnerships for the town center and making zoning changes.
"We're going to rezone this area almost immediately to make sure that we don't have the kind of development in here that would preclude ever having a town center here," she said.
The town center zone would emphasize multi-use office space, retail and possibly some multi-family development, Rudy said. Zoning could also limit the size of lots, encouraging smaller developments, she said. The city will target proprietary business and hometown-friendly chains with a focus on businesses, such as caf-style restaurants, ice cream parlors, boutique style shops and dry cleaners.
Regarding economic development, Rudy said the city may examine annexation opportunities on the northeast side of its extraterritorial jurisdiction near the Oak Ridge North Commerce Park. The city has already begun studying whether to provide water and sewer to that area of the city's ETJ—or land outside the city's boundaries that the city can annex—as the land is being developed and the city could take advantage of that development.
Gil Staley, CEO of The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership, said he applauded the city for pursuing a comprehensive plan.
"[The EDP is] very excited for them and it's certainly a positive note in the right direction," Staley said. "That area is vital to the entire area of South Montgomery County, and I think it's their time to shine. The availability that they have of land that's at a competitive price is certainly an advantage in the market."
