The Texas Department of Transportation is taking a corridor study of Parmer Lane out of the hands of the city of Austin, and Cedar Park officials hope the evaluation leads to improvements to the roadway, which stretches into the two cities.
Cedar Park Mayor Matt Powell said Cedar Park officials previously asked the city of Austin in 2015 if a study of Parmer could fit into Austin’s budget. Sam Roberts, Cedar Park assistant city manager, said Austin officials dedicated $500,000 to study Parmer between SH 45 N and RM 1431. During a Sept. 8 council meeting, Roberts said Austin staffers decided to expedite the study by reaching out to TxDOT.
“Austin said they are not involved with the study anymore—TxDOT has taken it over,” Roberts said.
TxDOT Georgetown Area Engineer Bobby Ramthun confirmed the state agency would conduct the study, which he said would help identify short- and long-term improvements to the road. The study could determine the feasibility of intersection modifications and expanding Parmer on the north side of SH 45 N to six lanes. He said TxDOT would have to complete the study before determining a plan for Parmer.
“This planning study is the first step to starting this project,” he said. “Parmer Lane is a priority for us.”
Ramthun said the cost and a timeline for the study have not yet been determined, but he anticipated the study would start within the next 12 months.
TxDOT Spokesperson Kelli Reyna said the agency has not made improvements to Parmer between SH 45 N and RM 1431 in the past decade aside from routine maintenance work. Powell said the roadway has not been updated to match the population growth that Cedar Park has experienced in recent years.
“Ideally you want to get going on a project like this before it’s absolutely necessary or before you’ve already hit a critical mass,” he said. “Unfortunately we’ve already hit a critical mass on Parmer Lane. It just gives us even more reason to get going on it.”
Annual data released by TxDOT show an increase in vehicles on Parmer both north and south of SH 45 N. According to TxDOT’s 2015 district traffic maps, which show the annual average daily traffic counts on specific points of roadways, an average of 39,951 cars traveled north and south daily on Parmer south of SH 45 N. On the north side of SH 45, the average daily amount decreases slightly to 36,976 drivers.
“You have a very heavy amount of average daily drivers on Parmer south of SH 45,” Reyna said. “The data show about [3,000] folks leave Parmer and turn onto [SH] 45 or [RM] 620,” she said.
According to the data, in 2015 an average of 32,954 drivers traveled on Parmer south of RM 1431 and north of SH 45 N. Reyna said that shows another 3,000 drivers turn off of Parmer between SH 45 N and RM 1431.
The average number of daily drivers on Parmer south of RM 1431 increased by about 5,000 cars in 2015 compared to 2014 numbers, according to TxDOT data. On Parmer, south of SH 45 N, the average number of daily drivers increased from 2014 by about 1,000 cars.
Stephen Hanuscin, Cedar Park traffic signal engineer said back-to-school season brings more congestion on Parmer.
The roadway transitions from six to four lanes as Parmer crosses SH 45 N, and he said the transition to fewer lanes causes traffic backups at Avery Ranch Boulevard and Brushy Creek Road.
“Imagine if you have a funnel underneath a running hose, and you put your finger on [the top of the funnel], and you stop that water—if you keep doing that over and over, eventually that water is just going to flow out of the top of funnel,” he said. “And that’s exactly what happens with the traffic there.”
Hanuscin said Cedar Park staffers met with Austin officials last year, and the two cities coordinated traffic signals at Brushy Creek and Avery Ranch—resulting in mildly eased traffic congestion. He said Cedar Park plans to reach out to the city of Austin to request other traffic data regarding Avery Ranch.
“What really needs to happen is this study and this conversion to a six-lane section [from SH 45 N to RM 1431],” Hanuscin said. “That’s the solution—it’s a capacity issue.”
