Shavano Park city officials and consulting engineers said they have narrowed the scope of work for an upcoming project that will result in a variety of improvements on the town’s portion of DeZavala Road.
At a meeting Dec. 12, City Council members said they agreed with a recommendations from KFW Engineers and Surveying regarding designs for adding bicycle lanes, sidewalks and drainage improvements to DeZavala between Lockhill-Selma Road and Northwest Military Highway.
The city plans to leverage part of the $10 million bond passed by Shavano Park voters in May to secure federal funds to support upgrades on DeZavala Road.
Engineers said they are more than 60% finished with designs for the DeZavala project, and nearly 100% completed designs for planned bond-funded improvements on 14 city roads and cul-de-sacs that will take place starting in mid-2023.
Following up on a Nov. 28 council discussion about DeZavala Road, KFW Vice President Chris Otto said council consensus helped him and his staff to reach a consensus on a concept featuring one 11-foot lane in each direction, a 2-foot-wide buffer between the road and a bike lane in each direction, a 4-foot-wide bike lane in each direction and a 5-foot-wide raised sidewalk in each direction.
There will also be drainage upgrades on this length of DeZavala, city officials said.
Otto said introducing bike lanes and sidewalks will add impervious cover to DeZavala Road, or surface that does not absorb rainfall. As a result, Otto suggested the city submit a water pollution abatement plan to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to address the project increasing impervious cover on DeZavala Road.
“The prudent thing to do is submit a WPAP,” Otto said, adding such a plan is more warranted given how federal funding could be used for the project.
Otto said KFW’s design will also reduce the height of a sloped piece of DeZavala just south of Bikeway Lane, where engineers said people turning left from Bikeway have trouble seeing oncoming traffic on DeZavala until motorists crest the hill.
Otto said decreasing the hilltop by as much as 2 1/2 feet will have a slight effect on drainage in the immediate area.
According to city officials, the public will be invited to a town hall/open house tentatively scheduled for Jan. 18 at City Hall, where residents will be able to view engineering plans for all of the bond-funded road fixes before the city solicits construction contractor bids.
