Residents of Hays County met with K Friese employees during an open meeting at last week at Dripping Springs High School to voice their opinions and concerns as the FM 150 Character Plan nears completion.
Residents spoke with various employees of K Friese on potential development in their area. K Friese representatives were assigned to various maps that marked key sections of the corridor for residents to review.
The FM 150 Character Plan covers FM 150 from Arroyo Ranch Road outside Kyle to RM 12 in Dripping Springs and focuses on changes and upgrades to the area regarding widening shoulders on roads and creating bypasses and cross sections. This is a separate effort from the FM 150 alignment study by the county that was being conducted to study and develop a possible alignment for FM 150 from Arroyo Ranch Road heading southeast to near I-35 and Yarrington Rd before being passed on to TxDOT for further development.
The document was designed by K Friese and Associates, a civil engineering consulting service that was hired by Hays County. The plan was designed to allow citizens to work with K Friese in anticipation of the growth and transportation needs in the corridor. Typically development plans for such a project are quickly established for immediate impending construction. However, Hays County is attempting a more proactive approach in order to try to upgrade the corridor while keeping the character of the area intact.
“We’re doing this so that if the growth does come, we have an efficient and safe plan in place,” said Joe Cantalupo, Project Lead and Senior Vice President of K Friese.
Cantalupo spent much of his time during the open house speaking with residents who shared their concerns about how the project would affect their property.
For Kyle resident, David Allen, the importance of keeping up to date with such a project was clear.
“The route hasn’t been fully established, it could come right through my property or it could not,” Allen said. “I’m a fourth generation (resident) on this place and I don’t want to lose it.”
Participation from residents has been an essential and constant part of the plan’s agenda for the past two and half years as hundreds of residents have attended various open meetings and left their comments to be reviewed.
“I think we’ve had unprecedented feedback,” said Cantalupo. “In terms of participation, this is one of the best projects I’ve worked on.”
Split into two phases, the FM 150 Character plan is nearing the end of its second phase. After the comments from residents are reviewed and the plan is finalized it will be presented to the Hays County Commissioners Court, where it is expected to take another three to five years for development and construction to begin.
