Dripping Springs City Council approves transportation master plan
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas - The Dripping Springs City Council has approved the city's transportation master plan.
The plan's approval comes after years of extensive meetings and public open houses and includes modifications to address many citizen concerns and needs, says the city.
The adopted Transportation Master Plan will:
- Promote safe mobility within the City’s transportation infrastructure
- Develop a future transportation system that accommodates growth
- Establish the ultimate roadway network and identify right-of-way needs to meet future growth
- Identify mobility improvements
Some other goals include identifying deficiencies in the current transportation network and creating policies to guide developers on the transportation needs within the City.
"We know that traffic is the number one concern of our current residents. We also know the challenges that growth can bring to our community’s traffic and mobility," said Deputy City Administrator Ginger Faught. "While growth is inevitable, we want to do everything we can to support that growth with investments into a transportation infrastructure that meets the needs of our City, both currently and in the future. This Master Transportation Plan provides us with the direction to do just that."
To help craft the plan, the City hired HDR Engineering, Inc. to evaluate transportation conditions and develop recommendations. The Transportation Master Plan evaluated traffic operations throughout the City and ETJ and identified needed roadway improvements. An updated traffic study included an operational analysis at over 20 key intersections.
Both short- and long-term traffic improvements were recommended and are included. However, funding and resources are not available to implement all recommended projects immediately, says the city, so projects are prioritized and critical and/or short-term projects are identified.
Some of the short-term improvements include:
- Extension of Roger Hanks Parkway
- Connection of a new roadway between RM 12 and US 290 in Northeast Dripping Springs
- Enhancements to Rob Shelton Boulevard
The Master Transportation Plan also looks at long-term traffic needs, looking ahead to growth through the year 2040.
Some of the mid- and long-term recommendations include:
- Widening of US 290
- Construction of new North/South connections within Dripping Springs
- Construction of bypass routes around the City
Throughout the process of creating the plan, the city says two important key factors were at the center of all discussions: first, to continue to embrace the character of Dripping Springs and second, to preserve and enhance the heart of the City, downtown Dripping Springs.
To help with those factors, the thoroughfare plan has prioritized transportation enhancements in areas with existing congestion and prioritized new thoroughfares in areas with imminent growth. As feasibility studies are initiated for new roadways, evaluations of new roadway impact on the community, its character, and the environment will be undertaken.
The Transportation Master Plan was created in close coordination with TxDOT and Hays County, as those agencies also have ongoing transportation studies within the City of Dripping Springs.
You can find the complete Dripping Springs Transportation Master Plan on the City’s website, The city says the plan will continuously be updated with the evolving transportation and lifestyle needs of Dripping Springs and will be updated every 5 years to adapt to regional transportation thoroughfare plan updates and the rapid development in the City and its ETJ.
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