Growing concern over fate of more than 100 trees in Williamson County
ROUND ROCK, Texas - There's growing concern over the fate of dozens of trees in Williamson County. 104 trees are set to be cut down along the Brushy Creek area west of Round Rock.
The reason the county wants to cut those trees down is to widen the 2.2 mile stretch of Hairy Mand Road and Brushy Creek Road.
“Those trees obviously are what makes Brushy Creek so special,” said Bertrand Goutelon who frequents the area on his bike.
Recently a petition on was made on Change.org and in three hours it got 5,000 signatures in an effort to save the trees. The Change.org petition has now received more than 6,000 signatures on it.
A website was also made dedicated to this effort. “It’s not a surprise I think I would sign the petition myself,” said Goutelon. He also said the area is perfect for nature lovers. “Very quiet there’s a lot of people who use that trail but still very natural and preserved,” said Goutelon.
FOX 7 Austin spoke to the county about the project. “11 and a half foot lanes then there would be two feet of shoulders on the sides with rumble strips as well as in the center lane,” said Connie Odom with the county.
According to the county, this project has been in talks since 2013 after they got complaints from near by neighborhoods about the 2.2 mile stretch of road.
“As a county, roads are our primary responsibility and so we feel it’s our priority to listen to those safety concerns and find a reasonable solution which these safety improvements are,” said Odom.
Odom said on average there are 17 crashes a year on this stretch of road.
Goutelon said he understands something needs to be done because of how busy the area has become over the years, it’s just a shame about potentially taking away to draw to the area.
“I know the area is growing a lot and you still have to get the roads and everything modernized so I’m not surprised I just feel bad for the way it’s going to look in the future,” said Goutelon.
To view the petition, visit here.