SPRING GREEN BLVD.... TO S. FRY ROAD ONLY - I’ve heard you. I am not surprised that the people who intentionally built Spring Green for a future expansion have not informed the community through the years of these plans. But I don’t intend to force this issue when there is such opposition. This week, I asked our Engineering team to do a quick cost-benefit analysis on dialing back the scope of the Spring Green project to end at S. Fry Road, instead of Cinco Ranch Blvd.
From a traffic engineer perspective - this is easily the most closely-watched stretch of roadway that is not a state FM road, north of FM 1093 in Fort Bend County. The various major thoroughfare plans going back to 1985 show how important this was to your MUDs and developers. There will be a traffic increase in the area over the next few years and we will do our best with it as it arrives.
I’ve very clearly heard the community feedback that the residents do not want additional lanes north of Fry that would impact the neighborhood entrances and the pedestrian traffic that uses the trails and crosswalk systems. Therefore, we will cut the project short and maximize the space for the growing traffic jams south of S. Fry Road near the big box retail. As shown by our unconstrained traffic models, this area must have more safety features and lane improvements to accommodate the cars already there and the future growth that is coming to the region.
The County will immediately instruct our engineering team to re-allocate costs on this project, and use the savings on other projects that were much further down our mobility project list of needs.
Please keep in mind – your developers, your MUDs, and your HOA have had plans for this expansion since before 2010. The HOA landscaped for this. The MUD engineers have been in contact with us to discuss their studies and plans for the roadway. This was a concept originated by your community leaders far many years before the community was built out. As residents of the City of Houston’s extra-territorial jurisdiction – your engineers, your developers, and your HOA have spent years planning for an expansion but have never intended to pay for it.
If the MUDs and the HOA wish to revisit these expansion plans for this roadway in the future, it will be incumbent on them to find the funds. There is good news in that the HOA and the community can fully expand the flowerbeds and landscaping to occupy more of the esplanades north of S. Fry – the County won’t place those plants at risk.
The FM roadway expansion of FM 723, FM 1463, and SH 99 are all TxDOT roads and while we have worked to accelerate and add funding to the construction of those roads, the county does not have ownership of the right-of-way or authority to set the construction schedule ahead of the State of Texas. I’m pleased that FM 1463 will begin its construction project this summer, and SH 99 in the Fall of next year. More and more homes are being built in our region, and the county is working diligently to accommodate this growth with more roads and lanes where they are needed.
In this instance – we’ll take the biggest bite of the apple that we can and build up to S. Fry. No residential inlets will be affected and Spring Green Blvd. will retain its current schematic at S. Fry Road. No additional lanes will be built at S. Fry Road and nothing will change at that intersection.
I hope this alleviates the community’s concerns about impacts to homes, school children, and pedestrian traffic and I appreciate everyone who gave feedback. It is a good thing that the community is now aware of what the historical plans and needs of your community have been and you should remain active and interested in these matters. The County will continue to closely monitor the rising traffic as the pandemic ends and schools return to full capacity in the fall. We anticipate a severe jump in congestion as show in our models, but we will do our best to address it south of S. Fry Road.