12 Feb 2019 TxDOT Business 190 Project Public Meeting
Representatives from TxDOT held a presentation with public comments on the Business 190 project. Copperas Cove PD, and the Copperas Cove Fire Department were also on hand to address public concerns with the roadways. While this was not a required meeting for any City Council members to attend, most were in attendance as well as both Mayoral Candidates. For those keeping track:
Council Members:
Joann Courtland- Present
Fred Chavez- PresentDan Yancey- Present
Jay Manning- Present
Kirby Lack- Absent
Mark Payne- Present
Charlie Youngs- Absent
Mayor Candidates:
Bradi Dewald Diaz- Present
Ron Nelson II- Present
Mr Victor Goebel, P.E. (Director of Transportation Planning and Development - TxDOT Waco District) led the meeting with a brief overview about the project and why they were holding the meeting. This section of the Business 190 project covers 1.25 miles from Ave D to Constitution Ave. The project is scheduled to take place for 15 months from 2020 to early summer of 2021. It will consist of a raised median, improved access management with cut in turn lanes, and provide bike lanes and improved sidewalk. The lanes will be 12 feet with a 17 foot median. Along the south side, there will be a 5 ft bike lane, and 6 ft sidewalk. Along the north side, there will be a 14 ft wide shared bike and vehicle lane. Along the south stretch of road just west of the MLK Drive intersection, there will be terraced landscape with funding donated by the state, for winning the Governor's Award. That was really about all there was for the presentation. They did open the floor for public comment limited to 3 minutes per speaker, but they would not respond to any questions tonight. They will be taking all written and spoken comments back to Waco for review, make any minor adjustments needed, and then submit for ecological survey. 
There were 9 citizens who spoke during public comment.
-John Weber (KTMPO Rep) stepped up first, giving a brief overview of the history with this projects' planning.
-Jason Manning said his family owns Manning Homes, and they see there being problems with delivery drivers trying to get large trucks into his business. On top of that, he does a lot of driving around Business 190 for his job, so he foresees himself needing to take a lot of that driving to the residential streets once this is put in.
-Jonathan Manning said he is part owner as well for Manning Homes, and is not sure how some of his delivery trucks will be able to get in and out of his business with this median in place.
-Beth Moore reminded us that this was originally started by a grant that KCCB (Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful) applied for to bring in landscaped medians down 190. Once it was apparent that would not happen, the focus then shifted over to this being a safety project and it turned into what we have today. She went on to provide examples of cities who have tried medians and removed them due to revenue loss for their businesses. In closing, she pointed out that a big portion of Copperas Cove is against this project.
-Siggi Loe stated that the median won't reduce accidents. Lanes will be reduced in width which will make it more dangerous with large semi trucks on the road. She closed by stating that it's ok to back out of the project at this point and most citizens would be ok with it.
-Sylvia Rhodes came right out stating that she's in favor of the project. She was on KCCB back when they originally presented the beautification idea to the city. "While we wanted a beautification project, we were not involved in current terracing." She closed out by saying she doesn't mind waiting to turn if it will prevent accidents.
-Tom McNew. asked if there has been any sort of time analysis on accidents to see when they are primarily happening. Also, will the U-Turns affect accidents, and who will be in charge of paying for upkeep of this median?
-Natasha T. stated that accidents have been reported by local media as being down in recent years for Copperas Cove, especially now that we have the two bypasses installed. Additionally, Copperas Cove population has been either flat lining or slowly decreasing within the past 10 years, so we're not seeing any big rise in population that would affect accident rates. If anything, she thinks the forced U-Turns will create more accidents. In closing, she asked if this plan is so great, then why stop in the middle of town? (Editors Note: We have a Business 190 Phase II project that will continue through town in our 25 year plan - this one stops in the middle of town due to budgeting)
-Zack J stated that these are great ideas from the 1950's, but can be hazardous when installed where they aren't needed. You typically put these in when you're developing an area, but Cove is already developed. There is no adjusting business entrances to work with this median - you just put the median in and hope it works. He also went on to say that with the current turn lane, he can slow down his speed while in the turning lane, coast in to the business, and coast to his parking spot. With the forced U-turns, more cars will be required to use additional gas, wasting more energy. Right now with the nations focus on saving energy, this goes against that. From there, he let us know that he is an engineer for things like this and has been providing input on projects like this for decades. He drives a full sized pickup and does not thing his pickup would be able to conduct a U-turn without performing a 3 point turn in the middle of traffic. He also wants to know how this is supposed to create any safety for pedestrians crossing the highway. Some may be slower due to wheel chairs, but there's nothing in the median to help wheel chairs get to safety if they should get caught in the middle. In closing, he asked why would we tear out all the ADA ramps that were just recently put in.
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| Ron Nelson, Candidate for Mayor |
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| Citizens at the Civic Center |
With that, the meeting wrapped up and the public was left to talk among themselves or strike conversation with the TxDOT/PD/FD representatives there.
