Marble Falls passes detailed sidewalks plan for grant

STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS

The Marble Falls City Council passed a Sidewalk Master Plan on June 18 that would add nearly 10 miles of sidewalks to the 20 miles that already exist in the city limits. Current city sidewalks range in width from 4-10 feet and were installed by either the city, developers, or the Texas Department of Transportation.

The city recently applied for a Safe Routes to School grant from TxDOT, which, if approved later this year, would pay 100 percent of the nearly $550,000 price tag for the project.

“We found out (June 18) that we have been approved for a second phase,” said city engineer Kacey Paul during the council meeting. “Now, we’re responsible for putting together a detailed application.”

That application will include detailed engineering documents for the project’s proposed sidewalks and needed construction materials.

The city’s larger Sidewalk Master Plan takes the entire city limits into account, Paul said. Staff divided the city into five regions to ensure major projects were identified evenly throughout the area. From that, a list of 10 top projects were listed, including 6.2 miles (32,900 feet) of sidewalks.

The plan states that funding will be provided by an established sidewalk line item in the city’s annual budget.

The projects were prioritized by determining factors such as the number of residents served, proximity to existing infrastructure, connectivity to public facilities, and proximity to other city projects.

Project No. 1 in the plan is for 5,650 feet of sidewalk on Pecan Valley Drive. That part of the city has no existing sidewalks and has 386 households.

Projects 2-10 include:

2. Northwood Drive — 3,750 feet

3. Sixth Street and Avenue D — 3,075 feet

4. Park View Drive and East Oak Ridge — 3,550 feet

5. Gateway North and Gateway Parkway — 4,550 feet

6. Second Street — 2,650 feet

7. Terrace Drive and Bluebonnet Drive — 3,025 feet

8. Mustang Drive — 2,350 feet

9. Fourth Street and Crestview Drive — 2,450 feet

10. Broadway Street — 3,925 feet

Maps and full details for the major sidewalk project list can be viewed at this link.

In other action during the regular meeting, the council approved two Conditional Use Permits for the Community Resource Center and Texas Housing Foundation. The CRC, 1016 Broadway St., is expanding its 5,335-square-foot facility by an additional 8,093 square-feet of space with plans to house services such as the Highland Lakes Pregnancy Resource Center, The Helping Center of Marble Falls Area, AARP Tax Aide, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Highland Lakes Family Crisis Center, and pubic access computer stations.

The Texas Housing Foundation, adjacent to the CRC, proposed to build 60 apartment units and has currently demolished 34 old units on the site. The new units will include 20 designated as senior housing. The total buildings include one three-story building, two two-story buildings, and three one-story buildings.

jared@thepicayune.com