Item 9A Staff MemoCity of Southlake
Department of Planning
MEMORANDUM
February 10, 2004
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Ken Baker, AICP, Senior Planner
SUBJECT: Resolution No. 04- 014- Amemdment of the Master Thoroughfare Plan Map (The Rucker
Road Alignment will only be considered at this time).
Action Requested: At its January 20, 2004 meeting, the City Council requested that the Planning and
Zoning (P &Z) Commission review two roadways alignments (Rucker Rd &
Kirkwood Blvd) currently on the Master Thoroughfare Plan (MTP). More
specifically, City Council requested that the P &Z Commission determine the
following.
1) Rucker Road - If the current alignment of this roadway should be moved
further north towards FM 1709 (See Adopted MTP- Attachment A); and
2) Kirkwood Boulevard Extension - An appropriate alignment of this roadway as
it crosses the N. Carroll Ave./E. Highland St. intersection (See Adopted MTP-
Attachment A).
Issues: Rucker Road — The current alignment for this roadway is approximately 900'
south of and parallel to FM 1709. The issue raised by City Council is whether or
not this alignment is too far south of FM 1709 to adequately serve future office
and retail development (Most retail /commercial /office lots on the south side of FM
1709 are less than 900' deep)(See Attachment B).
Kirkwood Boulevard Extension The current MTP does not indicate an alignment
for this roadway through the Carroll Avenue/Highland Street intersection (See
Attachment Q.
With the completion of the SH -114 project, the likelihood of development
occurring north of SH 114 in the vicinity of the Carroll Ave./Highland St.
intersection will increase. (The Panatonni Development Company project located
at the southwest corner of the Carroll Ave./Highland St. intersection was recently
approved by City Council -- January, 2004).
At its January 20, 2004 meeting, the Carroll Independent School District (CISD)
Board of Trustees approved a $210,924 bid by Stillwell Building Systems, Inc. to
renovate the Administration Annex, 3051 Dove St. in Grapevine. This renovation
will allow the CISD to consolidate most central office administrators and support
personnel into one location. School officials have stated that by renovating the
building on Dove St. will allow the current administration building located at the
northeast corner of the Carroll Ave. / Highland St. intersection to be vacated and
the land op ssiblX put up for sale. Work on the Administration Annex building on
Dove St. is expected to be completed by the end of the school year. The CISD
property at the northeast corner of the Carroll Ave. and Highland St. intersection
has not been platted.
Also, CISD has indicated that the Carroll Intermediate School (located at the
southeast corner of Carroll Ave. and Highland St.) will remain closed for the 2004-
05 school year. However, the Trustees have not made a final decision on whether
or not the school will be reopened in the fall of 2005. This property has also not
been platted.
As a result of these events, some City Council members believe that it is necessary
to determine an alignment of the Kirkwood Blvd Ext. through the Carroll
Ave./Highland St. intersection prior to any additional development occurring in
this vicinity.
Planning and Zoning
Commission
Meeting: On February 5, 2004, the Planning and Zoning (P &Z) Commission held a public
hearing on these two roadway (Rucker Rd & Kirkwood Blvd Ext.) alignments.
At that meeting, the P& Z Commission made a recommendation on the Rucker
Rd alignment; however, the P &Z Commission instructed staff to conduct a SPIN
meeting on the Kirkwood Blvd Ext. alignment.
In addition, the P &Z Commission requested that representatives from Newland
Communities (Aventerra) and the Carroll Independent School District be present
at the SPIN meeting on Kirkwood Blvd Ext. to discuss future development plans
for their properties. Furthermore, the P &Z Commission instructed staff to
conduct the SPIN meeting in late March, after the CISD spring break (March 15 -
19 Therefore, City Council will only be considering the Rucker Rd. alignment
at this time. A public hearing at P &Z for Kirkwood Blvd Ext. is schedule for April
8, 2004.
Overview of
Current
Alignment: Rucker Road - is designated as an undivided 2 -lane collector with 60'of right -of-
way (C2U -60'). The roadway is located between Byron Nelson Parkway and
Carroll Ave. (north of Rockenbaugh Elementary -See Attachment B). Also, the
text portion of the MTP was amended to include a modified site plan for
Rockenbaugh Elementary which would allow bus traffic on the school site to
access directly onto Rucker Road (See Attachment D). Design features for this
roadway include (See Attachment E):
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• Approximately 35' wide roadway with the possibility of parallel parking
on one or both sides along portions of the roadway.
• Urban cross - section which includes curb, gutters, street trees and
sidewalks.
• Speed limit not to exceed 25 m.p.h.
• Design as a local slow movement roadway.
• Crossing at the Carroll Ave. intersection will ultimately be controlled
through traffic signalization or 4 -way stop.
• Pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Carroll Ave. and Rucker Rd.
should be provided.
BACKGROUND: ROLE OF THE CURRENT MASTER THOROUGHFARE PLAN
The current Master Thoroughfare Plan (MTP) was adopted in March of 1997. The
MTP is the City's general plan for guiding thoroughfare system improvements,
including the construction of new roads and the widening and extensions of streets
and highways. The plan primarily consists of a map showing enteral locations and
ultimate cross sections of future road improvements. The primary objective of the
MTP is to ensure the reservation/dedication of adequate right -of -way on
appropriate alignments to allow for orderly and efficient expansion. Also, there
are many other benefits that the MTP provides which include:
• Minimizing the amount of land required for street and highway purposes;
• Identifying the functional role (i.e. collector, arterial) that each street
should be designed in order to promote and maintain the stability of traffic
and land use patterns;
• Informing citizens of future street plans so that private land use decisions
can anticipate which streets will become major facilities;
• Provide information on thoroughfare improvements needs which can be
used to determine priorities and schedules in the capital improvements
program; and
• Minimizing the negative impacts of street widening and construction on
neighborhood areas and the overall community, by recognizing where
future street improvements may be needed.
BASIS FOR PROVIDING A FUTURE LOCALIZED ROADWAY
NETWORK IN SOUTHLAKE
The following is an overview that provides information on the basis for the city
providing a future localized roadway network (i.e. Rucker Rd., Kirkwood Blvd.
Ext., S. Village Dr. Ext., Durham Rd.) that parallels SH 114 & FM 1709.
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STATE HIGHWAY (SH) 114
Broadly defined, the SH 114 corridor is an approximately forty (40) mile stretch,
from its intersection with Interstate 35E in Dallas to Interstate 35W in Fort Worth.
Southlake's transportation planning efforts generally focus on that portion of SH
114 west of SH 121. The corridor includes some of the fastest growing
communities in Dallas -Fort Worth and links several of its major employment
centers (Los Colinas, DFW Airport and Alliance Airport). The corridor will also
serve future employment centers in Southlake and Westlake (Circle T Ranch).
State Highway 114's function as a link between DFW Airport and Alliance Airport
deserves particular emphasis: DFW is one of the nation's busiest airports, while
Alliance is an increasingly important multimodal distribution center. Together, they
represent the key transportation hub of the mid- continent United States and make
the area extremely attractive nationally and internationally as a location for
business and industry. State Highway 114 should be viewed as an economic
development imperative, both to accommodate a steadily increasing volume of
motor vehicle traffic and to ensure that traffic congestion does not jeopardize the
ability of the corridor communities to compete successfully for new business and
capital investment (Source- Explosive Growth in the 114 Corridor, H. Gross, PhD.,B. Weinstein,
PhD. And T. Clower, MS- University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and
Research).
FM 1709
FM 1709, is a regional arterial that runs from SH 114 west to Interstate 35W.
This roadway is designed to serve regional and major traffic generators. Its
primary purpose is to carry what is considered through traffic.
ROLE OF SH 114 AND FM 1709
State Highway 114 and FM 1709 in Southlake are design to function as
thoroughfares that:
• Carry high volumes of traffic regionally and inter - regionally
• Carry traffic into Southlake (i.e. shopping /work)
• Conduct traffic out of Southlake (i.e. Dallas commute)
• Pass traffic through Southlake.
The SH -114 freeway and FM 1709 are not designed to carry local trips.
WHY IS TRAFFIC CONGESTION OCCURRING ON SH 114 AND FM 1709?
Much of the traffic on FM 1709 and SH 114 is non - Southlake residents traveling
to and from work and places of business in Dallas, DFW, Alliance Airport, Los
Colinas and other employment centers. In addition, most of the local Southlake
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traffic is forced onto FM 1709 and SH 114 to access the area's shopping centers,
businesses, employment centers, etc. This results in the mixing of local trips and
regional trips on FM 1709 and SH 114. See Figure #1.
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Figure #1 - Typical Suburban Roadway Design Lam Every vehicle trip from one use
to another makes use of an arterial.
WILL TRAFFIC VOLUMES CONTINUE TO INCREASE ON SH 114 AND FM 1709?
Yes, Southlake is expected to more than triple its daytime workforce to over
20,000 persons during the next twenty (20) years. Most of the non - residential
development constructed to accommodate this future workforce will occur on the
SH 114 and FM 1709 corridors, which will substantially increase traffic volumes
on these roadways. In addition, traffic pressures along SH 114 and FM 1709 will
escalate further as development continues at Alliance Airport, Circle T Ranch,
DFW Airport and communities surrounding Southlake continue to grow.
WHAT CAN SOUTHLAKE DO TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC CONGESTION ON SH 114 AND FM
1709?
Realistically, until an alternative form of transportation (i.e. commuter rail) is
provided for the area, the traffic congestion levels along SH 114 and FM 1709 will
continue to worsen. The possibility of providing light rail service near Southlake
(Cottonbelt- SH -26) is at least 10 -15 years into the future. The widening of SH
114 and FM 1709 will only provide temporarX relief to Southlake's congestion
issues and do not offer a long term solution.
However, Southlake can provide a local roadway network that allows its citizens
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and work force the ability to access the City's commercial, office and shopping
areas without having to drive on SH 114 or FM 1709 (See Figure #2).
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Figure #2 —Every trip from one use to another makes use of a local collector instead of the
major arterial.
GENERAL
BACKGROUND: HISTORY OF RUCKER ROAD
In March of 2002, staff presented the Planning and Zoning Commission with four
possible roadway alignment options (See Attachment F). Also, staff in conjunction
with the CISD staff developed a MTP modified site plan for Rockenbaugh
Elementary which would allow bus traffic on the school site to access directly onto
Rucker Road (See Attachment D).
SPIN MEETING
On February 20, 2002, the Planning Department conducted a citywide SPIN
meeting and presented the four alignment options for Rucker Road (See
Attachment F).
CISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES
On February 25, 2002, the Planning staff presented the Rucker Road alignment
and Rockenbaugh Elementary redesign to the CISD Board of Trustees. The
Trustees' approved of the drive connection from Rockenbaugh Elementary to
Rucker Road (See Attachment D).
PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION- RUCKER ROAD
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On March 7, 2002, the Planning Commission recommend approval of Rucker
Road with alternative 1 and alternative 4 to be indicated on the MTP map (See
Attachment F). The Planning Commission stated that it is likely that Rucker Rd
would serve as a future boundary -line between residential and non - residential uses
and believed that alignments #2 and #3 were located at a distance too far south
from FM 1709.
CITY COUNCIL MOTION- RUCKER ROAD
On April 16, 2002, the City Council accepted the Planning Commission
recommendation for alternative #1, but removed the Southlake Commons portion
of the roadway (Option #4) and allowed a full access onto Carroll Ave. as long as
it did not negatively impact the residential properties in Oak Tree Estates (See
Attachment B).
CONSIDERATION
OF THE RUCKER
REALIGNMENT: RUCKER ROAD REALIGNMENT OPTIONS
Staff has prepared three options for the City Council to consider at its February
17, 2004 meeting. Option #1, keeps the alignment in the same location as
approved by City Council in 2002. Option 92, moves the roadway located on
Village of Timmaron and Pecan Acres sites to the north closer to FM 1709 and
reopens the northern drive to Rockenbaugh Elementary. Option # 3, moves the
roadway closer to FM 1709 (See Attachment G).
ISSUES TO CONSIDER
• The developer of the Village of Timarron and Pecan Acres (John Drews)
has agreed to dedicate right -of -way and construct that portion of the
roadway consistent with option #2 and construct a drive leading to the
Rockenbaugh Elementary property.
• School bus traffic from Rockenbaugh Elementary will access directly onto
Rucker Road after dropping off and picking up children at the school.
• CISD has indicated a desire that the northern drive to Rockenbaugh
Elementary remain as currently designed (with a median cut) due to
busses, faculty and staff accessing the school from the north.
• Ensure adequate spacing from FM 1709 to prevent the possibility of back-
ups from left turns from Rucker Road onto Carroll Avenue.
• Roadway may create a demarcation line between residential and non-
residential uses.
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Public Hearing: Five people spoke at the public hearing: These individuals were as followed:
Harry Ingalls (CISD Assistant Superintendent of Operations). Stated that option
#2 that moved Rucker Road to the north on the Office of Timarron and Pecan
Acre land areas and allowed the north drive to Rockenbaugh Elementary to remain
open was the school district's preference.
Zena Rucker (620 Carroll Ave., Southlake). Stated the existing MTP alignment
along her property was preferred.
Carolyn Hayes (807 Southlake Blvd). Stated the existing MTP alignment along
her property was preferred.
Phillip Bressinck (200 Swallow Dr., Southlake). Stated that the road should
continue across the Southlake Commons property (Weitzman tract) and eventually
connect to Central Avenue in Town Square.
John Drews (3625 N. Hall St., Dallas). Stated that he favored an alignment
consistent with option 92.
Planning
Commission
Recommendation: At its February 5, 2004 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission
recommended (6 -0) that the MTP plan be amended to reflect the option #2
alignment (as modified by staff and that the Rockenbaugh Elementary MTP site
plan that is currently illustrated in the text portion of the document be amended to
indicate that the northern most drive remain open. Also, the Planning and Zoning
Commission recommended that "Rucker Rd." be renamed "Zena Rucker Rd."
(See Attachments H & I). Also, the P &Z Commission continued the public
hearing for Kirkwood Blvd Ext. until the April 8, 2004 meeting and instructed
staff to conduct a SPIN meeting on this item in the interim and requested that
representatives from Newland Communities (Aventerra) and the Carroll
Independent School District be present at the SPIN meeting to discuss future
development plans for their properties. Finally, the P &Z Commission instructed
staff to conduct the SPIN meeting in late March, after the CISD spring break
period (March 15 -19
As a result of P &Z's action, City Council will only be considering the Rucker Rd.
alignment at this time.
Staff Presentation: Staff will provide City Council an overview of the alignment options for Rucker
Road at its February 17, 2004 meeting. If you have any questions or need any
additional information, please contact me at 481 -2046.
Attachment A- Adopted Master Thoroughfare Map.
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Attachment B- Rucker Road Alignment displayed on an Aerial Photo.
Attachment C- Kirkwood Blvd. Alignment displayed on an Aerial Photo (w /Aventerra Tracts).
Attachment D- Modified MTP site plan for Rockenbaugh Elementary.
Attachment E- Rucker Road Design Elements.
Attachment F- Rucker Road Alignment Alternatives presented to P &Z in March, 2002.
Attachment G- Rucker Road Alignment Options presented to City Council.
Attachment H -P &Z's recommended alignment for Rucker Road.
Attachment I -P &Z's recommended modified MTP site plan for Rockenbaugh Elementary.
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