HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemoMEMORANDUM
TO: Planning and Zoning Commission
FROM: Ken Fogle, Transportation Planner
DATE: September 29, 2005
RE: Thoroughfare Plan Amendment - Appomattox Drive
When the Raintree subdivision developed in the 1970's, Appomattox Drive was shown on the City of
College Station Thoroughfare Plan as a minor arterial. When the subdivision was platted, a portion of
Appomattox Drive was constructed and dedicated to the City. In addition, seventeen lots were
allowed to front and take access off of this arterial roadway. This situation remained the same without
Appomattox Drive being extended until 1997. Because of this, residents became accustomed to
Appomattox Drive operating like a cul-de-sac rather than a major thoroughfare.
With the City of College Station Comprehensive Plan update in 1997, the proposed extension of this
roadway was removed from the thoroughfare plan primarily due to concerns of cut -through traffic.
At that time, an extension, of Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway was included in the
Thoroughfare Plan to provide a secondary access to the subdivision.
In August 2005, Mr. Steve Arden proposed to develop the Fojtik tract; development of this tract
would connect Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway. As part of this development, Mr. Arden has
expressed interest in extending Appomattox Drive as a minor collector through the proposed
development with the intent of it ultimately connecting to Raintree Drive. City staff is in agreement
with this proposal and are jointly seeking this thoroughfare plan amendment.
Over the past two years, the City of College Station has worked to improve connectivity within and
between residential subdivisions. The primary benefits of connectivity include improving emergency
response and mobility. Emergency response is improved by providing multiple access points into a
neighborhood which shortens response times and provides alternate ingress and egress points in case
of an evacuation. Mobility is improved by shortening trips which also makes walking and biking trips
more practical. In addition, there are economic and environmental benefits that should not be
overlooked.
In addition to these benefits, there are other specific benefits of the Appomattox connection. One of
the neighborhood concerns regarding the connection of Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway is
that is that Raintree Drive will become a primary thoroughfare carrying a significant amount of traffic
through the neighborhood. The addition of Appomattox Drive will provide a parallel route to
Raintree Drive minimizing the amount of traffic through the neighborhood.
Another benefit involves the undeveloped land between the former Westinghouse facility and the
existing Raintree subdivision. There are about fifteen (15) acres in this area that may be appropriate
for residential development in the future. If they were to develop residentially, about 1,000 more
residential trips would be generated with the only access points being on Antietam Drive and
Sumpter Drive, which are residential streets that currently dead end into this tract.
City staff will be meeting with residents of the Raintree and Emerald Forest subdivisions on
September 27th, 2005 to discuss this item further. At that time, neighborhood concerns will likley be
raised. These concerns will be addressed in the staff presentation. If you have any questions prior to
the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, please feel free to contact me by e-mail
(kfogle@cstx.oovv) or phone (979.764.3556).
MEMORANDUM
TO: Planning and Zoning Commission
FROM: Ken Fogle, Transportation Planner I
DATE: November 13, 2003
RE: Thoroughfare Plan Amendment - Appomattox Drive
When the Raintree subdivision developed in the 1970's, Appomattox Drive was shown on the City of
College Station Thoroughfare Plan as a minor arterial. When the subdivision was platted, a portion of
Appomattox Drive was constructed and dedicated to the City. In addition, seventeen lots were
allowed to front and take access off of this arterial roadway. This situation remained the same without
Appomattox Drive being extended until 1997. Because of this, residents became accustomed to
Appomattox Drive operating like a cul-de-sac rather than a major thoroughfare.
With the City of College Station Comprehensive Plan update in 1997, the proposed extension of this
roadway was removed from the thoroughfare plan primarily due to concerns of cut -through traffic.
At that time, an extension of Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway was included in the
Thoroughfare Plan to provide a secondary access to the subdivision.
In August 2005, Mr. Steve Arden proposed to develop the Fojtik tract; development of this tract
would connect Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway. As part of this development, Mr. Arden has
expressed interest in extending Appomattox Drive as a minor collector through the proposed
development with the intent of it ultimately connecting to Raintree Drive. City staff is in agreement
with this proposal and are jointly seeking this thoroughfare plan amendment.
Over the past two years, the City of College Station has worked to improve connectivity within and
between residential subdivisions. The primary benefits of connectivity include improving emergency
response and mobility. Emergency response is improved by providing multiple access points into a
neighborhood which shortens response times and provides alternate ingress and egress points in case
of an evacuation. Mobility is improved by shortening trips which also makes walking and biking trips
more practical. In addition, there are economic and environmental benefits that should not be
overlooked.
In addition to these benefits, there are other specific benefits of the Appomattox connection. One of
the neighborhood concerns regarding the connection of Raintree Drive to North Forest Parkway is
that is that Raintree Drive will become a primary thoroughfare carrying a significant amount of traffic
through the neighborhood. The addition of Appomattox Drive will provide a parallel route to
Raintree Drive minimizing the amount of traffic through the neighborhood.
Another benefit involves the undeveloped land between the former Westinghouse facility and the
existing Raintree subdivision. There are about fifteen (15) acres in this area that may be appropriate
for residential development in the future. If they were to develop residentially, about 1,000 more
residential trips would be generated with the only access points being on Antietam Drive and
Sumpter Drive, which are residential streets that currently dead end into this tract.
City staff will be meeting with residents of the Raintree and Emerald Forest subdivisions on
September 27th, 2005 to discuss this item further. At that time, neighborhood concerns will likley be
raised. These concerns will be addressed in the staff presentation. If you have any questions prior to
the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, please feel free to contact me by e-mail
(kfogle@cstx.ggv) or phone (979.764.3556).