FORNEY, Texas — Freese and Nichols, the firm contracted by the county to complete a county-wide transportation plan, concluded a series of three public input meetings in Forney on Tuesday night at Forney High School.
FORNEY, Texas — Freese and Nichols, the firm contracted by the county to complete a county-wide transportation plan, concluded a series of three public input meetings in Forney on Tuesday night at Forney High School.
The meeting gave an overview of the current transportation infrastructure, highlighted projects underway and in the planning stages, identified key areas of needed improvement, and gave an opportunity for the public to provide input in the current stage of the thoroughfare plan.
This plan and the U.S. Highway 80 Corridor Study will be the guiding tool for future transportation projects in Kaufman County.
“This county-wide plan will be coordinated with locally adopted city plans as well as the plans and programs of adjacent counties and Texas Department of Transportation,” states an earlier release by Freese and Nichols. “The plan will place an emphasis on regional connectivity and will guide the County by identifying the location and type of transportation needs to meet anticipated short and long range growth.”
Attendees were able to provide input on current transportation needs including trouble traffic areas, future mass transportation options, and safety concerns. Issues identified on one public input board included the need for emergency lanes on Farm-to-Market (FM) 1641, unsafe ramp conditions at FM 460 onto U.S. Highway 80, the need for northbound access to the County Road 212/217 bridge, and heavy congestion at the FM 548 and FM 1641 intersection.
Residents unable to attend the meeting can review the presentation online and also provide additional public input through a contact form on the website or through various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) created for the plan.
Another series of town hall meetings is planned before a draft is released in late summer 2015, according to Freese and Nichols Urban Planner and Designer Edmund Haas. The draft plan will also be vetted through a steering committee which was established last year.
Meeting minutes from the Terrell, Kaufman, and Forney meetings will be available on the transportation website after they are prepared.
