On Nov. 13, the City Council voted to accept the neighborhood traffic management plan that Councilwoman Mary Poss wrote about last month.
All recommendations were approved except for the proposal to use landscaped roadway restrictions – “chokers” – to discourage speeding. This proposal was declined due to strong neighborhood opposition.
The plan addresses concerns of residents within the boundaries of Central, Mockingbird, Greenville and Henderson. The vote was unanimous.
A sound wall will be constructed between McCommas and Monticello with landscaped buffers between Martel and McCommas and Monticello and Henderson.
Existing road humps will be reconditioned to ensure they all meet current specifications for form.
Right-of-ways will be re-assigned for Goodwin at Glencoe, Worcola at Ridgedale, Worcola at Goodwin, and Worcola at Miller by switching the direction of stop signs at these intersections.
Right turns will be prohibited from the northbound service road onto Martel to protect Glencoe Park.
And, if justified by studies, a traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Greenville and Monticello.
With the long-needed widening of Central now underway, drivers are making adjustments to their travel patterns. Central’s new design will provide eight travel lanes and added capacity at the interchanges, but fewer points of access to and from the freeway.
With this limited ability to go back and forth, greater numbers of motorists are traveling through neighborhoods that had experienced minimal traffic intrusion.
This intrusion has caused neighborhoods to join together to seek means of restoring or at least preventing total destruction of the lifestyle they have tried so hard to build and are desirous to keep.
Pleas for help from the Glencoe Park, Greenland Hills and Vickery Place communities were voiced. Residents want a means to reduce noise pollution, speed and increasing volumes of automobiles.
The Council representatives heard the pleas, and in June 1995, they authorized a traffic study to address these concerns. The study was completed and included many public meetings to gather input.
The results led to the current plan, which takes into account the East Dallas Thoroughfare Plan and the need to satisfy Fire Department requirements for emergency response time both through and within the study areas.
Sound wall construction between McCommas and Monticello will be done by the Texas Department of Transportation, and landscaping will be handled jointly by the City and the State.
The actual time of construction will be determined by the availability of funding, right-of-way purchases, utility adjustments, and approval of the residents affected by the project.
If you have questions, please call Sam Wilson, assistant director of public works and transportation, at 670-4024.
