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Oct 109 min read

Neighborhood update on Crown Road repairs and corrections. Willow Park 2022 Street Improvement Project.


Summary: The neighbors who live on Crown Road and adjacent Ranch House Road in Willow Park have spent most of 2024, speaking during a half dozen Council Meetings, submitting several petitions, and demanding attention from the City, all to restore the form and function of their properties damaged or changed by the City's Street Improvement Project. Here are October - September 2024 emails from neighbors to neighbors, updating the City's actions.

• Latest Update: posted 09 October

• Tags: #Streets #Civics



 

Neighborhood update on Crown Road repairs and corrections. Willow Park 2022 Street Improvement Project.


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist


The neighbors who live on Crown Road and adjacent Ranch House Road in Willow Park have spent most of 2024, speaking during a half dozen Council Meetings, submitting several petitions, and demanding attention from the City, all to restore the form and function of their properties damaged or changed by the City's Street Improvement Project. [1]


Here are October - September 2024 emails from neighbors to neighbors, updating the City's actions:


On 08 October 2024

Good Evening Neighbors -

I received a text from Gretchen [Gretchen Vazquez, City Engineer] this afternoon with some great news for those of you who are on the list to receive upgraded driveway approaches. Her message is as follows:

"Good afternoon Mr. Hoopes, I wanted to update you on the drive approaches... the city has contracted Alliance Concrete Services to perform the driveway expansions. They will start demo Thursday, October 10th and start setting forms on Monday 14th. Work is anticipated to be completed the week of Oct. 21st. Residents will have access to their property. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks! ~ Gretchen"

Please pass this message along to anyone not on my distro list. As a petitioner whose driveway is NOT on the list - I'm simply glad to see this issue addressed for those of you who needed it done. I truly appreciate everyone's efforts - on behalf of the City and our group - that helped to make this happen for our friends and neighbors. Outstanding results from proactive civic engagement. Looking forward to seeing the construction over the next few days!

Respectfully, E


Subject: Update from City Manager: May 2024 Petition Items

Date: September 17, 2024

Good Morning Neighbors -

Please forward this update to anyone that I may have missed in the To line and/or your extended neighborhood network - maximum dissemination requested.  See email response from City Manager Grimes below my signature block and attachment to this email for update

I have been working with City Staff and Management to get an update to expected timelines for implementation of City Council decisions for the following petition items:

1.  Driveway Approach Extensions (Council Decision Date 25 June 2024:  Extend approaches at select residences to meet new engineering standards of 14 feet at property line with 8 foot turn radius onto the street - to be accomplished)

2.  Speed Hump Installation on Crown Rd (Council Decision Date 11 June 2024:  Add seven (7) Speed Humps to Crown Rd to enforce speed limit of 30 MPH - to be accomplished) [2]

3.  Additional Hydroseeding on Crown Rd (Council Decision Date 11 June 2024:  Add additional hydroseed Bermudagrass along ditches on Crown Rd, where required - to be accomplished)

4.  Mowing of ditches along Ranch House and Crown Roads (City Council Decision Date 11 June 2024:  Has been accomplished at this time, Council decision complied with)

City Staff and Management have been very helpful, forthright, and transparent in their communications with me so far.  There are some changes that were decided between City Staff, Management, and Council on items 2-3 above since the formal Council decisions/dates.  After speaking with Mr. Grimes on the decided changes, the City's position is that their revised approach on items 2-3 are aligned to meet the intent of Council decisions.  I received the latest update from City Manager Mr. Grimes this morning.  Please see email below and attachment. 

Questions/concerns, please let me know how I can help to advocate.  


Mr. [H],

Good morning. Please see the latest update on the Crown Road project as requested in your email from yesterday.

Driveway Approaches – Derek Turner is gathering pricing from contractors now. Once we have selected a contractor, we will notify residents of the construction schedule. Right now, we expect work to start around the beginning of October and be completed by late October / early November. We will provide the contractor’s information as well.

Speed Humps – The City has authorized Elite Asphalt (contractor) to proceed with the installation of asphalt speed humps on Crown Road. Speed humps will be located at Stations 12+96, 27+48, and 32+68. Refer to the attached exhibit for Speed Hump Locations. We anticipate installation of the three (3) speed humps to begin in the coming weeks (approximately 3 weeks). WPPD will continue to monitor the speeds along the road and reevaluate as needed. [2]

Hydro mulch Seeding – After a visual inspection, it appears another application of hydro mulch seeding may not be required. The original contract, and expected result, is at least 95% percent uniform coverage of grass. City staff feels this has been achieved with no bare spots of greater than ten (10) square feet. I will consult with the Mayor / Mayor Pro Tem to get feedback on how to proceed on this issue.

It appears that this project is finally going to get underway, and hopefully will be concluded soon.

Thanks.

Bryan Grimes

City Manager

City of Willow Park

(817)441-7108



Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources


On 26 September, 2024, the City of Willow Park posted a Road Work Notice indicating the installation of the Crown Road Speed Humps will be started and completed on 27 September, 2024. The original plan was to install seven Crown Road Speed Humps in order to calm the traffic speed to the posted 30 mph.  However, the City subsequently changed the number of Crown Road Speed Humps from seven to three, and then monitor and reevaluate as needed.

[2] Brake It or Break It. New Speed Humps for Willow Park., Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 17 June 2024

The new cement streets in Willow Park are tempting drivers beyond that which they can bear -- and some bear down our 30 mph residential streets at 80 mph. Thanks to Willow Park Citizens, who keep bringing the problem to the City, the Willow Park Council has approved a new Speed Hump Policy and are starting installation of Speed Humps on Crown Road.



Standard 12' width at property line and 5' turning radius

For the fourth City Council Meeting in a row [*1], Citizens of Crown Road, Ranch House Road, Sam Bass Road, Trinity Drive, Trinity Court and adjacent roads, addressed the City Council with their requests for the City to keep its promises made during the 2022 Street Improvement Project: to put their driveways, bar ditches, and city easements back the way they were functioning before the City's "Street Improvements."

The City Council, during the 11 June 2024 Council Meeting [*1], addressed the bar ditch maintenance by assigning the task to the City and addressed the speed calming by installing speed humps on Crown Road and creating a new Speed Hump Policy.


During the 25 June 2024 Council Meeting [*2], the Council elected to address the driveway issues with the proposal of new measurements for "standard driveways."


The current standard is a 12' driveway width at the property line and a 5' radius at the driveway opening.


"The minimum [new] standard dimensions for drive approaches on streets with overall width of 30 feet overall or more is recommended to be 14 feet in width at the property line and have an approach radius of 8 feet and 30 feet at the street. Current minimum driveway dimensions for streets of lesser width are not recommended to be changed." [*2] The cost of implementing this new standard, ONLY for about 25 driveways on Crown Road, was estimated at $1,700 to $2,100 per drive for a total of $50K.


However, as one Ranch House Road Citizen put it, "In reality, there is no current standard on the size and shape of our driveways." She punctuated her point by reading a list of over 25 driveway measurements, prepared with other neighbors who spent over two hours measuring the driveways along Crown Road and Ranch House Road.

Here are the results:

• Photos in .pdf. and in gallery.


During the 25 June 2024 Council Meeting, the City and the Council emphasized the purpose of the current agenda item was to start the process of changing the "language" of the City development ordinance, and to start the process of considering implementation plans, costs and financing of those costs.


Citizen measurement list of non-standard, standard driveways

Council Crummel noted, " If [some of the houses on Crown Road] were my house, I wouldn't want to turn into some of those driveways. We are going to make this right."


However, some of these solutions are being implemented on Crown Road only; if other Willow Park Citizens whose property has been negatively impacted by the 2022 Street Improvement Project want these solutions implemented, they need to contact the City to have Citizen issues addressed. Regrettably, the best way to have a significant impact is to band together as a neighborhood to address the City; there really is power in numbers.



The one Citizen complaint, avoided by the City, was the lack of communication by the City and its contractors. Council Runnebaum suggested a public database to collect and monitor Citizen concerns during Willow Park improvement projects, but the idea was never included in any Council Meeting agenda item.


And to make City communication more obtuse, Council agendas are not posted on the City Facebook page, nor the City website homepage news feed, nor City News and Notices emails, but as usual, posted at 6 p.m. the Friday evening before the Tuesday Council Meeting, on a City webpage four pages into the City website. Citizens must know where to look for the agenda and must know to choose the "agenda packet" if they want more than a simple sentence of each agenda item.


Sources and Resources for Are driveways back the way they were? Willow Park 2022 Street Improvement Project. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 27 June 2024

[#1] Four City Council Meetings and Willow Park Blogs

• 25 June 2024 Council Meeting, Agenda Item 3. [*2]

• 2. Discussion/Action: to consider installation of speed humps on Crown Road.

• 3. Discussion/Action: to consider maintenance on city right-of-ways on Crown and Ranch House Road.

• 4. Discussion/Action: to consider the expansion of driveway approaches for the 2022 Street Projects.

• 5. Discussion/Action: to approve a Speed Hump Installation Policy

• Agenda Item 2. Discussion/Action: to accept the presentations from Staff regarding the 2022 Street Projects

• 14 May 2024 Council Meeting, Public Comments


[*2] 25 June 2024 Council Meeting, Agenda Item 3. Discussion/Action: to consider the expansion of driveway approaches for the 2022 Street Projects. 

• Background: Staff has evaluated the current standards for driveway approaches and make the following recommendations. In order to insure safety and access, the minimum standard dimensions for drive approaches on streets with overall width of 30 feet overall or more is recommended to be 14 feet in width at the property line and have an approach radius of 8 feet. Current minimum driveway dimensions for streets of lesser width are not recommended to be changed. #Streets

• Exhibits: None


• The Community News,11 June 2024 Council Meeting Review, Council approves adjustments in Crown Road area, The Community News, 14 June 2024, Excerpt

Driveway expansion put on hold. Likewise, several residents have stated that the new drive approaches are too narrow. However, the city did not approve any more work in this area for the time being.

The city's subdivision ordinance states that residential driveways shall be not less than 11 feet wide, measured at the property line. The radius of all driveway returns shall be a minimum of 5 feet.

The city recently did work on some driveways to make sure they are now at least 12 feet in width - with the exception of one, which is about six inches short.

City officials determined the driveways reconstructed on Crown Road and Ranch House Road met or exceeded the city’s design criteria. After an engineering analysis, city staff recommended not widening the drive approaches, but instead implementing traffic calming measures and re-evaluating the drive approaches at a later time.

Grimes agreed with staff recommendation, noting that it will take about 90 days for the speed humps to get installed and then another 30 to 60 days to allow for traffic speed adjustments in the area. In short, when folks aren’t going as fast when they approach their driveway it will be easier and more accessible for entry.

Grimes said he believes the issue is more with “aprons” than the actual driveways. These are approach areas extending out that have now been taking away because of the roadside drainage ditches.

“You’ve been cutting corners to get in there. When we made that deeper that took that away,” Grimes said, adding, “We can certainly come back and look at approaches. Let’s get the speed under control first.”

When someone from the audience called this into question, Grimes responded, “I did, in fact, turn into your driveway in a half-ton pickup.”

At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Lea Young, council voted to ask city staff to prepare a set of standards for driveway approaches.

“We cannot go out and look at every driveway and add something,” she said. “Otherwise, we’re arbitrarily saying this doesn’t look right and this doesn’t look right.”



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