SAN ANTONIO — A few dozen Kendall County residents Thursday told area leaders how they’d fix escalating traffic problems in booming Boerne.
The city and its transportation partners hosted a community input meeting. Engineers solicited residents’ ideas to help develop a master mobility plan for the area.
“We have a lot of people coming to Boerne,” said Jeff Carroll, Boerne’s director of development services. “We know we have issues today, but we want to plan for the next 20-30 years, as well.”
Roughly 50,000 people live in Kendall County, outpacing state lawmakers’ 2010 expectations. Then, they estimated the area’s population would nearly double by 2040.
County leaders formed a transportation task force, charged with creating traffic solutions to meet new road demand. It can only address problems inside Boerne's city limits.
But a number of residents say they are worried new plans would require them to cede land to the Texas Department of Transportation for construction.
“I would like to live in peace in the land I paid for myself without subsidy, rather than giving it up as a subsidy for somebody else,” Kendall County resident Wanda McCarthy said.
Additionally, McCarthy fears TxDOT will pave new roads through environmentally sensitive land, potentially exposing the region’s water supply to hazardous chemicals that can pool on highways.
“There’s cities in west Texas that are drinking recycled toilet water,” she said. “I don’t want to do that.”
McCarthy raised those concerns at the Kronkosky Place meeting Thursday.
“I hope they hear us,” she added.
Other residents said they simply don’t want to lose rural property their families have held for decades.
The public’s fear largely stems from a 2018 state report that included a proposal for a Loop 1604-style bypass around the county. After outcry, county leaders say their predecessors largely abandoned the entire report.
“There’s been some past conversations of loops that didn’t go well for our community,” Carroll said “We’re looking at other ways we can solve those issues.”
Residents can also offer input through an online survey.
In the coming months, the commission will analyze problems and prioritize projects. Area leaders hope to adopt a final vision by Fall 2022.