Thank you! 

Testing the notifications.

Just another update from AISD. They reported that they can implement the original traffic flow plan and the queue plan as designed (double stacked, loading/unloading on the east side, etc.). I specifically asked for any variables they found that would help us quantify how much of the originally designed queue storage we would be unable to recapture. But they intend on executing exactly as originally planned, including the pedestrian crossings. No issues. They are drafting communication plans now and will send to me and Robert for review. As Patricia has been heavily involved, I will include her as well. They intend to communicate to parents Oct 10th, the last day before fall break. And the new flow would be in place when school starts again on Oct 17th.

I will continue to keep you updated as things progress.

Also note, Patricia has been working with Robert on the run of Cleveland Gibbs streetlights that are out along the school. In addition, the entire length of 17th Street on the south side of the school (aside from Friendship, right next to CG) has no street lights. We’ll need to resolve that. Robert will be prepared to discuss with us. There are also a few other crosswalk related safety measures Patricia can discuss based on her observations and feedback from parents.

AISD has reacted swiftly to our concerns. And the more we can do to quickly support pedestrian safety off-campus, the better.

Jeff

Thank you for the updates Jeff! 

Hi all. Another update. AISD grabbed me and Robert for a quick call this week. They advised that the Fire Marshall for ESD1 will not let them double-stack the Cleveland Gibbs queue. They still wish to proceed with the flow change over Fall Break. I asked why the objection came now versus 2023 planning. And they said that in 2023 it was the Denton County Fire Marshall who reviewed everything. Which is different than ESD1’s Fire Marshall. I got his email address and reached out to see if we can reconcile. Patricia spoke to the station crew weeks ago and they had no issues. Denton County didn’t object a year ago. And Argyle West currently double-stacks. But I explained to him the current-state gridlock that we are trying to resolve. And how the inability to double stack will maintain that gridlocked state. Which isn’t ideal for EMS either. I asked for some time to talk so we can hear his concerns and see if we can find a path forward.

More to come.

Jeff

Thank you! 

This is what is going out to parents.

Patricia, Robert and I are slated to have a meeting Wednesday with all of the parties involved to see if we can resolve the ESD1 Fire Marshal’s concern about double stacking. Because this new flow should help. But probably not enough if we can’t double stack.

Thank you! 

Hey all, I’ve gotten a couple of message and also saw the comments on JRE’s Facebook post with people complaining about 19th street not having school access.

When the ESD1 Fire Marshal said no double stacking despite no prior objection from the Denton County Fire Marshal or the local firehouse team, we had to pivot. We’d hoped to get a meeting this week but couldn’t. We’ll all meet, Patricia included, on Wednesday to see what we can work out. Regardless, with a single queue line we could not have the entire Ridge coming through 19th Street. That was made into a 4 way stop despite the study saying it was not warranted. So we’d have the entire Ridge blocking the homes along 19th *and* they would have equal right of way, causing backup on Cleveland Gibbs as they alternate. Can’t have that. If we have a single line, it’s got to come from CG.  Let’s see what this meeting with the agencies results in. Let’s see how much traffic comes off of the roads with the queue in the much longer driveway. And we’ll keep moving the chess pieces until we have proper traffic flow.

If there’s a significant showing and you need to move up the JRE discussion, go ahead. Robert has been involved in most of the calls and emails with the school. I’ve tried my best to ping Patricia with each development. And I made sure to submit a detailed activity report of my efforts just in case the meeting went fast and I’d miss it.

I land around 7:15pm and am heading straight in. I will text Kendall when I’ve got an ETA.

Hey all, another update.

Patricia, Robert and I met at JRE Wednesday with AISD CFO, Construction Manager and Police Chief plus ESD1 Fire Marshal and Denton County Fire Marshal. They stated that the driveways were not constructed wide enough to permit double stacking the car line. While they physically could, they need additional clearance for an emergency vehicle. None of their 3 driveways have that, including the entrance driveway. So they stated that JRE’s old way would have needed to stop anyway. And they’re putting a stop to it at AWE too. 

So the fundamental problem is that AISD’s contingency plan for high car volume (page 31 of the study/plan) which involved double stacking the car line was never actually executable since they didn’t construct the driveways wide enough to permit it.

So we started Thursday with no double stacking. It did not go well. Vehicles exiting the school turned left and got stopped at the CG & 17th intersection. Once that backed up to the school exit it became gridlock. The dropoff line didn’t move so the cars trying to get into the school didn’t move. Kids were late. Not good. We discussed over email as a group and decided to try directing traffic ‘right turn only’ out of the school for afternoon pickup.

Below are my notes I sent the AISD team plus Robert and Patricia:

I spoke with Lauren (Principal) and Gabby (police) for over an hour after everything was done. They were optimistic these changes would help and strategized traffic direction at 17th & CG. Reports from this morning seemed to be positive. We had a pretty large backup on 17th Street before school opened but that was likely because folks were scared of what happened yesterday and tried to get there early. Next week traffic should be less front loaded as they realize they won’t be stuck.

Ultimately, unless AISD widens some/all of their entrance queue, we will have queue spillover onto our roadways. Whether that’s CG northbound and 17th westbound today or north and south CG once CG opens. Their queue plan would have worked and been fully self contained at peak had they constructed the driveway to standard.

I’ll keep you updated.

The right turn only out of the school property has definitely been helpful yesterday afternoon and this morning. It does cause substantially more traffic on OJR, so those crosswalks we discussed at our October meeting will be revisited for safety this next meeting. it's a bummer that the driveways aren't currently wide enough for that full double stack or it appears like all the cars would have been self-contained on school property.

*Staff is manually preventing entry to the school from 19th Street. This was because Lee Engineering did not call for 19th & Cleveland Gibbs to be a 4 way stop. But it was made into one. Cleveland Gibbs should be flowing quickly and unobstructed into the school without having to alternate with 19th traffic. We’re just manually creating that flow.

*Exiting traffic is made to ‘right turn only’. Since the entrance queue is reaching beyond the CG & 17th intersection, exiting traffic reached here and got stuck, backing up enough to halt the exiting queue.

Otherwise, the school is doing exactly what Lee advised they do.

In addition, their estimates on vehicle counts seem to be low. And it’s unclear what, if any, changes would be warranted as a result.

Every change has a downstream effect. So I’m personally most comfortable having change suggestions come from Lee Engineering. They would have the unique ability to come out for a day or two and observe conditions at dropoff and pickup as well as listen to the concerns of the staff on site. Do a gap analysis of their plan versus reality and then make recommendations of AISD and/or Belmont District 1.

To make sure our board has good advisement I’ve asked Robert to have Westwood Traffic go out to the school and do similar observations. Not a formal traffic study, just observation. It’s entirely possible that the only path to substantial improvement is getting the queue off the roads and on school property as planned. Which would require them to widen their driveways. I simply want to involve Westwood Traffic so that we have an expert in this discipline to guide our decisions. We wouldn’t rely on their attorneys for a legal issue between us. So I don’t want to be entirely dependent on their traffic engineers.