Kevin O’Connor Kommentary July 11

The consultant hired by Brazos County commissioners to develop a loop highway east of Bryan and College Station is having another public meeting. The consultant’s news release says there will be no formal presentation. It is being promoted as an opportunity to see the updated study area and the latest proposed routes for the future highway. The gathering is Tuesday, May 6, from five until seven p.m. at Legends Events Center in Bryan. County commissioners for months have heard from multiple opponents to the loop and have called on the commission to terminate its contract with the Quiddity consultant group, which is hosting the public meeting. News release from Quiddity consultants: The Inner Loop East Study Team is holding the second public meeting for the Inner Loop East Study to share information and collect input on the updated study area, refined alignment concepts, traffic modeling, and next steps. Public Meeting Tuesday, May 6, 2025 5 to 7 p.m. Legends Event Center 2533 Midtown Park Blvd, Bryan, TX 77801 No formal presentation is planned, and community members are invited to come and go at their convenience. Meeting materials will be available online at brazoscountytx.gov/653/Inner-Loop-East beginning Tuesday, May 6, 2025. While comments are always welcome and considered, to have them included in the official meeting documentation, comments must be postmarked by Friday, May 23, 2025. Comments may be submitted by: • Mail: 1862 Rock Prairie Road, Suite 200, College Station, TX 77845 • Online: brazoscountytx.gov/653/Inner-Loop-East • Email: BrazosInnerLoopEast@quiddity.com • Voicemail: 979-383-2036 At the first public meeting in November 2024, the study team shared information on the study background, the need and purpose of the proposed roadway, environmental considerations, proposed roadway configuration, and six alignment concepts for public and property owner feedback. The public meeting had over 600 attendees and over 1,300 comments. Based on feedback and additional environmental studies, the team adjusted the original study area to find ways to reduce the number of impacts to property owners and existing home sites. Since then, the team has been working through additional environmental studies and meeting with property owners within the adjusted study area to inform them of the change and share updates. Working with the community and property owners is a priority for the County and the Study Team. We recognize the potential impacts of this proposed roadway and are committed to keeping everyone involved and informed throughout this process. Public input is essential and is used to guide and shape study development and future decisions. About the Inner Loop East Study The Inner Loop East Study Team is studying the feasibility of a potential new roadway that would connect the eastern areas of Bryan and College Station. Should the study determine a new roadway is needed, it would improve north-south connectivity, mobility, and roadway capacity to accommodate traffic volume growth associated with new and future planned development. The proposed new alignment would connect at SH 6 east of FM 2818 in Bryan, cross SH 30 south of Elmo Weedon Road, and connect with William D Fitch Parkway in College Station. The study is funded through Brazos County’s voter-approved Transportation Road Improvement Program (TRIP) 2022 Bond. The goal of the study is to preserve a corridor that works for the travel needs of the community while honoring the rich character and agricultural aspect of the area that benefits the community. Corridor preservation is a vital step in transportation planning and works to minimize impacts in the future as development continues.

Thursday’s (April 25) College Station city council meeting included almost one hour of discussion on how to address housing overoccupancy by implementing parking restrictions. A council majority agreed to consider an overnight ban on street parking in affected neighborhoods. The council was given a list of other options that includes issuing permits for street parking and additional restrictions on parking in the front and/or backyards of homes in targeted neighborhoods. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the April 24, 2025 College Station city council meeting. Click below to hear comments from the April 24, 2025 College Station city council meeting. Listen to “College Station city council majority is interested in parking restrictions as one way to address housing overoccupancy” on Spreaker.

One component of a Bryan ISD committee studying whether to recommend a future bond issue, is the district’s demographic information. The first such report in six years was released during Monday’s (April 21) BISD board meeting. Kris Pool projected district wide, enrollment in the next ten years to be somewhere between 800 fewer students to 2,000 more students. BISD’s current headcount is about 16,000. Pool said two campuses are expected to exceed capacity in the decade. Bryan High could reach 102 percent and Houston elementary could reach 113 percent. Pool said other districts don’t realign campus boundaries to adjust enrollment until headcount reaches 120 percent of a building’s capacity. Pool also said 15 percent of children who live in BISD attends school somewhere else. The current estimate of 2,500 does not include children who are home schooled. Pool also reported during the last five years, BISD has lost 123 students. Gaining the most students during that time was College Station with 378.That’s followed by Franklin with 219, Caldwell with 215, Snook with 123, and Navasota with 100. Demographer Susan Cates reported that more than 11,000 single family homes are estimated to be built in BISD during the next ten years. But many of those homes will be purchased by retirees and not by families with children. Cates also said they are also monitoring the possibility of manufactured home communities being created outside of the Bryan city limits to provide workforce housing. Click HERE to read and download the demographer’s report that was presented at the April 21, 2025 Bryan ISD school board meeting. Click below to hear comments from the April 21, 2025 Bryan ISD school board meeting. Listen to “Bryan ISD school board members receive a new demographer's report as part of considering a future bond issue” on Spreaker.