Commissioner Dianne Edmondson
For more than a year, I have been working to secure a traffic signal at our main entrance, and now that the stores across the road are beginning to open, our residents are more frequently involved in “fender benders” when exiting the Ranch. You all may recall that when the funding of the signal became an issue, both with the City of Denton and the Town of Northlake, I announced that the County would foot the bill, hoping to move things along more quickly.
Many of you have contacted me with suggestions on this project, and each of those has been passed on to, discussed with, and evaluated by our Transportation Department, our Transportation Consultant, and the County’s Administrator. These suggestions have ranged from more striping and turn-only signs, lower speed limits, to stop signs and extra lanes on Robson Ranch Road.
Let’s review just what must happen in order to complete a complicated undertaking such as this. First of all, the project must be engineered by one of the many engineering firms with whom the County does business. That firm has been chosen by an evaluation committee. We are now under contract with them and are told that their design for the traffic signal should be complete by this summer. (That is quicker than this step would normally take, but we are pushing for a quick design due to the intense need for help with the traffic collisions.)
Next, a larger easement at Ed Robson Blvd. must be acquired and the bases laid for the traffic signal supports. And, finally, Robson Ranch Road will have to be slightly rebuilt to allow for turn lanes, etc., as the signal light is installed. The light will be programmed to facilitate east/west traffic, with north/south vehicles triggering the signal change. These portions of the project will take another several months so, realistically, it should be in place by the end of 2025, though possibly (and hopefully!) sooner.
This timeframe may seem slow, but the safety of our residents is our primary concern, so the County will conduct a public hearing at Commissioners Court for a proposal on an interim four-way stop at Cleveland Gibbs and Ed Robson Blvd., as some of our residents have suggested, while waiting on the full signalized intersection. This temporary step likely will slow down the east/west traffic but also will result in safer entrances onto Robson Ranch Road from both the Robson Ranch residents who are leaving the Ranch and the Northlake side with its assortment of retail and other services. Several traffic studies have shown that our Robson residents’ main access time to Robson Ranch Road is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. We have been fortunate so far in that none of the “fender benders” have resulted in a fatality or even serious injury. And we must continue that pattern.
We also are looking at ways to make the Michelle Way exit safer. No definite plans are in place yet.
Finally, let me assure you that the signal light being in place does not require that a fatality happen before it’s actually turned on. Some with incorrect information have been postulating that theory, but it’s untrue. Just as soon as all the engineering and construction steps are completed, we will have our long-awaited red, green, and yellow signal light! We will have another area roads update later in the fall, so stay tuned!