Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan
Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan
Plans to establish a locally-driven transportation planning process in Bastrop County began in early 2007.
Representatives from the City of Bastrop, the City of Elgin, the City of Smithville, the Capitol Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), and the Capital Area Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CARTPO) will work as a team with a transportation planning consultant from Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Austin district to develop a Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (BCCTP). CAPCOG anticipates that similar planning processes will subsequently occur in each of the twelve counties within the boundaries of the TxDOT Austin District. Once all of the county plans are completed, CAPCOG and CARTPO will work to develop a regional transportation thoroughfare plan.
All the parties recognize a need for coordinated transportation planning among the different jurisdictions within Bastrop County to proactively plan for expected growth. The primary focus of the planning process is to include participation from local governments, school districts, transportation providers, utility providers, and the citizens of Bastrop County.
This effort will leverage the existing work performed by these cities within their Strategic and Comprehensive Plans and Bastrop County’s Opportunity Bastrop, which is a county-wide planning effort that began in 2006.
The BCCTP will consist of three phases occurring during approximately two years. The three phases include: Project Initiation, Needs Assessment, and Plan Development. A Bastrop County Steering Committee will guide the process, ultimately recommending adoption of the Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan by the Bastrop County Commissioners Court.
Additionally, a Technical Advisory Committee will assist the Steering Committee by providing technical review, while a Citizen’s Advisory Committee will assist with providing public participation and public input. Finally, a Project Management Team with representatives from TxDOT and Bastrop County will provide general oversight of the contracted services.
A draft Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by all of the school districts in Bastrop County supporting the project. The following entities have passed resolutions in support of the project: Bluebonnet Electric, Aqua Water, Lost Pines Groundwater, and the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The Steering Committee for the Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan met three times in the spring of 2008. Steering Committee members are: Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald, Bastrop County Commissioner Peter Hicks, Bastrop City Council Member Dock Jackson, Elgin City Council Members Pat Frenzel and Keith Joesel and City of Smithville representative Lenel Tamez.
Phase I of the project, an analysis of existing needs was completed in August 2008. In September 2008, the Technical Advisory Committee will begin many of the Phase II tasks which include gathering land use forecasts, traffic projections, needs analysis, travel demand modeling, and developing scenario plans.
Phase II will also require public involvement. The Citizens Advisory Committee made up of citizens from throughout Bastrop County has been formed and will identify goals and objectives and focus on community and public meetings.
On Thursday, December 11, 2008, all three of the committees involved with the Bastrop County Comprehensive Transportation Plan met at the Bastrop County Courthouse Annex in downtown Bastrop. The committees reviewed their work plans for the coming year. The next meeting will be Thursday, February 12, 2009. The comprehensive transportation plan is expected to be completed by August 2009.
