Traffic and parking overhaul starts this summer at Highland Lakes Elementary
The gray areas on this graphic show where new parking and a bus loop will be added to Highland Lakes Elementary School in Granite Shoals, the first project to be undertaken from the $172.2 million bond package approved by voters May 3. Courtesy image
Marble Falls Independent School District is digging into its new bond projects following a successful May 3 election, starting with badly needed traffic and parking improvements at Highland Lakes Elementary School in Granite Shoals.
Drop-off and pickup times at the campus are notorious for causing traffic congestion along RR 1431 and Phillips Ranch Road. The district identified the overhaul as the highest-priority project among those included in the recently passed $172.2 bond package.
“The ultimate goal is to try to have (the traffic work) done before the first day of school (in August),” Superintendent Jeff Gasaway told DailyTrib.com
The MFISD Board of Trustees approved several projects during its regular meeting Monday, May 19, including a $612,252 contract for improvements at the Granite Shoals campus, 8200 RR 1431.
The planned upgrades include increasing parking spaces, adding a bus loop, and putting in a connecting thoroughfare to allow easier navigation between parking lots at the school.
Traffic issues at the campus have been a thorn in the side of Granite Shoals police.
“(The traffic) is horrendous,” GSPD Chief John Ortis told DailyTrib.com before the May 3 bond election. “It has become a logistical nightmare.”
He noted it routinely takes six officers to direct pickup and drop-off traffic outside of the school. Following the bond’s passage, he had this to say:
“It is a huge relief to hear that, not just for my department but for my community.”
According to Superintendent Gasaway, the district will use its own funds until the bonds are all sold and the money is made available, which he expects will be in August. The Board of Trustees also passed a resolution on Monday that would allow the district to reimburse itself for money spent on bond projects prior to the funds being locked in.