The tide has turned on the roundabout on Highland Shores Blvd. since the City Council heard visitor comments on the project on Tuesday evening at the City Council meeting.
Originally, the roundabout was planned to reduce emergency response times.
However, after review and hearing comments from the public, Council decided to err on the side of safety and recommend the removal of the planned roundabout at the intersection of Highland Shores Blvd. and Hillside Drive.
“Safety is council’s number one priority,” said Mayor Charlotte Wilcox. “Is it necessary. I see all of this and it makes more sense now, but safety and those kids crossing to go to school, the park, the pool or wherever, I’m very concerned about that.”
According to a presentation from the City, the plan for the roundabout began in 2014 when the city was tasked with reducing increasing emergency response times.
More than 10 years later, the plan has finally been close to construction. However, that has brought up concerns from residents and council.
A plethora of residents raised concerns about safety in regard to cars traveling at higher speeds without a stop sign, which would make it more difficult for pedestrians to cross as well as attract more traffic to use Highland Shores Blvd. to cut through.
Mayor Wilcox was concerned the response times might not even be significantly reduced.
“I know this is about emergency response times,” she said. “But what is one roundabout going to do about response times.”
Originally, the plan called for five roundabouts and a “fly-by” on Highland Shores Blvd. at Briarhill Blvd, which would remove stop signs on Highland Shores.
Wilcox, who said she consulted her husband, a firefighter of more than 30 years, and they decided it would be beneficial to response times with that many roundabouts. However, since the plan was reduced to just one roundabout, it probably wouldn’t do much.
Secondly, the data that the plan was based on was from the city in 2014, not the city of 2025.
Councilwoman Rhonda Hurst has been outspoken about her opposition to the roundabout, especially since it was brought up in recent council meetings, but she also emphasized the importance of updated data.
“I agree that the roundabout should go, but that specific location is the absolute worst place you could put it,” she said. “This is all based on 2014 data. That was before the micro mobility mandates and before Highland Village Elementary was shut down. We’re dealing with a new set of data that we have not collected.”
The only council member that was on council when the roundabouts were planned was Jon Kixmiller. He admitted he was in favor of the plans, but he felt differently after the public hearing.
“My mind is changed,” he said. “I supported it, but I’m listening tonight and based upon that, my recommendation is that we go back to the four-way stop.”
Councilman Brian Fiorenza agreed, saying he still likes the idea of roundabouts, but doesn’t feel like Highland Village is the right place for them.
“I was an advocate, and I still am, an advocate for roundabouts,” he said. “But I took to heart everything y’all said and have also changed my mind. I think they’re helpful and I do think they will reduce response times, but I’m not sure Highland Shores Blvd. is the right place for one.”
The council wasn’t voting on anything at the meeting, but they were able to get a consensus to change the plans of the project including the roundabout and the “fly-by.”
In the end, council recommended staff reevaluate the plans, including Highland Shores Blvd. at Hillside Drive remaining a four-way stop and keeping stop signs on Highland Shores Blvd. at Briarhill Blvd.
Council reiterated its appreciation for residents that showed up and celebrated the fact that the issue could be worked out.
“I’m super proud of our residents for coming and speaking up,” said councilman Kevin Cox. “What a great opportunity to have your voice listened to, heard and then to see change amongst your elected official instantly.”
Before the hearing began, Mayor Wilcox thanked residents for showing up and contributing to the process of local government. Plus, she wanted to hear public input because, while she was on council in 2014 when the response time issue arose, she was not on council when roundabouts were proposed.
“I want to thank all of y’all for being here tonight,” she said. “I asked the roundabout be placed back on the agenda tonight for my benefit and, more importantly, for the benefit of the citizens.”
(Note: an earlier version of this article referred to the communication between residents and City Council as a public hearing, however, the City only took visitor comments on the issue, so it wasn’t considered a formal public hearing.)
