story by: Citizens for a Better Seguin
Seguin City Council will consider an important long-term transportation plan Monday night (Oct 5th) that could help shape where future roads are built, widened or extended as our community continues to grow.
Agenda Item 26-400 calls for replacing Seguin’s existing Thoroughfare Plan with a new Transportation Mobility Master Plan, or TMMP.
That may sound technical, but the basic idea is pretty simple:
This is Seguin’s road map for future roads.
A thoroughfare plan identifies the major streets and transportation corridors the City believes will be needed as Seguin develops. It can help determine where future road connections should go and preserve space for transportation improvements as new development occurs.
Seguin’s current Master Thoroughfare Plan dates back to 2017. The City has said that substantial growth since then created the need for an updated plan that looks beyond just cars and roads. The new plan is also intended to address trails, sidewalks and other ways people move around the city.
The City has been working on the plan for more than a year and held public meetings where residents and property owners could review proposed transportation improvements, intersection changes and possible new roadway corridors.
Why should residents care?
Because lines drawn on a transportation map today can influence development decisions for many years.
For property owners, an important question is whether a proposed future roadway crosses or borders their property.
For taxpayers and utility customers, another question is how future transportation improvements will eventually be paid for.
And as Seguin continues to approve new residential, commercial and industrial development, residents should also ask whether developers will be required to help pay for the roads and infrastructure their projects create a need for.
City Council will hold a public hearing before considering approval of the new plan.
Better Seguin will be taking a closer look at the proposed map and supporting documents, particularly where new transportation corridors are being proposed and how future growth may affect existing neighborhoods and property owners.
Growth requires infrastructure. The important questions are where it goes, who benefits—and who pays for it.
