HUTTO – The City Council has agreed to reopen three short trail segments on municipal land maintained by volunteers so long as the work is coordinated with the Parks and Recreation Department.
The decision was reached at a late June meeting after protocols were developed for the volunteers and the city confirmed it was insured against liability for injuries, with coverage for the helpers. The trails were closed in May while officials reviewed the matter.
Council members June 26 also eyed plans to alleviate traffic woes in the Old Town district that call for making some streets one way.
Meanwhile, the reopened nature pathways include Creekside Trails numbers one and two and a segment of the Riverwalk trail.
Officials expressed alarm two months ago during discussions that neighbors and volunteers maintained the city-owned paths without Parks and Recreation oversight.
“These areas do have poison ivy in there,” said Jeff White, parks and recreation director. “There are branches and limbs and sharp objects and things where someone can potentially fall on or get hurt, in addition to hazardous overgrowth and potentially any critters in there so we just want to make sure everyone is covered.”
Under the new agreement with Parks and Recreation, volunteers are only allowed to maintain existing trails. The city does not permit unauthorized design, construction or expansion of the paths.
White must undergo training for himself and the parks staff on proper trail design before the city expands the system.
Volunteers wanting to work with the city are first required to complete and sign an application.
For more, email pard@huttotx. gov.
Mayor Mike Snyder said he appreciated the efforts of non-city helpers, but wanted to make sure the trails are properly built and that erosion is considered.
“For the record, I want the trails. I love trails being built by free labor,” Snyder said.
In other business, City Engineer Matt Rector presented an updated plan for Old Town traffic that calls for converting some major streets into one-way lanes.
Doing so would slow traffic and create additional parking, going from the 141 existing spaces to 401 potential slots, the council heard.
In August, city staff discussed a preliminary concept with leaders during a work session that first suggested converting select streets in Old Town to one-way traffic.
The staff brought back a more refined map in February.
The city then held an open house and initiated an online survey for community input. More than 150 submissions were received and a new plan was presented in April. At that time, the council asked staff to once again refine the concept and include phasing-in the changes to the streets.
Members on the dais directed Rector not to prioritize parking, pedestrians or through-traffic, but to optimize all three.
The latest iteration converts West, Main and East to one-way streets. It maintains two-way traffic on Pecan Street and the same for two-way lanes for most of Farley.
“When I visited with (the Hutto Police Department) and started pulling accident data, we found out there were actually a lot of collisions from people trying to turn left off U.S. 79 to go northbound on East Street,” Rector said.
Officers believe motorists are trying to avoid a traffic signal, which could be prevented if East becomes one way.
Council members asked Rector to refine the phasing and to discuss the one-way and parking solutions with the Hutto Downtown Business Association before bringing the issue back for another discussion.
Officials said downtown roadwork will pose a problem for many, so new street concepts and construction need to be strategic.
“We have to find ways to minimize that pain as much as possible,” Snyder said. “I think long term, however we decide to do this people are going to be happier.”
