What everyone agreed on, at Tuesday evening’s Highland Village City Council meeting, was the importance of safety, including safety in the Northwood and Castlewood communities.  Virtually all of the audience however, expressed audible displeasure at the council’s ultimate decision. The discussion of closing residential and commercial access to Northwood Drive and Castlewood Boulevard at FM2499 began over six months ago and has continued to gather popular support from neighbors, home owners’ associations, petitions and input at months of council meetings, neighbors continuing to voice their concerns to the city about the amount of cut-through traffic and the safety of their children.  

      In turn, the mayor, council members and city staff have addressed the public concern with a public hearing, meetings with TXDOT, the input of the police and fire chiefs, a traffic engineering study and an attentive ear. One strategy for closure discussed by neighbors and council during the last few months has been gates, accessible only by emergency vehicle. Tuesday evening’s consideration of Resolution 09-2142 began with City Manager, Michael Leavitt, summarizing council’s Early Work Session solution for the intersection by way of a drawing. Leavitt told the audience the council proposed eliminating left hand turns from southbound FM2499, onto Northwood Drive. He said, “The Council has three decisions: to close the intersection, leave it as is or eliminate left turns from southbound 2499.”

      The Mayor read several emails into the record, in support of closing access to the neighborhood from FM2499, and opened the meeting to public comment, most of which reiterated safety concerns and the fact over 80% of the communities were in favor of closing off access at the intersection. Former Highland Village Councilman, Patrick Coon, however, reminded mayor and council the Castlewood and Northwood communities are the second largest communities along FM2499 and, “all access points should be kept open, at all times. “Each second counts,” said Coon, who related his own and a neighbor’s emergency medical needs, which might have been compromised if street access had not been available. After more than 60 minutes of public and council comments, City Manager Leavitt said, “No gates can be placed in TXDOT right-of-ways.” He went on to say, “These are not private communities, private homeowners’ associations or subdivisions. No gates can go across public thoroughfares and the City of Highland Village subdivision ordinances for planned developments require two means of ingress and egress.”

      Leavitt’s comments surprised the audience who had not previously been told gates were not an option. “It makes no sense that now you’re telling us we can’t do this because of TXDOT,” said a Northwood resident. “Why weren’t we told this back in December?” Councilman Robichaux expressed his sentiment, regarding, “The law of unintended consequences: FM2499 extension was an ill-conceived idea to begin with,” Robichaux said. “Therefore, closure of this intersection creates its own problems. Safety,” he continued, “really drove our council discussion but [Castlewood and Norwood] have been Master Planned thoroughfares from the beginning; closing them is not satisfying.” Councilman McDearmott added, “Access and safety have been my concerns from the start but I can’t support blocking off the intersection.” Mayor Costa added her comments, in the face of the audience’s frustrations, saying, “This is an emotional decision. We had a public hearing. Was it required? No, but we wanted to hear you. To say [council members and the mayor] aren’t affected, or we haven’t listened isn’t true,” Costa continued. “I’ve lived on Northwood for 15 years. Decisions we make are for the entire community. Our charge has always been, ‘The greater good for the greatest number.’ Safety is the first issue for us.”     

      After a brief Executive Session, council returned with City Attorney Dorothy Palumbo outlining three binding determinates for council: the legalities of a city closing rights of access to privately-owned properties, the dictates of platted property on the city’s Master Plan and Highland Village’s Thoroughfare Master Plan. Much to the audience’s displeasure, council then voted unanimously to approve the city manager’s work with TXDOT, on modifications to the intersection of Northwood/Castlewood Boulevard, eliminating left-hand turns onto Northwood.

      In further action, Council unanimously approved purchase and installation of two wayside horns, at the Briarhill railroad crossing, said to reduce railroad engine horn noise at the crossing by 95%. Matthew Kite, Director of Public Works, anticipates the work to be completed by the end of summer. Councilman Robichaux was unanimously appointed to the Highland Village Community Development Corporation and, separately, the council authorized an increase in residential and commercial security alarm permits to $50.  As a way to try to reduce the increasing number of false alarms, which costs taxpayers over 1,000 police man-hours a year, Council also unanimously approved state-set maximum false alarm fees, for both home and business owners.