The short “sidewalk to nowhere†at the west end of St. Edwards Drive in front of the university’s shipping/receiving facility is being extended thanks to taxpayer dollars. The Capital Improvement Project (CIP) will build a new sidewalk to join the existing sidewalk three blocks east of Eastside Dr. The new sidewalk will connect to the sidewalk in front of the Holy Cross Brothers residence across from the Blunn Creek Nature Preserve.
As part of this project, a sidewalk will also be installed in the near future on Carnarvon Lane. These projects, while paid for by tax dollars, also benefit the university whose overflow parking onto Sherwood Oaks streets in recent years has increased since the school began charging students, faculty and staff to park on campus. Why pay to park when you can park for free in the neighborhood?
And, at the east end of St. Edwards Dr., TXDOT has delivered its long promised correction to the southbound IH35 entrance ramp. The ramp was built at a right angle to St. Edwards Dr. when the HWY. 71/290 flyover was built. According to the Transportation Criteria Manual, the location of the old entrance ramp was too close to the flyover entrance causing very dangerous merging.
The new entrance ramp will be further north and according to TXDOT, better aligned with the new exit ramp north of Oltorf. To access the new southbound IH35 entrance ramp, Sherwood Oaks neighbors will need to go to Oltorf. The right turn lane onto the southbound frontage road at Oltorf has returned after TXDOT consultants heard complaints from SRCC members at its December meeting. While the reconfigured frontage road at St. Edwards Dr. limits neighbors’ easy access to 71/290, the lack of access has already proven to reduce traffic cutting through Sherwood Oaks streets from S. Congress to IH35. YAY!
