TYLER, Texas — The Rose City continues to bloom with new developments, people, and updates to the city, but there's still more to do.
The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is in the process of updating the Master Street Plan to fit the community's needs.
Michael Howell, MPO manager, says the current plan, completed in 2012, is referenced at least once a month.
"This is really where the public can come in and say, here's something I want to see, this is what I want standard streets to look like in my neighborhood or commercial area," Howell said. "The intent of the plan is to try to be a guide for any of the different transportation agencies who are going to be doing street construction."
There will be two virtual open houses via Zoom, Thursday, Oct. 22 from 1 to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 6 p.m. Both meetings will start with a discussion on the feedback the MPO has already been given. There will be opportunities for questions and comments.
"What we're here to do is try to make the best plan that we can that is going to meet the community's needs, and what they want to see," he explained. "You know, how many lanes, do you want that continuous left turn lane, do you want a medium in there with streets in there, or with the trees that are going to be in the medium?"
The open house will focus mostly on street elements people would like to see added to Tyler roadways like curb and gutter, bike lanes, turning lanes, sidewalks, etc.
These elements are important because Texas has seen an increase in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities over the last five years. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, in 2019, there were 93 traffic crashes involving pedestrians, which resulted in 19 fatalities and 36 serious injuries in the Tyler area. In the same year, there were 22 traffic accidents involving bicyclists and six serious injuries.
Howell expects the updated Master Street Plan to be completed at the beginning of 2021.
Citizens can submit questions and comments by emailing the MPO at mpo@tylertexas.com.
To join the 1st meeting from 1 to 2 p.m., click here. For the 2nd meeting from 5 to 6 p.m., click here.