Outer Loop Study

In an effort to answer old questions and correct misconceptions from 2008 about the New Braunfels Outer Loop, TxDOT has reconvened an Outer Loop Task Force. The kick-off meeting for this effort was held at the CIVIC CENTER on Thursday, April 2, from 6-8 pm. TxDOT District Engineer Mario Medina opened the meeting with welcoming comments and challenged the community and Task Force to work closely and with open minds as information is provided and misinformation is corrected about the previous New Braunfels Outer Loop plans. Mayor Bruce Boyer and County Judge Danny Scheel both encouraged citizens to understand the importance of forward planning and smart growth and development. The future of Comal County, the City of New Braunfels and our families depends on what we do as responsible citizens today.

RJ Rivera Associates, Inc. and Kennedy Consulting, LTD. will continue to be the consulting teams, as they were in the previous study done in 2007-2008. Linda Ximenes of Ximenes & Associates, Inc. in San Antonio, will act as a third part facilitator. Her role will be to organize and conduct the task force meetings. One of her goals will be for all members of the Task Force to be encouraged to participate and contribute to the process of evaluating the current information and present ways to move the project forward in a way that the community can support.

The Task Force was given direction on the process for meeting discussions and decision making. Although that process got bogged down, there is hope that the next meeting will move forward in a productive way. The April 2, meeting was the first of nine possible meetings set to take place between now and December 21. Task Force members expressed concern over the number of meetings and how long this is planned throughout all of 2009. More information on the OuterLoop Study can be found at www.nbol.org.