Sachse staff moved closer to finalizing the design for Bailey Road, which is the first 2021 bond project set to begin construction.

Director of CIP and Public Works Corey Nesbit presented a plan that incorporated resident and council feedback from the Jan. 17 meeting to councilmembers during the Monday, March 6, meeting.

“We received some good feedback from residents during that meeting, which was very helpful for staff,” said City Manager Gina Nash. “We were able to take those items back to the engineering firm doing the design, and Corey will be able to accommodate many of the requests made that night.”

She added that residents were consulted on an individual basis, similar to the process used with Merritt Road improvements.

A major concern for residents had been the street’s proximity to homes, which led to moving the road’s alignment five feet to the west. Nesbit said homes on the west side will sit approximately 48 feet to 80 feet away from the street while the average distance on the east will be 55 feet.

“That allows us to still maintain a 24-foot road structure,” Nesbit said. “The biggest thing that we are gaining from this offset is increasing the distance from homes on the west side.”

The new proposal also detailed an eight-foot sidewalk section on the west side of the road with a four-foot section to the east. Nesbit said the new roadway width will be 29 feet, an increase from the existing 24 feet, and will include two feet of a paved shoulder on either side.

Bailey Road’s speed limit of 30 mph will be maintained, said Nesbit, adding that the city will use tabletop intersections and medians to assist with keeping motorist’s speed lower. Stop signs will be present at intersections of Bailey Road with Creek Crossing Lane, Ermine Circle and Williford Road, according to the proposed design.

David Teasdale, a resident living along Bailey Road, said he was impressed with the feedback implemented by staff in the new proposal.

“I want to thank you for listening,” Teasdale said. “The proposed changes show a substantial amount of compromise.”

Another resident, Cindy Elk, raised concerns about the medians adversely affecting individuals who drive agricultural equipment or large trailers by making maneuvering into driveways difficult. Nesbit said increasing the width of driveway access and tinkering with medians would be easy to address in a final design.

The amended design also showed a lowering of the road by a couple feet, which will be used to feed into drainage improvements in the form of curb and gutter, Nesbit said, although a final concept is not fully complete yet.

For the full story, see the March 16 issue of The Sachse News.