VOTE411 Voter Guide

I would limit street parking an many areas of the city to improve access for emergency and service vehicles and to improve traffic flow.

I would bring developers and neighborhood groups to the table together to work out mutually beneficial solutions. The work we have begun on the ROO and Middle Housing/HOO designations have started us in the right direction.

Encouraging higher density living developments adjacent to campus reduces the need of students and faculty to commute and decreases traffic during the school year. Requiring new developments to put in sufficient access points create more porous neighborhoods and reduces bottlenecks. Managing on street parking also frees up space on our existing roads and improves traffic flow.

Land is in short supply and one area in which the City could be more environmentally conscience and encourage more dense development is to remove the City mandated parking requirements for commercial projects. We have vast parking lots that are only marginally used. This creates unnecessary heat islands and encumbers valuable land to a useless purpose. Developers will ensure adequate parking as it is in their interest to do so.

As a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission, I have had the opportunity to work with City Staff and to advise City Council on the creation of the Middle Housing (MH) zoning designation and the High Occupancy Housing (HOO). We also recently voted to add the Housing Action Plan to the Comprehensive Plan. All of these work together to provide for more density in certain areas of town and create opportunities for the creation of more affordable housing. This is just the starting line! Now that we have a framework to work from, we need to capitalize on this momentum and organize group of decision makers from finance, higher education, real estate, community services and local non-profits. I will work to get the right people to the table.

The City has a Thoroughfare Plan that lays out the current and future planned road system in our town. Roads are classified by capacity and size. Our growth has occurred at a faster rate than we could have reasonably anticipated and this has left our roads congested. It would be my position that the City prioritize and accelerate the construction of new connections to provide more alternate routes. Additionally, I would support the expansion of Brazos Transit District and encourage opportunities for the use of public transportation.