Tyler area MPO approves Waljim extension plan as residents express concerns

Published 5:45 am Friday, March 25, 2022

The extension of Waljim Street was approved Thursday by the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Committee.

The street extension is part of a conceptual plan that will connect West Grande Boulevard to Market Square Boulevard. The approval of this extension was an amendment to Tyler’s Master Street Plan.

Tyler’s Master Street Plan is a long-range document that identifies locations and roadway facilities needed to meet growth in the city in the next 25 years, according to the city. The document classifies streets by current and forecasted traffic counts.

While approved, MPO Manager Michael Howell assured people there is a lot of flexibility in the plan and things will likely change.

Howell said the area where this road would stretch has a lot of residential and commercial development potential. This street would help alleviate traffic congestion on South Broadway Avenue and plan for future development, he said.

During Thursday’s meeting, the council chambers were filled with concerned community members. Residents expressed concerns about their homes and apartment complexes being affected by the extension.

Many of the concerns were from individuals living in the Courtyard Condos behind Walmart and Target and from the Crooked Trails neighborhood on West Cumberland Road.

With the adopted plan, Waljim Street would cut through the parking lot of the Courtyard Condos and into a portion of properties at Crooked Trail. Residents also expressed concerns about the traffic this road would bring in.

There to express gratitude to the city was Dayspring United Methodist Church. The original plan presented on March 8 at a public meeting had the proposed road going along the west side of the church — which would invade their pavilion space — and has since been moved to the east side, which the pastor and members were grateful for.

The church, Mayor Don Warren and Tyler City Manager Edward Broussard all came to an agreement on the change, which improved concerns about both safety and the interruption of special spaces to the church. While this made improvements for the church, it did lead to the concerns from residents of Crooked Trails.

After the MPO’s approval on Thursday, the next step will be for the city to adopt the Master Street Plan as its guide which will tentatively occur at a meeting in May, said Howell.

With all of the comments, the committee decided to have more conversations with those who are impacted by the Waljim extension to come up with another possible plan.

To read more about the Waljim extension and the MPO visit tylerareampo.org/plans-and-projects/special-studies/master-street-plan.