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Given the local and regional importance of the New Braunfels Outer Loop corridor, the public involvement activities for this study sought to involve the community that lives, works, and drives through the study area. TxDOT provided various opportunities to involve the community in the New Braunfels Outer Loop Study including:

Stakeholder Identification
The study team developed a list of major stakeholders from meetings with agencies, community contacts, and other research including the identification of property owners within the study area. Anyone interested in taking part in the study can be added to the stakeholder list by signing up for our mailing list.

Newsletters
The study team produced three newsletters throughout the course of the study. The newsletters also informed the public of upcoming meetings including times and locations. More than 4,500 newsletters were mailed throughout the study area.

    Newsletter #3 – January 2008 |

    Newsletter #2 – October 2007 |

    Newsletter #1 – June 2007 |

Hotline
A dedicated phone line staffed by a member of the study team is available. The toll-free hotline provides the community with direct access to New Braunfels Outer Loop Study information. To date, the hotline has received more than 115 calls.

The hotline number is 866.704.1114.

Agency Coordination Conference
The Agency Coordination Conference was held May 23, 2007, with staff from TxDOT’s San Antonio District, Design Division, Environmental Division, the City of New Braunfels and the counties of Comal and Guadalupe. This meeting also included the Federal Highway Administration and other environmental, regulatory, and local agencies. There were 58 participants at the Agency Coordination Conference. The purpose of the conference was to provide for a brainstorming session to identify potential regulatory, permitting, and or environmentally sensitive issues that would need to be addressed as the study progressed.

Community Work Group
The New Braunfels Outer Loop Study Community Work Group (CWG) provided an opportunity for community members to actively participate in the public involvement process for this study. CWG members provided input and feedback to identify constraints, develop alternatives, and evaluate the impacts of the various alternatives developed. The CWG gave the local community a voice in the planning process to ultimately identify a recommended corridor for the proposed New Braunfels Outer Loop. The role of this committee was to ensure that local interests were reflected in the study recommendation.

The 45 members of the CWG were a balance of representatives from both the east and west side of IH 35. The CWG members included representatives from Comal and Guadalupe Counties in the areas of farming and ranching, historical interests, economic development, multimodal interests, school districts and other representatives from communities that could benefit from the proposed outer loop such as the City of Schertz, the City of Seguin and the City of Santa Clara.

Technical Work Group
The New Braunfels Outer Loop Study Technical Work Group (TWG) provided feedback on public involvement activities, reviewed citizen input, and provided direction for the public involvement efforts when necessary. The TWG also provided feedback to the study team on potential technical problems, provided input and feedback on the assessment of alternatives, and served as an agency coordinating body for projects that may affect or be affected by the New Braunfels Outer Loop Study. The role of this committee was to ensure design standards were followed and technical issues resolved. They also ensured the efforts of this study complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

These 33 members were identified for their technical experience and knowledge of the study area. The TWG was made up of representatives from the City of New Braunfels, the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, the Federal Highway Administration, Comal County, and Guadalupe County.

Stakeholder Meetings
Individual stakeholder meetings were held throughout the study to gather information from individual entities and individual property owners. Twelve stakeholder meetings took place over a period of six months. Three of these twelve stakeholder meetings were with homeowner associations.

Public Meetings
TxDOT conducted two rounds of public meetings. Each round consisted of two public meetings for a total of four public meetings. In order to capture the audience within the large geographic area covered by this study, each round consisted of one public meeting east of IH 35 and one public meeting west of IH 35. More than 1,000 people participated in the two rounds of public meetings.

First Round of Public Meetings
The first round of public meetings was held in June 2007, primarily for data collection and to receive feedback on the need and purpose, initial constraints identified by the study team, and initial corridors. During this round, participants were also encouraged to identify additional corridors for inclusion in the 'Universe of Options' to be evaluated by the study team.

Round One Public Meetings
Comment Card |
Handouts |
PowerPoint Presentation |

Second Round of Public Meetings
The second round of public meetings was held in October 2007. Participants had the opportunity to learn more about and comment on the study's need and purpose, identified environmental constraints, the Universe of Options, and the options remaining after the initial screening of the Universe of Options.

Copyright © 2007 Texas Department of Transportation
Para recibir esta información en español, por favor comuníquese con Linda Vela al 866-704-1114.