Montgomery forms transportation committee to study, improve mobility in city

Montgomery officials are creating a committee to improve mobility in the city and have more input on county and state projects. 

The city west of Conroe has roughly 2,000 residents and is expected to double in the next five years, officials said. 

On YourCourierNews.com: New Spring studio next to ExxonMobil campus aims to bring creativity to corporate life

The Montgomery Transportation Advisory Committee will include local experts who can assist the city with mobility issues.

One reason behind the creation of the committee is for officials to tap into residents and business partners that have expertise in transportation, said Gary Palmer, city administrator. 

“It’s natural for us to try and tap into that,” Palmer said. “Especially when it can be done for free by volunteers and people that are actually going to have a buy in to the decision making process, and be the recipients of whatever comes out of that committee.” 

The primary mission of the committee is to advise officials on projects related to transportation. City officials are currently discussing who would qualify as a committee member, and expect to have the committee formed by late August, Palmer said. 

Mayor Byron Sanford wanted to create the committee so city officials would have input to county and state projects. The city does not have the staffing to be able to have input into Texas Department of Transportation plans, he said. 

“I don’t believe that my city is getting a strong enough voice to clearly articulate what we have intended for in our particular spot,” Sanford said. “So I would like to have control over whether I have a round-about, for example, at a particular intersection, or whether I have a light. I have not been allowed to be a part of that process. Going forward, that’s going to be reconciled to the best of my ability.”

On YourCourierNews.com: Montgomery County Commissioners reject proposed $15.5M budget for Central Appraisal District

The prime goal for the city is economic development, Sanford said.

“So if that’s our prime goal, then mobility is a foundational aspect of economic development,” he said. 

Improving on transportation could bring in more development, Sanford said. And if the city wants to attract economic development, “you don’t bring them to a traffic nightmare,” he said. 

The creation of the committee is another effort to improve mobility. Last month, city officials met to come up with a new transportation mobility plan.

With new subdivisions coming into the city, neighborhoods lack connectors that link them to each other as well as to the city, said Dave McCorquodale, assistant city administrator and director of planning and development.

Officials are creating the mobility plan as a way to stay competitive among other Texas cities, he said.