After two big zoning battles in Preston Center, Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates initiated a study of the Preston-Northwest Highway area to “have a better understanding of what’s there and what we want to allow there in the future,” she told us back in August, focusing a lot of attention on transportation.
An upcoming town-hall meeting will offer a glimpse into the plan at 6 p.m. Oct. 30 at University Park United Methodist Church with a presentation from Michael Morris of North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), with whom Gates has partnered on the study. It will cover three key points, as outlined in her news alert to neighbors:
(1) the appropriate land-use intensity and mix; (2) the appropriate content-sensitive design for the transportation system; and (3) the necessary transportation operational improvements involving pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles. This much needed plan will bring the neighborhoods and stakeholders together to form a common vision.
This past summer, heated debates about density and traffic in Preston Center took place between neighbors and developers of two luxury apartment proposals: the Transwestern project at the northeast corner of Preston and Northwest Highway, and the 27-story Highland House in the middle of the shopping center. Both re-zoning applications were squashed amid neighborhood opposition.
The last study of Preston Center was completed in 1989.
