Residents of Old Leander – once the biggest supporters of Cap Metro’s commuter rail line – were at this week’s meeting to express their displeasure over how the line has cut off access to their neighborhood.
Leander is a small, tight-knight community with only 30,000 residents, so it was surprising to see current community leaders like Mark Kronkosky, Frank Stiles and Ray Rodriguez protesting in front of the board, since Mayor John Cowman sits on the Capital Metro board and continues to be one of the strongest proponents of light rail service.
The Stiles family owns the land just northwest of the original train depot and has been – as Frank Stiles put it – some of commuter rail’s “most faithful supporters.” That support has been tried, however, as two entryways into the neighborhood have been closed. First, an informal access point over Brushy Creek that was closed by Cap Metro and then an entry point off US 183 onto the old FM 2243, that was closed by TxDOT.
The neighborhood now has only one entry and exit point into the neighborhood, which has alarmed long-time residents who fear they won’t be able to leave their neighborhood should a train-related fire or disaster occur. Local residents also were disturbed that Cap Metro appeared active in a Leander City Council case last week, in which Cap Metro representatives were present to advocate for zoning changes. Stiles accused the agency of being too active in land speculation and development.
When the trains begin to run – and that could be within 60 days – Stiles promised that the one-time Cap Metro supporters would plaster the route out of Leander with signs of disapproval for Cap Metro and this new unexpected lack of access.
“We still believe in light rail,” Stiles told the board during this week’s board meeting. “We’re just not so sure about y’all anymore.”
After the meeting, Cowman said answers to the community concerns were not going to be fast or easy. The two identified entries into the community were closed due to safety concerns: one regarding the train arrival and the other involved direct access to the neighborhood once an unsafe FM 2243 intersection is replaced by TxDOT with a safer intersection.
Cowman said new connections into the existing subdivision will occur as the Leander transit-oriented development model is filled out with various retailers and residential development.
“Is it going to be as fast as people would like? No,” Cowman said. “You know me. I would have liked to have seen that access yesterday.”
But Cowman also said the entrance into the neighborhood met all city codes for health and safety requirements.
While it’s not ideal, initially, for