Describing their steadfast and unwavering support for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) expansion of US 380 within its corporate boundaries as “clear and consistent,” the Prosper Town Council has passed its fifth resolution supporting that specific stance.
The five resolutions, starting with the first in April 2017, are also equally resolute in their solid opposition to the construction of a US 380 bypass route that bisects or divides Prosper. Each of the five resolutions, which all share common language, is aimed at conveying the Town’s strong position, making the case that Prosper must be able to define its own future, chart its own development direction, and solely determine how its land is utilized.
Later this month, TxDOT, which has been fully briefed on the Town’s position, is holding another in a series of public hearings to gather input from affected communities and their residents on the environmental impact of the proposed bypass.
Among the several proposed bypass routes is one which encroaches into the southeast corner of Prosper’s town limits, called segment B. This segment, which has been consistently rejected by Prosper residents, as well as the Prosper Town Council, was at the center of a resolution recently passed by a neighboring municipality.
The resolution, authored without consultation with Prosper officials or staff, caused Prosper Town Manager Harlan Jefferson to react with some disbelief. “I have never heard of one city advocating for a roadway alignment to be constructed in another community,” he said. “This is akin to the Prosper Town Council voting on the tax rate increase in the City of Duncanville. Such action is outside our authority and it would be presumptuous of us to conclude we know what is in the best interest of that community.”
Notably, the Town has consistently supported TxDOT’s expansion of US 380 along its current alignment through the Town and has developed in a way that supports the existing alignment. The unifying theme in each resolution is the clear rejection of any segment that veers inside Prosper’s limits. This point was highlighted during a meeting on this topic in 2018 when a bypass segment which mirrors the current segment B was under consideration. At that meeting, Prosper resident and former Mayor of Frisco, Kathy Seei said, “Do not allow McKinney to move the consequences of their failure to plan for the future onto a neighboring city which has painstakingly planned their future community.”
Moreover, the proposed segment B tramples over several planned and existing residential developments, an educational facility under construction, several businesses already in operation, and a cemetery. A development map of the affected area, included with this release, was provided to TxDOT. Significantly, the segment is also wholly incompatible with the Prosper Comprehensive Plan and the Prosper Thoroughfare Plan.
The five Prosper resolutions include language that supports the development of US 380 into a so-called Limited Access Roadway, popularly called freeways. In addition, all resolutions state an unequivocal opposition to any plan that includes any portion of a bypass through Prosper.
“We are reaffirming, in the strongest manner possible, that we reject segment B or any other attempt to encroach on any portion of Prosper’s landmass,” said Jefferson.
