Boerne adds mobility vision to its 10-year plan

The Boerne City Council has added its much-debated mobility measure to the city’s long-term master plan, formalizing the council’s vision for steering growth in the Hill Country city.

Council members this week approved the addition of the Mobility Master Plan into Boerne’s Rolling 10-Year Plan. The 10-year plan, part of the city’s wider master plan, is intended to be a point of reference for elected officials and is subject to yearly updates.

The biggest change from last year is the addition of the city’s controversial Mobility Master Plan, which was approved by the council last March. Described by the city as a “long-range plan that seeks to create a safer, more accessible and more efficient transportation network,” the measure was hotly contested by many area residents, who accused city leaders of encouraging growth and development.

The plan sets out to improve the booming city’s traffic issues by widening roads, making downtown more navigable for bikes and pedestrians and adding roundabouts to some problem intersections. About 60 mobility projects were added to the 2024 plan for the city to tackle at some point in the future.

Residents from Boerne and surrounding Kendall County packed council meetings to contest the mobility plan, but the measure passed unanimously.

Beyond the mobility and transportation issues, the 10-year plan outlined six goals as the “foundation and structure all city strategic planning efforts (for) both now and the future.”

First among is “growth and capacity.” The plan echoes sentiments stated by city leaders, who have called for responsible growth and development while preserving the area’s character.

The plan calls for million-dollar improvements to public parks, trails and facilities, some of them funded by a bond measure passed in 2022.

Details of the Rolling 10-Year Plan were discussed in a Feb. 1 workshop, where council members had the opportunity to speak with city staff about the plan.

“We’ve already had the internal conversations about maybe needing a budget next year for a downtown master plan, and maybe we need to budget for a parks Master Plan update.” City Manager Ben Thatcher said during the meeting.