EDITORIAL
Imagine it’s, oh, 2024. Jack and Mary have just completed a trip from Round Rock to Jacksonville on US 79.
They get out of the car and Mary says: “That was a nice trip. Remember that pretty little town we came through. What was it? Oh, yes, Rockdale.” Not going to happen this year, But in a few years our downtown is going to be transformed with the most extensive highway and sidewalk renovation projects in at least a half century.
Artist conceptions, published recently in The Reporter, hint at how our town is going to be able to put its best face forward to travelers and, of course, our own citizens.
If you’ve been following the developments you know about the highway being re-striped to three lanes, including a left-turn lane, through the heart of downtown, between Green and Scarbrough.
You also know that sidewalks in that area will be replace, leveled, and the area will have some characteristics more in keeping with a park than a downtown, especially a Rockdale downtown.
But there are other aspects you may not have considered. For one, parking in that area will become safer. Many times large pickups have had to park with one wheel over the curb to avoid sticking out into a traffic lane.
It’s also been an adventure backing out of a parking space. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and go, which is not something recommended in any driver’s manual.
There will actually be more physical room for that activity once the project is complete.
Speaking of physical changes, we are actually going to see some of our curbs reappear.
Curbs are supposed to be six inches high. We’ve got some that are between one and two inches high. They’ve been disappearing through the decades as layer upon layer of asphalt had been added.
A one-inch curb really isn’t a curb at all.
The business owners along US 79 who attended a recent public forum to view the plans and artist conceptions were glad to hear a reaffirmation that the projects won’t require any new right-of-way acquisition by the Texas Dept. of Transportation. TxDOT will do the entire project on exiting right-of-way.
Hats off to City Manager Chris Whittaker and to TxDOT for going above and beyond the call of duty to make this happen with a lot of hard work and cooperation.
Rockdale residents will treasure this for a long time. So will Jack and Mary—M.B.
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