Bryan city council hears a proposal to remove sections of the Texas Avenue median

This podcast contains comments from the June 4, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.The Bryan city council hears a proposal to remove sections of the Texas Avenue median.Public works director Jayson Barfknecht says the proposal, which was developed in talks with the district engineer of the Texas department of transportation (TxDOT) office in Bryan, targets seven locations.Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the June 4, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.Barfknecht said he is now working with a consultant hired by the city to confirm the locations can have medians removed without negatively impacting traffic.Barfknecht also says the consultant has been asked to determine if a median crossing Texas at the intersection of Brookside and Garden Acres can be removed without adding traffic signals.The other proposed locations are Texas at Hensel, the intersection with Broadmoor and North Avenue, and the intersections with Mary Lake, Wayside, Dodge, and 32nd Street.The proposal comes at a time when TxDOT is preparing to do the fourth phase of the median project, which involves landscaping on the medians. That drew concerns from two councilmembers. Jared Salvato wondered if landscaping could survive in the medians. And Marca Ewers-Shurtleff said the city is under pressure to conserve water due to the proposal to export water outside the Brazos Valley.The fifth and final phase of the median project is scheduled to start in 2027. That includes turnarounds at intersections called loons and a shared use path. Barfknecht said TxDOT is still acquiring right of way.And a member of a citizen group opposed to medians, Karen Hall, told councilmembers that she was very encouraged by the update.