Fourteen New Braunfels Streets Could Get 25-Mph Limits

The speed-and-volume table shows Lake Front Avenue carrying 3,803 vehicles per day between Carolyn Cove and Misty Acres Drive, with an 85th-percentile speed of 29 mph. A second Lake Front segment carried 2,658 vehicles per day at the same measured speed. Rivertree Drive carried 2,875 vehicles per day, with an 85th-percentile speed of 22 mph.

Staff’s site investigation measured pavement widths from 26 to 40 feet and typical driveway spacing of 50 feet or less. The study says many streets in the area lack sidewalks, while Misty Acres Drive, Carolyn Cove and portions of Lake Front Avenue have them.

A lower number is only one part of the plan

The study records earlier traffic-calming work nearby: speed humps were installed on Dunlap Drive in 2013 and on part of Rivertree Drive in summer 2026. A 2021 Misty Acres proposal did not reach installation because it lacked sufficient property-owner approvals. The report says Rivertree’s new humps produced a 6-mph reduction in the measured 85th-percentile speed without significant diversion to River Rock or Running River.

That history matters because a lower posted limit does not necessarily produce lower travel speeds by itself. Draft Aug. 13 minutes record staff reporting that a 25-mph pilot around Mission Drive did not reduce speeds, while a roadway narrowing measure did. The Lake Front study recommends collecting new data after any limit change and later evaluating additional traffic calming on Lake Front and Misty Acres.

The agenda item report estimates traffic-control signs at about $150 each and says money is available in the city’s fiscal 2027 streets and drainage budget. It does not calculate the number of signs or a total project cost.

What happens Thursday

The advisory board is scheduled to consider a recommendation at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in the Tejas Room at 550 Landa Street; City Council would have to amend the ordinance before the limit changes. The posted meeting agenda also schedules presentations on the draft bicycle and pedestrian network plan and traffic-impact-analysis requirements.

Readers can inspect the ordinance redline for the proposed street-by-street language, compare it with the street map and review the traffic study for the crash, speed and traffic-volume findings. The next decisive records will be the board’s recommendation and any later City Council agenda and vote.