Why Police are Issuing Tickets at a Rate of 9 Per Hour on this City Street

A small crowd consisting of city officials and citizens gathered at TLC Church Thursday night to listen to councilmember Charlotte Farmer’s SMD District 3 town hall series titled “Let’s Talk.”

Traffic was a hot topic at the meeting. Shane Kelton, Director of Operations, and Sgt. Korby Kennedy, of the SAPD Traffic Division, answered questions and addressed traffic concerns. Sgt. Kennedy said that the stretch of Sherwood Way beginning at Sunset Dr.  and ending a little past Sam’s Club is an area where officers are issuing citations related to speed at about nine per hour.

Last year 112 car accidents happened on that same stretch of roadway.

“Most of those accidents were a result of failure to control speed,” Sgt. Kennedy said. “That area has become more and more high traffic, partially because of oilfield traffic, and with the new Chick-fil-A on the corner adds more congestion along the highway,” he said.

Kelton and Sgt. Kennedy outlined traffic studies and upcoming TxDOT projects along the same mile stretch of Sherwood Way headed towards Mertzon.  

Rebecca Guerra, Planning Manager for the City of San Angelo, explained the city’s comprehensive plan, zoning, and annexations, particularly the one discussed at this week's city council meeting. The 44 acres of land off of Arden Rd. just outside city limits was annexed in a unanimous decision by the council. Some 37 acres of that property is zoned for residential use, and 7.8 acres is zoned for commercial use.

 “That means that some of the land can be used for things like retail, a car dealership, office buildings, a church, or a gas station,” Guerra said.

Guerra also highlighted upcoming projects, as 17 permits are currently under review for nonresidential projects in Farmer’s district whose applications have been filed within the last six months. Some of the projects include a Value Place Hotel, a new Kia dealership, a new 20-unit quadraplex, a new nail salon, and a cardiovascular office.

Farmer’s next “Let’s Talk” town hall meeting is scheduled for May 21 at the Southland Baptist Church, 4300 Meadow Creek Trail, at 6 p.m.