Politics & Government

O'Fallon Staff Discusses Extension of Paul Renaud Boulevard

The extension will ease traffic flow and avoid possible costly road repairs in the Countryshire subdivision, said Public Works official.

City staff presented the O'Fallon City Council with an overview of the proposed expansion of Paul Renaud Boulevard at Thursday’s workshop.  

The road extension is included in the Wentzville School District’s site plan for a new high school to be built on Sommers Road by 2013.

The O’Fallon Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan for the development of the high school in early January.

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The O'Fallon City Council voted 7-3 against the district’s request for a conditional use permit on Jan. 12, after several residents voiced concerns about extending Paul Renaud Boulevard. 

Some residents of the Countryshire subdivision, which borders the land where the high school is set to be built, said they feared the extension's effect on their neighborhood traffic, safety and property value.

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The voted to override O'Fallon's rejection of a permit for the new high school on Jan. 18.

Wentzville Community Relations Director Matt Deichmann previously told Patch, from a legal standpoint, there is nothing else the district needs approved by the city and they plan to proceed with their plans to build the high school.

City's scope limited

At Thursday’s workshop, O’Fallon City Administrator Keith Reisberg said under Missouri law, the school district is required to submit their proposed plans to the city for review of the Planning and Zoning Commission, but limits the scope of what conditions and recommendations they can add.

“When reviewing the site plan that was proposed for the site, the staff attempted to work with the school district to balance the needs of the school district against the needs of the overall community,” Riesberg said.

He said both the city and the district identified certain criteria they needed to include in the plan, and one of the city’s key elements was the extension of Paul Renaud Boulevard.

“In light of the number of questions and concerns that have been raised over the proposed Wentzville high school and the extension of Paul Renaud Boulevard, staff wanted to make a presentation tonight to answer a lot of the questions that we’ve been hearing,” Riesberg said.

Easing traffic burden

O’Fallon Public Works Director Steve Bender presented data from county traffic studies and said the extension of Paul Renaud to Sommers Drive would help eliminate some traffic on Countryshire Drive.

(To view the presentation, visit the city’s website or click here)

O’Fallon Public Relations Director Tom Drabelle said the traffic study was based on projected residential growth in that area.

Bender said according to the traffic study, the average daily traffic for Paul Renaud Boulevard is 5,000 cars. He added that most of this traffic is generated by people who live in the subdivision, not businesses or through traffic.  

He said if Paul Renaud is not connected, the traffic generated from the homes will look for alternate routes through Countryshire Drive or the surrounding streets.

“That would put 5,000 cars a day in front of their homes and that’s what we want to avoid,” he said.

He said that Paul Renaud Boulevard is wider than Countryshire, has no driveway spaces and is designed to carry this kind of traffic.

The study also examined peak hour traffic volume, and projected Paul Renaud Boulevard’s morning peak at 1,048 cars and afternoon at 731.

Bender said with the extension of Paul Renaud, the traffic on Countryshire is about 12 percent or a little over 100 cars on the peak hour.

Earlier, some residents expressed concerns about putting a road through a school property such as Paul Renaud Boulevard, but Bender said the concept is not unique.

He pointed to several examples of major roads next to high schools in the O’Fallon area. He said Paul Renaud Boulevard would be most similar to Turtle Creek, near Fort Zumwalt West High School.

The Wentzville School District’s plan also calls for a 30-foot buffer between homes and the road, including a six-foot fence and three rows of trees.

Speed, safety and flow

Bender said typical driving lanes are 12 feet wide, but one option is to narrow the lanes to 10 feet and add a physical barrier on each side.

He said a sidewalk on north side would discourage pedestrians from crossing the road until there’s a cross walk. Another possibility is putting in a raised crosswalk, similar to a speed bump, with signs and lights so pedestrians can cross the street.

Bender said the extension of Paul Renaud Boulevard is crucial to accommodating traffic in the area.

“If that corridor is not preserved, there’s not much we can do about the traffic,” he said. “Traffic is like water, its going to find the path of least resistance. If the road is not connected through, the traffic is still there, it’s just going to find a different way to get there.”

He said this would force city staff to look into improvements on the other roads to try and help them accommodate changing traffic patterns. He estimated the $1.5 million on the Countryshire side, including roundabouts or signals at Sommers Road and Intersection improvements at Paul Renaud.

The total cost of the Briarchase and Preston Woods side, including Paul Renaud Intersection improvements and Highway N upgrades, would cost $900,000.

Moving Forward

O’Fallon City Council voted 7-3 to pass a resolution authorizing city staff to issue the permits to develop the proposed Wentzville High School at Thursday’s regular council meeting.

Voting against the resolution were both Ward 3 councilmen, John Haman Jr. and Rick Battelle, and Ward 4 Councilman Jeff Schwentker. Voting for the resolution were Bill Gardner and Rick Lucas, both of Ward 1; Jim Pepper and Rose Mack, both of Ward 2; Bob Howell, Ward 4 and Mike Pheny and Michael Snowden, both of Ward 5.

(To read the resolution, visit the city's website or click here).

The city will manage the extension of Paul Renaud Boulevard and seek funding through the St. Charles County Road Board and construction timing will depend on funding.


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