CITY & SCHOOLS
News from McKinney & McKinney ISD
HIGHLIGHTS MCKINNEY ISD The board of trustees petitioned to create an alcohol-free zone 1,000 feet around district property. The unanimous approval will petition Collin County commissioners to expand the alcohol-free zone around district schools from 300 feet to 1,000 feet, according to district documents. The board went beyond school campuses and asked to include all district property as alcohol-free zones. If the petition is accepted by the county, it would prohibit the sale of alcohol within 1,000 feet of any district property. McKinney City Council meets at 6 p.m. May 2 and 16 at McKinney City Hall, 222 N. Tennessee St., McKinney. www.mckinneytexas.org McKinney ISD board of trustees meets at 6 p.m. May 16 at MISD Stadium, 4201 S. Hardin Blvd., McKinney. | www.mckinneyisd.net Collin County Commissioners Court meets at 1:30 p.m. May 1, 8, 15 and 22 at the Jack Hatchell Administration Building, 2300 Bloomdale Road, McKinney. www.collincountytx.gov MEETINGS WE COVER
McKinney City Council pursues smart cities traffic app partnership MCKINNEY City Council members expressed interest in establishing a partnership with Traffic Technology Services, a vehicle technology com- pany, at a March 21 meeting. BY SHELBIE HAMILTON
McKinney Air Center gains service recognition before facility opening BY SHELBIE HAMILTON MCKINNEY The city’s fixed-base operator, or FBO, at the McKinney National Airport was recognized as a top service provider by Aviation International News just months ahead of completion of a new FBO facility. McKinney Air Center was ranked among the top 10% of service providers in the 2020 Aviation International News FBO survey of the Americas, according to a city news release. The survey, released March 31, evaluated thousands of aircraft handling facilities and judged them based on line service, passenger amenities, pilot amenities, facilities and customer service. The McKin- ney Air Center was also the highest-ranking line service in the state, according to the survey. “The airport and FBO in McKinney have been receiv- ing national recognition for many years, and we are thrilled the hard work of our staff is being recognized on this level,” McKinney National Airport Director Ken Carley said in the release. The recognition was awarded just months prior to the expected summertime completion of a new FBO facility at the airport, according to the release. The McKinney Air Center will move in June or July. “We look forward to moving into our new facilities that will be on par with our reputation for world-class service,” Carley said.
RECORD VALUES
McKinney saw record high values of nonresidential and multifamily homes in 2022.
with data from the city’s traffic signals, including signal timings, to be integrated into the applica- tion. In return, the company would provide signal performance reports back to the city that can be used to identify signals and intersections that need improvements, Graham said. “We’re already collecting this data, and it’s publicly owned data. ... And we’re trying to make it available to somebody who can do something better with it than we can because that’s not a core function of what we do,” City Manager Paul Grimes said of the partnership. The program is already in use in eight other North Texas cities, including Frisco, Plano and Allen. A contract to establish the partnership is expected to be presented to the council at a future meeting. The city is considering a fleet contract to have the program installed in city-owned vehicles, Graham said. Graham also presented an update to council members at the meeting on the city’s efforts to improve traffic signal equipment. City staff is working to modernize equipment on McKinney’s 104 traffic signals, he said. The addition of a new central system, along with upgraded traffic signal controllers and vehicle detection systems, is expected to improve data
$1.3B total construction value for all projects $685M nonresidential construction
2,251 new multifamily dwelling units
SMART CITIES IN DFW There are several cities that use Traffic Technology Services’ Personal Signal Assistant application. Allen Arlington Flower Mound Frisco Garland Grand Prairie Grapevine Plano
$339M multifamily
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The Oregon-based company approached the city to deploy its traffic signal information application, Personal Signal Assistant, in McKinney, according to Director of Engineering Gary Graham. The program shares information with drivers about the traffic signals of participating cities, such as how long a driver can expect to wait at a traffic signal. The application can also tell drivers what speed to drive to hit more green lights and avoid additional stops as they are driving, Graham said. The application is available on mobile devices as well as integrated in the dashboard systems of some newer models from automotive manufac- turers Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, according to the presentation. For drivers who do not have dashboard integration, the program is available as an application with monthly subscription options ranging from $2-$5 each month, Graham said. The no-cost partnership with the city would establish a trade of information to enable the company to add McKinney to its coverage area. The city would provide Traffic Technology Services
McKinney sees record high values for construction BY SHELBIE HAMILTON MCKINNEY New record high values were recorded for the construction value of both nonresidential and multifamily projects in the city in 2022, according to a presentation at a March 21 council meeting. The total construction value of all projects in 2022 was over $1.3 billion, which is both the highest in city history and more than double the value of 2021 projects, according to a presentation by Executive Director of Development Services Michael Quint. Of that value, about $685 million was derived from nonresidential construction. This value is another city record, surpassing the previous high of $373 million in 2020, Quint said. A Raytheon expansion project consist- ing of one new building represents $216 million of the total value in this category.
SOURCE: CITY OF MCKINNEY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
collection and repair response times, Graham said. City staff is also working to expand the fiber network used to relay information to and from traffic signals, providing a more stable connection, Graham said. “The reason we’re making all these invest- ment[s] is we want that real-time performance so we can do a better job of operating the signal system,” Graham said. “We are trying to get those system alerts so we can respond and know of issues before we have to get notified by the residents.”
LOWRY CROSSING 4100 East US 380 (972) 540-2500 ALLEN 1839 North Central Expressway (972) 908-3488
Powered by FlippingBook