FMPD nabbing Northshore residents and others for illegal right turns

Perhaps this is tied to the new construction on FM2499, but twice in the past week I've noticed an FMPD officer pulling over drivers for violating a "no right turn between 7-9am" sign that's posted on McKamy Creek Blvd just before the 3-way stop at Woodhill. Woodhill connects with McKamy in between the new light at Old Settlers and the soon-to-be-turned on light at Flower Mound Road. The "no right turn" sign was posted on McKamy years ago to keep morning rush-hour traffic from using the Villages of Northshore as a cut-through alternative to going through the 2499/3040 intersection.



The problem with this sign though is that it doesn't allow even Northshore residents to enter our own neighborhood, which is a total pain for those of us who take our kids to Old Settlers Elementary and McKamy Middle School. We can't get back to our homes without having to go all the way around the neighborhood, and on to FM2499. I feel similar sympathy for our neighbors in Lake Forest and Woodlake Estates, immediately to the south of Northshore, particularly those with kids at Old Settlers.

So when I saw the officer with three cars pulled over the other morning, I thought I'd find out if he was ticketing thru-drivers or neighbors. Turns out it's both.

I filed an Open Records Request with the Town Secretary's office, and I got a response in record time, about 4 hours. Here's what the records show:

Between 6:58am and 8:54am on Monday December 18, Officer Kevin Schmidt issued 13 citations for this "no right turn" infraction. All 13 had Flower Mound addresses. 8 lived in Wellington, Bridlewood or other neighborhoods farther west -- these were likely cut-through drivers. But 5 of the ticketed drivers lived in Northshore, Lake Forest or Woodlake Estates. I feel sorry for all these drivers, particularly for the one ticketed driver who lives on Elmridge, which is just a few feet beyond the Woodhill/McKamy Creek intersection.

I realize it was my Northshore neighbors who, years ago, lobbied the Town for this "no right turn" sign, but I don't think it's right that Northshore/Lake Forest/Woodlake neighbors are denied legal access into their own neighborhood via the most direct means.

Why can't we amend the ordinance and change the sign to read "no thru traffic", as opposed to a general "no right turn"?

By the way, you can download the open-records spreadsheet for yourself, by clicking here. Thanks to Ginger and Shirley at the Town of Flower Mound for such a speedy turnaround on the data!

FMPD enforcing teen curfew for holidays

Flower Mound police say they'll be using unmarked units to enforce the teen curfew this holiday break. I know they've done this in summer time before. I'm surprised to see this on such a short break, with cooler weather and with so many people spending family time.

A couple of weekends ago, about 10:30pm on a Friday night, we saw a group of about 10 kids hanging out together on Woodhollow Trail, not too far from my home. When we woke up the next morning, the two reindeer planted in front of our home were arranged in a lewd position. Our neighbors had it worse -- they got tee-peed.

Perhaps the curfew is a good thing.