Council Says No to a School Zone on FM 1171. The Real Fix Is 18 Months Away.

If you drop kids off at Founders Classical Academy and you've been wondering whether that stretch of FM 1171 was ever going to slow down — now you know. It won't. Not yet, anyway.

Town Council voted 3-2 Monday to deny a proposed amendment to the town's speed limit ordinance that would have slowed FM 1171 traffic to 35 miles per hour for about half a mile. The ask came straight from Founders families. Parents who park at RockPointe Church and walk their kids to and from school raised concerns about the dangers of the 8-foot sidewalk along FM 1171 between the church lot and campus — a stretch that would have fallen outside TxDOT's proposed school zone anyway.

That last part is what doomed it. The zone wouldn't have covered the part that scares people.

Council felt it would be more impactful to work with the school on a solution that improves pickup and drop-off on campus rather than slow traffic on a busy road with a school zone that doesn't necessarily address the zone of concern. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Brian Taylor put it plainly: "If this would increase safety and actually solve a problem, we could consider, but that doesn't seem to be the case here."

Hard to argue with the logic. Easy to understand why parents are still frustrated.

The longer-term answer the town is pointing to is Trotter Park. Town staff noted that the park will bridge the Founders Classical Academy property with RockPointe Church's property and include a walking trail set further back from FM 1171. Completion is expected in 15 to 18 months — putting it at the end of 2027, with construction anticipated to start in fall 2026. Once done, parents would have a path that keeps them away from FM 1171 traffic entirely.

End of 2027. That's a school year and a half of the same morning routine.

Council members Chris Drew and newly-elected Clare Harris voted against the denial — they wanted more information before turning it down outright. Two votes short of a different answer. The trail is the plan now, and Trotter Park is the number to watch. If that project slips — scope change, funding gap, contractor delay — this conversation comes right back, and council will have fewer arguments for waiting.