Walnut Heights Speed Humps Face Staff Opposition Despite Petition

A verified neighborhood petition met the signature rule, but May traffic counts fell short of the city's speed and volume tests. A board appeal comes next.

By Comal.News Roads & Infrastructure Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published October 2, 2026 at 9:43 AM CDT2 min read

Appeal scheduled Oct. 8

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Airy cream, navy, and muted-blue illustration of a speed hump beside a road, with a checklist and traffic counter on the verge. — Illustration: A proposed speed hump, petition checklist, and traffic counter beside a neighborhood road.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Comal.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Comal.News original illustration ↗

City staff recommends against traffic calming on Walnut Heights Boulevard because May 2026 counts fell below its speed and volume thresholds; the advisory board will consider residents' appeal Oct. 8.

Residents along Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road can ask the advisory board to recommend traffic calming despite the staff recommendation.

The neighborhood's petition met the city's two-thirds signature requirement. The traffic study covered Walnut Heights Boulevard between Broadmoor Drive and McQueeney Road, a residential segment with sidewalks and homes facing the street.

The city's May 2026 evaluation counted 454 vehicles a day and measured an 85th-percentile speed of 26 mph, against policy thresholds of more than 1,000 vehicles a day and at least 30 mph.

The petition and the traffic test answer different questions. Neighbors secured enough support to request speed humps, while the city's policy uses measured traffic to decide whether calming is warranted. Staff's evaluation assigned the project three points in its funding priority table and recommended against approval.

The posted agenda describes the Oct. 8 action as a recommendation to City Council, not a final decision on construction. The staff report says approved plans are ranked for city funding, with the highest scoring projects funded through the fiscal 2027 budget and remaining projects considered in later years.

The Transportation & Traffic Advisory Board meets at 6 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Tejas Room at 550 Landa Street; a recommendation favoring the appeal would send it to City Council for a final decision.

Residents can inspect the city's item 26-1187 report for the staff recommendation and the attached Walnut Heights evaluation for the petition and traffic measurements. The board's recommendation, and any later council decision, will show whether the appeal changes the project's status.

From the source record

Walnut Heights traffic study · vehicles per day

May count454

Policy target1,000

The speed test also fell short: 26 mph at the 85th percentile versus a 30 mph qualifying level.

City of New Braunfels traffic-calming evaluation for Walnut Heights Boulevard, May 2026.The board will hear an appeal Oct. 8; the bars do not show an approved project.