Recently, Louis Amestoy has used his left-wing publication to attack me about so called selective enforcement of the state law on parking near intersections. One of my constituents sent me an email with the article and a simple question – Why? The following was my response.
Dear Ms. Bryson,
Thank you for bringing the Lead article to my attention and asking the simple question – “why?”.
Louis Amestoy’s article that you sent me talks about selective enforcement of the law on parking. It appears to be just another hit piece by left-wing Louis Amestoy who enjoys attacking conservatives, especially at election time, when he tries to tip the scales in favor of more liberal candidates. His article is full of false statements about my targeting Central Provisions, so here are the facts: In April 2023, I received complaints from a resident who lives just down the street on W Kelly Street in Center Point. W Kelly Street is a very narrow County maintained road next to the building that houses Central Provisions. People had been parking on both sides of the street right up to the intersection with San Antonio Street (FM 480). The right-of-ways between the edge of the road and the buildings that face FM 480 on either side are so narrow that any cars that park in that right-of-way are at least partially parked on the road itself (see the attached photo) and traffic is restricted to one-way flow. The result was that quite often, traffic became congested and people who lived on W Kelly Street had difficulty getting in or out. Cars that were being parked right up to the intersection were creating a safety hazard for anyone pulling out onto FM 480 as they were unable to see around the parked vehicles. I also received a complaint from the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department whose Station 8-1 is located at the end of W Kelly St. As a result of the cars parked on both sides of the street, large fire trucks were unable to pass between the parked cars on either side. This congestion not only creates a safety hazard but also potentially impedes the ability of the fire department to respond to an emergency call. Texas Transportation Code § 545.302 states that vehicles cannot park within 30 feet of an intersection to maintain visibility and prevent accidents. This applies to all intersections! To address the specific situation, all we did was post signs prohibiting parking on the south side of W Kelly Street. As a result, the intersection is much safer for everyone.
Since Louis Amestoy is not ever going to run a story that might talk about some of the good things going on in my precinct, let me inform you a bit more.
Over the last five years or so, Center Point has been flourishing with a number of new businesses (e.g. Zanzenburg Tavern, Central Provisions, Café Josephine, Silver Creek Winery & Gift Shop, Magnolia Hair Salon, Shavano Event Center, etc.) opening along San Antonio Street (FM 480). Our Center Point Area Historic Park has also seen many improvements with increased utilization and greater events. However, the growth has led to heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Many folks have also raised concerns about people speeding along FM 480 through this area. As a result, I have had numerous meetings and discussions with TX-DOT about reducing the traffic speed on the FM 480 bridge approaching Skyline Drive and the US Post Office. In early 2024, I asked TX-DOT to install a crosswalk at Kelly Street to ensure that pedestrians can safely cross FM 480 as much of the limited parking is on the other side of the street. A public hearing was held and the commissioners court approved a resolution in support of the crosswalk in August, 2024. In a meeting just last week with TX-DOT, Kerr County Road & Bridge, owners of Zanzenburg Tavern and myself, TX-DOT shared their plans for the crosswalk, which is in the final stages of their approval process. They also agreed to revisit the speed limit on the FM 480 bridge (last year they did enhance the signage where the speed limit drops from 40 to 30 mph and cut back the vegetation that was partially blocking the old sign). TX-DOT also agreed to repair the damage to the bridge surface that resulted from clearing all of the debris off the bridge back on July 4th. I am the current President of the Center Point Area Historic Preservation Association. At our last general meeting held on February 12th, we heard a proposal from the owner of Zanzenburg Tavern to add parking spaces along E Kelly Street on the northern boundary of the Historic Park. We agreed to form a committee and work with Zanzenburg Tavern and other concerned business to add the parking and signs letting the public know that parking is available. This will improve our park and help with the Center Point parking problem. We are looking at a few other ideas to further address the parking issues and help support our Center Point commerce.
A real journalist would have reached out and asked me the “why” before writing his story. Sadly, Louis Amestoy has never reached out to ask me anything, which just goes to show that he has no interest in reporting real balanced news, but is only interested in attacking conservatives, like me.
I understand that he recently also ran an article after reviewing our campaign finance reports claiming that because my opponent had received so many campaign donations (now totaling over $29,000) whereas I didn’t report any donations and had spent so little in comparison, that it reflected badly on myself. What Louis doesn’t understand is that God has greatly blessed me and I have been called to serve. Unlike my opponent, I have turned down all offers of financial support, not only because I don’t need the money, but also because I do not want to “owe” anyone. I hate to think that my opponent might feel obligated after taking so much money from certain donners who clearly have their own agendas.