February 2, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

FLOWER MOUND, Texas —

When a developer was drawing up plans for the subdivision Grand Park Estates off Valley Ridge Boulevard in 1998, Browning Drive was planned to be a four-lane divided road.

Flower Mound was in the midst of a residential development boom and infrastructure was expanding to accommodate an increase in population. On the north side of the street, FM 407 was on the cusp of being widened to four lanes. To the west, Marcus High School’s footprint was expanding even as a second high school was being built.

The developer of Grand Park Estates asked for an amendment to the town’s master plan to change Browning Drive to a narrower, two-lane undivided road. Despite protests from residents, the change was approved unanimously and without much debate.

Nearly three decades later, residents are dealing with the consequences. Cars stack up before and after school hours, lining up side-by-side as if there are four lanes. Multiple crashes have occurred at the three-way stop over the years. In December, a 14-year-old Marcus student was killed when she was hit by a truck after school.

Parents of other students have asked the town to make the intersection safer for pedestrians, but officials say their hands are tied until the investigation into the crash is finished and potential litigation is settled.

Scrutiny on the area is nothing new.

The land where Grand Park Estates sits now was originally zoned for office and industrial use. When Stephen Brooks, president of Grand Homes, asked for a master plan amendment and rezoning to accommodate single family homes, he wrote to town staff that there would be a “staggering and overwhelming” reduction in the amount of traffic, according to a memo dated August 27, 1998.

Grand Homes included in its master plan amendment application a traffic analysis survey commissioned by the developer. According to its estimates, traffic from office and industrial zoning would result in 28,000 daily trips, whereas a residential community would only produce 1,215 trips per day.

Making it a narrower road would also discourage residents of Highland Village from cutting through Browning Drive to get from FM 407 to Valley Ridge, Brooks wrote.

Town staff agreed and recommended approval.

Two residents spoke in opposition at the planning and zoning commission meeting on Feb. 8, 1999. None spoke in favor.

Leon Wilson, a late resident, noted that there was a five-acre parking lot being built at Marcus High School a quarter-mile away.

“There will be 1,500 cars every morning and every evening going to that school,” Wilson said, according to minutes from the meeting.

Wilson also pointed to the future expansion of FM 407. At the time, Justin Road was two lanes with a turn lane in the middle.

“He felt like the trees were being looked at, rather than the forest,” according to the minutes.

Paul Stone, who later became a town councilman, said the location needed a “significant” roadway to accommodate increased traffic amid “the problems the town is experiencing.”

“With the high school in such close proximity, he felt traffic would need to flow as easily as possible,” according to the minutes.

At the town council meeting on March 1, 1999, there was little debate before the road change was approved unanimously.

Browning Drive was constructed with 60 feet of right-of-way and 37 feet of pavement from curb to curb. A three-way stop sign was installed more than 10 years later after Grand Parks homeowners association argued there was a need for it.

Parents of Marcus students are now asking the town to install a lighted pedestrian-assisted system and new crosswalk paint to make the intersection safer for students walking to and from school.