la Frontera In the News

Austin American-Statesman

August 31, 2006

Population signs in Williamson County can't keep up

With so many people moving in, city limits signs from 2000 Census are outdated.

by Andrea Lorenz, American-Statesman Staff

They greet you at the entrance of every town and are so ubiquitous, you probably don't even notice them.

Unless they're wrong.

They are the green city limit signs that say "Round Rock," population "61,136." Wrong. Today, more than 86,000 people call Round Rock home.

Hutto signs say 1,250. The city estimates about 12,000 and growing.

Georgetown's 28,339? It's more like 40,000 now.

People are moving to Williamson County faster than farmers can clear a row of corn. But what can anyone do?

The Texas Department of Transportation updates population signs every 10 years based on official census counts. Cities, though, can petition to have their signs updated faster than that once-a-decade mark, which Leander, claiming a population of more than 22,000, recently did.

"We had ours changed," Leander Mayor John Cowman said. "When I see (the new sign) on (RM) 2243, I smile. It's very exciting."

A mere 7,596 people lived in Leander at the start of the decade. Kirk Clennan, the city's director of economic development, had been going around telling developers, real estate agents and the public that Leander had triple that amount.

"It's contradictory," Clennan said. "You're driving along and see 7,000 people, and I'm saying our numbers reflect 20,000. They wonder who's right."

The Transportation Department's Marcus Cooper says that within five years of the beginning of a decade,cities can have their signs changed if the population grew by more than half. After five years, cities have to show only an increase in population, which the state agency verifies with a formula: The number of residential houses or water accounts minus 3.5 percent for unoccupied homes, multiplied by 3.03 persons per household.

The formula brought Leander's population to more than 22,000 and cleared the way for the sign change.

"TxDOT carries a great deal of weight," Clennan said. "If they're prepared to put that on a sign and give accuracy and legitimacy to it, then that's a good thing. From a marketing standpoint, you can go, 'Yes, it's true: You can believe everything you read.' "

Of course, with so many cities and so many signs, a few are bound to be overlooked. A sign on FM 1325 near the La Frontera shopping center still shows Round Rock's 1990 numbers: 30,923.

"Every time I drive by, I go, 'Golly, it's off by more than a little bit,' " said Will Hampton, Round Rock's communications director. The city is looking into an update on its signs as well.

Cedar Park officials asked the Transportation Department to change their signs a couple months ago from 26,049 to 42,618. The purpose? To make people say, "Oh, we didn't realize Cedar Park was that big," said Duane Smith, the city's director of planning and transportation.

Smith says the updated numbers add validity to population figures touted by the city when potential developers or residents would visit: "Some of them would notice the signs on the edge of town were so significantly different from what we were showing on the Web site. They'd ask, 'What's the deal?' "

The census estimates that in 2005, Cedar Park already had more than 48,000 residents. Is another update needed?

"We may look again around 2007, because the 2010 census won't actually get out until 2011," Smith said. "I think we're looking at one more upgrade between now and 2010."

Most city council meetings lately include discussion or votes on the annexation of land, which brings up another quandary: When a city's boundaries expand, city limits signs must be moved. Leander is in the process of sending the Transportation Department proof of recent additions to that city.

Cowman, Leander's mayor, said the city limit signs are symbols that proclaim, "We're ready, our arms are open, and you're all welcome here."

After all, Cowman said, "Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs."

alorenz@statesman.com; 246-0008

Williamson County population changeby the numbers

	2005	2000	1990
Round Rock	86,316	61,136	30,923
Leander	17,851	7,596	3,398
Cedar Park	48,139	26,049	5,161
Georgetown	39,015	28,339	14,842
Hutto	7,401	1,250	630
Taylor	15,014	13,575	11,472
Source: U.S. Census 2005 estimates