Frisco residents have mixed feelings about newly announced Universal Studios theme park
FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – There's a lot of excitement, but also some concerns and questions from homeowners in Frisco who live near the just announced Universal Studios theme park.
In Frisco Wednesday night, more than 100 people attended a public meeting on the big project that homeowners hope won't create big problems.
The Universal Studios project is expected to attract millions of people to this part of Frisco.
While that will certainly be an economic boost for the city, surrounding homeowners want to make sure it won't be a headache for them.
Only hours after revealing that Universal Studios will build an amusement park in North Frisco, the developers and city leaders were trying to sell the idea to those who live in surrounding neighborhoods who say the development caught them by total surprise.
"I just heard about it and I don't know about it being so close to home," said Frisco homeowner Stevick Dustin.
The town hall meeting allowed homeowners like to Philip Ray ask the most pressing question in the room – what about traffic?
"That entire parkway is going to be full of 1,500 cars every day," Ray said.
The park projects will draw as many as 20,000 vehicles a day on weekends with less than half of that on weekdays.
Developers say it's comparable to a Frisco Roughrider or FC Dallas game.
Frisco city leaders say the proposed 97-acre park and 300 room resort hotel will offer a theme park experience like no other for young children and create a global tourist destination right in our own backyard.
"It's going to be a great asset to the community, bring tourism, economic development, but first and foremost our residents are going to love it," said Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney.
An executive with Universal told the audience that great care was put into the impact of traffic flow and possible congestion on Panther Creek Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway.
Developers promise to create a tree line as a buffer that will keep the park insulated from nearby neighborhoods like the one Matthew Song lives in.
"If you have kids it's great because you don't have to go to Florida to go to Universal," Song said.
But those with grown up kids worry that Frisco may be taking on more than it can handle.
"It's gonna be crazy to see how much we're going to grow and how much busier and how more traffic...they need to keep up with the roads here," Frisco homeowner Jennifer Colangelo said.
We have asked Frisco for specifics on the projected economic impact and jobs created but we were told that it's still up in the air.
The park is scheduled to open in 2025.