Live Oak residents expect increased traffic ahead of Ikea's grand opening Wednesday

Officials taking steps to prepare for traffic trouble

LIVE OAK, Texas – Officials are hoping to keep roads on the Northeast Side from becoming parking lots ahead of Ikea’s opening day on Wednesday.

The Texas Department of Transportation and Live Oak police are preparing for potential traffic trouble, as the store plans to open at 9 a.m.

IKEA-RBFCU Parkway off I-35 will be the only way to get in and out of Ikea on Tuesday. A second entrance will be closed.

The road that leads to the second entrance also leads to the Bridlewood Park Neighborhood, but the city of Live Oak said it will be closed after the morning traffic rush for five to six hours during the grand opening.

Live Oak officials are encouraging visitors to park at Shin Oak Drive near I-35, or in the Rolling Oaks Mall parking lot to take a shuttle to Ikea.

“With the new Ikea coming through, I think it will double, triple our traffic coming through,” said Kevin Campbell, Bridlewood Park resident.

Bridlewood Park residents are anticipating more traffic, not just during the opening of the store but also in the future, considering the area in front of their neighborhood is developing.

Some residents said they will miss their old view, which was a greenbelt with wildlife. Now all they’ll see is Ikea.

“It's changed a lot -- I-35. We were never able to see that until they took all that forest out,” said Tiphanie McGoogan, a resident who lives near the large retailer.

Campbell, whose backyard faces the new development, said he has seen the value of surrounding homes go up in value.

“Maybe, like, ($199,000-$200,000). We just saw some of our neighbors selling their houses for like ($300,000-$310,000). Within, like, six months, we saw the property value go up,” Campbell said.

Campbell said that, despite the noise and traffic, he looks forward to the area developing.

“New restaurants, new stores. I used to drive out to Stone Oak,” Campbell said. “That’s kind of exciting for us.”


About the Author:

Sarah Acosta is a weekend Good Morning San Antonio anchor and a general assignments reporter at KSAT12. She joined the news team in April 2018 as a morning reporter for GMSA and is a native South Texan.