Parents of elementary school students in Katy’s Sunterra neighborhood will soon see a little relief to morning traffic snarls, as new traffic signals go up near Cross Elementary and Royal Prairie Elementary.

A signal is being installed at the corner of Clay Road and Bartlett near Cross Elementary, and a second signal is up, but not yet operational, at Bartlett and Stockdick School Road. The second signal is about halfway between Cross Elementary and Royal Prairie Elementary.

The signals within Sunterra are being installed by the developer as required by the development’s master Traffic Impact Analysis for this stage of the development, said a spokesperson for Waller County Road and Bridge.

“We need to be proactive in our approach to intersection safety and Waller County is working to ensure we meet the needs of the area as we continue to grow,” said Robert Pechukas, Chief of Staff for Waller County.

"We feel with the increased traffic flow throughout the area, the light will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood,” said Katy ISD Board Secretary James Cross, who, along with wife Mitzi, is a namesake for nearby Cross Elementary. “The area is still growing, and this traffic light will be helpful in managing the traffic flow in the months and years ahead.”

The Katy Times reached out to Starwood for additional information but did not receive a response by press time for this edition.

Sunterra is a 2,303-acre master-planned community west of Pitts Road and running from Clay Road to just north of Beckendorff Road in Katy, being developed by Starwood Land. According to previous reporting in the Katy Times, Sunterra was originally created by developer Land Tejas. The community features some of the nation’s top builders. It is ranked among the top-selling communities in the U.S. and Texas for multiple years, according to starwoodland.com.