The Belton City Council approved a strategic plan Tuesday that could run a road straight through residential areas, and it has some locals gearing up for a fight.

During the meeting, city council members reiterated the need for the road with the city constantly growing.

"There is still much work to be done before any construction will occur. As a right of way, we meet future street needs as well as enhancing police and fire access to homes," city manager Sam Listi said.

Still, residents are not happy with the decision.

“All of these woods where the deer live and the wildlife- all of that would be gone!”

For nearly 13 years, Janice Mayfield has lived in a quiet neighborhood in the city of Belton.

“It would just be a total nightmare and completely destroy our quality of life,” she said.

At more than 20,000 residents, the city’s population has grown by 10 percent over the past ten years, and it continues to attract newcomers.

But more people means more cars, and usually, a need for more travel routes.

The city plans to build a road that would run from FM 2271 to FM 1670, connecting Belton Lake to Stillhouse Hollow Lake, but it would run through or right next to neighborhoods.

Mayfield points to where cars would travel next to the right side of her house.

“What kind of traffic control are they going to have between this road and the new road?” she asks. “A lot of accidents happen at intersections.”

The Lake-to-Lake Road plan has been in the works for twenty years, before houses in the area were built.

“They've gone ahead and allowed these neighborhoods to be built up, and now these neighborhoods will be messed up.”

Residents like Clarence Ham are worried that pollution will replace the trees they can see from their porches.

Many of his neighbors claim to have moved in without being fully informed of the road plans by the city and developers.

“They haven't been overtly hiding it, but they certainly haven't been publicizing it either,” says William Rosenberg, another resident.

He says the project should be moved to a less populated area like the plots of land closer to Spring Canyon Rd.

“If you're concerned about future growth- fine. Put it out there, and let people that are going to move in know what they're getting into,” he says.

City representatives say council members have been up front about the project since it was started in the late ‘90s.

“All the decisions they've made regarding the road have been through the public process- through public meetings and things like that” said Belton Public Information Officer Paul Romer. "So that obligation has been met by council.”

The city’s long term plan for traffic also includes the expansion of Loop 121 to four lanes. Romer says that project lands higher on the priority list than Lake to Lake Road, which may not receive funding for the next five to seven years.

Meanwhile, residents have started a petition against it, and are recruiting their neighbors in the quest to get their voices heard.

“If they persist on putting it in there, they'll have a fight on their hands from all of the people in this neighborhood,” says Mayfield.

Even with the passing of the plan, it will still be years before any movement is made with the project. The earliest construction could start is 2029.