The Future of Fort Worth

From Bike Friendly Oak Cliff
June 15, 2009

As we noted in a recent article, Fort Worth has unveiled an incredibly progressive infrastructure plan based on a people-first model. 400+ miles of bike lanes, bus only lanes, streetcars, and “road diets” are being planned throughout the city with an ambitious timeline for implementation. To help pull the project together, the city hired Don Koski, an experienced planner from the Twin Cities area (ranked in the top 10 for North American bike friendly communities). BFOC was able to catch up with Don to find out more details about Fort Worth’s bold new initiatives in planning:

First of all, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

I’m a native of Minnesota and spent all but the last 4 years of my life in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I’ve been in the transportation planning field for over 10 years, including stints with state and metropolitan governments in Wisconsin and Minnesota, with Dallas County Public Works, and now with Fort Worth for two and a half years. I have a lot of experience in the planning of bicycle and pedestrian transportation systems and the development of bicycle and pedestrian transportation projects. Bicycle and pedestrian planning has always just been one of the many duties that I have had, along with arterial street system planning, project identification and prioritization, capital program development, and others. I jumped at the opportunity in Fort Worth because of the tremendous challenges and opportunities the city has with its rapid pace of growth and evolving development strategies. I was intrigued by Fort Worth’s walkable downtown, investment in mixed-use urban villages, relatively unconstrained growth potential, and interest in improving its bicycle and pedestrian transportation systems.

MORE