Mayor of Fort Worth: Autocentric Design “A Mistake”

FortWorthology
Kevin Buchanan // February 25, 2010

The mayor stated in no uncertain terms that Fort Worth is facing severe transportation challenges, that they stem from too many years of car-first planning, and that Fort Worth can no longer be designed and built in a car-centric fashion.

Commuter Rail, street cars, and other alternative modes of transportation also remain a priority for me and this City Council. Unfortunately, Fort Worth and other major metropolitan areas are finding out the hard way what a mistake it was to design and build cities around automobiles years ago. Friends, we cannot continue to focus solely on building more roads for more vehicles. That’s counter productive at best.

Business as usual is dead!

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New EPA rules may aid proposed transit projects

Fort Worth Business Press
Leslie Wimmer // January 25, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed lowering of ozone emission standards may put a stronger focus on North Texas transportation projects as a way to improve air quality across the region.

Area transportation officials expect the EPA’s proposal to focus attention on speeding up transportation efforts, including highway expansion and public transportation projects, as a way to keep traffic moving and to help meet the proposed new, lower ozone standard.

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DART, TRE land FRA funds for double-track project

ProgressiveRailroading.com
January 29, 2010

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) announced they will receive about $7.2 million in federal funds to help fund the construction of a five-mile section of double track between the West Irving and CentrePort/DFW Airport stations.

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Area transportation needs face financial hurdle

Fort Worth Business Press
Leslie Wimmer // December 21, 2009

Funding will be the major hurdle for North Texas to begin a regionwide transportation overhaul.
Officials from area businesses, governments and community organizations gathered at the Fort Worth Sheraton on Dec. 11 to listen to speakers discuss economic development, transportation plans and funding challenges during the “Tracks to the Future: Rail and Economic Development in North Texas” event.

About 300 people attended the day-long event which was hosted by a number of area organizations. Speakers included State Sen. Wendy Davis; members of Fort Worth’s City Council; Mayor Mike Moncrief; representatives from the Fort Worth Transportation Authority; Dallas Area Rapid Transit; the Denton County Transportation Authority; the Texas Department of Transportation; the cities of San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and Portland; and other area business and government leaders.

Vision North Texas Project Manager Karen Walz told the event’s crowd that the Dallas-Fort Worth region is expected to hit a population of 12 million by 2050.

“Think about what that means if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing and taking care of growth the way we have been,” she said.

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Downtown Fort Worth Condo Market

From: Fort Worth Star Telegram
By: Sandra Baker // September 28, 2009

FORT WORTH — Developers of the six-story luxury condo building Villa de Leon, perched on the Trinity River bluff along Samuels Avenue at the north end of downtown Fort Worth, plan to close their first sale soon.

At the opposite end of downtown, workers are feverishly completing the high-rise condo floors of the Omni Hotel, where owners want to start closing sales in November.

Both projects were started when the market for downtown condos and town houses was ripe for the taking. Neither developer, however, imagined just how much things would change — and not for the better — in the housing market in the past year. Nor did other new residential developers.

Today, sales are flat. At least one developer is leasing units to bring in income, rather than risk losing his project to the bank.

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North Richland Hills approves mixed-use rezoning for Smithfield

From: Fort Worth Star Telegram

By: Chris Vaughn // August 24, 2009

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — The City Council on Monday night approved a major rezoning of the historic Smithfield area that it hopes will lead to a dramatic reinvention over the next generation.

The council agreed unanimously to rezone 278 acres involving scores of property owners to a transit-oriented mixed-use category, eliminating the neighborhood’s existing codes of industrial, commercial and single-family.

"This is significant because it is positioning an entire neighborhood, not just a single project," said Scott Polikov, owner of the Gateway Planning Group, which helped draft the code changes.

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DART Orange Line to connect with DFW Airport

From: ProgressiveRailoading.com
July 25, 2009

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) board recently approved a route for the final section of the Orange Line: The light-rail corridor will connect to Terminal A at DFW International Airport by December 2013.

The board made the decision following a staff recommendation to provide direct terminal access from the future Belt Line Station, which will be located on airport property. The board also voted to add a future light-rail connection from the Orange Line to the Cotton Belt corridor, a DART-owned rail line that crosses the airport property, to provide additional rail access to the airport. The agency has proposed launching passenger-rail service on the Cotton Belt line — which crosses through the northwest Dallas-Fort Worth area — by 2013.

Earlier this year, DART launched construction on the first two sections of the 14-mile Orange Line, from the future Bachman Station in northwest Dallas to Las Colinas, and then to the Belt Line Station. The sections are scheduled to open in December 2011 and 2012, respectively. DART expects to award a contract for the final section to the airport next year.

Fort Worth & Dallas Team up on Streetcar Projects

From: Fortworthology
By: Ken Buchanan // July 17, 2009

After a recent meeting, officials from Fort Worth and Dallas have decided to shift their regional focus on transit, with a new emphasis on each city’s respective modern streetcar plans. As a result, Fort Worth and Dallas are teaming up and going to the feds as a unit, applying for $95 million to jump-start the Fort Worth and Dallas streetcar systems. Says Gordon Dickson in the Star-Telegram:

Dallas and Fort Worth, with help from the council of governments, would apply for $95 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants by Sept. 19. The U.S. Transportation Department can award up to $1.5 billion at its discretion, with no more than $300 million going to any one state.

Federal rules would require that the money be spent by Feb. 17, 2012. That date would be the latest that construction could begin.

This is a major step forward for the Fort Worth streetcar project. Previously, city officials expected to still be in the planning stage of the project by 2012. If Fort Worth and Dallas can secure this jump-start money, the Fort Worth streetcar will be radically sped up - we’ll be seeing dirt turning no later than that February 17, 2012 date. It’s even possible the system could be running in 2012. When combining the jump-start funds with local funds, we would expect the full starter system becomes a very real possibility - or at the very least, Downtown plus one of the other lines (perhaps the Near Southside, since that line doesn’t require waiting on a new bridge to be built as the 7th Street line does). We’d also expect to see further cooperation between Fort Worth and Dallas on these plans - say, ordering cars together in the same batch.

Fort Worth Becoming a Biking Mecca

From 360 Blogs

By: Jason Whaley Tuesday June 16, 2009

An interesting read on the future development of a cycling-friendly Fort Worth. …

When you think of the best bicycling cities in the U.S., Fort Worth probably doesn’t spring to mind. But there are some changes coming. Hundreds of miles of new bike lanes, “road diets” and a proposed streetcar system could fundamentally change the way people think about getting around town there.

Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing cities in America, and Streetsblog Network member blog Fort Worthology has been doing a great job of documenting the challenges that growth poses. Blogger Bike Friendly Oak Cliff of Dallas has an interview with Don Koski, one of the planners who is helping shape Fort Worth’s streetscape. He talked about the role of transit-oriented development, how to incorporate bikes into road design from the beginning, and why Fort Worth isn’t too hot for bike commuting.

In Fort Worth we are planning and developing more mixed-use centers and urban villages and redeveloping and infilling downtown and other neighborhoods near downtown. We are also planning for higher-density development along existing and future commuter rail stations and potential streetcar lines. Making these areas and the city as a whole more accessible by bicycle is consistent with these plans and visions.

Regarding temperature, I don’t buy the argument that people won’t bike because it’s too hot/cold/wet/etc. Look at the cities that have the highest bicycle commute rates in the country: Portland (wet), Minneapolis (cold), Seattle (wet), and Tucson (hot). Certainly there are many cyclists who won’t bike for transportation purposes when it’s hot, but there are other ways to address that, like by promoting the provision of shower and change facilities at major employers. In fact, I would say Fort Worth has great potential as a bicycling city: relatively flat, decent street block pattern, great trail system to which to make connections, great cycling weather 8 months out of the year, etc.

While we don’t yet have quantitative data, we definitely feel that bicycling is beginning to take off as a mode of transportation in Fort Worth. When gas rose to $4 a gallon a year ago, bicycles began showing up all over, and even with the cost of gas relieved somewhat, anecdotally we believe the numbers are still higher than they’ve been in a long time. For a long time Fort Worth has had a number of substantial bike clubs primarily interested in cycling for recreation. We believe a good piece of that advocacy has crossed over into a call to make the city’s transportation network more accommodating of cyclists as well.

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.

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