Aug 31, 2010 14

Streetfilms – No Need for Speed: 20′s Plenty for Us

By: Kevin Buchanan

20′s Penty For Us from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Streetfilms has a new video out exploring the rising demand for urban streets to be reset at 20 mile per hour speed limits.

Earlier this month, the New York City Department of Transportation announced plans to experiment with 20 mph zones — replacing the city’s default 30 mph speed limit in one pilot neighborhood. Whoever gets the first 20 mph treatment will see benefits that residents of British cities and towns have become increasingly familiar with in recent years.

In the UK, some 3 million people live in areas with 20 mph speed limits. The experience there shows that not only do slower speeds save lives, but lowering the limit to 20 mph improves the way local streets function in more ways than one. According to the 20′s Plenty for Us campaign, the change has produced wide-ranging benefits, including less traffic, increased walking and biking, greater independence for children, the elderly and infirm, better health, and calmer driving conditions for motorists.

The mission of 20′s Plenty For Us is to establish 20 mph as the default speed limit on all residential roads in the UK. I recently met up with the campaign’s founder, Rod King, as well as other advocates in the towns of Warrington and York, to understand how the idea of slowing down traffic has spread so fast throughout the country.

I’d add that besides changing the limit via signage and such, street designs themselves should reinforce the slower speeds through traffic calming, narrowing, and other design methods (as seen in several examples in the video).

Aug 30, 2010 0

Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan Update

By: Kevin Buchanan

Things are progressing steadily on Phase One of the Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan, a joint venture between us here at Fort Worthology, Fort Worth South, Inc., and Trinity Bicycles.  I thought I’d give everybody an update as to how things are going.

For those not familiar with the project, the Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Plan was born from Fort Worth South’s desire to make the Near Southside a model of bike friendliness in Fort Worth.  This has already led to projects like the Magnolia Avenue bike lanes, and there are more bike lane projects in the pipeline.  Bike lanes are just one component of bike friendliness, though, and it’s also very important to have safe, secure, and easy-to-use parking for bikes at destinations across the district.  There were some racks already in place, but they were the city’s own “Texas Star” lollipop-style racks, which suffered from a couple of flaws:  one, there’s very few of them (something like ten or twelve in the entire district), and two, they don’t immediately look like bike racks, instead resembling some kind of old-timey Texas heritage street art.

Clearly, there was room for improvement, so Fort Worth South got with us at Fort Worthology and the guys at Trinity Bicycles to come up with a plan to make things better for bikes in the Near Southside.  Together, we identified numerous destinations across the district, concentrating for Phase One on Magnolia Avenue (a designated Urban Village and home of the district’s most celebrated collection of destinations), Jennings Avenue (a designated Bike Route, potential location of new bike lanes, and an important connector with Downtown Fort Worth) and South Main Street (another important connector, as well as a designated Urban Village in the beginnings of revitalization).  The plan was to use a simple, easy-to-use, and instantly identifiable rack design (the classic “staple” rack, seen in the photo above), and provide multiple racks at each location to give plenty of bike parking at popular stops and redeveloping sites, supporting the Near Southside’s existing bike culture as well as encouraging more people to get out on two wheels and explore the district.

With funding in place from the Near Southside TIF District, things have been progressing steadily.  We recently walked all the locations with our contractor, AUI Contractors, and marked out the final physical locations of all the racks, one of the last steps before installation can begin.  During the course of setting the locations of the racks, it was discovered that we actually had more room in several spots than expected, so we are happy to announce that we’ve picked up an additional ten rack installations, with the expected final count for Phase One now running just over 80 new racks.  These will be grouped to provide parking for multiple bikes at each location.  The lowest-demand locations will get two racks (parking for four bikes), most locations will get three racks (parking for six bikes), and a few high-demand locations will get at least five racks (parking for ten bikes) up to seven racks (parking for fourteen bikes).

Further, Saris Racks, the company we’re ordering the racks through, is so excited about the project that they’ve given us an upgrade from powder-coated to galvanized racks.  This will means that the Near Southside racks will be incredibly durable and weather-resistant.  (All the racks will be black.)

The first batch of racks should be in within a few weeks, so it won’t be much longer before you start to see some pretty dramatic bike parking improvements happening in the Near Southside.

Aug 10, 2010 Comments Off

Great Streetviews

By: Kevin Buchanan

Discovering Urbanism looks at some examples from “Great Streets” by Allan Jacobs in Google Street View.  Some lovely examples in this post.

Aug 5, 2010 5

Streetfilms – Copenhagen’s Public Spaces, Car-Free Areas, and Slow-Speed Zones

By: Kevin Buchanan

Another great video from our friends at Streetfilms, following up on the previous look at Copenhagen cycling.  Here’s Clarence Eckerson, Jr. with the description:

In Copenhagen, you never have to travel very far to see a beautiful public space or car-free street packed with people soaking up the day.  In fact, since the early 1960s, 18 parking lots in the downtown area have been converted into public spaces for playing, meeting, and generally just doing things that human beings enjoy doing. If you’re hungry, there are over 7,500 cafe seats in the city.

But as you walk and bike the city, you also quickly become aware of something else: Most Copenhagen’s city streets have a speed limit of 30 to 40 km/h (19 to 25 mph).  Even more impressive, there are blocks in some neighborhoods with limits as low as 15 km/h (9 mph) where cars must yield to residents.  Still other areas are “shared spaces” where cars, bikes and pedestrians mix freely with no stress, usually thanks to traffic calming measures (speed bumps are popular), textured road surfaces and common sense.

We charmed you last month with our look at bicycling in Copenhagen, now sit back and watch livable streets experts Jan Gehl and Gil Penalosa share their observations about pedestrian life. You’ll also hear Ida Auken, a member of Denmark’s Parliament, and Niels Tørsløv, traffic director for the City of Copenhagen, talk about their enthusiasm for street reclamation and its effect on their city.

Jul 19, 2010 Comments Off

Streetfilms – Cycling Copenhagen through North American Eyes

By: Kevin Buchanan

Streetfilms presents a look at the cycling world of Copenhagen, as seen through North American eyes.  This is an extra-long Streetfilm, but it’s well worth your time.  Big thanks to Clarence Eckerson, Jr. for his work on this one.  Clarence’s description follows:

“While Streetfilms was in Copenhagen for the Velo-City 2010 conference, of course we wanted to showcase its biking greatness.  But we were also looking to take a different perspective then all the myriad other videos out there.  Since there were an abundance of advocates, planners, and city transportation officials attending from the U.S. and Canada, we thought it’d be awesome to get their reactions to the city’s built environment and compare to bicycling conditions in their own cities.

If you’ve never seen footage of the Copenhagen people riding bikes during rush hour – get ready – it’s quite a site, as nearly 38% of all transportation trips in Copenhagen are done by bike.  With plenty of safe, bicycle infrastructure (including hundreds of miles of physically separated cycletracks) its no wonder that you see all kinds of people on bikes everywhere.  55% of all riders are female, and you see kids as young as 3 or 4 riding with packs of adults.

Much thanks to the nearly two dozen folks who talked to us for this piece.  You’ll hear astute reflections from folks like Jeff Mapes (author of “Pedaling Revolution“), Martha Roskowski (Program Manager, GO Boulder), Andy Clarke (President, League of American Bicyclists), Andy Thornley (Program Director, San Francisco Bike Coalition) and Tim Blumenthal (President, Bikes Belong) and Yvonne Bambrick (Executive Director, Toronto’s Cyclists Union) just to name drop a few of the megastars.”

Jul 13, 2010 Comments Off

David Byrne on Bicycling

By: Kevin Buchanan

Legendary musician and artist David Byrne has been spending a lot of time the last few years talking up bicycles and advocating for better bike infrastructure, both in his home of New York City and across the country.  He has a book, Bicycle Diaries, where he collects thoughts and musings on bikes, and what he’s thinking while riding them through cities across the world – topics from bike infrastructure to music to art.

In this video from the New York Times, Byrne shares some of his thoughts on bicycling.

Jul 8, 2010 5

Potential Streetcar Alignments Being Studied

By: Kevin Buchanan

The city has released some documents from HDR, Inc.’s current planning work on Fort Worth’s modern streetcar system, and one of the documents gives some more depth, information, and details on the potential starter alignments being considered and how they’re being measured.  It’s important to note that at this stage of planning, the routes are not set in stone.  There are several potential starter routes for the first phase of the modern streetcar system, and each is being evaluated according to a set of criteria.  The end result might be one of these lines, or it might be a combination of parts of lines.  These answers will come from the study currently underway by HDR, Inc. that is providing a blueprint for our modern streetcar system.  This information comes from publicly-available planning documents posted to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, available as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

The criteria that the potential starter routes are being measured against come from factors in successful streetcar systems in other cities, and the goals and issues that a Fort Worth solution could be designed to address.  The criteria are focused on improving the development and mobility situation in Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods.  They reflect the objectives of the project as told to HDR, based on meetings with City of Fort Worth officials and staff, organizations like Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and Fort Worth South, Inc., and the city’s Modern Streetcar Task Force.

The sort of criteria that these routes are being measured against include:

  • Existing and anticipated population in the alignment corridor
  • Existing and anticipated employment in the alignment corridor
  • Major destinations served
  • Developable land
  • Potential yield from TIF and other locally-generated sources
  • Assessed value base
  • Compatibility with city and TIF district plans
  • Relative lack of engineering or traffic management constraints
  • Estimated ridership
  • Capital and operating costs
  • Public and stakeholder support

The following routes are being screened against these criteria.  Each is being analyzed as a potential stand-alone Phase 1 of the streetcar system.  It’s expected that, once the evaluations are complete, potential combinations of these lines could also emerge as a starter project, but the initial evaluation is of each route alone.  Note also that these descriptions are of the starter routes and do not include potential extensions to each route.

You’ll note that most of the lines include several segments that are the same as the other lines.  HDR’s plans showcase how the starter lines can build together over time into a network, and how they can share most of the same trackage in Downtown.

Click on the routes for a larger view.

West 7th

The West 7th alignment is 3.0 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound and heads to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound on 6th to Cherry, where it makes a slight right to merge from westbound 6th to westbound 7th.  The line heads westbound on 7th to Montgomery, where it then heads southbound to Camp Bowie, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown using the same route – northbound on Montgomery, then eastbound on 7th – until it reaches Henderson.  At Henderson, the line turns northbound on Henderson, then eastbound on 3rd.  After heading eastbound on 3rd, the line turns southbound on Calhoun before turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

North Main

The North Main alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound.  It heads northbound on Commerce through Belknap & Weatherford and makes the merge onto North Main past the Tarrant County Courthouse.  The line crosses the Paddock Viaduct (North Main bridge) where it is then envisioned that it would be integrated into the Trinity Uptown master plan.  One option, shown here, would have the line turn onto a reconstructed Commerce and head north before turning westbound on NE 6th and then southbound on North Main to head back to Downtown.  Once across the Paddock Viaduct, the line would merge from the bridge onto southbound Houston and continue southbound to 3rd, where it would turn eastbound and head to Calhoun.  At Calhoun, the line would turn southbound and head to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Trinity Bluffs

The Trinity Bluffs alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns and heads northbound to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound and heads to 7th, where it heads further westbound to Henderson.  It turns and heads northbound on Henderson to 3rd, where it turns and runs eastbound.  Upon reaching Pecan, the line turns northbound and heads to Bluff, then eastbound to Samuels.  It runs northbound on Samuels to the Cold Springs intersection, the terminus of the line.  It then heads back to Downtown via Samuels, Bluff, and Pecan.  At Pecan & 4th, it turns and heads westbound to Calhoun.  The line then runs southbound on Calhoun to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Near Southside – Jennings Option

There are two potential Near Southside alignments being considered at this time.  This is the Jennings option, which is 2.0 miles end-to-end.  The Jennings option heads southbound on Houston from 3rd.  At 9th, the line cuts over to Throckmorton headed southbound, then further over to Jennings.  It heads southbound on Jennings past Lancaster and under the railroad tracks and I-30, continuing southbound on Jennings to Pennsylvania.  The line then heads westbound on Pennsylvania to Henderson, turning southbound on Henderson to Terrell.  The line turns westbound on Terrell to 6th Avenue, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown eastbound and northbound via the same route – Terrell, Henderson, Pennsylvania, and Jennings – before reaching Throckmorton and heading northbound to 3rd, heading eastbound on 3rd back to Houston to head back to the Near Southside.  It is important to note that the Jennings option does not directly serve the ITC, but provides a connection to the TRE and the future SW2NE train at the Texas & Pacific Station.

Near Southside – South Main Option

The second potential Near Southside alignment is the South Main option, which is 3.2 miles end-to-end.  This alignment leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Magnolia.  It turns and heads westbound on Magnolia to 7th Avenue, where it turns northbound and heads to Terrell, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – 7th Avenue, Magnolia, and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Near Southside & Rosedale/East Side – Rosedale Alignment

The Rosedale line is 2.2 miles end-to-end.  It leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Rosedale.  It turns eastbound on Rosedale to Evans, which is the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – Rosedale and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Again, let us stress that these alignment options are still being measured against the design criteria.  The exact starter alignment has not yet been selected, and may in fact be a combination of elements of multiple alignments.  We’ll have more as the study by HDR continues.  For more information on this process, head to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, where this data is available to the public as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

Jun 15, 2010 1

Downtown Fort Worth Intersection Density Analysis & Comparison to Underdeveloped Lots

By: Kevin Buchanan

Our friend at Walkable D/FW has done a fantastically in-depth analysis of Downtown Fort Worth’s intersection density and convergence and what effect it has on walkability, following up on a similar analysis of Downtown Dallas and Downtown Portland.

With the understanding that the grid (of whatever form) provides the neural network of urban economies, the end result, I believe, is one that merges walkability and hierarchy of urban spaces in order to identify problem areas of the City. It is also fun to play with, tweaking various streets and blocks, two-way conversions from one-ways, and seeing the potential transformative effects those changes can have on real estate potential.

The following is downtown Fort Worth run through the same analysis as Dallas and Portland (and I will be doing more downtowns and like this one, hopefully tweaking and advancing the metrics and capabilities of the analysis).

After measuring intersection density per square mile and adding in the convergence factor (direction of streets, type of intersection, etc.), he then started weighting things by factoring in Downtown’s connections with the surrounding districts.  On top of that, he factored in underdeveloped and underperforming lots downtown to show where Downtown has potential to grow – if the form of its streets is brought under control into a more walkable, pedestrians-first form.

One thing this reveals, is the off-center nature of downtown Fort Worth on its “island” and the potential for downtown to expand to the West.

In general, the Meta-Convergence analysis is best at showing opportunity areas where the density and real estate values are underperforming. Most often this is due to the vary roads creating the traffic. The design of the roads are strictly for cars and the buildings and people then withdraw from that road. This is “inside-out” urbanism.

…

When we add in a graphic for “under-performing” or underdeveloped sites we predictably see that most of the underdeveloped sites have a direct relationship with the locations of the car-oriented street framework.

The question then becomes, are these properties really underperforming? In my opinion, the answer is that the surface parking (or parking garages) are a direct market response to a terrible, unsustainable transportation design and network. Parking is the highest and best use, but not a great (or walkable) downtown does it make.

So while there is great potential in where red and yellow overlap, the responsibility lies on the public-side to overhaul the primary roads to something that can move more traffic in a people- and place-friendly manner.

Complete streets are 1) centripetal, in that they draw people to them rather than centrifugal streets which are repellent, 2) can move more traffic by moving less cars (meaning increased modal share via more efficient transportation modes), and most importantly 3) link to the vastly underdeveloped areas immediately adjacent to downtown.

These are the neighborhoods within the 1 to 3 mile radius of downtown where bikes and streetcars make the most sense and will leverage increased development.

This study reveals that the most potential lies along Henderson and W. 7th for both downtown expansion and inner-ring (outside of downtown) development. But the primary barrier to this potential is the overly wide, pedestrian unfriendly design of the both streets.

Here’s the graphic of weighted intersection density vs. underdeveloped lots that Walkable DFW assembled (intersections in red, underdeveloped lots in yellow).

It’s pretty similar to a map we put together ourselves showing similar lots in Downtown (red = surface lots, vacant lots, inappropriate development like bank drive-throughs, unengaging pointless “green space,” etc. while yellow is parking garages, blue = the wasteland around the I-30 ramps).

Complete streets and connections – two things Downtown Fort Worth is missing.  Another quote from Walkable D/FW:

Having personally walked the downtowns of all of the above towns, the rankings of the three downtowns in terms of walkability matches my own sense. Downtown Fort Worth is very walkable, but only in the core between the convention center and the Tarrant County Courthouse.

In relation, Portland also has a much bigger downtown area uninterrupted by disconnective agents. Portland also has done a better job dealing with freeways, which are sunken with the urban grid extending across, maintaining walkability for a more consistent and broader area.

Similar to Fort Worth, Portland also has a river and waterfront forming an edge, however Portland, having removed a freeway have done a better job of breaking down the edge by creating a more publicly accessible riverfront park.

Read more at Walkable D/FW.  It’s instructive to not only post about good things going on, but to also look at what we could be doing better if we’re really going to get serious about building a livable city and urban core.

Jun 10, 2010 3

Streetfilms: Cycle Chic in Copenhagen and Beyond

By: Kevin Buchanan

Elizabeth Press, from Streetfilms:

You can trace the term “cycle chic” back to 2006, when Mikael Colville-Andersen launched his Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog. It means different things to different people, but basically, “cycle chic” is about riding in everyday clothes instead of specialized gear like spandex or cycling shoes.

When I was in Copenhagen last December I had the chance to meet up with Colville-Andersen. After touring the city’s first-rate bike infrastructure, I asked him about cycle chic. He said the number of collaborators and followers around the world is constantly growing, making cycle chic a movement-within-a-movement. So for this video, I crowdsourced video from a few other cycle chic bloggers to see what’s so hot about using fashion and style to promote bicycling. Enjoy!

Apr 26, 2010 Comments Off

City Creates New Bike Fort Worth Site

By: Kevin Buchanan

The city has uploaded a brand-new Bike Fort Worth site, covering the recently adopted bicycle transportation plan.  Included in the goodies is this PDF map of the proposed new bike lanes, routes, and paths (3.4 MB PDF file).

Apr 21, 2010 4

Oak Cliff’s Guerilla Complete Streets Event, “The Better Block”

By: Kevin Buchanan

We just have to spread the word a little more about this cool project that fellow Complete Streets/traditional urbanism advocates in Oak Cliff put on a couple of weeks ago.  Go Oak Cliff did “The Better Block,” their own “guerilla” Complete Streets makeover of Tyler Street in X+, on their own using neighborhood supporters.  Armed with about a thousand dollars and some ingenuity, they significantly narrowed the street to slow car traffic speeds, created a protected bike lane buffered from traffic by parking and striping, opened some temporary shops in vacant storefronts, set up sidewalk cafes, and more.

The end result was a street that was massively more pleasant to be on – people walked and dined in what is usually car space, bikes easily rolled past, traffic speeds were dramatically slower creating a much safer place to be, and benefits to local businesses from creating a street as calm, inviting “place” for everybody rather than a car sewer were noticeable – for example, local book store Cliff Notes had their best sales day ever on the first day of the event.

The project showed the benefits to the neighborhood from taming traffic speeds and expanding the amount of space for pedestrians, sidewalk diners, cyclists, and more, and it’s getting much local and national coverage.  The video above comes from Go Oak Cliff themselves.  Here’s a few links to other stories about the event:

The Better Block Wrap-Up - Go Oak Cliff

Emergent Urbanism in Oak Cliff – WALKABLE Dallas-Fort Worth

In Dallas, A Community Transforms A Street – Streetsblog

Guerilla Urbanism:  North Oak Cliff Residents Create Their Own Complete Street – Bike Friendly Oak Cliff

Apr 7, 2010 13

Streetcar Study Passes Unanimously

By: Kevin Buchanan

After much discussion by the city council (including some rather uninformed commentary by a couple of council members), late last night the council voted unanimously to hire HDR to conduct the full streetcar study that we have been waiting on. Phases 1 and 2 will address many subjects – exact alignments and starter corridor, funding, ridership, economic benefits (including how much development could result along the corridors), etc. After these phases, it will be decided whether HDR will conduct Phase 3, the full engineering plan.

There are still many challenges ahead for streetcar supporters, and there will be plenty more work to do to help make this a reality. It will take time, but a significant roadblock was cleared last night. We now have what is arguably the finest set of transit minds in the country on our side doing the full study, so we are in good hands. We’ll save the analysis, and the correcting of certain council members, for another time. For now, we’ll just say “thank you” to the supporters who spent a long night in council chambers and a “thank you” to all those in the public and private sectors who have worked to get us this far.  All your support had a very real impact on how this vote went.

Apr 6, 2010 Comments Off

One More Streetcar Support Letter

By: Kevin Buchanan

A late arrival, but here’s one more letter of support for the streetcar project, from economic developer Michael Hennig:

April 6, 2010

Mayor Mike Moncrief
Members of the City Council
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102

Dear Mayor Moncrief and City Council Members,

As an individual who has great fondness and admiration for the City of Fort Worth and as a professional within the field of economic development, I strongly urge you to continue your support of the proposed Fort Worth Streetcar now and in the future.

As you are doubtlessly aware, transportation has been inextricably linked to Fort Worth’s past vitality and development, and I am confident that this will continue to be the case now and in the future. It is, perhaps, for this reason that an issue such as this is held so close to the hearts of countless residents and why, I am sure, your mailboxes have been unusually full in recent weeks.

It would be easy to write this project off as a mere token of nostalgia, a fun but expensive toy (as some have come to describe it) – that is, if the past and the facts were ignored. But I am convinced that beyond the environmental and social benefits that have been brought to your attention, the proposed Fort Worth Streetcar, especially when integrated into a broader transportation network, would yield significant economic benefits to the community. Though I could name many of these, I will highlight just a few.

Once developed, and particularly if extended beyond the Central Business District, the proposed streetcar system would support existing businesses and help to spur new development in high-profile portions of the city that have already been targeted for development through Fort Worth’s well-respected Urban Village Program. As ridership grows, development takes place, and spending near the streetcar line is augmented, a substantial impact will be felt in the City’s TIF and PID districts. In this manner, a streetcar line would produce a multiplier effect within Fort Worth’s most important urban areas.

Another pair of investments that would receive powerful support through the addition of a streetcar line is the City’s ongoing and impressive efforts to boost tourism and convention activity in and around the Downtown Core. As a frequent traveler who has visited many nations on several continents, it is difficult to describe the benefit of having a readily accessible and well integrated transportation network available.

The addition of a streetcar line would also support Fort Worth’s efforts to attract young, mobile professionals and to connect labor with key employment centers. Development and business attraction activities would also be enhanced by the presence of a modern streetcar system which, among other things, would reduce parking requirements in difficult infill areas.

In the end, once Fort Worth has taken the important step to develop a twenty-first century transit system that reflects its stature within the state and the nation, I truly believe that Fort Worth’s close-knit, small-town feel will be enhanced rather than reduced and that the economic benefits of a streetcar line will far outweigh the near-term costs.

Throughout its history, Fort Worth has proven that it does not shy away from any opportunity to lead the state into a new frontier. The proposed streetcar would greatly support the City’s efforts to engender a community that is truly world-class – not simply in size and population, but in character, class and reputation.

A project of this magnitude requires steadfast support from community leaders and I thank you for your service to the community which few could equal. I humbly ask for your support on this important project tonight and well after the first tracks have been laid.

Respectfully yours,
Michael Hennig

Michael Hennig, MPA
President
Civtech Solutions, Inc.

Apr 6, 2010 4

Reminder: City Council Meeting Tonight

By: Kevin Buchanan

One last reminder for all who can attend to come to the City Council meeting tonight at Fort Worth City Hall (1000 Throckmorton) to support the vote to hire HDR to design our streetcar system.  Free streetcar support t-shirts will be available for the first 200 people to attend.

Apr 6, 2010 Comments Off

Local Business For The Streetcar

By: Kevin Buchanan

Our friends at Trinity Bicycles, the new bike shop in South Main Village in the Near Southside, have written their own letter of support for the modern streetcar project and have posted it on their site.  Here it is:

As you all know, one of our biggest missions here at Trinity Bicycles is increasing the viable transportation options for our neighbors here in Fort Worth. Obviously, we think bikes should play a big role in Fort Worth’s transportation future.

We’re not solely pro-bike, though. We’ve been around long enough to know that all alternative (read: non-car) transportation options tend to fare better when they are interconnected, plentiful, and even somewhat redundant.

That’s why we want to ask everyone who believes that our city needs more and varied transportation alternatives to show up at tomorrow’s (ed. – That would be tonight’s meeting now) Fort Worth City Council meeting at 7 p.m. to show your support for the City’s modern streetcar plan.

The vote to hire transportation super-planners HDR (they worked on Portland’s system) was supposed to happen 2 weeks ago, but it was postponed until tomorrow evening, and there was some rumbling that the political winds may have been shifting and the plan might not get funded.

Word today is that the vote is likely to be successful after all, but it is not something we as citizens should leave to chance. We need to make it clear to our elected officials that their constituents want real choices on how they move about their city. Please come help us fill the council chambers with streetcar supporters, and thereby help the Mayor and City Council feel good about their decision to vote to fund the planning phase of the streetcar project. And of course, having a crowd visibly supportive of a Streetcar system might come in handy just in case any votes are wavering tomorrow night.

We know it must seem scary for a city council member to vote to spend a large amount of money on a project that will take years to come to fruition. But the truth is, as a city, we just can’t afford not to take this step. We are being left behind every day we do not move forward with bringing our transportation system into the 21st century.

How many young, creative, active people do you know who have moved to a “cooler” city (Austin and Portland come to mind) to pursue careers? I know too many, all of whom said they “loved Fort Worth, but….”

Even our neighbors to the East in Dallas have seen how transit options can revitalize neighborhoods. Just look at what’s happening in Oak Cliff, Knox Henderson, or just about anywhere along the light rail lines they have built.

And right here in Fort Worth, I can tell you from personal experience, just the very promise of a Streetcar system has improved the economy. Trinity Bicycles chose to relocate from Irving, TX, to its location at 207 S. Main in part because it was on a proposed streetcar line. Now the final space in a long-empty historic building is filled, and not just with any business– a retail business that will be putting sales tax into the City coffers.

If we chose a location based on a system that hasn’t even been started yet, imagine how many more businesses will move into town if the system actually gets built…

Apr 6, 2010 2

Another Streetcar Support Letter

By: Kevin Buchanan

With the City Council voting tonight on hiring HDR to proceed with the streetcar project, we’ve gotten ahold of a couple of other letters of support for the project from various places in the city.  Here’s one from citizen Brian Kieta.

Dear Esteemed Leaders of Our Fair City,

PLEASE…do not stunt the growth of this ever-growing, remarkable city of ours, by voting against the proposed streetcar system.  If we truly desire for our great city to be unapologetically added to the list of “world-class” cities, we MUST have an efficient and pleasing public transportation system (and a system of bus public transport certainly does NOT count toward our inclusion on such a list).   Let me bring to light the following cities which truly are a pleasure to live in and visit, mostly due to their outstanding public transit: Paris, New York, San Francisco, Boston, London, Montreal, Chicago, Moscow…

Granted, the population of these cities is much more than Fort Worth, but simply take a Fort Worth-sized slice of any of these great metropolis’ and realize that its’ outstanding public transportation is the veins through which the life of the city flows.  Not only in terms of infrastructure and municipal function, but in how much greater the quality of life is for cities that flow well.  The fantastic sense of city unity and community exists mostly because of these well-planned, easy to use systems.

I think Fort Worth is aching for a life-giving opportunity that a modern, well-planned and executed streetcar system would bring.  Many Fort Worth residents think that all of their commuting life is meant to be spent in the confines of the automobile and have never had the chance to experience what life is like lived in the midst of, and supported by, a fun to use public transportation system.

I have heard that there are other competing interests for the funds necessary to move this vision forward, and that a crucial time of decision is upon us (you).  Let me urge you to not let your politics get in the way of doing the right thing: vote in support of the streetcar system.  You and I both know that a stellar public transportation system would literally transform this city into a place that both young and old would absolutely love to live in, and hate to leave.  Having traveled all across the globe, I have personally witnessed and heard testimony after testimony of how good public transportation literally changes how people live.  It affects the daily decisions of how people live their lives.  Suddenly, you realize that people living together, getting to know one another and prospering together is really what great public transportation is all about.  Economic growth and city pride is really just a pleasant (and assured) by-product. It’s the people that make up a city – and public transit is all about that human element.

I am not considered to be a qualified expert on the subject of public transportation – but I do know people, and when excellence is brought forth in an effort to enrich our lives, we the people, respond positively every time.  In my humble opinion, this is a decision that can’t fully be made on numbers, facts and studies alone; there hasto be some element of gut feeling put toward this decision. Just as a football coach has to make a hard decision at a crucial point in the game, the fear of making a bad decision can’t paralyze you from actually making one that you feel in your heart, is the right one to make. It still comes down to the coach making the final call with all the information he’s been given, and it must be made with confidence.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into making Fort Worth a great place to live.  It really is a hidden gem, and mostly because of the work done by you and your colleagues to make that a sentiment a reality.

Sincerely,

Brian Kieta
Fort Worth Citizen
1991 – present

Apr 5, 2010 6

City Council Expected To Pass Streetcar Vote Tomorrow

By: Kevin Buchanan

We have learned that due in no small part to the efforts of streetcar supporters who called in and e-mailed from our earlier posts on the subject that the City Council looks to have changed its stance and is now expected to vote tomorrow night to hire HDR to conduct the full streetcar design study.

Should this come to pass as we are expecting, it is a major victory for the streetcar project and ensures that it will be moving ahead.  It’s not a commitment to build it, so don’t think this process is over.  It is, however, a huge step forward – HDR will be able to put together a detailed design & engineering plan showing us exactly what needs to be built, how to run it, and how it can be paid for.

We would like to thank all of you out there for calling and writing to the Fort Worth City Council on this – we have been told in no uncertain terms that our efforts were a major part of this.  Note that we are still calling for as many of you as possible to attend the City Council meeting tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at Fort Worth City Hall – it just looks like we’ll be in for a celebration (similar to the standing ovation that accompanied the Bike Fort Worth vote) rather than a fight.  We’d still like to see a strong showing of support in front of the council.  And yes, there will still be free t-shirts, available outside council chambers, to wear in to show your support for the project.

This is another step forward for real transportation choice in urban Fort Worth, and for the economic and livability benefits of great transit in this city.  Thank you all for your help.

Apr 1, 2010 2

Streetcar Support & Council Meeting

By: Kevin Buchanan

Just a friendly reminder – supporters of the streetcar project need to be e-mailing/calling *all* of the council members and the mayor, not just the one from your own district.  It’s vitally important to this effort for them to all hear the voice of the citizens of Fort Worth who want transportation choice, and who want them to vote to hire HDR for the design work at the meeting this Tuesday.  And of course, we hope as many of you as possible will make time to attend said council meeting at 7:00 PM.  We understand that t-shirts have been designed and are being printed for supporters to wear.

Mayor – Mike Moncrief – 817-392-6118 – mike.moncrief@fortworthgov.org
Mayor Pro Tem – Danny Scarth – 817-392-6187 –District4@fortworthgov.org
Sal Espino –  817-392-8802 – District2@fortworthgov.org
Zim Zimmerman – 817-392-8803 - District3@fortworthgov.org
Frank Moss – 817-392-8805 – District5@fortworthgov.org
Jungus Jordan – 817-392-8806 – District6@fortworthgov.org
Carter Burdette – 817-392-8807 – District7@fortworthgov.org
Kathleen Hicks – 817-392-8808 – District8@fortworthgov.org
Joel Burns – 817-392-8809 – District9@fortworthgov.org

Mar 31, 2010 5

Survey Reveals Public Streetcar Support

By: Kevin Buchanan

We’ve been sent this survey conducted by the ETC Institute for the City of Fort Worth last year that details how supportive Fort Worth residents would be of various projects.  Particularly noteworthy is the streetcar project, which received the third-highest support overall from the survey, and the highest “very supportive” ranking of any project.  Had the project been listed as a “central city streetcar” rather than just Downtown, it’s certainly possible it would have been ranked even higher.

We found it interesting and thought we’d share, as it doesn’t seem to have gotten much coverage.

Mar 30, 2010 1

Fairmount Neighborhood Association Support Letter For Modern Streetcar Project

By: Kevin Buchanan

Another letter of support for the modern streetcar project has come to us in advance of the City Council meeting on April 6th – this one is from the Fairmount Neighborhood Association in the Near Southside.  With the permission of FNA President Robert Wedding and FNS President Emerita Patti Randle, here it is:

March 30, 2010

Mayor Mike Moncrief
Members of the City Council
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102

Dear Mayor Moncrief and City Council Members,

On behalf of the Fairmount Neighborhood Association, we are writing to ask you and the entire City Council to continue to support the proposed Modern Streetcar System.

After your travels in 2008 to Dallas, Seattle and Portland, your positive assessment of their successful streetcar systems was encouraging to us.  We saw then, and believe today, that such a system would have a positive impact on our air quality, reduce the stress on our already overburdened infrastructure, and add to our quality of life.

We love Fort Worth and we want it to be recognized as a world-class city.  We believe that a usable, sustainable public transportation system is a major component of that vision, and the streetcar system would be an important link in that transportation system.

It is our understanding that funds are available for the first phase, an engineering feasibility study.  We implore you to stand firm on this issue, to respect and protect the intent of these funds, and to move forward with what, in the future, will surely be called one of the greatest achievements of our grand City.

We thank you all for your leadership and commitment to our City, and we hope that you will continue to support the modern streetcar system.

Robert Wedding
President

Patti Randle
President Emerita

Fairmount Neighborhood Association

Cc:  Fairmount Neighborhood Association Members
Dale Fisseler, City Manager
Fernando Costa, Assistant City Manager

Mar 29, 2010 5

Letter Of Support For Streetcar Project From Central City Redevelopment Committee Chair

By: Kevin Buchanan

After today’s buzz about the streetcar project, we received the following letter of support for the project from Fran McCarthy, Chair of the city’s Central City Redevelopment Committee.  With Fran’s permission, we are publishing his letter below.

CENTRAL CITY REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Fort Worth, Texas

March 28, 2010

Mayor Mike Moncrief
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107

Subject:  Modern Streetcars for Fort Worth, Texas

Dear Mike:

On behalf of your Central City Redevelopment Committee, I urge you and the City Council to approve  M&C-24103, Authorize the Execution of a Professional Services Agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc., in the Amount of $1,880,800.00 for the Modern Streetcar Planning and Design Project at your April 6 City Council meeting.

At several recent events, you have spoken eloquently about the need to improve our mobility and air quality, to expand our tax base, to reinvest in our central city, and to promote more sustainable forms of development.  I have joined many other Fort Worth citizens in applauding your remarks at the Tracks to the Future conference, at your State of the City address, and at the Vision North Texas regional summit, in which you have observed wisely that Fort Worth must invest now in the development of rail transportation — including proposed improvements to Tower 55, commuter rail, and a modern streetcar system that connects our central-city growth centers and urban villages.

You have provided exceptional leadership:
by heading our 2008 fact-finding trips to Dallas and the Pacific Northwest,
by raising public awareness about the need for a modern streetcar system,
by appointing a Modern Streetcar Task Force,
and by securing federal funds from the Regional Transportation Council for a definitive study of the modern streetcar system.

In September of last year, the City Council formally accepted those funds and authorized corresponding agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.  Accordingly, the time has come to authorize a contract with our preferred consultant for the modern streetcar study, which will provide the City Council with all of the information that you and Council need to make sound decisions about the Modern Streetcar project.

We understand that questions have arisen about whether the modern streetcar project is competing for limited resources with the Tower 55 project and the Southwest-to-Northeast commuter rail project.  The correct answer is “No”!  In fact, all three projects are closely interrelated, all three are vitally important to our central city, and all three deserve the City Council’s continued support. Fort Worth has never shied always from finding ways to fund multiple important projects even in tough economic times and we can once again.

Furthermore, we understand that questions have arisen about whether authorization of the HDR contract will obligate the City to expend funds on the design of any particular alignments.  Again, the correct answer is “No”!  In fact, your incredible staff has negotiated an excellent contract such that the City would actually expend about $100,000.00 which is less than half of the allocated funds on phases 1 and 2, and which will provide the determination of feasible and desirable alignments, before seeking the City Council’s authorization to proceed into preliminary engineering as a potential phase 3 and spending the second $100.000.00.

Mike, this is a small amount of money considering the potential long term benefit of a Streetcar system as part of an integrated transportation system. On the other side of the argument $100,000.00 is a small amount of money to determine that a different transportation system should be developed that answers the future transportation needs of Fort Worth.

In view of the extensive benefits and limited costs associated with the modern streetcar study, we urge you to stay the course and authorize the HDR contract without further delay.

Mike, let us know how we can assist you towards that end.

Sincerely,

Fran McCarthy
Chair
Central City Redevelopment Committee

Cc: Members of the Fort Worth City Council
Members of the Central City Committee

Mar 29, 2010 32

Streetcar Project In Jeopardy

By: Kevin Buchanan

At the last City Council meeting, the council was supposed to vote to finally hire on HDR, Inc. (the nation’s preeminent transit planners, whose streetcar resume stretches across dozens of projects in development and whose streetcar chief, Charlie Hales, had a hand in Portland, Oregon’s wildly successful project) to commence a full-up study of the Fort Worth modern streetcar project.  HDR would conduct a multi-phase design study that would answer all the remaining questions about the project:  an exact alignment, operational details, construction and operation costs, economic and development impacts (to show how much development could accompany the streetcar line), etc. etc. etc.  This final study would give the city all the information it needed to move forward with the project, or not, if it was determined to not be feasible.

We reported back in November that the city had selected a firm to handle the design duties – that firm was HDR.  Yet HDR has not been officially hired on.  The reasons why are becoming clear:  certain councilmembers, wealthy individuals, and other influential parties are looking to sink the project before the study is even underway, for reasons of both petty political bickering and to help two of the wealthiest corporations in the United States.

HDR is to be hired using approximately $1.8 million dollars.  Almost all of that money comes from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, which granted Fort Worth this money specifically to hire a consultant for this study.  This money is already here, and waiting to be used.  HDR knows they’re the firm, and are waiting for the green light.

At the last council meeting, when the vote to hire HDR came up, it got delayed until April 6th.  This latest in a string of delays has caused strong frustration within the city, within the business and development communities, and within the citizens who are eager for progress on the streetcar project.  It now appears to us that this delay is due to a variety of forces attempting to kill the project before the study is even underway.

There appears to be an effort underway now to stop the study from happening, and to raid the NCTCOG grant money and turn it over to at-grade improvements for the infamous Tower 55 project.  Put another way, various influential bodies and council members would like to take the streetcar study money and instead turn it over to helping BNSF and Union Pacific, the two railroad companies impacted by the Tower 55 situation.  (This is not for anything related to the Tower 55 trenches being discussed – this is for at-grade improvements to the existing north-south alignment.)

In addition, we hear talk of not wanting the streetcar to “compete” with other transit projects, as well as tons of misinformation about the streetcar project causing higher taxes or being paid for by raiding road repair funds, etc. – none of which are true.

This vote is to spend money the city has already been granted to hire HDR to conduct the right and proper study that needs to be done for the streetcar project.  It doesn’t commit the city to building anything.  Whether we decide in the end to build the streetcar or not, this study needs to be done.  It will answer every question the council could have about the project, and probably then some.  We feel that it would be incredibly irresponsible and careless to kill the study before the city has all the facts.  The council shouldn’t say “no” before they know.

The decision to further delay the vote to hire HDR, Inc. to conduct the full design study – not even a vote to actually build the thing, just a vote to do the right and proper study that needs to be done, whatever the eventual outcome – showcases a staggering lack of leadership and forward-thinking on the part of this city government.  After years of positive progress, much productive discussion, years of planning by talented individuals within our own committees, and a strong showing of support from the city government in a variety of venues (such as the Pacific Northwest fact-finding trip and the Tracks to the Future conference), to see that this Council seems to be back-pedaling under the cloud of incorrect information to raid the study grant to benefit two of the wealthiest corporations in America is extremely disappointing.

We have seen what effective multi-modal transit can do for a city, not only in terms of mobility but also in terms of development, livability, and the creation of truly remarkable places.  We have seen that these sorts of places – higher density, with a variety of choices in living arrangement, transportation, employment, and recreation – foster some remarkable examples of creativity, prosperity, and life.

We have the opportunity, with this modern streetcar project, to help create those sorts of places in Fort Worth.  It is clear that streetcars can attract far more riders than buses are capable of (due to an assortment of factors – comfort, smooth operation, ease of use, etc.).  In addition, streetcars provide that “last couple of miles” connection from our commuter rail projects, leading to higher ridership overall.  Getting more people on our transit systems means less congestion, better air quality, less dependence on increasingly unreliable supplies of fossil fuels, and the creation of far more successful and livable urban neighborhoods.  Fort Worth’s current transit offerings are not sufficient if we are to truly create the city that we have been talking about.  For example, Mayor Moncrief’s own words in the State of the City address, words he now seemed poised to flip-flop on:

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!  North Texas requires a transportation overhaul. No more band-aides, no more patches—a complete overhaul!

If business as usual is truly dead, we must act to fully examine our transportation alternatives.  Further delays, or an outright rejection, of the proposal to hire HDR to conduct our full streetcar study would be a grave mistake.  To then raid that fund to benefit BNSF and UP would be an outrage.

Other cities obviously get it.  Even Dallas is pulling further and further ahead of us in this regard, building off their ongoing DART light rail success with their own modern streetcar project – which defeated our own for TIGER funding at least in part due to the clear lack of leadership on the part of the Fort Worth city government and a muddled message coming from City Hall, in addition to the decision to submit only the downtown circulator without the Near Southside or Cultural District lines.  Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, at the Tracks to the Future conference, spoke extensively of this need for strong leadership and a clear message.

These cities – cities like Dallas, and Portland, and Seattle, and Charlotte, and more – are more fully serving their citizens by creating real transportation choice.  If Fort Worth continues to drop the ball on projects like the streetcar, we will lose out.  These cities are competing with us for the jobs and vitality of the future, and we know that ever-increasing numbers of young creatives and professionals no longer wish to have the same suburban/car-dominated life that their parents and grandparents had.  They want real choice, in living arrangement and transportation (and make no mistake, these two things are deeply linked – effective transit helps build effective mixed-use living arrangements, and vice versa).  They will go where they can get these things, and if they can’t get them here, we’ll fall behind.  If Fort Worth wants to compete on the global stage, we have to start getting serious about this sort of thing.  It is time Fort Worth stopped wishing to remain a “small town” forever and started acting like the proud, vibrant, major American city it is.

Our current transit infrastructure (especially The T’s woefully poor bus projects) are not enough to compete on the national and international stage.

We must get serious, and we must give this study its due as we do with every other major decision.  This city has the opportunity to work with the finest transit minds in the United States to come up with solutions that work for us.  This is perhaps one of the most important proposals to come before the City Council, ever – it deserves the same level of attention as our other major decisions.  This is not a vote to fund the entire system – it is a vote to make a relatively miniscule investment to find out all the facts we need before we make further decisions to proceed.  There are valid concerns and questions about the streetcar project, but this City Council is behaving as though they don’t even want to answer them.  The City Council wishes instead to bury its head in the sand and pretend that business as usual is, in fact, healthy and productive – when the evidence of the last several years shows that to be untrue.  And it further wants to hand over the NCTCOG money to benefit two corporations for whom $1.8 million is chump change.  Don’t be surprised, if this happens, that NCTCOG will be extremely reluctant to work with the city in the future as well as it has (and we wouldn’t be surprised, if we wind up cutting HDR loose after stringing them along, that Fort Worth’s reputation with transit planners and the Feds will be quite negatively impacted as well).

It bears repeating:  don’t say “no” before we know.  Whatever your stance on the streetcar project, it deserves full consideration as any other major decision does.  There are questions that need answering and this is how we answer them, and the planners and money are already here and ready to go.

We see a growing resentment toward this City Council and a growing feeling that the City Council is making a last-minute, nonsensical course reversal after the years of planning, the consultant selection, and the vote to fund the study, not to mention this same City Council’s public expressions of support for this project.  It seems like a dramatic failure of leadership, and a mess of petty political bickering.  The fact that it happens behind closed doors in Fort Worth, rather than out in the open as in Dallas, doesn’t change the fact that it is terribly unfortunate and shameful.

We love Fort Worth.  We also realize that it is not perfect, and that we are desperately behind in terms of transit.  We know that people within City Hall know this to be true as well.  If we drop the ball on this before even getting all the facts, it will be a black mark on our legacy.

We encourage all our readers to contact the City Council and express your concern and frustration with the delays and petty politics, and express your support for getting the study done with HDR.  Here are their contact numbers and e-mail addresses:

Mayor – Mike Moncrief – 817-392-6118 – mike.moncrief@fortworthgov.org
Mayor Pro Tem – District 4 – Danny Scarth – 817-392-6187 – District4@fortworthgov.org
District 2 – Sal Espino –  817-392-8802 – District2@fortworthgov.org
District 3 – Zim Zimmerman – 817-392-8803 - District3@fortworthgov.org
District 5 – Frank Moss – 817-392-8805 – District5@fortworthgov.org
District 6 – Jungus Jordan – 817-392-8806 – District6@fortworthgov.org
District 7 – Carter Burdette – 817-392-8807 – District7@fortworthgov.org
District 8 – Kathleen Hicks – 817-392-8808 – District8@fortworthgov.org
District 9 – Joel Burns – 817-392-8809 – District9@fortworthgov.org

In addition, we are encouraging as many of our readers as possible to attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 6th, at 7:00 PM, to show your support for the streetcar project.  We are working with some of our associates to have T-shirts available at the meeting, as was done with the Bike Fort Worth plan.  We’ll have more information this week, but for now, we hope you will try to be at the council meeting on the 6th to help support the project – and that you’ll tell your friends to help as well.  We know the streetcar support is out there (in fact, we have numbers – more on that later), and now it’s time to tell your city representatives that we don’t want any more delays, or petty politics.

We are the new Fort Worth.  We have the chance to move this city boldly into the future, just as our forefathers did when they brought the railroad to Fort Worth, just as Amon Carter did decades ago, and just as countless other great Fort Worthians have done since the days when this city was just an Army outpost on a bluff at the convergence of the West and Clear forks of the Trinity River.  Make your voice heard.

EDIT:  Had to add these comments from our friend at Walkable Dallas-Fort Worth:

Two key components. This is about real choice (which I harp on constantly) and economic development. Streetcars are what unlocked and created the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to downtowns, and crazy as it sounds, they are what will revitalize those same areas which have been decimated by speculation, zoning, and car-oriented policies and design.

EDIT:  Here’s a link to a Fort Worth Weekly story by Dan McGraw about why we missed out on the TIGER grant. Of particular note is that our “downtown circulator” submission didn’t win because it didn’t go anywhere.  Dallas was going to get laughed out of the US DOT offices as well with their original downtown-only plan.  It was the better downtown-to-Oak Cliff plan that got them the money.  That’s why we need to be focusing on a downtown-to-Near Southside or downtown-to-Cultural District starter plan.

EDIT:  Here’s a letter of support from Fran McCarthy, chair of the Central City Redevelopment Committee.

Mar 10, 2010 7

Google adds new Bike Route beta to Google Maps

By: Kevin Buchanan

Google has taken the wraps off a new beta feature on Google Maps:  bike route support.  The feature was turned on as the National Bike Summit in Washington, D. C. got underway this week.  Google has added the bike route system to the maps of 150 cities thus far, and Fort Worth is one of them.

In Google Maps, you can use the “More” button at the upper right of the map to turn on the new “Bicycling” layer.  As seen in the screenshot above, this adds green routes for bike route streets, such as these in the Near Southside.

Off-street trails are also highlighted in green.

You can also get bicycling directions.  Here, we gave it a simple test – in the Near Southside, from Magnolia & Henderson to Pennsylvania & Jennings.  Google Maps correctly used the bike lanes on Magnolia and the sharrow route on Jennings to take us there – Jennings is the main north-south bike route for the Near Southside between Magnolia and Downtown.

As long as there’s a bike route connection between your start and end, Google Maps seems to work pretty well.  Where it starts to fall apart is when there’s gaps in the bike route system – and we certainly have plenty of those in Fort Worth.  If there’s not a direct bike route connection, Google Maps starts to get a little weird.  Here, it told us to go straight down Henderson from Magnolia to get to Sundance Square – not the route we’d recommend or ride ourselves.  Henderson is not a bike-friendly street.  We’d take Magnolia down to Jennings into Downtown, meet up with Throckmorton next to the Omni Hotel, then take the bus lane on Throckmorton to 3rd.  Oddly, though Jennings is marked as a bike route all the way to Downtown, Google ignores it in this case.  Google warns that these directions are in beta, and provides a link in the yellow box on the left to submit your own suggestions or corrections.

Here’s the route Google gives for Magnolia & Henderson to 7th & Currie.  Not sure we’d recommend riding on the Summit Avenue freeway overpass for most riders.

Using one of Google’s suggested alternate routes, another problem with the current beta system becomes apparent:  not only does it not yet know what streets are good for bikes and what streets are bad (see how it recommends riding down not only University but also the Rosedale freeway-style overpass over the river), it also doesn’t seem to recognize all the access points for the Trinity Trails.

To test that last point, we tried a custom route by dragging & dropping the blue line.  We attempted to join the Trinity Trails near the Fort Worth Zoo/Rogers Road area to ride up towards the West 7th development via the trails into the park, but Google instead appeared to route us up University, into Trinity Park, onto the trails, then all the way out the opposite direction to Hulen before bringing us back down the trails into Trinity Park.

Clearly, Google’s not kidding about the “beta” part.  Of course, some of the bugginess of the current setup in Fort Worth is probably also due to our disjointed bike route plan.  In the future, as the Bike Fort Worth plan is implemented, Fort Worth will start to look a lot more like how the cities with more comprehensive bike transportation systems look in the new bike map feature, like Portland and Austin:

Beyond our own incomplete bike route network, the new Google Maps feature needs to start learning which streets are good and bad for bikes.  Undoubtedly, feedback from users will be key to making that work – so Fort Worth bicycle users, start reporting to Google when they get things wrong.  It might not be a bad idea for Google to implement some kind of street grading system to gauge a street’s bike friendliness based on a rider preference – something like an “Easy, Medium, Difficult” scale.  And of course, to create streets that are friendly to bikes in general, it’s important for cities to implement Complete Streets policies.

It’s still a big step forward to have Google implementing bike routing into Google Maps, so we’re excited about the possibilities as this feature matures.  Use it and see how it works for you.

Feb 25, 2010 14

Mayor Moncrief’s State of the City Address: Car-Centric Planning a Mistake

By: Kevin Buchanan

Edit:  Added the full transcript of the Mayor’s discussion related to this topic.

Mayor Moncrief has given his State of the City address, and one of the items he discussed was the city’s transportation and planning.  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 – topics certainly familiar to Fort Worthology readers:

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!

North Texas requires a transportation overhaul. No more band-aides, no more patches—a complete overhaul!

Regrettably, it’s becoming more and more obvious that we cannot depend on the state or federal government to help us in the near term. In fact, there is no guarantee of any new money to build any new roads in Texas after 2012.

Frankly, I’m tired of talking about this. This afternoon, workers at BNSF…employees at Lockheed Martin or Bell Textron…even many of you in this room will leave work and then sit…and sit…and sit in traffic. It’s a frustrating daily routine that carries a great cost once you consider the impacts to our quality of life, our environment, our air, and our ability to attract and keep new business investment.

If this is a mobility crisis—and I believe it is—then it must be treated like one!

In the spirit of the early Fort Worth pioneers who took it upon themselves to pick up shovels and extend the first rail line to our city, it’s time that we took matters in our own hands. It is clear to me that we are not going to get where we need to be by relying only on help from the feds or the state.

We are going to have to pull ourselves out of the ditch!

In the coming weeks, I will appoint an 11-member Blue Ribbon Task Force. I will charge this body with returning specific recommendations to the full City Council on how we fix or relieve pressure on Fort Worth’s aging transportation infrastructure.

Feb 24, 2010 1

Photos from the Fort Worth South Banquet

By: Kevin Buchanan

Last night, at the beautiful Masonic Temple, Fort Worth South, Inc. held its latest annual banquet celebrating the ongoing continued success of the Near Southside’s revitalization.  Fort Worth South president Paul Paine gave a stirring presentation on the accomplishments in the Near Southside thus far, and several upcoming projects and developments.

In the photos above, you can see the overall crowd, a shot of the banquet’s them – People and Places – and a shot of Paul during the presentation.  You may notice the rendering in the background – that showcases a brand-new streetcar-oriented development planned for South Main Village at South Main and Pennsylvania – TownSite Co.‘s project at the former Motheral Printing Plant.

Among the items touched upon by Paul:

  • The Magnolia Avenue refreshing was just the beginning, as streetscape improvements are coming to South Main, Hemphill, and Evans, and more are being planned for streets like Jennings, Pennsylvania, and Vickery.
  • The Near Southside will be home to a fully-integrated bicycle transportation network.  The Magnolia bike lanes are the first example, and there are plans for bike lanes on Jennings, Pennsylvania, Vickery, and more.
  • Even in a down economy, the Near Southside is doing incredibly well – employment is up, rents are strong for both office and retail, residential work is steady, and restaurant sales are up 117% from last year.  He also mentioned the impending arrival of the Near Southside’s second bike shop, Trinity Bicycles in South Main Village.
  • Crime continues its steady downward spiral, with Fort Worth South working with the Fort Worth Police to strongly reduce crime.  Bicycle patrols are reappearing in the Near Southside, and the police are moving from their current home at Magnolia & College into a larger building at Magnolia & Hemphill currently being renovated (more to come on that project).
  • In two to three weeks, the Magnolia streetscape project finishes up with the activation of LED net lighting in all the trees along Magnolia from 8th Avenue to Hemphill.
  • Paul stressed the need for more construction of quality rental apartments, as there are just over 740 units in the Near Southside and the district is over 95% on occupancy.  Considering the Near Southside’s more affordable nature compared to Downtown, there is a strong need for more quality rental units.
  • He touched upon several upcoming projects, including the Oleander West development, the Motheral development, a nearly 300-unit apartment development planned near the Schaumburg Lofts not far from South Main Village, and more.
  • Edit:  Paul also mentioned specifically that they are trying to attract a real urban grocery store to the Near Southside, using Fort Worthology’s photos of Austin’s Royal Blue Grocery as an example.

Catering was provided by Chadra Mezza & Grill, and was delicious – as was the beer provided by Rahr Brewery.  The banquet points to the incredible success in revitalizing the Near Southside and the excitement of its upcoming projects.

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Browse the Fort Worthology Linklog - interesting and cool urbanism, transit, and bicycle links that aren't necessarily Fort Worth-centric.

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