Fort Worth City Council heard recommendations last Wednesday on transportation improvement projects around the stockyard district that could cost millions of taxpayer dollars.
At the council’s last meeting on October 10, Jeff Whitacre, vice president at Kimley-Horn, presented findings from a transportation study conducted by the firm between November 2022 and August 2023.
The study detailed a total of 22 projects meant to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in the stockyard area, including retrofitting North Main Street and West Exchange Avenue, connecting the Stockyards to I-35W, and making Exchange Avenue a one-way street. The study also took up parking issues, the restriping of roadways, the addition of a trolley or bus for the historic area, and the installation of light signals at some intersections.
Some pedestrian-friendly recommendations included adding safety barriers at Marine Creek Trail, widening sidewalks, and improving the crossing at 23rd Street.
Whitacre said that tourism in the area has risen to new levels in recent years, increasing from 3 million visitors to 8 million, creating a need for more efficient and safe traffic flow.
“The Stockyards have seen tremendous growth in the last few years since 2017. There’s 5 million more visitors in the Stockyards,” said Whitacre, according to the Fort Worth Report.
The total cost of the recommended projects totals more than $31 million.
Council members did not take any action on the recommendations on Wednesday, but the study will be considered again at a future council meeting.
The City of Fort Worth has adopted a number of improvements around the city this year. In September, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker revealed new public safety and crime prevention initiatives in the city’s entertainment areas, including the stockyards, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
City officials opted to make these new improvements in response to the deadly shooting of a TCU student in the entertainment district earlier in the month.
Still, despite the tragedy, Fort Worth’s downtown area logs considerably less crime than that of Dallas, with the former being reportedly patrolled by a dedicated police unit working in conjunction with private security officers.
