Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects near Downtown Denton
October 25, 2021
Construction sign blocks sidewalk on Bell Avenue near Oak Street.
City of Denton staff hosted a virtual public meeting last week to provide updates on projects in the downtown area. Projects include:
W Hickory Street between Welch Street and Carroll Boulevard.
Sycamore sidepath between the UNT campus and the Downtown Denton Transit Center.
All-way crossings on the four intersections on Denton’s square.
New sidewalk along Bell Avenue between E Hickory Street and Sycamore Street.
New or improved pedestrian crossings of the railroad at McKinney, Hickory, and Sycamore.
W Hickory between Welch and Carroll
This project is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2021. The final design will include a protected bike lane on the south side of the roadway. This is an upgrade over the previous unprotected bike lane that was often blocked by cars.
Sidewalks have been widened and have more wheelchair-friendly driveway crossings than the previous design, which were uneven and featured challenging drop-offs and climbs.
Old ADA unfriendly sidewalk.
New ADA friendly sidewalk.
Sycamore Bicycle and Pedestrian Path
A 10 ft sidepath will be added along Sycamore from Welch to DDTC. Separated bicycle infrastructure will be added on Welch from Eagle to Hickory.
A key connector between UNT and the Downtown Denton Transit Center is planned along Sycamore Street. The 10-foot sidepath will stretch from Welch Street to the transit center. A new traffic signal with bicycle detection will be added at the intersection of Carroll Boulevard and Sycamore Street.
Continuous bicycle connection on Welch between Hickory and Eagle is also planned as part of this project.
This project is still being designed. Construction start date is unknown, but the construction is expected to be complete in Quarter 4 of 2023.
All-Way Crossings on the Square
Concept design of permanent all-way crossings downtown.
In 2019, the City implemented a pilot to assess the feasibility of an all-way crossing or “pedestrian scramble” at each of the four intersections of the Denton Square. The all-way crossing allows pedestrians to cross in any direction, including diagonal, during a dedicated pedestrian phase.
The Denton City Council later voted to keep the all-way crossing permanent.
To ensure ADA accessibility of the all-way crossing, and to clarify that diagonal crossing is permitted, the intersections must be redesigned. Staff anticipate that this project will be completed in Quarter 3 of 2022.
Improving Sidewalk Connectivity on Bell
Sidewalk to be added on east side of Bell from Hickory to Sycamore.
There is currently no sidewalk on the east side of Bell Avenue between E Hickory Street and Sycamore Street. There is also a significant drop-off if traveling from E Hickory to Boca 31. The City intends to resolve both of these issues through this project.
The project is anticipated to be completed in Quarter 1 of 2022.
Sidewalk will be added and drop-off resolved on east side of Bell Avenue between Hickory and Sycamore streets.
Pedestrian Crossings of the Railroad
Quiet Zones project includes rail crossings at McKinney, Hickory, Sycamore, and Prairie.
The City has been working to create “quiet zones” in the core of the city to reduce the number of train horns soundings in the city throughout the day. As part of this project, the city hopes to add or improve pedestrian crossings across the railroad at McKinney, Hickory, and Sycamore.
Construction on these projects is expected to begin in Quarter 3 of 2022.
Learn More
A full recording of the public meeting is available online: https://dentontx.new.swagit.com/videos/141780
Use Discuss Denton to follow updates are major construction projects, including W Hickory, All-Way Crossings, sidewalk projects, and more.
