Denton Installs New Bicycle and Pedestrian Path on Parkway Street
February 26, 2023
New path for bicycle and pedestrian traffic on Parkway Street.
The City of Denton has installed a new on-street path for people walking, rolling and biking on Parkway Street from Carroll Boulevard to Congress Street. The two-way path features a buffer and vertical posts to increase comfort of path users and discourage drivers from driving or parking in the path.
The project lacks a few final details before full completion, including path edge and crossing detection for people with low vision and a curb ramp at Congress Street that connects path users into trails through Quakertown Park. In a January public meeting, staff said they anticipate that ramp construction will be completed within one to three months after initial path installation.
Slide from a virtual public meeting on January 12, 2023.
The City has discussed a road reconfiguration on Parkway Street since at least 2019, when staff said motor vehicle traffic on Parkway Street was not high enough to require four lanes or traffic lights at Elm and Locust streets. During a Denton Mobility Committee meeting in June 2019, staff said they expected the two traffic lights on Parkway would be removed and bike lanes installed by the end of 2019.
Example design for Parkway that city staff shared with the Denton Mobility Committee in June, 2019.
The City removed the two traffic lights by the end of 2019, but the bike lanes were not installed or mentioned again until Denton hired a new Bicycle, Pedestrian and ADA Coordinator, Nathan George, in 2021.
The Parkway project evolved under George to improve comfort for people using the facility and to include pedestrians in its design.
Many Denton residents–especially those with kids–say that they do not feel safe in unprotected bike lanes. George created space for a buffer and vertical posts by combining the two planned bike lanes into a single two-way facility. Parkway is not wide enough to install buffers for two separate bike lanes while also providing three lanes for automobile traffic.
The Parkway path is intended for shared use by bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The north side of Parkway has almost no sidewalk, and the sidewalk on the south side is blocked by poles that will not be moved anytime soon.
Denton’s Sidewalk Work Plan identifies existing sidewalks with solid blue lines and missing sidewalks with dashed lines of various colors.
Utility poles and street signs block the sidewalk on the south side of Parkway Street.
Creating a space for pedestrians on the north side allows for safer travel along the corridor until the city is able to install a complete sidewalk. A single sidewalk project typically takes more than five years to design, fund and construct.
This is Denton’s first time experimenting with this type of project. Adjustments are likely as staff learn what works well about the design and what needs improvement.
Have you walked, rolled or biked on the new Parkway path yet? How did it feel to you?
