Denton Voters Approve Trail Funding, Mingo Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities
November 8, 2023
Trail along Lakeview Boulevard in Denton.
Denton voters approved bond funding on Tuesday for trail development and projects on Mingo Road and Ruddell Street that would add bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Nearly 65 percent of voters approved Proposition C, Parks System, which includes $15 million for trail development. Nearly 70 percent of voters approved Proposition A, Streets, which will add bicycle and pedestrian facilities on Mingo Road from Bell Avenue to University Drive and on Ruddell Street from Mingo Road to University Drive.
City staff will use the 2022 Denton Parks, Recreation and Trails Master Plan to determine which trails to focus on first.
Denton Parks and Recreation staff recently won nearly $11 million in funding through the Texas Department of Transportation to construct select phases of the Pecan Creek Trail in central Denton. Staff said they intend to pursue more external funding for additional trail projects. Many external funding opportunities will cover 80 percent of total project cost if a city demonstrates they already have the funding to cover 20 percent of the total project cost.
During a summer presentation to the Special Citizen Bond Advisory Committee, staff indicated that bond funding could help construct parts of the Hickory Creek Trail in south Denton and an extension of Cooper Creek Trail in the north Denton.
Denton’s planned creek/drainage corridor trails, including Cooper Creek Trail (4), Pecan Creek Trail (11) and Hickory Creek Trail (8). (Source: Denton Parks, Recreation, and Trails System Master Plan, p. 133)
Denton’s bond programs are typically spent over the course of six years. Trail projects and the Mingo Road and Ruddell Street projects could begin any time between now and six years from now. With bond funding approved, staff will begin the necessary work to move each project forward.
