New Denton High School to Open without Safe Bicycle or Pedestrian Access
Bicycle and pedestrian access to the new Denton High School on Bonnie Brae will not be ready in time for the school’s opening this fall, increasing automobile dependence for both students and staff.
Denton is in the midst of a $117+ million multi-phase, multi-year project to widen about six miles of Bonnie Brae from Vintage Boulevard to US 77. Plans include a 10-foot sidepath on the east side of Bonnie Brae for bicycle and pedestrian use and a sidewalk on the west side.
Screenshot from to 2022 Bike Plan. Green = sidepath; brown = trail; blue = unprotected on-road bicycle facility; purple = protected on-road bicycle facility.
Existing ten-foot sidepath along Bonnie Brae at McKenna Park.
Three of six project phases are complete, according to the Discuss Denton website, including the roundabout at Scripture Street, Bonnie Brae from Vintage Boulevard to Roselawn and Vintage Boulevard from I-35W to US 377.
Phases and timelines for Bonnie Brae widening project on Discuss Denton.
Phase 6, between US 380 and US 77, is currently under design and likely to begin construction by the end of this year. Barring bad weather or other setbacks, staff anticipate a completion date of sometime in 2024.
Blue line indicates Phase 6 of the Bonnie Brae widening project.
The few Denton High School students who live near the new campus to the south will not have bicycle or pedestrian accommodations along Westgate Drive until sometime after 2024. City staff are redesigning Westgate between Windsor Drive and Bronco Way, which will include an eight-foot sidewalk on the east side. Construction on this project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.
Westgate Drive provides access to the west side of campus.
Neighbors along Westgate Drive requested a temporary walking path for students heading to school, but it is not feasible, according to city staff, due to an existing drainage culvert.
Westgate Drive facing north towards the new Denton High School.
As many school districts have in recent years, Denton ISD opted to move Denton High School from a populated, increasingly more walkable and bikeable neighborhood to a sparse, car-dependent area surrounded by dangerous high-speed roads where crashes are more likely to be severe or fatal.
Denton High School was moved from a populous neighborhood to a sparsely developed area lacking in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
According to Safe Routes to School, parents surveyed by the CDC in 2005 identified distance to school and traffic-related dangers as the top two barriers preventing their children from walking or biking to school. In 1969, 48 percent of children walked or biked to school compared to 13 percent in 2009. As a result, only a quarter of youth aged 12-15 years get the 60 minutes of physical activity recommended by the CDC.
Further Reading:
The decline of walking and bicycling (Safe Routes to School)
Health risks (Safe Route to School)
Denton ISD’s decision to move Denton High School from a relatively dense neighborhood to a field far away from most housing cannot be undone any time soon. However, Denton ISD and the City of Denton can do their best to provide safe multi-modal access to the campus for students who cannot drive or don’t have access to a car or a ride.
In addition to the ten-foot sidepath on Bonnie Brae and the eight-foot sidewalk on Westgate, school and city leaders will be responsible for providing safe passage past wide, high-speed roads like Bonnie Brae and University Drive, both of which are currently designed to prioritize dangerous automobiles speeds above safety of road users.
Bonnie Brae at University / 380 where at least two drivers were seriously injured in 2021.
Full Text from the July 22, 2022 Denton Friday Staff Memo
On July 17, Council Member McGee reached out to staff on behalf of a resident, requesting a temporary path for students needing to access the new Denton High School on Bronco Way. There are 2 Capital Projects in progress that will address pedestrian access issues to the new Denton High School:
Bonnie Brae Phase 6 is current at 95% design completion and is set to be under construction by the end of this year. This project includes the construction of a 6-foot/8-foot sidewalk along the west side of Bonnie Brae Street between US-380 and US-77 along with a 10-foot-wide shared use path to be constructed on the east side of Bonnie Brae Street.
The Westgate Roadway Improvement Project has recently started preliminary design. The Westgate project will include an 8-foot shared use path on the east side of Westgate Drive between Windsor Drive and Bronco Way. Design is expected to continue through Q3 of 2023 and construction is expected to begin in Q1 of 2024, depending on the design and Right of Way (ROW) acquisition process.
Adding a temporary walking path along Westgate Drive is not included in the scope or budget of either project and could potentially interfere with the ROW acquisition required for the Westgate Roadway Improvement Project. A temporary walking path is not feasible due to the existing drainage culvert on Westgate Road which will be permanently addressed when the roadway is reconstructed as part of the overall Westgate Roadway Improvement Project. A temporary walking path does not appear to be a viable options at this time.
