Next Round of Proposed Sidewalk Projects Introduced
City staff introduced their proposed projects for the next round of TRiP funding from the Denton County Transit Authority (DCTA) during December’s Mobility Committee meeting [Watch meeting]. This is the second year of DCTA’s Transportation Reinvestment Program (TRiP), which is funded with 15% of DCTA’s available fund balance from the previous fiscal year. Denton’s anticipated allocation this round is $3 million.
Member cities of DCTA may apply to use TRiP funding on pedestrian and bicycle projects that support DCTA service. Projects must be located primarily in the DCTA service area and should be within a quarter mile of an A-Train station or DCTA fixed bus route.
During the Mobility Committee presentation, city staff indicated that projects were selected based on multiple criteria:
High “Pedestrian Potential Index” based on criteria from the draft Sidewalk Work Plan.
Adding sidewalks to existing road projects where sidewalks were not previously part of the scope.
Filling gaps between bus stops and public facilities, such as parks, government buildings, schools and libraries.
Filling gaps in areas of town with high pedestrian activity.
Staff anticipate that using TRiP funding will expedite construction of the sidewalk projects compared to using funding from other sources. They also hope that funding these projects through TRiP will free up 2019 sidewalk bond funding for design and construction of sidewalk projects elsewhere in the city.
Proposed Sidewalk Projects
Staff presented these projects as candidates for TRiP funding during the December Mobility Committee meeting.
Mayhill Road Extension (Phase 2)
Phase 2 of the Mayhill Road extension is set to begin Summer 2022. This phase includes construction of a grade separated bridge over the train tracks. There is currently a gap between the DCTA Rail Trail and the Mayhill sidepath. This project will link the two together.
Project Schedule: Design complete; Summer 2022 - Summer 2024 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Looking north on Mayhill at Edwards Road at the gap between the DCTA Rail Trail and the Mayhill sidepath.
Southeast Denton Street Bundles
Denton’s 2019 bond funds the reconstruction of multiple streets in Southeast Denton. Reconstruction projects do not typically include funding for sidewalks. The projects proposed for TRiP funding add sidewalk improvements to existing road reconstruction projects. Project types include: new sidewalk, repaired sidewalk, addition of ADA ramps or construction of ramps for future sidewalks that are not yet ready for construction.
Streets with sidewalk improvement include portions of:
Mill Street
Robertson Street
Sycamore Street
Prairie Street
Bradshaw Street
Mulberry Street
Industrial Street
Wainwright Street
Highland Street
Projects Schedule: Spring 2022 - Summer 2023 (Construction)
Southeast Denton Streets Bundle A - Staff presentation at the Mobility Committee meeting on 12/15/2021.
Southeast Denton Streets Bundle B - Staff presentation at the Mobility Committee meeting on 12/15/2021.
Roberts Street near the DCTA Rail Trail.
Mill Street near Cross Timbers Street.
Railroad Quiet Zone Pedestrian Improvements
The Quiet Zone project along the railroad did not originally include any pedestrian enhancements. This proposal would use TRiP funding to add enhanced pedestrian crossings of the railroad at McKinney Street, E Hickory Streets and Sycamore.
Project Schedule: Summer 2022 (Design); Fall 2022 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
McKinney & Austin Street
There continue to be sidewalk gaps along streets in or leading to downtown. This project would fill gaps on portions of McKinney Street and Austin Street.
Project Schedule: Design complete; Fall 2022 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Carroll & Locust
Sidewalks are missing on portions of Carroll Boulevard and Locust Street. This proposal aims to enhance pedestrian connectivity in the downtown area by filling some of these gaps.
Project Schedule: Design complete; Fall 2022 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Carroll Boulevard at Oak Street.
N Locust Street between McKinney and Parkway.
Loop 288
The City recently purchased a facility along Loop 288 for persons experiencing homelessness. However, the pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the area is lacking. In particular, there are no continuous sidewalks along Loop 288 between the new city facility and Our Daily Bread.
This project aims to fill gaps in sidewalks between the new facility and Our Daily Bread.
Project Schedule: Fall 2023 (Design); Spring 2025 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
There is currently a sidewalk in front of the city facility on Loop 288, but it ends just south of the building.
Downtown
Sidewalks gaps will be filled in the downtown area on Industrial, Mulberry, Piner and Russell Streets. These would improve pedestrian access between DCTA’s Route 7 bus and the downtown area.
Project Schedule: Design is complete; Summer 2023 - Fall 2023 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Parvin Street
While there is currently no bus service in the Denia neighborhood, staff indicated that there is notable GoZone activity in the area. Staff are hopeful that the construction of a sidewalk on the south side of Parvin Street along the north side of Denia Park would improve pedestrian access between GoZone service, Denia Park, Borman Elementary School and planned sidewalk on Bernard Street.
Project Schedule: Fall 2023 (Design); Spring 2025 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
The north side of Denia Park currently lacks a sidewalk.
Carroll Blvd
Project would improve north-south pedestrian travel on the west side of Carroll between Parkway Street and Oak Street. Traveling on the east side, where sidewalks already exist, is challenging due to lack of a traffic signal at McKinney Street, where there is significant turning traffic and little yielding for pedestrians. A sidewalk on the west side would allow safer travel between the traffic signals on Oak and Parkway.
Project Schedule: Summer 2021 (Design); Winter 2024 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Sidewalk currently ends on west side of Carroll Blvd at Parkway.
Windsor Drive
Project would fill sidewalk gaps along Windsor between Bell Avenue and Stuart Road. This would improve pedestrian access to DCTA’s Route 6 bus, Strickland Middle School, North Branch Library, and Evers Park.
Project Schedule: Fall 2023 (Design); Spring 2025 (Construction)
Image from staff presentation to Mobility Committee on 12/15/2021.
Gap in the sidewalk on the north side of Windsor near Stuart.
Next Steps
Staff will next present these proposals to the full City Council for consideration. The date is not yet publicly available.
Staff will submit the projects approved by City Council to DCTA for consideration for TRiP funding.
