Should Part of Bell Avenue Be Bicycle and Pedestrian Only?
August 3, 2022
Concept design of proposed car-free zone on Bell Avenue between Administration Dr and Chapel Dr.
The Denton City Council will reconsider a request by Texas Woman’s University to create a one-block, car-free bicycle and pedestrian zone on Bell Avenue between Chapel Drive and Administration Drive. The proposal would maintain emergency vehicle access through the corridor.
Concept design of project. One half of the road would be two-way bicycle traffic. The other half of the road would be for emergency vehicles only.
The City Council previously discussed and rejected the proposal in September 2021, citing concerns of how it might impact people traveling in automobiles.
Read: City Council Rejects Proposed Auto-Free Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor on Bell Avenue (09/29/2021)
During Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council received a presentation from Dr. Carine Feyten, Chancellor and President of Texas Woman’s University.
Feyten emphasized that the university is growing, both in enrollment and number of buildings as the campus expands to the east into TWU’s former golf course.
TWU’s campus master plan includes expansion on the east side of Bell Avenue.
The expansion is expected to increase the amount of foot traffic crossing Bell Avenue within the campus and create increased risk for collisions due to additional conflicts between people in automobiles driving through the campus and people outside of automobiles trying to cross the street.
Feyten cited the 2015 death of a student who was attempting to cross Bell at Withers on foot when she was hit and killed by a motorist. Feyten emphasized that this occurred prior to any of the current eastward campus expansion.
Read and Watch: TWU Student Struck by Car and Killed (NBC DFW, 01/16/2016)
“My most important job is to keep students safe,” said Feyten. “So I am here today to ask you to reconsider your decision to make the 550 feet between Chapel and Administration Drive pedestrian and bicycle only with access for emergency vehicles.”
As in September, council members expressed concern about the impact the proposal would have on people traveling by automobile. Council members Brian Beck and Jesse Davis questioned whether there is an alternative plan that features traffic calming measures rather than closing the block to people in automobiles. Council member Vicki Byrd also asked about alternative plans.
“Bell is a fairly substantial arterial through our town,” said Beck. “I’m concerned about eliminating, rather than managing, an arterial.”
Feyten emphasized that two traffic studies performed by the city indicated the one-block car-free zone on Bell Avenue would add one minute of travel time to motorists and have no major impact on surrounding roads until 2045. “We would have time to address that,” Feyten said of the impacts to surrounding roads, “but we have a problem right now with students going back and forth. I would hate for us to wait for another major accident to say we need to do something.”
Davis expressed concern about how the project would interrupt the street grid and connectivity for people in automobiles, noting that disconnected, branch-shaped street patterns was one of the biggest urban planning mistakes in the past century. “I don’t think it shows foresight to cut off roads that connect major parts of our city,” said Davis.
Read: Why Street Grids Have More Capacity (Congress for the New Urbanism, 07/21/2018)
Echoing skepticism from council members Beck and McGee regarding the one-minute delay found in the traffic study, Davis emphasized that, “If it’s a minute, that’s still the citizens’ minute that their tax dollars already paid for.”
Feyten acknowledged that decision makers must weigh pros and cons and choose their priorities. “My priority,” said Feyten, “is the safety of the students.”
Three council members expressed hesitancy around the proposal but shared openness to it.
Council Member Alison Maguire shared that her hesitancy around the proposal previously was how it would impact the street grid but that much of her preference for gridded street networks is that it improves access for people using active transportation. “We wouldn’t be removing this part of the grid for everyone,” said Maguire, “We would be removing it for motorists.”
“I’m willing to reconsider this,” Maguire concluded, “but if we’re going to have a work session on this, we need more specificity.”
Council Member Brandon Chase McGee shared skepticism that the project would create only one minute of delay but said he would be an easy yes vote if he hears that residents north of University Drive support the car-free bicycle and pedestrian corridor.
Council Member Vicki Byrd expressed interest in hearing an alternative plan, such as installing barriers to physically limit where students can cross the street.
Feyten noted previous attempts in TWU’s history of trying to designate crossings but that people tend to take whatever path is most convenient regardless of whether it’s a designated crossing.
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth and Council Member Chris Watts expressed full support for the project. Hudspeth was the most vocal supporter of the project when it came before the city council in 2021. Watts was not on the city council at that time.
“I think we’re being short-sighted by not carefully considering this,” said Watts. “We’re going to be coming to the university to ask for things that are important to this city and the mobility of this city in a much greater way than just closing a 500-foot strip on Bell Avenue,” Watts said in reference to future road expansions on Mingo Road and Ruddell Street, which border TWU property.
Watts also noted that Council often discusses pedestrian safety and walkability but is expressing hesitancy to “shut down a 500-foot strip because it’s going to take a minute longer for [motorists] to get where they’re going.”
Hudspeth echoed Watts’ comments, noting that the City Council asked for safety to be listed as the top goal in the recent mobility plan update.
“There’s a history of someone leaving this university and getting struck by a car,” said Hudspeth. “We hear a lot about pedestrian safety, and it’s important that the optics line up with that,” Hudspeth concluded.
Though the next discussion about Bell Avenue has not been scheduled, residents can contact council members now to share their thoughts on this project and how it would impact their experience traveling along Bell Avenue on foot, by bicycle or other small mobility device.
City Council emails are located on the Denton City Council webpage. Residents may contact council members individually or scroll to the bottom of the page to contact all council members with a single form.
Videos: Bell Avenue Presentation Discussion
Video of Presentation - Dr. Carine Feyten, President and Chancellor of Texas Woman’s University
Video of Discussion - City Council and Dr. Feyten
