What to watch for in 2021
Protected bike lane on W Hickory St.
Well, 2020 wasn’t exactly the year any of us expected. Many people lost jobs, businesses closed, and some folks struggled to stay housed and fed. Others lost their lives.
There was a boom in people purchasing bicycles, going cycling, and enjoying their local outdoor spaces. The pandemic slowed many construction projects in the city as we all tried to figure out how to proceed safely. The Denton City Council elections dragged on for months, and significant council time was spent discussing COVID topics. All of this delayed some of the plans and policies the city council needed to consider.
Here’s what to watch for in 2021.
Mobility Plan Update
The Mobility Plan designates routes for motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. This is the first update to the bicycle component since it was first adopted in 2012. This Mobility Plan update also includes Denton’s first Pedestrian Plan, which prioritizes which sidewalk gaps need to be filled first.
The update process has been ongoing since 2019. The Bike Plan update primarily shows where bike routes are planned to be and whether it’s planned as on-street (bike lane) or off-street (sidepath). Unfortunately, for on-street routes, the plan does not specify what type of infrastructure is planned: sharrow, painted bike lane, buffered bike lane, or protected bike lane.
After delays in 2020, the Mobility Plan is being finalized and should come to the Denton City Council for approval in late spring of 2021.
Video: Presentation to the Planning and Zoning Commission on November 18th, 2020.
Trails Master Plan
As part of the Parks & Recreation Master Plan update, Denton’s first Trails Master Plan is being developed. According to the Director of Parks and Recreation, Gary Packan, trails are the top recreational amenity requested by Denton residents.
The Trails Master Plan has been developed alongside the Mobility Plan update, and staff from Traffic Engineering and Parks & Recreation have made efforts to coordinate the two efforts, since trails can serve a larger network of sidewalks and bike routes.
It is expected that the Parks Master Plan and Trails Master Plan will be completed sometime in 2021 and voted on by the Denton City Council. No date is set, so stay tuned.
Video: Presentation to Denton City Council on November 10th, 2020.
City Comprehensive Plan
More than a year ago, the Denton City Council agreed that we need to update the Denton Comprehensive Plan. This is the overarching plan for the city. The plan, Denton 2030, was last updated in 2015 and included goals such as walkability, bikeability, compact growth, and environmental preservation.
If you want the ability to travel around Denton without needing a car, your involvement in the update for this plan is essential. The decisions Denton makes about land use and zoning, such as how we will grow and what type of growth we’ll allow, directly determine whether you can meet your daily needs without a car. Simply adding sidewalks and bike lanes does not make a city “walkable” or “bikeable” if grocery stores, schools, and other destinations are miles from your home.
A date has not been set for when the update process will begin. Stay tuned.
Video: 4 ways to make your city more walkable (YouTube)
Planned Bike Infrastructure
Upcoming
These projects have received expected dates of installation in 2021.
W Hickory Street - The segment between Welch and Carroll Blvd is currently under construction. Anticipated completion is summer 2021. The bike lane is expected to get upgraded, including a buffer and white bollards, which is consistent with the rest of the bike lane on W Hickory west of this segment.
Segment of W Hickory currently under construction.
Hercules Ln - The new extension of Hercules and some repaved segments are expected to have bike lanes striped in the first quarter of 2021. The city has not shared designs, so we are not sure whether these will be simple painted bike lanes or protected bike lanes. Our hope is protected bike lanes, since residents along Hercules have complained of frequent speeding drivers. Narrowing lanes and making it uncomfortable to speed creates a natural slowing effect for most drivers.
City staff update from November, 2020.
Mountain bike trail - Denton is building its first official mountain bike trail. The trail will be located off of Hartlee Field Road near Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center. Volunteers have been marking where the trail will go. In early 2021, additional volunteers will be needed to clear the marked trails. This project will rely heavily on citizen volunteers, so if you’d like to see this trail completed quickly, volunteer to help! Go to the city’s volunteer webpage and select “Parks and Recreation Mountain Bike Trail Workdays” on the form at the bottom of the page. You will receive notifications when workdays are scheduled.
Map of planned mountain bike trails. Purple route is being built first.
Status Unknown
These projects were slated to have happened by now, but they have been missing from public conversation for a year or more.
Sycamore Sidepath - A grant-funded project to build a sidepath along Sycamore from Welch to the DCTA Downtown Denton Transit Center has stalled. Projects that stall for too long are at risk of losing funding and not being built.
Planned route for Sycamore sidepath, 2018.
Oakland/Parkway - Remember when the traffic lights on Locust and Elm at Parkway were removed? That project was supposed to include the addition of bike lanes on Parkway from Carroll Blvd to Oakland at Withers. Based on committee meetings, the bike lanes should have been installed by September 2019, but it still hasn’t happened. It’s unclear what happened with this project.
Planned bike lanes along Parkway at Carroll to Oakland at Withers.
Protecting Highland St bike lane - For a period of time, there were talks about adding bollards or some other protection for the bike lanes on Highland St on the UNT campus to prevent drivers from constantly blocking the bike lanes with their cars. The talks fizzled out after what appeared to be a lack of care by UNT administration for the safety of students, faculty, and staff traveling around the campus by bicycle. As a result, drivers have continued to block the bike lanes and force people on bicycles to ride into oncoming vehicular traffic.
Drivers blocking Highland St bike lane (Instagram: @highland_st_parking_lane)
Policies
Vision Zero Action Plan - In December 2019, the Denton City Council directed city staff to create a Vision Zero Action Plan to reduce Denton’s annual traffic deaths to zero. Since 2017, Denton has averaged around 15 traffic deaths each year. The task of creating the action plan was given to Denton’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, who took a position elsewhere in the first half of 2020. Suggesting a relatively low priority for the city, the plan is sitting stagnant until the city fills the new Sr. Transportation Planner position, which is intended to be the new Bicycle, Pedestrian, and ADA Coordinator. Read Houston’s Vision Zero Action Plan.
Transportation Criteria Manual - Traffic Engineering staff intend to update the Transportation Criteria Manual, which is the guide they use when designing or redesigning Denton streets. This is where staff look to determine what type of streets should have a bike lane or sidewalk, what size it should be, whether it should be on-street or off-street bicycle infrastructure, etc. The Mobility Plan determines the routes, and the Transportation Criteria Manual determines how each piece of infrastructure will look when constructed.
Updating How Speed Limits Are Set - Currently, the City of Denton sets most speed limits according to the 85th percentile rule, which is based on how fast people want to drive, not what is safest for the conditions. As a result, many speed limits are set at speeds that are dangerous and deadly for all road users, especially for people traveling outside of a car. Speed is almost always a factor in traffic deaths and serious injuries, which is why the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended an overhaul of how speeds are set. Denton began reviewing how it sets speed limits after the release of City Limits: How to Set Safe Speed Limits on Urban Streets. It may be mid-to-late 2021 before this topic comes back up for discussion.
Looking Forward
We’re excited to see what 2021 brings. With your help and involvement, we can move Denton closer to being more safe, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of age, ability, or socioeconomic status.
