253 replies to this topic

[Doohickie]

Yeah, that would be my guess.

[Doohickie]

 

I don't think there will be a way to get to the RR parking lot from the new bridge. There is no way to cross the original oxbow portion of the river without having to cross the other RR bridge and I don't see any plans for them to do so because it would require another bridge constructed parallel to the smaller oxbow bridge. I was hoping that would have been in the plans but I walked around there last week and there is no way to circumvent the oxbow heading south to Forest Park without going onto private property.

Maybe not right away, but it's in the plan.

 

By the way, if you haven't looked at the plan in a while, it's kind of interesting to see the "pipe dreams" that were proposed in 2009 and how many of them have been implemented.  Just looking through the linked pdf last night, There's the Tilley Bridge, the Waterside link, Airfield Falls (finally!), the Rogers Road pavilion (aka the Woodshed), the Clearfork Bridge and a few others I think that have been built out.  That's quite an investment in the last 8 years.  So before complaining that the "east bank is still dysfunctional," consider the state of the trail system a decade ago.  We've come along way, baby.

[rriojas71]

I don't think there will be a way to get to the RR parking lot from the new bridge. There is no way to cross the original oxbow portion of the river without having to cross the other RR bridge and I don't see any plans for them to do so because it would require another bridge constructed parallel to the smaller oxbow bridge. I was hoping that would have been in the plans but I walked around there last week and there is no way to circumvent the oxbow heading south to Forest Park without going onto private property.

Maybe not right away, but it's in the plan.
 

Well that's awesome to know. They will have to build another side by side bridge for the shorter train beidge, but I am happy to know it's in the plans.

I wish they would incorporate tje oxbow more

[Doohickie]

Well remember this is just the plan.  The plan for Rogers Road was a public pavilion which evolved into the Woodshed.  You never know how they'll implement it in the end.

[johnfwd]

Somewhat related to Trails expansion, or maybe under the heading "environmental maintenance."  When I ride my bike to the office its usually early in the morning and, occasionally in the past, I've shared the Trails with a skunk, armadillo, or jack rabbit.  Any of the three species coming up suddenly in front of me certainly adds adrenalin to my system.   But, obviously, the skunk is something to avoid at all costs.  I know that I, like most bike riders and pedestrians, are lovers of nature.  But I wish something could be done about the skunk population.

[JBB]

Getting sprayed by a skunk is no joke. We had a dog get sprayed in our backyard several years ago. It was a nightmare getting the smell off of her and out of the house.

[Doohickie]

I hit an armadillo a few weeks ago.  I ended up going down, but didn't sustain any injuries.  The armadillo seemed to be fine too.  Just one of those things, and I was lucky that time.

[John T Roberts]

Arlington's River Legacy Trails are being expanded eastward to Grand Prairie.  Here's a link to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article.

 

https://www.star-tel...e213816814.html

[JBB]

That's great!  I love riding at River Legacy, especially on the section east of 157. 

[John T Roberts]

I like riding in River Legacy Park.  I even have done a ride a few times from my house, hitting the Trinity Trails heading east and then staying on them to the former end at Quanah Parker Park (Randol Mill & Woodhaven) and then making the connection via streets to the Village Creek Historical Area.  From there, I would ride the entire length of the Arlington trail system to its former end in River Legacy, just west of TX 360.  I would take a break at the Todd Martin Memorial Bench (former FWBA Member who passed away while on a club ride) and then I would head home.  It was a 67 mile round trip ride.  The street connection through Meadowbrook was about 6 miles and I rode almost the entire distance on low traffic roads.

[John T Roberts]

As an aside, the Star-Telegram article that I linked was Sandra Baker's last byline at the S-T.  She is leaving the paper to go to work doing communications for the Fort Worth Water Department.

[rriojas71]

Btw... whatever happened with the expansion to the East side of thr River across from Trinity Park? It seems like they have completely stopped with construction.

[Doohickie]

Btw... whatever happened with the expansion to the East side of thr River across from Trinity Park? It seems like they have completely stopped with construction.

 
You know you're right.  Hmmm.... The word was it would be complete by next Mayfest.  It could be that everything is going according to plan (maybe no work was planned for the summer), but yeah, nothing's going on right now.

 

I really like that access point to the Trinity Trails though.  It's a lot easier to climb that hill (or at least it seems so to me) than Zoo Hill, and it's a dedicated path and residential street rather than a through street like Zoo Hill is.

[rriojas71]

Btw... whatever happened with the expansion to the East side of thr River across from Trinity Park? It seems like they have completely stopped with construction.

 
You know you're right.  Hmmm.... The word was it would be complete by next Mayfest.  It could be that everything is going according to plan (maybe no work was planned for the summer), but yeah, nothing's going on right now.
 
I really like that access point to the Trinity Trails though.  It's a lot easier to climb that hill (or at least it seems so to me) than Zoo Hill, and it's a dedicated path and residential street rather than a through street like Zoo Hill is.

I do like it as well... I am not a huge bike rider but I was able to make it up that Hill on my first attempt and without getting too winded when I made it to the top.

[johnfwd]

I wish for a bicycle lane along the entire stretch of the Trinity River eastern shore from the Southwest Boulevard bridge to downtown.  But, unfortunately, the stretch is interrupted by Colonial golf course and residences abutting the river.

[Doohickie]

 

 

Btw... whatever happened with the expansion to the East side of thr River across from Trinity Park? It seems like they have completely stopped with construction.

 
You know you're right.  Hmmm.... The word was it would be complete by next Mayfest.  It could be that everything is going according to plan (maybe no work was planned for the summer), but yeah, nothing's going on right now.
 
I really like that access point to the Trinity Trails though.  It's a lot easier to climb that hill (or at least it seems so to me) than Zoo Hill, and it's a dedicated path and residential street rather than a through street like Zoo Hill is.

I do like it as well... I am not a huge bike rider but I was able to make it up that Hill on my first attempt and without getting too winded when I made it to the top.

 

I find that to be a much easier way to get up the ridge than Zoo Hill.  I think it's a little longer but not as steep.  Plus some of the motor traffic on Zoo Hill can be intimidating when you're climbing.

 

I wish for a bicycle lane along the entire stretch of the Trinity River eastern shore from the Southwest Boulevard bridge to downtown.  But, unfortunately, the stretch is interrupted by Colonial golf course and residences abutting the river.

 

It's getting there, but the Colonial will be a challenge.  Currently it goes from downtown to the Tilley Bridge.  The plan is to extend it to the Mistletoe bridge but then you have to cross to the other bank or climb the bluff and roll right back down it via Zoo Hill.  I hope they provide access to Colonial Parkway from that spot at some point.  From there though, unless a trail is cut along the river on the edge of Colonial Country Club you have to take Colonial Parkway to Mockingbird or Lynncrest to Hartwoood to trail/sidepath by the tennis courts on Overton Park West to Oak Park Lane, Oak Hill Circle and finally Stonegate Blvd. before crossing Hulen and getting back on the trail near the Clearfork Bridge.  But now you can get all the way to the Bellaire low water crossing on the south/east bank.

 

Still so many hole in the network, but if you look back ten or twelve years (there's a Trinity Trails Plan from the mid-2000s floating around) you can see how much as already been done.  I expect similar progress in the coming decade.

[johnfwd]

Riding my bike southwest from downtown this morning near Johnny's at Edwards Ranch I noticed the city has put in a black tar mound on the asphalt trail.  I guess this is a "speed bump."  I know they had signs warning pedestrians about bicycle traffic at that location.  But is a speed bump really necessary?  Pedestrians have the parallel gravel-covered trail they can use and are supposed to use (right?) The asphalt trail was supposed to be mostly for bicycle traffic, wasn't it?

 

I have no objection to putting speed bumps on the bicycle trail in parts where pedestrians have no choice but to use the asphalt trail.  Like the upraised metal strips on the trail running parallel to the Riverbend development and the other restaurants.  But if the city is going to put these speed bump mounds at various intervals all along the asphalt trail I think it defeats the purpose of having what I thought was a "bicycle highway."  I hope that's not the case.

[Doohickie]

It makes sense to slow down the highway in high traffic areas.

 

But is it really a speed bump?  Is it marked as such?  Or is it just some temporary feature?

[johnfwd]

It's a speed bump...like the ones you see on the residential streets, only its a black tar mound.  I agree about bike riders slowing down to avoid hitting pedestrians.  My point is that I thought the parallel gravel or cinder trail was supposed to be for the pedestrians and the asphalt trail for the bicyclists.  If that's so, pedestrians should use their own path and not the asphalt trail (unless there's only the asphalt trail which is the case along the new Riverbend development).

 

The bigger issue I believe is that if the city is going to build "bike highways," as we all hope it will, these thoroughfares should be for bicycles and not foot traffic.  I'm afraid the city may make it policy to put speed bumps on these bike highways.  If it does, it defeats the purpose of having a highway.  It would be similar to putting speed bumps on Interstate 30.

[Doohickie]

These "bike highways" are more like real highways (think of Route 180, Lancaster Ave.), than interstates.  Lancaster has plenty of traffic lights and slowdowns, but in the areas in between, they run at near-freeway speeds.

 

I'm not sure anyone advertises the Trinity Trails as a bike highway anyway; they are MUPs (multi-use paths).

[johnfwd]

These "bike highways" are more like real highways (think of Route 180, Lancaster Ave.), than interstates.  Lancaster has plenty of traffic lights and slowdowns, but in the areas in between, they run at near-freeway speeds.

 

I'm not sure anyone advertises the Trinity Trails as a bike highway anyway; they are MUPs (multi-use paths).

Well, yeah, they have turned out to be multi-use paths.  But, if you think about it, a "highway" or "freeway" as its often called, means that it is mostly unobstructed by stop lights or slower-speed zones.  There are exceptions as we have observed such as State Highway 280 which obviously has slow-downs and stops in the various communities the highway runs through,

 

But the Trinity Trails from downtown to the Southwest Boulevard bridge on the western side of the river is virtually free of obstructions.  Arguably, it is a bike highway.

[Doohickie]

Riding my bike southwest from downtown this morning near Johnny's at Edwards Ranch I noticed the city has put in a black tar mound on the asphalt trail.  I guess this is a "speed bump."

But is it really a speed bump?  Is it marked as such?  Or is it just some temporary feature?

 

It's not a speed bump.  They are watering the patch of grass near the river, and drawing water from the stock tank on the other side of the trail.  The asphalt is a "ramp" covering the pipe that carries the water.

[John T Roberts]

I rode that section of trail this morning, and I was going to reply with the same answer as Doohickie.

[johnfwd]

So the little mound will be removed when the watering is finished, hopefully?  Good news.

[John T Roberts]

I would think that will happen.  How long they will irrigate there, I can't say.

[Doohickie]

The odd thing is that it's a collapsible hose over the packed stone, but a rigid pipe over the paved trail.  When they're not pumping you can miss the bump by crossing on the stone part of the trail.  (When it's being pumped, though, that probably isn't a good idea.)

[johnfwd]

This did make me ponder the larger question.  That is to say, if the city were ever to build the hoped-for bicycle highways (other than the Trinity Trails), would the city ever bow to "pedestrian" public pressure about the traffic safety hazard posed by the fast bicycle riders.  Ergo, speed bumps?

 

We already know that is possible because of the upraised metal strips along the Trails at Forest Park and south along the Riverbend development area.  Of course pedestrians might want to use the expanded bike highway system, if it were to be ever developed.  And some might complain to the Council about the traffic safety hazard.

 

Personally, as a motorist, I don't like speed bumps on city streets, but that's a subject that could be discussed elsewhere.

[Doohickie]

Hoped-for?  I don't think there's anything in the bicycle plan about that.  The "bicycle highway" is the connection of the Trinity Trails between Ft Worth and Dallas.  As far as what you call a bicycle highway but is really more of a bicycle freeway, I don't think we're going to see that.

[Volare]

...

Personally, as a motorist, I don't like speed bumps on city streets, but that's a subject that could be discussed elsewhere.

 

Ironically, Fort Worth has outlawed new automobile speed bumps in the City. There are certainly plenty of existing ones in neighborhoods, but no new ones are allowed.

[Doohickie]

 

...

Personally, as a motorist, I don't like speed bumps on city streets, but that's a subject that could be discussed elsewhere.

 

Ironically, Fort Worth has outlawed new automobile speed bumps in the City. There are certainly plenty of existing ones in neighborhoods, but no new ones are allowed.

 

 

Do you have any more information on that?  Why?  I'm just curious.  I know 20 years ago they were all the rage.

[Volare]

 

 

...

Personally, as a motorist, I don't like speed bumps on city streets, but that's a subject that could be discussed elsewhere.

 

Ironically, Fort Worth has outlawed new automobile speed bumps in the City. There are certainly plenty of existing ones in neighborhoods, but no new ones are allowed.

 

 

Do you have any more information on that?  Why?  I'm just curious.  I know 20 years ago they were all the rage.

 

Just what I have been told in relation to the lack of speed bumps in Oakhurst. There has been a lot of requests for bumps, but apparently they are no longer allowed. There is some issue with emergency access, which has been dealt with by the speed bumps that aren't continuous from curb to curb. The firetrucks can straddle those without having to hit the bump. Another issue is if you live where the bump is, you get to hear cars breaking and then accelerating constantly. I guess for all of these issues the City said No Mas.

 

The tiny roundabouts in Ryan Place were touted as an alternative to speed bumps.

[Doohickie]

Interesting.

 

I live at an intersection with a 2-way stop sign, where the road that doesn't stop (Cockrell) has a drainage gutter across it, so it's essentially an unmarked "negative" speed bump.  I have the same kind of noise.... slowing down, then accelerating or alternately flying through it and hearing the car bottom out.

[youngalum]

My understanding is that speed bumps can still be done in FW IF the neighborhood pays for it and maintains it at their cost.  In my neighborhood this always comes up at the HOA meetings and then we are presented the cost.  Now unless the rules have changed and no one updated the HOA, it still can be done is my understanding.

[Doohickie]

I'm not a fan of speed bumps per se.

 

At my particular intersection, the situation is made worse by the fact that it's only a block in from the I-20 access road, so much of the inbound traffic hasn't fully clicked down from freeway to neighborhood mentality (especially people who are not familiar with the neighborhood) and they hit the drainage gully pretty hard.

[Austin55]

The trail outside of Westbend is being widened

 

http://fortworthtexa...rails-widening/

[Doohickie]

It may not be possible due to the levee and the underpass at University, but that area could really use the two-path packed stone/paved trail treatment.  So much traffic through there.

[johnfwd]

Thanks for this heads-up.  I was planning an early morning in-the-dark trek to downtown on Friday and might have collided with the mesh barricade (is there one there, yet?).

[johnfwd]

I rode my bike very early this morning and walked part of the way through a narrow fenced off passage way on the Trail at Westbend.  Then rode west through the Westbend shopping area to University, turned north on University a half block to Merrimac Circle and back to the Trail.

 

I was surprised to see workers smoothing the wet concrete pavement of the Trail at Westbend shortly before 4 a.m.  My guess is they're trying to complete the Trail maintenance project as quickly as possible because it may be hurting the restaurant's business.

[John T Roberts]

I got notification this week that they were going to widen the trail through WestBend.  It is certainly needed and I think they are trying to get it completed quickly due to the traffic and the weather.  Also, I think that your idea about affecting the businesses there may also be a factor.  I also do not think that there is enough physical room to have a double trail at that location. 

[John T Roberts]

Here are the specific plans, dates, and sections in the extension of the Trinity Trails all the way to Dallas.

 

https://www.nctcog.o...-regional-trail

 

In addition to this trail there are also detail maps of other trail projects.  Here is a link to the map for the Cotton Belt Trail:

 

https://www.nctcog.o...-trail-corridor

 

Another link is a trail from Dallas to McKinney:

 

https://www.nctcog.o...-regional-trail

 

Finally there is a trail proposed connecting Dallas and Denton:

 

https://www.nctcog.o...-regional-trail

[johnfwd]

Regional bike and pedestrian trails are a great idea!  I can envision bike marathon races from Fort Worth to Dallas.

[Doohickie]

These trails will decidedly *not* be designed for racing.

[johnfwd]

These trails will decidedly *not* be designed for racing.

Oh?  Care to explain?

[Doohickie]

They're multi-use paths (MUPs) intended for not just cyclists but for pedestrians and joggers as well.  There are areas with sharp turns where riders have to slow down considerably (think low water crossings).  I would think their intended use is transportation and recreation, but not racing.  That isn't to say there won't be some informal/illicit races along the trails, but in general the trails are not intended for racing, and use for races would take away from their intended use.  For motor transport, their analog would be I-20 or I-30.  Those would never be used for racing, would they?

[Dylan]

It's unfortunate the Fort Worth to Dallas trail won't follow the TRE through Irving until it reaches Dallas' Trinity River trail.

 

That detour adds more than 2 miles to the trip across Irving.

 

------------

 

An idea: NCTCOG ought to consider numbering these bike paths as if they were highways.

[Austin55]

I see signs around FW for numbered bike routes but I honestly have no idea what any of them mean and none of the maps I see online help at all.

[John T Roberts]

That was our first attempt at a bike route system.  The numbers were supposed to be for the routes.  They only completed the routes that the city had funding at the time of implementation.  This led to a lot of the routes ending before their destination, or not connecting locations that were supposed to be connected.  The numbering system was abandoned, but the routes have stayed in place.  If you see any signs with numbers, they are outdated.  I think the city removed the maps with the numbers and routes quite early before the signs were removed and replaced.  Right now, I see a mix of new Bike Route signs with out numbers and the old ones with the numbers still in place.

[John T Roberts]

PeopleAreStrange, the numbering system was a big failure here in Fort Worth, so I'm betting putting numbers on the Bike Trail System would also not work.  Another thing to consider is that the trails have 911 emergency signs and locators that use numbers.  If the trail was numbered, and the locator is already numbered, then they could easily be confused. 

 

On another note, since it was so nice this weekend, I rode on the trail both days, and I put in about 40 miles between Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday, the ride was 26 miles, and on Sunday, it was a little over 12. 

[Doohickie]

I think the major routes should have names and that the names should be clearly associated with geographic/political features.  For instance, the "West Fork" Trinity Trail might more fittingly be called the Airfield or River Oaks trail.  (West Fork isn't bad, but if you took an average Fort Worthian, gave them a map of Fort Worth without labels, most wouldn't know where the West Fork of the Trinity River is.)  The Clear Fork is a little better known, with the recent "Shops at Clear Fork" development and (now-defunct) "Clear Fork Food Truck Park."  Perhaps the most direct trail route between downtown Ft Worth and downtown Dallas should be called the Turnpike Trail or Bankhead Trail or something like that.  (Considering how much of it is on the Trinity River, Trinity Trail might be the best name, but it seems overused already.)  Numbers are too arbitrary; names are more memorable, especially if they tie into the areas or destinations of the trails.

[Austin55]

Here's some renderings of several projects, including a "signature" cable stayed pedestrian bridge parallel to University, a beautified median on Forest Park at the trailhead, a trailhead and kayak launch near the zoo, and much more. Exciting stuff!

Here's a map of the masterplan