Denton Trails Part 10: Mobility Plan Integration
Denton is optimistic that its ongoing mobility plan update will guide us to helping people drive, ride a bike, or walk around town more easily and safely. Read on to learn how a few key long term ideas if included in this plan could ensure that future projects align with our goals set forth in our long range Denton Plan 2030.
This is part ten in the Denton Trails series, a series that thinks through what a low-stress multimodal transportation network would look like in Denton. It draws inspiration from other trail systems, proposes core principles we could use in developing our own system, and envisions several trail concepts and how they could form the core of a bike and walk portion of our upcoming mobility plan. Please join me as you walk, scoot, or ride through these musings:
Part 1: Why Trails?
Part 2: City Trails Inspiration
Part 3: Recreational Trails Inspiration
Part 4: Five Pillars of Trail Success
Part 5 Concept: Locust / UPRR Trail
Part 6 Concept: Pecan Creek Trail
Part 7 Concept: University Trails
Part 8: 35E Crossing Improvements
Part 9: Concept: Downtown Connectivity
Part 10: Mobility Plan Integration
Part 11: Bond Election — Make your voice heard
The City of Denton is currently updating its mobility plan. Will it incorporate these or other visions that community members and city staff have had over the years? Now is the time for public input before the plan is finalized and adopted. A public survey closes October 11, so submit your comments now. Let’s look at how these three concepts would work together to build a high-comfort multi-use trail network at a low cost. Here are some network maps to show how these proposals might complete and expand a network of multimodal infrastructure.
It is one thing to draw lines on a map, but how do we ensure these routes form a useful, economically sustainable network? Here are some suggestions:
- Build frugally, connecting off-street trails with protected on-street infrastructure to form useful cross-town routes.
- Do not expand too fast. Start with core routes that have high ridership potential. Iterate to improve the quality and reach of the network.
- Communicate routes as longer lines that utilize multiple types of facilities to connect multiple destinations, rather than a series of differently colored map lines based on their facility type even when their comfort level is similar. In the above map, The proposed Locust Trail is shown in red, University Trail are gold, and the Pecan Creek Trail is yellow, regardless of the sections that are on-street or off-street.
- No more disconnected bike facilities. Bike facilities must either terminate at a major destination, high density housing, or connect to another route with an equal or greater comfort level.
Subtle things matter in the built design too, like signage and paint on the ground. The Razorback Greenway used a yellow center stripe, while other trails that intersected it used a different color. Whenever it intersected another trail, it was obvious which direction to turn to stay on the Razorback Greenway because of the simple consistency of paint color on the ground. This was maintained whether it was a protected bike lane, sidepath, or trail.
But mobility plans live for a long time. We are currently building roadways because they were included in our 1999 mobility plan. The routes and crossings we identify now will influence the decisions we make for the next 20 years. So while our initial network needs to start small, our imagination needs to be big so that we are ready if future growth warrants expansion.
2045 Veloweb
Adding routes from the proposed regional 2045 Veloweb starts to show how outlying areas will connect to nature trails. There are a few routes that I’ll highlight here which would be beneficial, but are likely longer term needs rather than short term needs depending on how the growth of Denton develops over the next 10–20 years:
Cooper Creek Trail Extension
Extending Cooper Creek Trail as shown in red could improve the connectedness of a high-comfort network in the northeast section of Denton. The current Cooper Creek Trail does not continue east of Sherman Drive. Between Sherman Drive and Old North Road there is no existing right of way and only a drainage easement in the back of residential properties. Acquiring land or easements here would be a major upheaval, but it might be possible. It would likely involve acquiring land, drainage improvements, and reconstructing fences while dealing with many private property owners. East of Old North, it is a clear shot to Lake Lewisville, with bridges over the creek for major roadways already in place.
If acquiring creekbed land is not feasible or is very costly, we could develop the portion of this extension east of Old North Road and then connect it to the existing Cooper Creek Trail by upgrading the protection of the bike lane on Windsor and Stewart Road as shown in yellow. This would make the high-comfort network contiguous and easier to use. It is also be eligible for county matching grants since it is on the 2045 long range plan.
Hickory Creek Trail
Depending on how southern Denton develops, this corridor shown in yellow has a lot of potential. The northern tip of this route terminates in the fast-growing industrial area near the Denton Enterprise Airport with many jobs, while the southern end would connect to multiple elementary schools, Ryan High School, and tie into Wiggly Field Dog Park. This route is also eligible for county matching grants since it is on the 2045 long range plan.
Clear Creek / Milam Creek Recreational Trail
The rural character of Denton north of Loop 288 is unique, and this corridor shown in yellow could be a respite of a nature trail, a useful transportation corridor for future growth, and serve to preserve the natural beauty of this area as it develops. This is not currently on Denton County’s 2045 long range plan.
Future expansion of Interstate 35 and the I35 interchange
Our region is growing at a rapid pace. Along with that growth comes an almost inconceivable amount of public infrastructure investment. The planned expenditure for TxDOT roadway projects that extend into the City of Denton starting within the next seven years now totals over $2.4 billion, or over $17,500 per resident of Denton. Roughly half of that is expansion of the I35 and I35W corridors which extend far beyond the city limits, but the rest of it is primarily within Denton. If our state is going to spend over $10,000 per person on state roads within the City of Denton, it behoves us to ensure this infrastructure will accomplish our goals.
Our existing wide roadways like I35E and US 380 which run through our city tend to isolate communities and make residents car dependent to travel between sections of our city. Planning multimodal crossing requirements at key locations for these roadways now may be much less expensive than erecting bridges in the future like UNT’s $2.5 million bike/pedestrian bridge across 35E. Identifying key crossing points that we want to reserve for a safe enjoyable multimodal network within our mobility plan could help guide TxDOT’s design plans and the City of Denton’s negotiations with them. The entire corridor should be studied for good potential crossings, but here are three ideas.
Milam Creek Crossing
North of where US 77 intersects Interstate 35, a creek crosses under the freeway. The potential recreational trail discussed earlier could cross I35 here (shown in the red circle), serving the communities in the north and west of the future 288 loop extension.
To make this crossing passable with a trail, how much would the increased cost be to use viaducts large enough for a trail crossing in the future? And like many things, it doesn’t have to be perfect from the beginning. Fayetteville is in the process of upgrading the drainage of their converted box culverts underneath the Fullbright Expressway which they repurposed to route the Razorback Greenway through so that their trail crossing is safer and more enjoyable.
Windsor Drive Crossing
Windsor drive has a bike lane down much of its length and connects many of our communities together north of US 380. Currently, the bike lane terminates at North Lakes Park, and the road terminates at the northbound service road of I35. Regardless of whether the roadway itself is extended over I35, providing a high-comfort crossing here (shown in the red circle) would connect future development inside the Loop 288 westward extension to residential communities and North Lakes Park.
West Oak Street Crossing
The bike lanes along Oak and Hickory currently terminate at Bonnie Brae. But what if they continued toward I35, and crossed here? This would provide a direct connection between the industrial employment centers south of Jim Crystal Road to the population centers east of I35, as well as providing a connection for future growth north of Jim Crystal Road to access the park and other amenities within Rayzor Ranch South.
What can you do to bring a multimodal network to fruition that can have positive economic, quality of life, and environmental benefits? Next up: Part 11: Bond Election — Make your voice heard.
