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Farmers Branch reviews active-transportation plan and complete-streets policy to prioritize safety and connectivity
Summary
City staff and consultant presented a draft Active Transportation Plan and Complete Streets policy that would replace the 2015 trails plan, prioritize a five-year project list and weight safety highest in scoring; council members asked about corridor studies, costs and public use.
Farmers Branch city staff and a consultant presented an Active Transportation Plan and a complementary Complete Streets policy at the City Council study session on Aug. 19, outlining a five-year project list and a project-scoring system that weights safety highest. The plan, the city said, is meant to replace the 2015 trails master plan, identify near-term multimodal projects and improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists.
The plan’s scoring criteria include safety (30 percent), connectivity, comfort, transportation choices and cost/grant potential, the consultant said. “Safety was weighted the highest at 30%,” consultant Bridal Yarbrough said. The plan team used crash data for pedestrians and bicyclists, mapped connections to destinations such as Downtown and Rawhide Park, and produced a 5-year prioritized map that distinguishes existing facilities from recommended trails, shared-use paths, on-street bike facilities and bicycle boulevards.
Why it matters: council members said the plan could improve pedestrian safety on key corridors and help the city compete for federal and regional grants if a Complete Streets policy is adopted. Yarbrough said a Complete Streets policy would require consideration of all travel modes on roadway projects and could improve grant eligibility; the policy allows exceptions for right-of-way and budget constraints.
Supporting details: staff reported two avenues of public engagement — an online Polco survey with more than 300 responses and an in-person meeting April 17, 2024. The consultant also described a bicycle and pedestrian “toolbox” with design guidance staff can apply case by case. Yarbrough said Valley View and José (Josie) corridors will likely need corridor-level study: “Valley View being such a major east to west corridor within the city, that would be a great opportunity to go through a dedicated corridor study to identify where you can do a 15% level design.”
Council questions focused on expected usage, budgeting and community reaction. Councilman Neal said he supports safety improvements but urged fiscal caution: “I’m not against pedestrians. I’m not against bicyclists. But I think the culture here in the state of Texas is people like to drive their cars.” Council members also suggested short-term pilot treatments such as temporary lane cones on Valley View to test demand and called for cost estimates and corridor studies before committing major funds.
Next steps: the consultants asked council for questions and direction; no formal action was taken. Staff said prioritized projects and the policy would return for further review with costing and implementation steps.
