Fort Worth planners recommend Master Transportation Plan, advancing multimodal 4‑ and 10‑year investment program to council

Kelly Porter, assistant director for Transportation and Public Works, told the City Plan Commission that the Master Transportation Plan (MTP) creates the city's first transportation capital delivery program and a consolidated Master Roadway Network tying active transportation, freight and roadway projects into a 4‑, 10‑ and long‑range investment framework.

"This is the city's first transportation capital delivery program," Porter said, describing a program that slots projects into fiscally constrained investment cycles and pairs schematic design with funding stacks so projects can be advanced for state and federal grants. Porter said the plan reduces complexity in the city's cross‑section typologies, adds federal‑aid major collectors back into network planning and integrates active transportation and freight priorities.

Commissioners questioned how future edits to MRN definitions would be handled, whether administrative waivers would shift CPC review currently reserved for parkway and buffer zones, and how the plan distributes projects across older and newer parts of the city. City staff and the city attorney's office said major changes to plan definitions would still require city council action, though some administrative relief remains available to staff for narrow technical waivers.

Porter emphasized outreach and project readiness: the plan includes project schematics, cost estimates and cash‑flow profiles intended to make projects more competitive for grant funding. She said the program will let the city sequence right‑of‑way acquisition, design and construction across successive bond cycles.

Commissioner discussion touched on equity and geographic balance. Porter said the plan adds a ‘‘recapitalization, operations and safety’’ (ROSS) lens to include corridors that need maintenance rather than capacity increases, and staff pointed to examples — Berry Street, McCart and Forest Hill Drive — where recapitalization or operational investments already appear on the program.

Following the presentation and questions, Commissioner Adams moved and Commissioner Henderson seconded a motion to recommend that city council adopt the Master Transportation Plan in an ordinance amending the city code (including revisions to the subdivision ordinance). A roll‑call vote recorded unanimous support from commissioners present; the commission’s recommendation will proceed to city council review.

What happens next: staff will provide the ordinance and funding documentation to council and continue outreach and technical refinements requested by commissioners. The plan's phased investment cycles are intended to guide future bond proposals, grant applications and coordinated projects with TxDOT and regional partners.