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Receive a report on the Active Transportation Plan and upcoming public engagement activities.
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BACKGROUND:
Active transportation typically refers to a means of getting around that is human-powered, not vehicular. To address some of the oversites regarding pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, the City adopted a Trail Master Plan in 2015. The City has used the adopted plan as a basis to design and construct pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements. Since adopting the plan, staff has found that locations for trails, 12’ wide, multiuse pathways, are very limited in the Farmers Branch. Many of the projects listed in the 2015 Trails Master Plan called for widening existing sidewalks versus new sidewalks. Because much of the existing sidewalk does not need to be repaired, removing and replacing the existing infrastructure with a slightly wider sidewalk made little sense. Another focus area was an assessment of approximately 15 of the major intersections in the central portion of Farmers Branch, which was completed by Kimley Horn in 2020. The focus was on the intersections, not as a part of a larger mobility project. In addition, new residential and commercial developments, especially on the west side of Farmers Branch, have been constructed or are nearing completion. These new developments are changing some of the pedestrian and cycling demands and possible destinations for residents and visitors of Farmers Branch regarding walking and cycling around the City. Other challenges for pedestrians are safely crossing or feeling safe when crossing large arterial roads such as Midway Road, Marsh Lane, Josey Lane, and Valley View Lane. These types of connections are critical to good active transportation infrastructure. Therefore, the staff proposes creating an Active Transportation Plan as an update to the Trail Master Plan with an expanded scope focusing on pedestrian mobility.
On June 6, 2023, the City Council approved a contract with Kimley Horn to develop an Active Transportation Plan. The Active Transportation Plan needs to align with the Comprehensive Plan. Furthermore, the Comprehensive Plan process generates a lot of useful information regarding mobility and active transportation in terms of both residential input and plan development. Therefore, the Request for Proposals for an Active Transportation Plan was delayed until the Comprehensive Plan was nearing completion. Now that the Comprehensive Plan has been adopted, staff and the consultant have been reviewing public input from the Comprehensive Plan that is pertinent to active transportation, performing preliminary assessments of the city for major pedestrian and cycling issues, determining attractions or destinations that can reasonably be reached by walking or cycling and developing survey questions for public engagement. Staff would like to expand upon the public engagement efforts of the Comprehensive Plan by residents identifying safety concerns and desired connections across the city. Based on the residents' feedback and the consultant's analyses, the goal is to produce a short-term actionable plan for the next five years. This will be used to pursue funds in future city budgets and transportation grants to offset city costs.
City staff will provide a presentation on the goals of the Active Transportation Plan as well as upcoming public engagement activities that will be utilized to develop the plan.
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Active Transportation Plan Presentation