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Natural Awakenings Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex Edition

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Dallas-Fort Worth Bike/Pedestrian Projects Awarded $23 million

Dallas-Fort Worth area bicycle and pedestrian projects spanning 17 cities, seven counties and two transit agencies have received a $23.2 million boost from the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC). With local entities contributing more than $11 million toward the projects, more than $34 million is to be spent on transportation enhancements, improving bicycle and pedestrian access in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman and Tarrant counties.

The money will fund a mixture of large and small projects. Fifteen bicycle and four pedestrian improvement projects received funds.

• $200,000 for an on-street bicycle route signage project in McKinney.

• $3.01 million for a 2.5-mile trail extension of the VeloWay/SoPac project in Dallas. The latter will receive a 50 percent local match from Dallas County and run from the north end of the Katy Trail at Northwest Highway, north to Greenville Avenue, along Dallas Area Rapid Transit right-of-way.

• The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) received $552,000 for a regional education and safety campaign to promote a culture of safety for bicycle and pedestrian activities, and to encourage and educate residents about the benefits of walking and biking as alternative modes of transportation.

This was one of the largest bicycle-pedestrian funding allocations for the region in recent years, as the Dallas-Fort Worth area received roughly one-third of the $70 million awarded across the state.

• Fort Worth was awarded $2.16 million for the East Bank extension of the Trinity Trails Clear Fork and will be matched by $539,000 from the city.

• The Denton County Transportation Authority was awarded almost $2 million for a 1.5-mile extension of the A-train Rail Trail along railroad right-of-way from Swisher Road in Lake Dallas south to Kelton Road, in Hickory Creek.

• The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) received $416,000 for expansion of its bike-sharing program.

The money for these projects comes from remaining funds from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the law that authorized the federal transportation system until last year. It has now been replaced by the current federal transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).


For more information about transportation enhancements, visit nctcog.org/te.