New complete streets projects coming to Jennings, South Main, and Magnolia in Fort Worth

The Near Southside is making serious efforts to secure its position as the most bike-friendly neighborhood in the city.

The bike news just keeps on coming – now, there’s word that three new “complete streets” re-stripings are planned in the Near Southside, one to enhance an existing project and two brand-new ones.

First, the enhancement. Magnolia Avenue, the Near Southside’s showpiece mixed-use neighborhood main street, got a Complete Streets makeover last year. Between 8th & Hemphill, two traffic lanes were removed from Magnolia, and the street was re-striped into a two travel lanes + center turn lane + dedicated bike lanes design. The project slowed car traffic, improving safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It calmed the feel of the street and made it a more pleasant place to be, and the dedicated bike lanes have resulted in a noticeable increase in bike traffic along the street. Now, the rest of Magnolia is getting the same treatment. Magnolia from Hemphill all the way to South Main will be re-striped to match, gaining the two travel lanes + center turn lane + bike lanes design that’s worked on the segment west of Hemphill. (It’s also been discussed that the earlier project will get an enhancement with inner curbside stripes for the bike lanes.)

Next, Jennings. As one of the primary north-south bike routes in the Near Southside, Jennings is getting a big upgrade. The street will become a full-fledged bike corridor. The centerpiece of the project will be a re-striping to add full dedicated bike lanes between Rosedale and Daggett. Between Magnolia and Rosedale and Daggett and Vickery, the road narrows too much for full lanes, but these one-block stretches at each end of the new lanes will get new sharrows (shared lane markings). This will make Jennings into an even more useful bike corridor.

Finally, South Main. The South Main plans are still being finalized, but it’s possible that South Main re-stripings will be in two distinct sections. The current discussion for South Main between Magnolia and Pennsylvania is for a two travel lane + center turn lane + on-street parking setup with sharrows. North of Pennsylvania to Vickery, the discussion is on to make the design from the Fort Worth Better Block Project a permanent reality, with two travel lanes, dedicated bike lanes, and on-street parking running from Pennsylvania to Vickery.

Add all this to the already planned Rosedale remake that will include bike lanes, and the Near Southside Bike Parking Improvement Project, and there’s a lot of bike activity afoot.

The Near Southside has definitely latched on to the Bike Fort Worth plan in a big way, and is making serious efforts to secure its position as the most bike-friendly neighborhood in the city. More to come on these re-stripings as they are scheduled.