City Council approves zoning changes for proposed QuikTrip

With a 6-3 vote, the Fort Worth City Council approved zoning changes that would allow a QuikTrip to be built in the southwest corner of McCart Avenue and Interstate 820, but the project won’t begin until QuikTrip receives further approval for traffic changes made to its site plan.

The case for the incoming QuikTrip did not come without opposition from some residents living in that area, however. When the City Council took public comments at its meeting Tuesday, opponents of the QuikTrip outnumbered supporters 10 to 3, with some saying the gas station would bring crime to the neighborhoods and others saying that the QuikTrip would add to the already existing traffic in the area.

Drivers had been known to cut through the neighborhood to bypass traffic in order to get to McCart.

Per recommendation from City Councilman Jungus Jordan, QuikTrip paid to conduct a traffic study with city staff to determine how traffic can be alleviated. The traffic study included changes in traffic patterns, the closing of Southgate Drive and the addition of right turn lanes on Frontage Road and McCart Avenue. Those changes were made to the site plan and presented at the City Council meeting.

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Prior to voting, City Councilwoman Ann Zadeh spoke against the project, receiving cheers and applause from residents in the audience. She said the QuikTrip is not consistent with the area’s comprehensive plan and incompatible with the way the surrounding land is being used. Because of the neighborhood opposition, Zadeh voted “no.”

Zadeh remained in the minority, however, as the City Council voted to approve the site plan along with the zoning changes.

One of the “yes” votes came from Jordan, who said he struggled with the case.

“Someone told me a long time ago to do the right things for the right reasons, and sometimes when you’re working with emotional issues in people’s lives, it becomes very difficult,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights about this.”

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The next step for QuikTrip is to have its traffic changes approved by the Texas Department of Transportation, as well as Transportation and Public Works. Once approved by those entities, the plan will need to be approved by the City Planning Commission before returning to City Council.