TRINITY RIVER STRATEGIC PLAN
Following up on the recent presentation from Stacey Pierce, executive director of Streams and Valleys Inc., the Fort Worth City Council adopted the Trinity River Strategic Master Plan at its Oct. 30 meeting.
The plan, entitled “Confluence,” is a guide for future development along the Trinity River and its major tributaries. The comprehensive plan and the parks and recreation and open space master plan will be amended to incorporate the Confluence plan.
Confluence has been reviewed and endorsed by local organizations including Streams and Valleys, the Park and Recreation Advisory Board, the Fort Worth Public Art Commission, the Tarrant Regional Water District and the City Plan Commission.
“We had decades of progress behind us and decades of opportunity in front of us,” Pierce told the council. Since 1969, Streams and Valleys has made the Trinity River a major focus in its mission.
Confluence recommends strategies to enhance the Trinity River and its tributaries over the next 10 years and beyond.
Pierce noted that as this plan is implemented, the hope is that it will also serve as a model for other cities to holistically think about and plan for their own river systems and greater communities.
Ten goal areas form the building blocks of the plan: community, flood control, connectivity, health, economic development, recreation, education, sense of place, environment and water quality.
River projects include:
· University Drive Trail Bridge and Rockwood Park floodable open space – This project includes a pedestrian and bicycle bridge to be built alongside the University Drive overpass, providing safe access to the river.
· Zoo Trail Connection and Oxbow Kayak Loop – This will provide a trail connection between the Fort Worth Zoo and the recently completed trail bridge south of West Rosedale Street. It will also create a navigable kayak loop along the oxbow just north of the zoo.
· Marine Creek/Trinity River Connection – This is a broad-reaching project to establish a connected network of trails and waterways and to mark the confluence of Marine Creek and the Trinity River. It includes wayfinding improvements to guide people from the trail system to the Stockyards.
· Forest Park Boulevard Enhancements – This will improve the aesthetics and connectivity along Forest Park Boulevard. It will establish a gateway to downtown by including multi-modal improvements, connection to the trail system, wayfinding enhancements and landscaping.
· Sycamore Creek/Trinity River Connection – The first phase includes an on-street alignment from the confluence of Sycamore Creek and the West Fork of the Trinity, east along Scott Avenue, down Hardwood Street and Conner Avenue, and west on East Vickery Boulevard to reconnect with the trail system at Sycamore Park. Potential additional phases include a similar on-street treatment along Riverside Drive, and eventually an off-street path through Sycamore Golf Course.
· Bomber Spur – This would transform the abandoned Bomber Railroad Spur into a trail between the Clear Fork and Upper West Fork of the Trinity. The trail would originate at about the intersection between West Vickery Boulevard and State Highway 183, running north along North Z Boas Community Park, to the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, where it will split toward Upper West Fork and White Settlement.
· River Loop Trail – This long-term project establishes connections between each of the major Trinity River segments, allowing easier access throughout Fort Worth to the river network. Since the Trinity Trails system is almost complete, this project represents the next phase of connectivity improvements for the river system.