A plan for improving area transit has been accepted by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s board of directors.
By unanimous vote, the board on Tuesday approved a plan expected to make transit more convenient, connect more people with more places, and make transit easier to use.
“The goals of the plan are to provide compelling and competitive transit service to help make Tarrant County more livable and to support continued economic growth,” said Paul Ballard, president of the agency, also known as “The T,” in a news release.
“This plan offers the opportunity to create a system that people will use because it gets them where they want to go, when they want to go, in a comfortable environment,” Ballard said.
What’s known as the Transit Master Plan focuses on the next five years. It presents an opportunity to create what officials call an inviting transit system offering more places for more people – and more possibilities.
“Transportation options will become increasingly important as growth occurs and congestion increases,” Ballard said. “The Transit Master Plan lays out a vision for providing options to meet those needs.”
To develop this plan, the agency conducted spent a year hearing public response to determine how services could be improved and how people could be encouraged to use transit in Tarrant County. Active community involvement played a big role in the planning process.
According to the agency, the plan is consistent with the city of Fort Worth’s Master Thoroughfare Plan, North Central Texas Council of Governments’ 2040 Mobility Plan and other planning initiatives. The board is committed to pursuing the vision and goals, and to work with funding partners to prioritize plan elements.
“This is a critical juncture in our ability to develop a system that will be successful over the long term,” Ballard said. “We welcome discussions with any community to determine its level of interest in helping to build a transit system that will serve us all.”
More information is available at www.TMasterPlan.org.