E XISTING N ETWORK F RAMEWORK
Street grid functional classifications, illustrated in Figure 11, impact how commuters’ access and travel through neighborhoods, businesses, and other local and regional destinations. It also impacts which modes of transportation may be more suitable for a community. The Eastside has high-level regional access and roadway connectivity with over 1,117 lane miles and access to IH-35W, IH-30, IH-820 and other highways. Mobility between neighborhoods and other destinations within the Eastside, however, is limited by collector and local roads with off-set intersections and/or end at cul-de-sacs. This roadway configuration limits access, circulation, and connectivity mobility for all modes of transportation, including bicycles and pedestrians. Key Takeaways Many Eastside roadways, such as East Lancaster Avenue, serve dual purposes of carrying large volumes of traffic between communities and providing access to local businesses. The competing purposes may negatively impact congestion and safety. In order to achieve the goals for safety, connectivity, and place, the Eastside Transportation Plan will need to: Balance the need to move vehicles through the area with the need for a more pedestrian- oriented street network with lower travel speeds and a higher level of access to local land uses. Develop a network that safely accommodates multiple modes and bolsters connectivity to key destinations within the study area and other local and regional destinations. The existing collector network is designed to limit through traffic with winding and disconnected roads. This reduces through traffic but hinders potential bike alignments from lack of contiguous streets cyclists can use to travel through neighborhoods. Off-set intersections also create potential conflicts and safety issues for pedestrians crossing roadways where crosswalks are not present. There is a need for more continuous east-to-west connections to relieve congestion, provide additional relief routes adjacent to IH-30, and to improve overall connectivity between neighborhoods and other local destinations. Arterial east-to-west roadways, such as East Lancaster Avenue, carry both local and through traffic because the adjacent street grid lacks continuous collector and local roads commuters can use for short trips. North-to-south connectivity is similarly limited at the neighborhood level. Study area connectivity could be improved through enhancements to the City’s collector network. Roadways, such as Craig Street, Brentwood Stair Road (east of Sandy Lane), Panola Avenue, Lowery Road, Meadowbrook Drive, and other facilities could be extended and/or realigned to form a more complete street grid.
44 Table of Contents
FORT WORTH EASTSIDE TRANSPORTATION PLAN
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease