Hillsborough Corridor Planning & Preservation Best Practices

After the steps in the Typical Section Selection process are complete, a code and implied right-of-way is created, as shown in Figure 30. This information, along with target vehicle speeds, is used to select an appropriate cross-section from a suite of cross-sections that are associated with each Street Type and illustrated in the thoroughfare plan. Figure 31 shows an excerpt from the plan for Activity Streets and Neighborhood Connectors illustrating the approach and how to read the diagram. Additionally, the process allows for “interim cross sections” for certain situations in which constructing the full cross section dictated by the Master Thoroughfare Plan would be infeasible of cost prohibitive. The Fort Worth Master Thoroughfare Plan is a regulatory document and includes a clear explanation of their changes and exceptions process which consists of full updates, amendments, waivers, and street type exceptions. These are described below. • Full updates are conducted every 5 to 10 years and involve a reexamination of the city’s buildout land-use assumptions and multi-modal thoroughfare planning philosophy. • Amendments are changes to the Master Thoroughfare Plan which occur between full updates, generally involve changes to individual thoroughfare segments, and are primarily to maintain flexibility in thoroughfare planning. Certain types of amendments can be handled administratively by city staff while others require City Plan Commission Approval. • Waivers, on the other hand, do not result in changes to the map. The waiver process allows for slight deviations to the plan to accommodate flexibility in different implementation scenarios. Similar to amendments, many waivers can be handled at the staff level while certain types of waivers require City Plan Commission approval. For example, in certain situations, an interim cross-section may be needed to provide immediate capacity or connectivity. In such a case a waiver may be approved by either city staff or the City Plan Commission depending on the number and width of travel lanes, sidewalk width, and median type. Street type exceptions are also built into the plan for those areas which are considered either Special Districts or Park-Adjacent Streets. The transportation plans and established street designations and design standards in the three Special Districts supersede the Thoroughfare Master Plan. Park-Adjacent Streets refer to segments of the thoroughfare which are adjacent to a park. In such a case, rather than follow the standards set in the Master Thoroughfare Plan, an alternative use of right-of-way space is described. In sum, Fort Worth’s Master Thoroughfare Plan is both a visual document that designates desired street types for a given land use context and a procedure to determine the appropriate right-of-way and modal elements given the constraints and characteristics of a specific corridor segment. Separate area types are not defined but rather are implicit in the street type designations. No one map automatically assigns right-of-way widths. Rather each thoroughfare on the Street Type Map undergoes an analysis to determine its unique right-of-way needs. A cross section selection process involves assessing street type, number of lanes, special transit facilities required, median needed, parking requirements, and the type of bike facilities needed. Clear procedures are provided offering design flexibility through waivers that allow interim cross sections or exceptions.

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