All activity street sections and many of the commerce/mixed-use street sections include on- street parking. Automobile lanes need to be wide enough to safely carry not only passenger cars but buses, trucks, and emergency vehicles as well. However, excessive widths can encourage excessive speeds. Thus, the MTP strives for a balance that harmonizes both mobility and safety. The default lane width in the MTP is 11 feet, with exceptions. Complete Streets Policy The City’s Complete Streets Policy was adopted in May 2016 together with the MTP. Its vision is to “provide a safe, accessible, complete, connected, comfortable, efficient, and community- oriented transportation system for all people that supports mobility options, healthy living, and economic benefit.” This policy is applicable to all development and redevelopment in the public domain within the City of Fort Worth. The policy states that the city shall adopt design standards using the best and last standards based on Texas Accessibility Standards, the ADA, Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). These guidelines include but are not limited to the Fort Worth Master Thoroughfare Plan, ITE Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach ; AASHTO Guide for Planning, Designing and Operating Pedestrian Facilities , and AASHTO Guide for Designing Bicycle Facilities . Other design standards may be considered as long as a comparable level of safety for all travel modes is present. The policy recommended some performance measures for the success of the Complete Streets Policy, including reductions in injuries, fatalities, and transportation gaps. Other measures included improved emergency services response times, impacts and benefits for traditionally disadvantaged communities, increased usage of alternative transportation modes, reduction in obesity-related illnesses, and economic performance of transportation investments. To implement the policy, the city will incorporate the Complete Streets principles into all existing plans, manuals, checklists, decision-trees, rules, regulations, and programs as appropriate. The design guidelines and standards will be updated to effectively implement Complete Streets; staff trainings, project selection criteria, and project guides are recommended for implementation. Lastly, the policy emphasizes the importance of including an education component to ensure that all people using the transportation system understand and can safely utilize Complete Streets project elements.
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