Should Hemphill Street traffic go faster?<\/p>\n
City officials are surveying residents about proposed changes to the busy corridor that runs from downtown Fort Worth to south of Interstate 20 by Edgecliff Village. Future congestion could worsen on the north-south thoroughfare, according to a city study.<\/p>\n
A Hemphill restriping project from Hammond Street to Vickery Boulevard reduced lanes from five to three in 2020. Officials said the change was intended to help manage traffic speed. Off-street parking spots and northbound and southbound bike lanes that buses use intermittently were added as part of the effort.<\/p>\n
Officials said the changes improved road safety, resulting in fewer crashes and pedestrian fatalities. However, bicycle-related crashes increased slightly, as did serious injuries. Delays often occur at peak drive times because of increasing traffic.<\/p>\n
The city study shows up to 16,930 motorists use Hemphill daily with that number expected to climb to about 20,000 by 2030. Congestion gets substantially worse in subsequent decades, the transportation forecast said.<\/p>\n
Officials want residents to weigh in on three proposals<\/a>. The first option is leaving the road unchanged, while a hybrid plan calls for five lanes south of Allen Avenue and three north of Allen. The third option is to restore the corridor to five traffic lanes.<\/p>\n Leaving the road in its current state of three lanes will result in \u201cincreasingly reduced (traffic) performance over time,\u201d planners wrote.<\/p>\n The hybrid option helps solve current congestion but is not sustainable over time since delays\u00a0<\/p>\n often occur at peak drive times because of increasing traffic. That plan would reduce delays south of Allen Avenue. Bike lanes, on-street parking and bus pull-offs would be removed.<\/p>\n Restoring Hemphill to five lanes, with a center turn lane and no bike lanes, may be the best plan, officials said. The restoration could result in the road\u2019s \u201cstrongest long-term performance\u201d through 2045 to accommodate growth.<\/p>\n The city survey, available through July, can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n