Here’s how Hemphill Street might become an extension of Fort Worth’s Near Southside
Hemphill Street has a bit of a reputation as it leaves the Near Southside, both for blight and for the “Mad Max” way the wide road encourages drivers to speed.
That’ll change this summer as Fort Worth wraps up a multi-year effort to transform the street and encourage new development along more than four miles, from the Magnolia area to Felix Street.
It involves eliminating two lanes from Hemphill, improving sidewalks, and adding bike lanes and parking spots. In June, after two public hearings, the City Council is expected to approve new zoning for the long strip of Hemphill that will encourage development similar to the Near Southside.
“This is going to be a much more livable street,” said Richard Riccetti, property owner and chairman of the Hemphill Corridor Task Force.
Hemphill has historically been a mix for residential and commercial and felt more like a neighborhood street rather than a “speedway,” Riccetti said. But in the middle of the 20th Century the street was widened to make room cars. The street became a barrier for people moving between neighborhoods rather than a way to connect people.
This has led to several hazards, said Paul Millender, president of the South Hemphill Heights neighborhood.
Between Allen and Felix Streets, there are at least seven schools within walking distance of Hemphill, multiple community centers and a Boys and Girls Club. But crossing between the neighborhoods on either side of the Hemphill is a chore, Millender said. He recalled at least two people who had been killed in the last year or so attempting to cross the street.
The lack of foot traffic has led to some neglect along the street, creating pockets of blight and crime, Millender said.
The $4.1 million project also includes zones for Trinity Metro buses to stop without impeding traffic.
When completed May 31, the street will feel a lot like Pennsylvania Avenue between Henderson and Hemphill.
The coronavirus pandemic has not delayed the project, a city spokesman said.
Neighbors hope the lane reduction will slow traffic and make the street more pedestrian friendly. But it will also help businesses. Right now people use Hemphill to pass through a series of neighborhoods on their way to somewhere else, Riccetti said. Slower traffic, on-street parking and bike lanes will encourage people to stop and shop or eat at a business.
That’s where the new zoning will come in. The building standards mimic the Near Southside, which has proven to be one of Fort Worth’s hottest neighborhoods for development. But along the four-mile stretch of Hemphill, modifications have been made to provide privacy to the residential neighborhoods and protect roughly 10 historic structures.
Millender said he’s hopeful the changes will bring more people living and working along the street, looking out for each other.
“We’re trying to bring it back — when people live on Hemphill they walk on Hemphill they visit on their stoops, they eat outside, they have eyes on the street,” Millender said. “The bottom line is if you can get people to invest money, they’re going to take care of their investment, and they’re not going to let crime or whatever override that.”
