Notice new plants in Fort Worth area neighborhoods? They aren’t there by accident
Randall Archie’s neighbors assume he has something to do with the strip of shrubs and grass planted last month on Camp Bowie Boulevard in west Fort Worth. As the vice president of Archie’s Gardenland, which grows more than 700,000 plants per year, he is a likely suspect.
“My whole neighborhood is saying, ‘Whoa, did you do that?’ I’m like: No!” Archie said. “I just sat in some meetings, smiled and ate a couple bagels.”
In his role as beautification committee chairperson for Camp Bowie District, a nonprofit organization promoting investment in the community, Archie did have a hand in selecting plants for the medians along the 6700-7000 blocks of the boulevard.
But the $400,000 project was largely funded through another source: the Texas Department of Transportation’s Green Ribbon grant program. Since 2018, Tarrant County has received $4.67 million in Green Ribbon grants, which aim to reduce air pollution in areas near the state highway system, according to TxDOT spokesperson Val Lopez.
“Using drought-tolerant plants and planting smart is going to definitely help the environment because what we had before was concrete,” Archie said. “We have such an abundance, just tons of concrete here in the Metroplex, and it’s nice to cut down on that and get some green product back in the ground.”
Grants support landscape projects in non-attainment zones, or areas that do not meet federal ozone and air quality standards, Lopez said. Ten counties in Dallas-Fort Worth, including Tarrant, meet that criteria, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
What is the funding most often used for? That depends on the recipient’s needs. Grapevine has put $500,000 toward planting more than 350 trees along approximately three miles of highway. In 2017, Fort Worth officials approved another $400,000 project to improve irrigation and greenery at the Montgomery Street and Interstate 30 interchange.
After hearing about the Montgomery Street upgrades, Camp Bowie leaders decided to pursue a similar grant for their medians, according to Wade G. Chappell, Camp Bowie District’s executive director. As part of the group’s efforts to attract new investment and beautify neighborhood streets, the district raised about $100,000 to earn a match from TxDOT, Chappell said.
“There’s no other street like it in the city, and it deserves better than the credit it was being given before now,” said Chappell, who owns Pearl Snap Kolaches. “We really excel at putting as many dollars as we can back into having pride in the boulevard. We’ve repainted all the light poles and cleaned up the political or advertising street signs as they’re put up, and so we’ve really made an impact on the day-to-day visibility of the streets.”
Because Camp Bowie Boulevard eventually overlaps with U.S. 377, the street falls under TxDOT’s purview. Over the course of two years, Chappell, Archie and other members of the district jumped through the hoops necessary to obtain funding: attending mandatory meetings with TxDOT, consulting an engineering firm and securing support from Fort Worth officials.
Clint Wyatt, district superintendent for Fort Worth’s parks department, said the city must act as “the middleman” between TxDOT and non-government organizations, albeit in a limited role. The grant agreement was approved by City Council before crews moved forward with landscaping in January.
“We were approved, and then it was denied, and then we got approved again, and then the pandemic happens,” Chappell said of the TxDOT application process. “I’m very, very relieved that the plants are in the ground.”
In an email, Lopez did not answer questions about how the state measures the impact of Green Ribbon grants on air pollution or other environmental goals. The department’s highway expansion projects have come under scrutiny in recent years, especially in Houston, where local leaders seek reduced traffic congestion and environmentalists decry the potential for increased pollution.
Several studies have shown the potential for roadside vegetation to reduce the impact of air pollution. When trees and other plants are placed strategically in urban environments, they can lower air temperatures, absorb rainwater and improve air quality by removing pollutants and capturing carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
For Chappell, the environmental benefits are a welcome bonus to his organization’s goals of making the neighborhood more appealing to both potential investors and long-time residents. Camp Bowie District may soon pursue another Green Ribbon grant for a project at North Z Boaz Park, which borders the neighborhood, Archie said.
“I’m very excited for the positive feedback that we’re getting from folks that are looking for buildings and businesses,” Chappell said. “I think it’s a great use of public dollars. Absolutely, we would do it again.”
