Could Fort Worth reverse changes to this major traffic corridor?
Fort Worth residents can now weigh in on the next steps in a transportation project that has caused headaches and buyer’s remorse in a changing neighborhood.
In 2020, Fort Worth restriped Hemphill Street from Hammond Street to Vickery Boulevard, from five lanes to three, and adding new bike lanes, bus pull-outs, and street parking.
The new infrastructure was envisioned as a gateway to becoming another vibrant extension of the bustling Near Southside district, but after it was complete, residents said that traffic congestion got even worse, and the bike lanes weren’t being used.
The city of Fort Worth went back to the drawing board and conducted a follow-up traffic study about the corridor, which found that although the new traffic pattern had reduced the overall number of car crashes, the number of bike accidents had gone up, and traffic was indeed getting worse.
Representatives with the Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works Department met with residents in April to get input and review multiple solutions to the corridor’s congestion problem.
The city presented three scenarios for Hemphill, which would involve either no change to the current traffic flow, adding two lanes of traffic back in certain areas, or adding them back along the entire corridor. The last two options would remove the pedestrian, bike, and public transit infrastructure to make room for the original traffic lanes.
Now, residents have another chance to offer feedback before another community meeting that will happen in August.
A survey is now open for residents to choose which lane configuration they would prefer. The survey will be open until July 31, and the restriping would begin in early 2027.
You can take the survey at connectfw.com/hemphill-corridor.
