Rail trail bridge construction to start this summer

In 2008, citizens asked the city council for a biking & walking bridge over Loop 288.

In 2010, the city council approved initial funding to build the bridge.

Now, in 2012, Denton will build the bridge.

Proposed design:

Lewisville Lake beach recon

It’s crazy hot, and swimming feels good.

Pictured above is a small beach on the north shore of Lake Lewisville. It’s not amazing, but you can bike there from Denton.

I sought destinations via Denton’s MKT rail trail, and in this weather, a swim sounded inarguably good. My route used the rail trail for almost the whole way, which was nice and stress free: no cars to worry about. There are some good, long stretches where you can ride without feeling rushed.

Swisher is car-dominated, and there’s no sidewalk, so I rode that short leg of it anyways. If you look at an area map, you can cut through a neighborhood to skip that Swisher part, taking Dobbs to Shady Shores rd. I rode into West Lake park, and the gate staff pointed me to the boat ramp-y area to the left. Meh. It was not really a swimming area. Just south of the park, there’s a beachhead parking lot on your left.

If you get hungry on the way there or back, the El Centro market has a Taqueria inside, you can get your breakfast taco on.

Denton Katy Trail reopened

Yesterday, along with the reopening of passenger train service, Denton also got the rail trail back after two years of closure. Parks and Rec says the bike and pedestrian bridge over Loop 288 will be constructed by Spring 2012.

Yup, I called it the Katy. This trail is, after all, part of the historic Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad line. I think just calling it the Katy will add historical character and an association with the wildly successful Dallas KT and the 237 mile Katy Trail State Park in Missouri. Let’s call it what it is, put up some info on kiosks, and watch people flock to it.

Here’s Drew Elam (of Pan-Ector, Texas Toast) riding the trail on the first day of the official reopening.

Council votes to fund Loop 288 pedestrian/cyclist bridge

At a city council meeting on tuesday, members voted to allocate funds for a pedestrian bridge to connect the Denton Rail Trail across the south Loop 288 highway.

Consider adoption of an ordinance of the City of Denton, Texas, authorizing the City Manager to execute an Advance Funding Agreement for a project using funds held in the State Highway 121 Subaccount in the amount of $1,165,145.00 between the City of Denton, Texas and the State of Texas for construction of city pedestrian bridge on the Denton Branch Rail Trail at Pecan Creek and Loop 288; authorizing the expenditure of funds therefor; and providing for an effective date. The Mobility Committee recommends approval (3-0).  The Parks, Recreation and Beautification Board recommends approval (6-0).

Denton’s Park’s and Rec department offers similar news of the Loop 288 bridge, and they also mention a Robertson St bridge:

Pedestrian and bicycle bridges on the Denton Branch Rail Trail across the Pecan Creek tributary, between Prairie and Robertson streets and over Loop 288, have been tentatively funded as part of the Regional Toll Revenue Initiative funding from the highway TX 121 project. CIP bond funding of $260,000 for the Prairie/Robertson Bridge will be used for the 20% match to the toll road funds to complete the $1.4 million project. The project may start planning and engineering in December and be incorporated into the DCTA Rail Commuter line construction as the trail is being constructed. Agreements with TXDOT have been completed. Agreements with DCTA and NCTCOG are being developed for approval by each agency.

DCTA Rail Trail to eventually cross Lake Lewisville

Last night at DCTA’s Citizen Advisory Committee meeting in Denton, Boris Palchik of DCTA reaffirmed that DCTA does intend to eventually build the Rail Trail across the lake and along the full DCTA A-train line.  The A-train website also states this and describes future intent to connect to other regional trails:

The trail, which will begin in Denton and ultimately connect all five DCTA stations, will parallel the DCTA rail and will tie into a pedestrian bridge being developed by TXDOT over Lewisville Lake. Connections to other municipal trails are also being coordinated.

DCTA A-Train & Rail Trail meeting tonight, 6:30

Our friends at Querencia Community Bike Shop just posted up a handy reminder that DCTA is hosting a public meeting about the coming A-Train for DCTA.  This is a huge change for Denton, and we’ve heard that the last public meeting had about 30 attendees.  If 10 of us show up on bicycle, that’s a huge representative sample of the interested community.  If you ride a bicycle and are concerned/interested in the transit station downtown and bike accommodations on the train, NOW is the time to ask.  

I’ve heard that the train will be built on top of the existing rail trail, and supposedly the rail trail will be rebuilt later.  I’d like to ask about the timeline for when the trail will be rebuilt, because I rely on it for safe passage to Loop 288 stores.  

Will the train cars have bike hooks?  If they do, imagine the possibilities.  Bike camping, riding in Dallas, etc.  

Public Meeting, 6:30PM

Fred Moore High School Gym
815 Cross Timber St
Denton, TX 76205

Near the intersection of Robertson St. and Morse St.