Fort Worth takes small steps toward major improvements along East Berry corridor 

Fort Worth wants to redevelop East Berry Street into a vibrant, safe and walkable thoroughfare with mixed-use developments strategically located to encourage private investment.

A plan that is expected to be considered by City Council members next week is chock full of ideas with proposed items — landscaping, medians, sidewalks and an expanded emphasis on improvements to the Cobb Park area and the western shore of Lake Arlington. Many elements are currently not funded and would likely take years to establish.

To create a signature corridor, the plan lays out short- to long-range goals to aid in the project development, said Kelly Porter, the city’s assistant director of regional transportation planning and innovation.

For now, the redevelopment goals are taking small steps forward.

On April 22, the Fort Worth City Council approved a nearly $1 million engineering services agreement for the preliminary design and preparation of construction documents for a multimodal, walkable mixed-use corridor. 

Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., which has a Fort Worth office among dozens of offices nationwide, will study East Berry Street from Interstate 35W to Miller Avenue under the contract worth $996,692.

The city plans to invest $2.2 million to implement the Berry Street Corridor Improvement Project — a bond infrastructure item that voters approved in May 2022. The project included Berry Street from I-35W to Martin Luther King Freeway (U.S. Highway 287), but the new contract calls for the study of the street slightly east of that, to Miller Avenue.

Council members approved funding for the project on Sept. 13, 2022. The council also extended the study to South Cravens Road near Lake Arlington.

Mixed-use urban developments are planned along East Berry through form-based code changes that consider the physical look of a development to ensure it is pedestrian-friendly. That plan would be accomplished in phases over several years, Porter said. 

Redeveloping East Berry won’t be a quick process, but “the good thing is that we have a plan,” Porter said. 

What’s in the plan? Development near transit, trails

The city is considering developing a transit- and trail-oriented development near Mississippi Avenue and Cobb Park as well as extensions of trails and bicycle facilities, according to the plan. 

To encourage more private development, the plan proposes more mixed-use and residential buildings around the Shoppes at Renaissance Square, one of the major shopping centers in east Fort Worth. 

Other sites included are between Miller and East Berry streets, and from Stalcup Road to Lake Arlington. The city has prioritized acquiring open space on the Fort Worth side of Lake Arlington, including a $2.5 million purchase in 2022.

The goal is to improve the corridor with amenities to improve vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle safety by adding sidewalks along the entirety of East Berry Street, with buffers between the sidewalk and road. Medians are planned for some portions of the street.

The transportation department is working to pull all the pieces together since East Berry Street is targeted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments as a possible future transit route to Mansfield in southern Tarrant County, Porter said.

“This corridor schematic planning project will encourage complete street designs to enhance

safety and comfort for all users, support transit, and provide necessary elements for swift capital delivery and economic development,” a staff report said.

The study will help planners with a preliminary redesign of the road and get the project ready for environmental clearance and future funding opportunities. The city’s Transportation and Public Works Department would budget funds for the improvement project, the staff report said.

Porter said the project would “get back to basics” to make the area more attractive and help with walkability by filling in sidewalk gaps, adding medians and creating mid-block street crossings.

Although the project includes a goal of 12.9% to hire minority- and women-owned subcontractors under the city’s business equity ordinance to work on the project, Kimley-Horn expects to exceed that goal at 16.26%. Changes to subcontractors will be reviewed by the city’s Business Equity Division.

City officials have conducted 100 surveys, four rounds of public outreach and held meetings with neighborhood groups to get input for redevelopment. City Council members are expected to vote on the plan during their May 13 meeting. 

Potential bond projects could be developed to be put before voters in future elections, Porter said. The city’s next bond election is expected in May 2026. 

The public-driven process, he said, would help create “planning that is going to be actionable.”

Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected]. 

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