Fort Worth's Eastside Transit Plan raises concerns in community

Fort Worth is moving forward with a plan to overhaul transit on the city’s eastside.

The City Council voted to support the Eastside Transportation Plan, which would bring hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to the area of Interstate 30 and East Lancaster Avenue.

City leaders have called the plan a game-changer for communities needing investment. Some residents of those communities have been airing concerns about the plan’s impact on their neighborhoods.

In their meeting on Jan. 23, the Fort Worth City Council approved a resolution to support the Eastside Transportation Plan, billed by city leaders as one of the biggest transit projects in Fort Worth in 40 years.

“This is showing our support as a city, and most importantly as a community, for East Lancaster to be redesigned as a hot corridor,” said Lauren Prieur, director of transportation and public works for the City of Fort Worth.

The plan would rebuild portions of East Lancaster Avenue and I-30 and prep the area for improved mass transit and the arrival of high-speed rail.

City transportation leaders said transit in the east side needs an overhaul to help move people more efficiently and bring more investment to communities that have historically been left behind.

“Hot corridor means we’re incorporating elements like fiber, E-V charging, next-generation traffic signals, and rapid transit into this corridor redesign,” Prieur said.

Phase One of the project was set to cost $182 million and develop portions of I-30 and East Lancaster located to the west of Interstate 820. The next phase will develop the area east of I-820 – where some communities have been sharing concerns.

“The most recent rendering shows this block as six lanes,” said Julie Ledford, an advocate for the Historic Handley area.

East Lancaster Avenue passes through Historic Handley, an urban village known for its boutique wedding shops.

Project renderings from the Eastside Transportation Plan website showed the roadway in the area being widened by 46 feet. Advocates feared that kind of road expansion would impact historic buildings and speed up traffic that was already at the doorstep of their businesses.

“Not great, I’m not sure why that needs to happen,” said Julie West, owner of Paper Planet. “I don’t think the traffic warrants it.”

“More unsafe than it is now, so that really scares me,” she continued.

NBC 5 took those concerns to the city of Fort Worth.

City leaders said the project’s design hasn’t been finalized yet, and the next year will be spent in community meetings and environmental reviews.

“So the city has heard the community’s concerns loud and clear, and these are being documented in our comments to TxDOT,” Prieur said. “It’s important to understand that TXDOT is ultimately the owners of this corridor and will make the final decisions.”

Construction on the Eastside Transportation Plan is set to begin in 2027 and end in 2029. Read more about the city's plans here.