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>> Any staff feedback regarding the city's accessibility in transportation?
We will pass on to you.
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>> Good afternoon, Chair and committee members.
This update provides information on the progress that we have made on ADA initiatives and any road safety initiatives that are linked to the ADA.
Recently, we filled the position of senior planner by FED and ADA.
Dr. Roya Iqmanani, she planned to attend previously as well, but the forum was not there, so we could not introduce her today.
She was planned to attend, but she had to attend a text art certification.
And so she's there.
Dr. Roya brings a lot of experience in ADA and public transportation aspects of focus areas.
She has a Ph.D. and postdoc in urban planning from University of Texas at Arlington.
And she was prior to joining us, she was working with Texas Transportation Institute.
And that's an affiliated consulting body that is affiliated with the state of Texas and then their prime consulting body where they go for advice and any consulting opportunities for complex transportation related matters.
She has a lot of experience in public transportation and ADA. She has published, she's well published and has more than 2,000 citations on her publications and review, which is significant work.
And so she has already started working significantly on many, many initiatives that we had that were pending because the position was not filled and we hope that in near future there will be a lot of projects we'll be making.
Then I will also cover sidewalk and bike lanes criteria elements and then ADA transition plan and implementation.
There will be some implementation examples because previously we shared some planning side of things that we are planning to do these things.
But this, in this meeting, I'm going to present several examples where we, not all of them, but several major examples where we implemented things on ADA side and road safety side as well.
So with regard to sidewalk and bike lanes criteria elements, one of the key aspects, one of the most important aspects for any local jurisdiction is that when we make these transportation investment decisions, we are basing them off of some criteria that is equity based, that is centric to the needs of vulnerable road users and that is not generalizing things.
An important aspect is, for example, looking at how pedestrians are impacted by unsafe walking conditions and how many of these crashes that we have in the area are linked to pedestrians and vulnerable road users.
Another aspect is how many of those crashes resulted in fatality versus how many of those were serious injuries, incapacitating injuries and the others which were not, which were in limited categories.
So that is one aspect and there are others as well. For example, I mentioned equity. How many pedestrian areas that have gaps are zero car households where people could not access the public transportation because they don't have car, but due to voids or gaps of these sidewalks, they could not walk and then if they walk on the roadside, it's a hazardous condition for them.
So that is another aspect that needs to go into our evaluation process where we just prioritize the projects. Are there cases, are there Title VI schools or the schools that are related to activities where kids would have to walk significantly on hazardous?
So that is a consideration. Also, we would look into active travel modes. Are we providing last mile or first mile opportunities for public transportation areas?
So for instance, if there's a bus stop, we would like to map the bus stop to the nearest equity-based areas and see if the last mile connection is there by possible via for pedestrians or even via bike lanes. So that is a significant consideration that we have to put into that should weigh into the evaluation criteria and then when we are prioritizing the problems.
Is that roadmap? Have you got it planned already? Yes, so that is already so I so once there's the last element and then I'll explain that this is already ready. This criteria has been developed.
So last is destination access for example. So destination access means that we have a bus stop for instance or a train station. So a train station we would map, scan what destinations are around where people would like to go and then we would just try to figure out that are we providing full accessibility from the possible transit stop or a train stop to that destination.
If somebody if a light rail passenger would walk to their destination, would that be possible or if a user with special needs would like to walk or access their destination, would that be possible?
Under ADA compliance. So with all of these categories focusing on taking guidance from comprehensive plan guidance, hinging on mobility plan and then looking for pedestrian and bicycle plan.
These are the two focus areas that we are working on. These are our these two documents are our guiding lights and then those factors that I mentioned are the main factors for prioritization. So it's a matrix that solves the puzzle of this sidewalk accessibility and bike lanes.
So that's how we are approaching. So the good news is that we have developed this criteria. This developed this criteria has been developed. It's like a sieve that we have now and then all the projects will have to go through that sieve.
Previously, we had a list of projects and but we would struggle we would have some idea on which one would be the best but for consistency sake, we would struggle to have a safe from where each project would pass through and then we'll be able to figure out where does it stand.
So that mechanism we have now. So we have developed it. This is this has been developed in house by Dr. Roya and myself and then a couple of other transportation services staff.
We have vetted it with the other cities as well. We have put into consideration what other what the best practices are around the US with similar markets.
We can't compare San Francisco with Denton, of course, but we can compare some Mesquite or or some parts of Austin with Denton. So I think that was also considered so with that.
So now we are up. Yes. Are any of these already in place and this is just a plan to enhance it or is this totally new to the city?
This is this is new not new to the city. The process was in place for prioritization before as well, but this has been enhanced now based on these factors that I mentioned.
So now we we are looking at the factors that are influencing the vulnerable road user that are impacting that before the consideration was there, but it was not in the form of this matrix.
It was there based on the knowledge of the professionals and then it was also there based on some level of we had a sidewalk prioritization done previously.
But then it had some mechanism like this, but it is more robust. Is there one section of Denton that is more active that would benefit mostly from this or is that a citywide problem?
It will be a citywide application and but but for sure each area will be treated differently.
And so, for example, downtown has different needs versus area around loop 288 would have different versus some residential neighborhood would be treated differently.
It all you know residents and neighborhoods near universities would be treated differently because they're there the crowd or the users will never know users are there of different categories.
So I so that's that's the objective of this matrix.
So where do we start?
So we start with step one of okay, now that we have criteria, let's start evaluating where our existing and existing bike lanes and sidewalk conditions stand.
Where do we stand with that? And then this step we have already completed that step has been completed.
So these two steps have been completed now where we are we are.
So in this step we have prioritized projects list for sidewalk. There are like 20 projects that stood up in the process and then we are we have ran them.
But then imagine we have list of 30 or 30 projects and we are asking ourselves that okay, we are prioritized, but we have to look at the cost.
So from the cost has many factors, but some of the key factors are that do we need right of way acquisition in some cases right?
So where do we stand here? And then another factor is that are there any utilities or other offsets DME related offsets that we'd have to touch.
So for that matter, we have provided that list sidewalk prioritized sidewalk list for another element, which is real estate. So we have provided that list to our real estate department.
And we are asking their advice that could you put cost numbers on the side based on the right of way acquisition so that we could figure out that how much is total cost.
So that will be cost to implement the project plus any right of way acquisition cost needs plus any utilities offset costs so that we look at it from constructability standpoint.
And we are not looking at it only from merit of prioritization.
But for me, to my staff, I have requested them that look, this should not change the priority. So priority means once we have run through the prioritization criteria, that means if a project is coming at top and it's saying let's say 30 million dollars, I'm just giving a number.
This should not change the priority. This is telling us that we don't have funds to implement this, but the priority has to be number one.
We will not change that priority. But what we will do is keep looking at funding sources and then look at based on our allocated budget, we will do the projects that are next to that priority need.
But that number one project will still stay number one, regardless of if we are funding or not. I think why we are approaching this because maybe there's a hazardous condition.
Maybe some school kids are forced to walk on the street just because we have utilities or we have offsets, DME offsets needed or right of way is not there.
So that is expensive, but that does not say that the project is not priority just because it is expensive. So we have to find a funding source.
We will start for that matter. We will start first look at the right of way. Is it TechStore? Is it Denton County? Is it city of Denton? And then look at start the coordination process that should be applied for safe route to school grant, should be applied for some federal funding.
But that project will stay on the top. Just because we cannot build it, it will not change the priority.
So I think that's I wanted to clarify that because that's how we are approaching. So obviously then we go to number two and say, okay, this is constructible within our budget. Let's immediately start constructing this. So this is how we are approaching.
And then so that structure is simple terms we have evaluated. We have done audits based on the audits. We have compiled the list of projects that we have right now. Then we have some cost as well based on our professional analysis, but that cost does not include right of way and utility offsets.
So we are getting that data from DLSJ. Then it will give us full cost. After full cost, we will still go through the list again and then say this fiscal year we can build this project based on the budget allocated.
And then we will implement those for others, which are still a top priority, will coordinate with TechStore and other NCTCOG and many other agencies and look for funding.
So as I mentioned earlier, I just like to reiterate here that our core criteria is safety.
I've explained that in terms of fatalities and serious incapacity injuries for vulnerable road users. So we are when we are looking at we are not looking at auto crashes only, but we are saying that how many of these were pedestrian.
How many of those how many of those had fatalities and then how many how many had serious incapacity injuries, and that is extremely important for us.
And then for that matter we have also procured entire access software or application that not only that goes into deeper level one step deeper into the Chris database and just says and ask questions like what interventions are plausible here, what could be done.
And so out of those which ones are economical, which ones are costlier when it comes to constructively. So all of those that is available to us.
We are looking at equity, we are looking at accessibility, ADA, connectivity, trip potential in terms of last mile, first mile, as I explained, and multimodal focus.
So another aspect is that we are not ignoring the multimodal aspect of this whole exercise.
For instance, we find an area where the data is telling us that there are a lot of pedestrian activity here, there's a lot of pedestrian activity here, and we are able to find out the only origin and destination for where people are coming from and where the closer destination is, we will be able to figure out that if a bus stop is needed here.
Or a go zone is needed. So for mobility as a service. And then we are also trying to go to that extent where we will have meetings with DCTA and start suggesting that this looks like a bus stop location, an ideal bus stop location or perhaps it is a location for a go zone where people would not have to walk like five blocks, they would just be able to get the service right there.
So I think that is also part of our analysis. So holding measures would be that what, how we are getting, how we are evaluating these core criteria elements.
These include crash history, disadvantage groups, as I mentioned there's Eurocard, household, equity based areas, ADA compliance levels, we are tapping into the ADA transition plan, the barriers listed in the ADA transition plan.
As a matter of fact, we have five or six barriers that we are working right now and based on available budget and those will be implemented within months, we are ready to go for that.
And then we have access to destinations, population, type of population of the students, if it is multi-card households, Eurocard households and integration into other modes. As I explained that we are not looking into just pedestrian.
So pedestrian and bike users are involved from transportation engineering standpoint, they are involved. So pedestrian should not be looked at as if they are occupying a street, but if they have been given out of the full right of way,
if they have been allocated a sidewalk or a multi-use path or a bike lane for bike users, that doesn't mean that we are taking away the capacity of the road, but that means in transportation engineering terms, in engineering terms, we are increasing the capacity,
we are increasing the throughput because we are now allowing multiple modes on the same right of way, including cars, buses, bike lanes and pedestrian.
So that is the focus we have when we are looking at these things. And later I'll show you with examples where we have made this implementation that how we show the focus.
So that's the criteria. We are looking at high crash, high risk areas. We are looking at, so these are the actual criteria elements. And then these are the measures which are related to these elements.
So it's one step deeper into these four ideas. But to explain, one of them I'll explain just for the sake of time, for example, high residential density growth areas.
So for sidewalk, we will look at high residential density growth areas. Density growth areas would be where we will see a lot of pedestrian and bike user activity.
And then based on that, we will just say that, okay, this is high growth density area and we need to provide sidewalks here or multi-use paths here.
And I have already given example of pedestrian crashes and bicycle crash hotspots. So hotspots are where there are frequent fatalities or serious injury accidents are happening.
So we look at the data for the last five years of data and we find those spots and they are the obvious ones. But we have one step further. We have more information now.
Last one and a half year, we had to gather this data. So we have recently completed our vision zero phase two implementation study.
Based on that study, the outcome of that study is that we have 11 high injury network corridors in Denton. They are identified in Denton based on this rule that are their hotspots, are their frequent injury hotspots.
And we have identified 11 corridors. Out of them, some are textile maintained, but many are city of Denton maintained. And we have already drafted a funding application for NCTCOG where we are out of those 11 corridors.
We are going to hit six of them and then we will try to implement safety based improvements, road safety based improvements and ADA and accessibility based improvements.
And that will be coming to council soon for the ordinance and AIS.
So where we stand, we have priority map developed. So priority map is with us. We have that. The only reason we have not presented it to mobility committee and other committees is that we want real estates feedback on additional costs and then we will share that data as well.
And then sidewalk and bike network gap maps created. We have those maps already and we understand that where we have to go and make implementation projects scored and ranked by safety, equity and connectivity.
As I said that the projects have been scored. We know where the priority is. It's just that we want to have knowledge of constructability in terms of costs and constructivity will tell us.
So real estate will really tell us that do we have a right of way on these prioritized areas? If we don't, then there's additional cost involved to acquire that right of way or to do the utilities offset.
And then we have sidewalk infill near schools and bike lanes connecting UNT to downtown. That is one example.
But there's another one that we are starting near Newton Razor and Calhoun. We just got funded from NCT cog.
We have been funded about 7.6 million dollars. Out of that, 4 million dollars has been funded for a sidewalk project, safe route to school project, which will include sidewalk and bike lanes in that area.
So that project is just starting. We are we have completed the design work on that because it has like planning and then design and then implementation.
So we have completed planning. We have completed design and now we're going for implementation.
Did you say Newton Razor again? Newton Razor and Calhoun. I thought they leveled Newton Razor.
Is that not the school? It's in the old Calhoun building. Calhoun is in the old Denton High building.
They did demolish the building. As I understand it, Newton Razor is in the old Calhoun building and then Calhoun is in the middle.
But it still is a good reference point because you understood what area I'm talking about. So that's why we keep doing that.
So with that, so we are technically speaking, we are inches away from implementation on sidewalks.
It's just a matter of if we were not being careful, then you just say, hey, just pick up the shovel and let's go build it.
But we are just taking one more precaution step of precaution and saying, let's ask, let's understand what the total cost would be so that we can budget appropriately.
I think that this is extremely important because right in the middle of the project, if we say, sorry, we are out of budget because we didn't know if right of way acquisition was needed,
that would be so bad for contractor and for city as well. So that's why and I'm very positive that when we meet next time, we will have some implemented sidewalk projects as well.
So ADA transition plan is another important aspect that we are focused on and we have achieved in the last one and a half years.
We have completed all these phases, phase one, where we had challenge assessment and figure out that where do we stand when it comes to any implementation.
We had needs assessment and prioritization. We have completed that step as well.
We had annual work plan and initiate project delivery. That step is complete.
We submitted our annual work plan with our last semiannual report to CMO and I think it's a public document.
And when it comes to these phases, we completed the ADA transition plan review.
We had full at length. We have looked at the challenges by not only looking at the documents, but we actually invited department heads
and we individually met with the department heads asking them that what are the challenges and why we are unable to implement some of the barriers listed in the ADA transition plan.
And then that was an open discussion where we were able to figure out what the strategy should be.
And one of the key strategies is that we have allocated funding now and that we are using that funding to build ADA or remove these ADA barriers.
Another step that we did was that we found that ADA program is fragmented between many different departments.
And each department was trying to implement and perhaps struggling as well because there was no focused resource for those departments where they could go to and share the challenges.
So what we did, transportation services, when we were given the task to look at this ADA, we established the ADA liaison members group.
Each department, city department has a member in this group and that includes four tier one departments for ADA which include transportation, streets and parks and then CIP is also included as a fifth and facilities there.
So we meet every month and we follow the agenda and we discuss any challenges.
If I give you an example that last summer time, there were some ADA inquiries from the public for parks department.
And so the process is so well-vetted now that immediately parks department contacted me via email that we have this inquiry and we would like to discuss this.
Immediately we created a smaller group, not this whole group.
So a smaller group where we had people who are responsible to address some of the queries, including legal department.
And legal department was there, parks was sitting in that meeting and then myself and then my staff.
And then we quickly started a strategy on how to address those and then we would meet pretty much twice a day.
And then within five, six days, we resolved those ADA inquiries.
There were multiple inquiries and this is how methodic this whole process is.
And let's say there is another department. Yes, there was another inquiry by libraries and we were again.
We had a library representative, director of libraries, and then we had some staff from there.
And then we had legal and my staff. And then we collectively, we work together to resolve those inquiries.
So this is how well-vetted the process is. And then we meet every month.
We discuss our goals and objectives and we discuss the achievements and then follow the work plan.
And as we speak, we are also developing for each of these departments.
Next work plan as we decide the budgets, we want to have next work plan for you.
So all of these steps have been completed.
These are different steps that we initiated before the developing, establishing the liaison group.
And they have been all completed.
This is just to give you an idea. This is how we have mapped the whole process for ADA.
Where it starts with annual departmental assessments and then we do ADA project prioritization.
Then we have tier two project ten years, five years and annual work plan.
And in between, you could see that there is a public request.
If the public request comes, it doesn't have to go through all these planning processes that city has.
These are for our optimization of our processes that are we actually delivering something or not for our own accountability, these steps.
But this, if it comes, a public request comes, just like I mentioned two examples, parks and libraries.
A few months back, we had those requests.
This goes straight to legal and transportation services and budget.
All those three things attached, we address and budget building and it just goes to the project delivery.
So if it is coming from public, we have to evaluate that if it is critical, if it is not critical,
if it is an idea that is a long term, it just goes back to the start of the process.
I think, again, we are trying to be methodic.
It was a bit slow in the beginning. It took us one and a half years to map all of this.
And in light of best practices, but we are now in that gear where we are ready to start with the real projects.
We also have a clear ADA grievance procedure.
It has been functional. It has been working so much so that we have been getting ADA inquiries from other cities as well.
And then we have to guide them that, look, we can provide you the information where to contact them.
But we have been getting a lot of information from other cities as well.
So this information is available on our website and anybody who has ADA concerns or complaints,
they can go and provide the information and they are responded typically within a day.
We have to respond to them and then explain how we will try to resolve the issue.
And if we do not respond promptly, then there is a link that is provided for federal agencies like USDOJ,
the Department of Justice, where they can contact and launch their grievance over there.
I think that information is there as well. Typically, if a complaint or inquiry comes, it is taken very seriously.
Immediately, as soon as we receive, we have to start working on it.
And somebody is there to respond and somebody is assigned to audit within transportation team.
But let's say it is facilities or parks related inquiry, we will immediately talk to parks,
pick up the phone or reach out and say we have to respond to this inquiry,
who would be the key contact point and establish the team and we start working on that.
So this is how quickly we assemble the team because of this liaison group.
Because for each department, we know who to contact.
And we have, by the way, backup contacts as well. If this person is not available, who do I contact?
I think this is how well mapped the whole process is.
So now the next step for us is coming. ADA Transition Plan update is coming, which will be end of this fiscal year.
By around September, October, we will kick off the update process. And work plan we are already working on.
Next, annual work plan. The previous ones were established in 2024.
But then due to gap of our previous ADA coordinator moved to a different role, so we had to wait.
But we are on it and this should be ready.
We have on the grand side of things, I wanted to highlight this is very important and very close to my heart
because for the last one and a half years, transportation services have applied for over $100 million in federal, state and local grants.
We have been proactively applying for funds because we do understand that only budget allocated by city would not be enough.
So we have been applying for these funds and so far we have received around $30 million been awarded.
And by federal and state and local money, it has been awarded. We are not stopping on this.
We have recently applied for $15 million in bill grant for a project that will look into ADA and road safety.
We are still applying for another $12 million for a venture project.
And then we are applying for $2 or $3 million for our comp plan and mobility plan update.
So all of these and in terms of HSIP, highway safety improvement program, which is listed right here.
By 2024, we had already received close to $9 million from TexDOT on HSIP.
So guess what HSIP will do? A highway safety improvement program goes at intersections that are highlighted by city of Denton to TexDOT that these intersections are not safe.
So please help us there. So what TexDOT does, TexDOT says, OK, what is the cost? We provide them the cost estimates and they say we will help you with it.
They go through their criteria. Of course, we have to show how this is unsafe.
And then that's what city's staff does, my staff does. And then we build the case and we apply.
And so far, for example, Fry Street on Hickory Street and Fry intersection, you will see that in a few weeks, TexDOT folks will be working there for improvements.
Mostly they will provide fully fled signalized intersection and crosswalks, AD ramps and full comprehensive improvements.
So you will see many, many intersections. They will be coming. So we have gotten 8.8.
This year we have been awarded around $1.5 million for two projects that we applied.
So that is another effort we are doing. So the number one in this list, if you have the list, you will see that it saves streets and roads for all.
There are $740,000 that was awarded and that will also look into safety and that has been awarded by US DOT and FSWA.
And yesterday I completed that. I finalized the agreement with them.
As soon as this comes by the end of April, if it is executed by council, that's another money that we are putting towards safety.
ADA, bike path and overall traffic safety on Denton roads.
Another that is worth mentioning is this DSA decide number five.
That's $7.6 million. That is the one that has been awarded by NCD COG via US DOT.
And that project, out of that $4 million will be spent on safe routes to school,
which will be bike, pet and signalized intersection improvements or intersection improvements.
It's a significant work that we will be doing. And then out of that $3.6 million will be utilized for bike lanes, for trails.
So the last one I will mention here is this $5.96 million, that is number four, that is on Western Boulevard.
We are expanding the Western Boulevard and will be providing bike lanes and sidewalk and fully compliant ADA intersections and signalized intersections.
So it's a lot of work that will be done and that has been awarded by NCD COG.
So that's why I'm saying that we have been pretty successful so far.
Not bragging about it, but we have been able to bring good money to the city.
And I can assure you that the prime focus of this $30 million that I am talking about,
each one of these applications has a bike, pet and safety component.
Because otherwise, Feds won't give us money. If we just go without that, they'll just say,
"Hey, it's a very good project, but where are pedestrians? Where are bike users?"
And if you are not addressing that, no money for you. So that's a simple rule.
So I think equity is a big piece of that as well.
So I will move and if you have any questions, maybe we can talk about it later on.
So this is where I want to show you that I'm not just talking, I'm just trying to show you some implementations.
And I'm so proud of it, proud of those implementations.
So these are the lists, but I could not provide all the pictures.
But if you are interested, we can send the pictures that we have.
So this is TCA and Sundown Boulevard intersection before and after installation.
So this is before. You could see no signs, no signal.
It was basically you decide how you want to go.
And there was a lot of safety concerns and this stood out.
And so look at this now. It's full signalized intersection, crosswalk, ADA compliance.
And not only that, it just goes back at least a block.
And we ensure that if we are not just leaving people after this intersection, go figure out how we want to go.
So I think it's full cycle project.
There is another one that I would like to show. Oh, this one, I absolutely love it.
Hickory Street and Belch. I hope that you guys have traversed through that area.
But imagine, so this is a student-prone area. This is a lot of student activity.
I remember one of my staffs, city traffic engineer, Chandra, him and I, we stood at this.
So initially, our project managers, they gave us a hint that, oh, Farhan, we just need a crossing there.
And I would not agree with that because I know that two locations are there.
There's a parking lot where students come out.
But then there is another very, very famous restaurant where these kids go.
So we went for audit by ourselves. We stood there for about quite 15, 30 minutes.
And after that, we figured out that, no, this is not one spot. These are two spots.
And then we have provided this right in front of lanes.
And then there is another one about a few hundred feet north of it.
There are two crossings. And then I have a friend in the city of Austin where I contacted.
He's the Director of Transport Engineering. I asked him, you guys have done some cool ideas.
And he said that if you are providing the crossing, 90 percent of the problem is at night.
So we again went and audited this spot and found out that at night students would be struggling
because even if they are seeing this crossing light is on,
but the drivers could not see them, depending on if they are wearing a black jacket.
So we added another safety element onto it and we provided a flashlight.
As soon as they step on the crossing, the light bulb is on and then they can cross safely.
So I think that's how it's almost on a personal scale. We just go and try to feel that
how safe would I be if I crossed this? And that's how we worked on these projects.
At least I can say for many of these that we have personally crossed them and tried to figure out that
would it work or do I need to do something else? This is another example.
East Oak and North Austin. We found that the pedestrian here would struggle
because we would just bring them to this point. So you can see these steps, this is before.
And we would just leave them on their own to go figure. So I think in this case,
we made this comprehensive improvement. If you have walked on this intersection,
East Oak and North Austin, you will see that these detectable services are there
and clearly identified intersection corners are there and it is very safe now.
It's a very busy area by the way. What's the circular on the top, the circular red?
Why does it go from corner to corner? Circular red? Yeah. Yeah, so circular red,
the purpose was that we could not provide a 90 degree curvature or 90 degree corner
because of the space restriction. So we had to make it curved so that we provide,
we cover it from all angles, from ADA side. Because imagine,
imagine if ADA's tracers are only on this location and not here
and somebody coming from that point, it will be very dangerous. So I think we cover this whole thing
and making sure that it is understood that whoever is using detectable surface,
they know that it is the place for crossing. Is the red a textured brick?
Yeah. Like the ADA textured brick? Yes. Okay, that makes sense.
So it is detectable surface. ADA. Yes. So from the brick, if you're going off to the left,
is that area where, so I see where this, we're coming in from the sidewalk,
we go through the curve and then we go out that way. Yeah, is that a pedestrian lane or what's happening?
This is not a pedestrian. There is no pedestrian lane. No, I mean like, sorry, outside of the circle.
So this one, this is additional support structure to provide them,
to provide the user information that that's where it ends.
And we have made it a little bit elevated to show that there is no sidewalk further.
It looks like a parking space. Yeah, I was just wondering if it goes into a parking
or like if it continues on to a parking space or if it continues on to another lane.
Yes, but if there is any, so we are open to, we have discussed,
we actually don't just deliver and just go back to office.
We visit this area continuously, not wearing our badges,
as a common person and just stand there and observe what's happening.
I think that's the best way because that is when we find out that where people are struggling.
We don't have to talk, even talk to them. In some cases, we will talk to them,
but we can simply observe that what is happening. In some cases,
if we see that if they are having mid-block crossings for some reason,
yes, that is a user behavior, but we would try to understand that why that is happening,
why they are forced to cross in the mid, why they are not walking.
Is it a preference or is it something that we are not doing correctly and we need to improve?
I think all of those considerations are made. I am not claiming that we are perfect.
No, but we are trying our best to make sure that the solutions are well thought.
So I think one of the things, because I do go down here quite a bit,
I go to this where all times. So that section looks like it's blocked.
You know, you've got the stairs there and there's no way to get,
there is a kind of sidewalk, but it's not really good for anybody.
So, but I think one of the things you're looking at is you're going to have to cross.
So if you're going to go south, you're going to have to cross the street
and then go along that sidewalk over there.
Okay. Yes. I see what you're saying. That's correct.
And that's why we have raised it that don't cross this because there is not enough space.
Okay. That's clear. Thank you.
But previously it was not available. It was just on your own side and figure out.
So I think that is much safer. And as I said that we will continuously visit
and if there's any improvement needed, we'll be first to do it.
That's another one. Can Dog Drive and Eagle Road before and after installation?
So imagine this was heavily crossed by UNT students.
And we observed this area and we found that it is not safe.
And then on top of that, we never had any ADA compliant crossing.
And we found during our audits and I would call them secret audits
where we were not shown as we're not being even wearing vests.
We were just there standing and observing what's happening.
And we found that a couple of students who are differently challenged,
they would try to cross and they were having difficulties.
And that's where we decided we immediately said that, okay, this is the top part.
We just hit the right place. And so we decided working on this.
And then now it has fully compliant ADA ramps and a crossing that is safe.
And in fact, the students came back with cards and cookies.
So they approached and one fine morning when I was there and they just,
our staff told me that somebody is looking for you out there.
And I went and they said, hey, we wanted to thank you.
This was a much longer problem that has been solved.
So this is the kind of effort that we are putting.
And I just want to highlight these efforts.
Okay.
Okay. I'll just go with this example.
This is a discovery at US 77. That was another one where we did the audit
and we found out that there are serious safety issues
because students were crisscrossing this area.
And so this is the state it was without any signal,
no crossing, no pedestrian or ADA compliance.
And that's where we immediately started implementation.
And there you go. So we have fully fledged signalized intersections.
We have crossings. We have ADA compliant ramps.
And after that, after the implementation, we kept auditing this area for several weeks.
And we tweaked some of the features and it's working perfectly.
Since then, we have visited this area and often when we'll be close to nearby site,
we'll just go and see for about 10 minutes, 15 minutes, it's working fine.
I think there is another one. I apologize for some of this.
I think the battery is not in.
With all the new apartments and building and housing additions,
do you perceive that it's going to be that this is going to be sufficient to handle that?
These crosswalks that are with more?
It will not be sufficient. I would be honest.
But we'll have to be very proactively addressing this issue.
And that's why we need to prioritize and we need to see where is the money well spent
and where is the best returns on our investments.
And that's hence the criteria and hence these equity based equations that we are putting into practice.
So that is very important.
And then, of course, from the sufficiency part, we are trying,
of course, the aggregated budget will never be enough.
So we are trying to find additional funds from every possible,
whatever funding is advertised for such projects, we are going after those.
They are very competitive.
But we have to do staff does a lot of work in analysis and providing justification for the projects.
You can imagine that why HDCOG would give dental money and why not give it to our dentists.
All those questions are in that equation.
So it's competitive, but staff is applying for those funds.
So any of the builders that part of the complex, there's just a massive amount that seems to be going on.
I know everybody had concerns.
Did they contribute to any of the funding for this kind of stuff?
Yes, they did.
So when the new development comes, they have to build the sidewalks in the periphery.
But I talked about the old Denton area where we don't have this system.
Even once the development is there, the growth pattern changes.
And then we have to deal with something that was not foreseen and that was not imagined.
And that's where we have to address those complex equations.
So I have a couple of questions.
And thank you for all the work you're doing in making sure that all the sidewalks are up to date.
But I have a question.
So you mentioned over on Hickory, over by Lanes, that restaurant right there, you put in a crosswalk right there.
It's fantastic.
We have a similar kind of crosswalk over here on McKinney, right across from the City Hall.
That's good.
And that's great that you have that.
It's great that we can push a button.
I saw one just today.
That person went up there, hit the button, started to walk out.
She got halfway into the street.
Somebody blew right through that.
And so I'm just wondering if we are looking at anything.
That is heavily traveled.
We've got July 4th.
We've got all the other things that we have going on every weekend.
Is there anything that we're doing that, and I know we're ADA compliant now, is anybody looking at anything going past that for safety, for things like that?
Because again, I saw one again today.
Thank you for that very good observation and very good question.
And we are in alignment with that.
So as I mentioned earlier, that we have been preparing an application right now that is a grant application right now.
So it's all about funding, right?
When we want to understand what is going on in the safety side of equation, we want to know.
So in order to deploy those interventions, we need funds.
So we already have a plan where we could deploy AI based detection based technologies that are working right now.
They're high tech.
And so there is an opportunity with NCT CoF where they would like to support these technologies to identify safety related issues.
We have developed a proposal and we are going to test some technologies to look at the behavior side of things.
It's the behavior, right?
Exactly.
People not paying attention.
And we drove up next to the person and she looked like she was looking at her phone, which is dangerous as it is.
Similar is the complaint that in US 380 and this we have seen these concerns and then there are other in other cases.
Sundown Boulevard is another example where there is a stop sign, which after 9 p.m., the road users, auto users, they keep on it.
That's all.
They would not stop.
It's a neighborhood 9 p.m., nobody's around and when nobody's around, that becomes even more risky.
Because that one person that is there, it just takes that.
And that is a fatality case.
Well, and the people who just keep thinking, oh, and they go through there 100 times and then 101, there's somebody walking across and they're not thinking.
Yes.
And that one instance is the one where the unfortunate thing will happen.
So in that case, we are also promoting the idea of awareness.
And that is in works as well.
So but but the problem is bigger.
It's citywide attitude and behavior of drivers as well.
And not assuming as I said earlier that pedestrians and bike users are involved.
And they have to be treated that way.
But I think that's a larger effort that we do.
But one study that is coming soon, I can assure you that if you are awarded, you are ready to launch that study.
And that will be using technology to influence driver behavior, at least to study driver behavior side of things as important as this mid-block crossing as well.
So that's a pedestrian behavior issue that you don't want to walk 200 steps and you want to cross right in the middle of the busy road, miscalculating the speeds and totally underestimating it.
And then right in the middle of that road, I think that's something that is challenging.
You know, I could get under that, too, because again, same road, McKinney Street.
I'm over there as well.
I'm walking along there and I see people who go they will park in the post office parking and walk right across.
It's a heavy brewing, right?
And they will go and say, think you go down, there's a crosswalk.
You go that way or that way?
It's safer. It makes you safe.
But I think these are behavior issues on both ends.
I think bikers, they would not.
They would say that I'm on the bike.
I don't have to stop on this red light.
But the challenge is that if you don't stop, OK, one, maybe 100 times you will just go through that one time.
That's all it takes.
So I think we are aware of that problem and we are trying to address it through some pilot project that we are going to conduct.
If this grant is awarded, we are applying for about a million dollars.
It's going to be major.
And then, as I said, that we have selected the locations based off of our Vision Zero High Energy Network.
So it's well thought.
We are not just randomly going to different locations.
We have identified the hotspots and we are going to those locations.
Thank you, Christy.
I didn't pick it.
You didn't?
According to this.
The last slide is just, there's only one more slide.
That's just a loop.
I think that is the one that I did not, it skipped it for some reason.
But that is also a connection to trail, bike trail.
And then full signalized intersection, in-house design and done by staff and implemented by staff, transportation staff.
And then full ADA compliance and road safety compliance.
Are there regulations of how far like Loop 288 and East McKinney were served in the community food room and all that?
There is no sidewalk on that side where they're building urban air.
You know what I'm talking about right there?
There's no sidewalk along there.
So the only crosswalk is the corner of Loop 288 McKinney.
And then there's not another one for till you get down to 380.
Is there a compliance or anything that can allow crossing there?
We are looking into that because it's a right of way acquisition issue.
So yes, that's in that list.
But urban air is going to have to build the sidewalks.
Yes, but then there will still be a gap.
Because the school comes from there, it's a huge traffic area.
Ever since Ryan High was built over there, that's been an issue.
So there is, closing is there's like five or six major sidewalk projects that are in the list.
But we want information from real estate on the right of way acquisition side of things.
And then once we have that, we'll prioritize them and they'll be implemented.
Some of them will be implemented in the near future.
When I say near future, we may kick off in the next two, three months.
Who determines the right of way? Is that Textile or City of Denton?
City of Denton on City of Denton right of way.
Real estate department will inform us that, okay, there's no right of way needed or there's some needed.
In terms of utilities as well, they'll be able to tell us that if that will be a part of the equation.
And then on Textart, of course, we'll have to work with Textart to get permission.
Is any of that information taken into account before city council or whoever approves the building going in?
Or is that retroactive? I mean, like Urban Air going in, did they, does Urban Air know that they're going to have to do?
Of course, I'm sure they do. But the right of way acquisition for that, do they have to?
They know ahead of time that's going to be like Bucky's went in.
I know they had to do a huge right of way and the bridge and all that.
So they know all of that and are aware. They do because we have a development review process.
The development review process, our engineer, we have a staff rocket.
He is, he leads the development review effort.
And in that process, they would figure out that so this development would have these many trips.
And then also, according to the city code, they will have to comply with the sidewalk or bike lane, whatever is needed.
So that all of that is and then the DIA stage, traffic impact assessment stage.
Even the trips are considered that what the level of service of this facility is.
Let's say McDonald's or some other franchise is coming.
And how many trips they will bring to this area and how the level of service on the road will change for all users.
And what needs to happen in terms of impact, this impact and how we can mitigate those impacts.
So all of that is considered. But that's for new developments, right?
But for but city of Benton has significant part that is historical and some of those things are already implemented.
So I think that's we have to treat that differently.
I have a question that's off kind of off topic, but it's kind of off topic.
So is there a map that we can send somebody to? I have a reason for this.
That says this is city of Denton. This is not.
This is text dot. Right. Right.
Because here and here's the thing I my my wife, my wife brought it to me the other day.
She goes, here's this person with about three eight. Right.
So they're the loop. Three eighty.
Why is it that they put up these meetings about the city of Denton should never have done this?
It's like that's not the city of Denton. That's not doing that.
So he has nothing to do with that. So they're just going off on a rant about the city.
And I'm like, yeah, that's why I like to go.
Here's the map that is not the city. I can talk to our G.I.S. coordinator.
I think he I think we have. OK.
But we can if it needs to be shared at the Discuss Denton page, we can share.
And it's just something that, you know, it's kind of like when when there's people
who gripe about the city council should do something about the school district.
And it's like the council is you hear about that.
It's a constant education.
We get the request on the G.I.S.D.
And I think you really know that until you're on a committee like this or, you know,
or on a football organization or something, you don't know that you can't just flip on those lights.
You pay fifteen dollars a minute or fifteen dollars an hour to turn on.
You just think that that's all just part of it.
You know, it's until you get on the inside of the underground or whatever.
It's difficult. It's very interesting.
It's very interesting. It's interesting because there's two roads right here.
Yeah. Almond and Locust, right?
You got those two right there. People go, that's the city you didn't.
I don't think the city hasn't taken us over yet, have they?
No, it's going to be. It's going to be.
Yeah. They had some they had TextDOT had to do all of the resurfacing that they've done.
And then you can go back and do it again.
When TextDOT gives it to city, city's maintenance, we cannot change the structure.
See, that gets me. It's like you want me to take it, but you won't let me do anything with it.
Yeah. So I think for us, the advantage is I think the advantage point is that we have they improve the street.
They make all the improvements required and then they deliver and city gets that.
But I think they are. I'm not saying that they don't allow.
All I'm saying is that there are many rules that we have to follow.
Yes. Do they ever give it over to the city or once it's TextDOT, it's always TextDOT?
No. So we are they are planning on giving Almond, Locust here to the city.
But there's work that they had to do and order for us to be able to take it.
Because once we have it, there are things about it that we will not be able to change.
So you still had to get, I remember when Jesse was on council and they were talking about it back then,
about how the TextDOT was wanting to hand it over.
It's taken years.
It's taken years and then again, but we can fill the potholes and things like that, right?
We can do basic maintenance, but if we want to change curbs and things.
And if you want to drop a lane, that's a big question.
Then they will say that, OK, we need to have a discussion.
I'm still not saying that they will stop us from doing that.
But in some cases, they will say, no, it impacts the connectivity and just we need to remake.
Would traffic change be part of that?
Because that's been floated at one point.
So it is in both two ways.
So it's a cycle. Yes. Directional approaches or traffic flow and variation in traffic flow.
Anything that we do, for example, we just say that we are doing road diet.
It's not as simple on the roads that are given to us by TextDOT.
So we'll have to consult, we'll have to, it's a long process.
So road diet means that we'll just drop off one lane and then use it for, repurpose it for some other modes.
And it's not as simple. And directional changes, oh, that's even more complicated.
And that's the old pictures of the square.
And you can tell by the way the parking lines that they were actually, people actually came in a different direction.
And they move all the lines different directions.
We've done a good job. Very good job.
Exciting to see and to hear that. So has this committee done anything as far as benefiting what you do?
Yes, of course. We have a constant pressure that we have to report to you.
However, we have to stay on top of things and we have to make sure that we are making all of you happy.
First he gives us all the money under the table to do that.
This is being recorded. I'm sorry.
So they're going, I've done nothing. Just a job. I don't know where that came from.
Any feedback from you is very important for us.
Feel free to just contact Christy or just me directly. I'm happy to address any concerns that you have.
But I assure you that my team is dedicated to this.
We are not taking it lightly. We are taking it very seriously.
We have to report our progress to TechStore, US DOJ, on ADA.
They are also watching and they are just saying every three years we have a compliance process.
Got the compliance, full compliance and green status by US DOT and DOJ in TechStore.
And then there's another compliance period coming in two and a half years.
So we have to get ready for that. And if we don't have anything to show, that becomes complicated.
So I think we have to make significant progress in terms of how many barriers we have removed from the transition plan.
That's the fundamental question they asked and then they asked how, show us how much work you have done.
Thank you Farhan. Thank you so much.
Okay. Do we have any further discussion on that?
Okay. Does the, can we have any other business discuss?
One question, Tracy. Why does it say Vision Zero? It looks like there's no future ahead when you have this.
Yeah, so Vision Zero is the city's plan to get to zero roadway debts.
So that's kind of a, it kind of falls in line with this stuff, but also just in general transportation.
So it's Vision Zero. The goal being that we have zero traffic related fatalities.
Well, part of that is getting people to actually walk in the crosswalks.
How many people, we've actually had a few people hit in 2025.
There was, I think there was one down. It's funny how people want it instant though. I want people to sidewalk and I need to sidewalk now.
They don't realize I'm all underground. I had no idea you had to go utilities and see if there's any buried cable or anything that makes total sense now, but I wouldn't have thought that otherwise.
So I live, I think we talked about that, I live in Idiotville. So I'm just across there from the bowling alley. But there are people who walk there and they won't wait for the, I mean they'll go to the sidewalk, but they won't wait.
Pedestrians have the right of way. I think a lot of people think that too. Like I don't have to wait.
And I'm sorry, but with people, there was a one yesterday morning that it was a semi-blue right through Ruedell at 380.
And if the person in front of me would have gone, they would have been hit. Now that's a pedestrian walking out there.
And the reason why I was asking them about that, because like over here at McKinney, I've seen it where they actually have a thing on the road and when they hit that button, it actually come, it creates a barrier that people have to.
Okay, I see what you're talking about. He bounced up out of the road like an army base or whatever, and you're going to stop because I'm going to roll. Well that's the thing, it gives you something that you have to see or you're going to hit it kind of thing.
Maybe that would change behavior. Maybe that would change the behavior.
How many times do you go to a parking lot, like a paid parking lot, and you make sure you're going out the right direction because the spikes are there.
You only do it once. You want somebody else to do it. You try it. I'll see if you make it.
I got a question about sidewalks. I live out on the east side of town between Denton and the bridge that goes across the lake. Those sidewalks are big enough to drive a truck down.
I don't know if you know about Tech Stop or that city. That's Tech Stop. Why were they so wide? They're wide enough that it looks like you could have a car going that way on one side and this way. I'm just curious because y'all talking about sidewalks.
If it's blocked out, it's going to be your best. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to mis-speak. Since being on here, there are different levels of sidewalks. You have the smaller sidewalk, which is the individual. You have the large ones that you can put two-ways kind of thing going on.
You put bicycles on it and then you have those really big ones. I think that's what they did. I can get you Farhan's contact information.
Thank you for letting us sit in. We're from the Arkansas County. We see a group of individuals with IDD. We just want to make ourselves aware of what's going on. It was very informative. I feel good about that. I feel good about all the work that you guys are doing for the IDD community.
Thank you so much. Thanks for being here. There's no other business, so we can actually have some fun free time. I'll adjourn the meeting at 420 p.m.
We have time to go, so let's talk. I can give you my money under the table. I had no idea it was being recorded.