The Trinity River Vision Project is a master plan for 88 miles (142 km) of the Trinity River (Texas) and its major tributaries in Fort Worth, Texas. The river is a significant part of the history of Fort Worth, and the city's downtown was developed in 1849 as an army outpost along its banks.
Contents
- Central City
- Trinity River Vision Bridges
- Neighborhood and Recreational Enhancement Plan
- Gateway Park
- Tributaries
- References
More than a decade in the making, the master plan was conceived by volunteers and community leaders, and adopted by the city, county, state and federal officials. The goal of the master plan is to preserve and enhance the river and its corridors so they remain essential greenways for open space, trails, neighborhood focal points, feral cats and recreation areas.
Central City
Central City is one segment of the Trinity River Vision Master Plan. It focuses on the river as the key to help revitalize an aging area of Fort Worth's central city and open up a portion of the river that currently has limited visibility and access. Central City will provide the link from downtown to the Stockyards and the Cultural District. It will combine recreational opportunities with flood control and environmental enhancements to greatly improve public utilization of the river. This new infrastructure will offer 12 miles (19 km) of active urban waterfront and a 33-acre (130,000 m2) lake just North of downtown, making the entire area attractive for private development and mixed-income housing.
Infrastructure needed for flood control and transportation will restore an aging industrial area once devoted to oil refining, scrap metal yards, electrical and chemical plants. When the bypass channel is completed around 800 acres (3.2 km2) of underutilized land between the Tarrant County Courthouse and Northside Drive will be accessible for private redevelopment opportunities- in essence doubling the size of downtown. An envisioned 10,000 housing units and three million square feet of commercial, retail and educational space will make it possible for Fort Worth residents to live, work, shop, play and learn near the river.
Trinity River Vision Bridges
Three important bridges that will cross the future bypass channel at White Settlement Rd., Henderson St. and Main St. – will provide a pedestrian-friendly experience and complement the iconic architectural components of the Cultural District and Downtown. They will connect downtown Fort Worth to Panther Island when completed. The family of bridges utilize a distinctive V- shape pier that is suggestive of the existing Lancaster Avenue and Main Street bridges while also being clean and modern in style. The preliminary design was completed by Boston based bridge designer Miguel Rosales in collaboration with Freese and Nichols engineers from Fort Worth, TX.
Neighborhood and Recreational Enhancement Plan
The 2003 Trinity River Vision Master Plan was adopted by the Tarrant Regional Water District, Streams & Valleys, Inc., The City of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Many projects including trail extensions, new trailheads, trail amenitites, additional low water dams and pedestrian bridges and private developments oriented to the Trinity Greenbelt have been implemented in the last six years.
Since 1968, Streams & Valleys, a non-profit organization, has been an advocate for this natural resource, bringining back the beauty and recreational value of the Trinity. In recent years, water and environmental quality have become an important focus of the continued enhancement of this greenbelt corridor. All of this has been accomplished while maintaining important flood control management.
The TRVA strongly believes that we as a region can no longer take our air, water and overall environmental quality for granted, it is imperative that we keep moving forward now at a faster pace to protect these wonderful greenbelt systems.
Gateway Park
Another component of the Trinity River Vision is Gateway Park. The 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) park will be filled with new recreational amenities such as soccer fields, a softball complex, a water park, disk golf course, equestrian and biking trails just to name a few. This will make Gateway one of the nation's largest urban-programmed parks. The restoration of the Riverside Oxbow will preserve beautiful, 200-year-old trees and encourage the redevelopment of bottomland hardwood forest. The project will spur economic development around the park and will connect the East and Southeast neighborhoods of Fort Worth to the Trinity River Corridor.