Bollards have been installed on West Parkway Street where it merges into Oakland Street to increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
They’re part of a new shared-use pathway for Denton, after the road was converted into two lanes from its previous four. The pathway is designed to make it easier for locals to cross through to Quakertown Park.
The bollards on the roads are intended to deter a driver from getting in the way of pedestrians or cyclists.
“What that also does is it provides a traffic-calming effect, so it makes drivers feel a bit more confined, so they will drive at a slower speed,” Deputy City Engineer Brett Bourgeois said.
The project includes bollards, designated turn lanes, painted crosswalks, and flashing lights installed on stop signs to signal drivers to stop.
Bourgeois said they identified roadways in the area with less-significant traffic that could provide more accessible routes for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The project — officially known as the Parkway on-street multiuse path project — involves “tactical urbanism.” Bourgeois said it was an excellent opportunity to do a quick-build project, using the existing infrastructure and having some minor modifications to change the characteristics of a road.
“We were looking at ways to always improve safety for pedestrians, multimobile access, traffic-calming, things of that nature,” Bourgeois said. “And so, when we were looking at our overall bicycle/pedestrian network of the city, we have some trails and sidewalk connectivity, but we also have some gaps.”
The project started as a different variation in 2019, he said, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the city to push it back.
He said Nathan George, the city’s former bicycle, pedestrian and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, reached out to Bike Denton to bring back the project. The local advocacy group works for safe and inclusive multimodal infrastructure bike policies.
With the feedback from Bike Denton, the team started the design process in May 2022, intending to get it installed the same month, but the design took a little bit longer than Bourgeois anticipated. George then left his position, but the staff continued to design the plans.
Once work started for the project this year, it was again postponed due to the winter storm that hit North Texas.
Bourgeois said the project is “essentially complete” now as the city finishes its final touches. This includes truncated domes that help alert visually impaired individuals to where they are crossing.
He said it’ll take some time for drivers to adjust to the fact that the new shared-use pathway is not a driving or parking lane.
City staff will be looking for opportunities to do similar quick-build projects. Bourgeois said they would have to identify roadways with less traffic usage where they could provide accessible routes for bicyclists and pedestrians.
“We’re very excited to see folks using it, and … we really think it will be beneficial for the city,” he said.
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