The City's Housing and Economic Development Department has made its draft 2010-2013 Consolidated Plan and draft 2010 Action Plan available for public comment.
Public comment will be accepted on the plan through April 8, and City Council will hold public hearings for the plans during its regular meetings April 6 and 13 at City Hall.
]]>Sylvania Park is the site of Spring Fest 2010, a groovy, '70s-themed family event scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 27.
There will be vendor booths, bounce houses, face-painting, games, arts and crafts, egg hunts and other entertaining activities. Come and bring the family to Sylvania Park, at East Belknap and Sylvania Park Drive.
Event will be held rain or shine. To learn more, call 817-871-7670.
]]>Maintaining a safe and attractive place for residents is vital to the quality of life in the City of Fort Worth. Ensuring that neighborhoods are kept clean and safe has always been a partnership between the City and its residents and part of that effort includes maintaining public rights of way.
When budget times were better, the Parks and Community Services Department maintained public rights of way — mowing, trimming and disposing of grass and brush clippings — even though it is the responsibility of property owners.
However, in order to help reduce this year’s budget shortfall, the City eliminated funding for right of way maintenance. This means that property owners who are legally responsible for their rights of way must make sure that these areas are in compliance with City Code which requires that grass be no taller than 12 inches in height and that the area is free of debris.
The Parks and Community Services Departments will continue to maintain parkland, medians and boulevards.
For more information about right of way maintenance, call Parks and Community Services at 817-392-CALL (2255).
Join more than 3,000 fellow residents as they work to stomp out litter in neighborhoods, parks, waterways and on rights-of-way during the 25th annual Cowtown Great American Cleanup.
Scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon April 10 - rain or shine - the event brings together clubs, groups, businesses, neighborhood associations and individuals who take pride in keeping Fort Worth beautiful.
To participate:
For more information, visit the registration page or e-mail Debbie Branch.
]]>With paintbrushes in hand, volunteers will take to the streets to improve Fort Worth’s image and appearance in the 20th annual Cowtown Brush Up on April 17. This year the City has joined with Trinity Habitat for Humanity for the event.
Now is the time to form a volunteer paint team and make a difference for fellow residents who may be elderly, homebound or otherwise unable to improve the exterior of their homes. Each team should have up to 20 volunteers, including a team captain.
Cowtown Brush Up began in 1991 when 33 homes in low-income neighborhoods were given a fresh coat of paint, which in turn enhanced these neighborhoods’ images. The ripple effect began as entire communities discovered a renewed sense of pride. As a result, residents began to improve their properties on their own.
So far, more than 2,100 homes have been painted by Cowtown Brush Up volunteers.
Call 817-392-7548 or visit trinityhabitat.volunteerhub.com to learn more.
]]>If you owe, it’s time to go — and to pay.
More than 250 law enforcement agencies across the state — including Fort Worth — will kick off the annual warrant roundup March 6, collaborating to track down individuals with outstanding warrants and citations across the state regardless of jurisdictions.
Residents are encouraged to either pay their fines or make other arrangements to dispose of outstanding warrants to avoid arrest. Warrants are considered cleared if payment has been received, jail time served or the case has been dismissed.
The warrant roundup includes many agencies in the Fort Worth area, including Arlington, North Richland Hills, Colleyville, Kennedale, Forest Hill, Watauga and others.
Last year, the Fort Worth roundup cleared more than 2,000 outstanding warrants during the roundup period. More than 204,000 warrants were cleared statewide during the roundup.
There are several ways to pay outstanding warrants and avoid arrest. To learn more, visit the Municipal Court website.
]]>In an effort to increase minority recruiting, improve services and bolster professionalism among its ranks, the City of Fort Worth Police Department will host a diversity forum from 7-9 p.m. March 11. Police Chief Jeff Halstead will be on hand for the question-and-answer session and the public is invited.
The event will be held in the Energy Auditorium on the fourth floor of the Trinity Building at Tarrant County College’s Trinity River Campus, 300 Trinity Campus Circle.
Visit FortWorthPD.com or call 817-392-4215 for more information.
]]>The Fort Worth Police Department recently released a new web-based community policing application which enables residents to access neighborhood crime data from the past 90 days quickly and easily.
CrimeView Community allows residents to view crimes near a specific address, park, landmark or within a specific boundary as well as select crime types. The program aids community-oriented policing efforts by keeping residents and business owners well-informed.
CrimeView Community also includes CyberWatch, which alerts residents and business owners to recent incidents in their neighborhood. The e-mail alerts contain a report outlining the type of incidents as well as when and where they occurred. It will also contain a link to an online mapping application depicting the query’s results.
To maintain the safety of motorists and pedestrians, the Transportation and Public Works Department’s Traffic Engineering Division has identified numerous arterial and residential streets that require speed limit revisions.
These speed limit changes are based on traffic engineering studies and are due to new development, coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDoT) and the addition of new school zones.
A complete list of streets that are due to receive new speed limits is below.
Crews will soon begin changing signage on the designated streets, a process that will be completed by late April.
| Street | New speed limit (mph) | Council district |
|---|---|---|
| Double Eagle Boulevard, from Fire Ridge Drive to SH-114 | 40 | 2 |
| Mark IV Parkway, from Meacham Boulevard to Western Center Boulevard | 40 | 2 |
| Shiver Road, from Golden Sunset Trail to Ray White Road | 35 | 2 |
| Timberland Boulevard, from North Freeway (I-35W) East Frontage Road to Alta Vista Road | 40 | 2 |
| Harris Parkway, from Oakmont Boulevard to Dirks Road | 40 | 3 |
| Sycamore School Road, from Crowley Road to Columbus Trail | 40 | 3, 6 |
| Sovereign Road, from State Highway 360 to Amon Carter Boulevard | 40 | 5 |
| Sovereign Road, from Amon Carter Boulevard to Diplomacy Road | 35 | 5 |
| Willow Springs Road, from U.S. Hwy. 287 to Avondale Haslet Road | 45 | 6 |
| Hemphill Street, from Altamesa Boulevard to 1200 block of Kielder Circle | 35 | 6 |
| North Chapel Creek Boulevard, from White Settlement Road to Leatherwood Drive | 35 | 7 |
| Hicks Field Road, from Saginaw Boulevard (BU-287P) to Hicks Field Road East | 40 | 7 |
| Hicks Field Road East, from ,1200 feet east of Hicks Field Road to Hicks Field Road | 40 | 7 |
| Camp Bowie Boulevard, from University Drive to West Freeway (I-30) | 35 | 7 |
| Pennsylvania Avenue, from South Main Street to Eighth Avenue | 35 | 8, 9 |
| Street | New speed limit (mph) |
|---|---|
| Airport Freeway (S.H. 121), from North Freeway (I-35W) to 1,874 feet west of North Sylvania Avenue | 65 to 55 |
| Spur 280, from Elm Street to North-South Freeway (I-35W) | 40 to 45 |
| S.H. 114, from North Freeway (I-35W) to 190 feet+/- west of Jarrett Drive, Denton County/Fort Worth city limits | 55 to 60 |
| S.H. 114, from 2,300 feet+/- west of Blue Mound/F.M.156 southbound overpass to 370 feet+/-east of Roaring River Road | 55 to 45 |
| S.H. 114, from 370 feet+/- east of Roaring River Road to 1,061 feet+/-west of Roaring River Road, Denton County/ Fort Worth city limits | 55 |
| U. S. 287, from North-South Freeway (I-35W) to Union Pacific Railroad underpass | 60 |
| Camp Bowie Boulevard (U.S. 377) , from West Freeway (I-30) to Wellington Road | 35 |
| Camp Bowie Boulevard (U.S. 377) , from Wellington Road to Weatherford Traffic Circle | 35 to 40 |
| Commerce Street (BU-287P), from East Weatherford Street to East Lancaster Avenue | 30 |
| North Commerce Street (BU-287P) , from North Main Street to East Weatherford Street | 30 |
| Houston Street (BU-287P), from West Weatherford Street to West Lancaster Avenue | 30 |
| North Houston Street (BU-287P), from West Weatherford Street to North Main Street | 30 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from 335 feet north of Northeast 38th Street to Saginaw city limits | 50 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from 210 feet south of Northeast 14th Street to 250 feet north of Northeast 14th Street | 20 |
| Saginaw Boulevard (BU-287P), from 2,300 feet northwest of Bailey Boswell Road to 240 feet southeast of West Bonds Ranch Road | 60 |
| Saginaw Boulevard (BU-287P), from 300 feet north of Prairie Ridge Trail/Fort Worth city limits to Avondale Haslet Road/Fort Worth city limits | 60 |
| U. S. 377, from Traffic Circle to 100 feet north of Davenport Avenue | 35 |
| U. S. 377, from 100 feet north of Davenport Avenue to Osbun Street, Benbrook/Fort Worth city limits | 45 |
| U. S. 377, from 250 feet northwest of South Z Boaz Park Drive, Benbrook/Fort Worth city limits | 45 |
| U. S. 377, from 7,000 feet northeast of Tiger Trail at Benbrook/Fort Worth city limits to 3,600 feet northeast of Tiger Trail at Fort Worth city limits/Tarrant County line | 65 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from Bluff Street to 275 feet north of Bluff Street | 30 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from 275 feet north of Bluff Street to Northeast 11th Street | 40 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from Northeast 11th Street to Northeast/Northwest 28th Street | 30 |
| North Main Street (BU-287P), from Northeast/Northwest 28th Street to 335 feet north of Northeast 38th Street | 40 |
| S.H. 114, from 600 feet+/- east of Harriet Creek Drive to 360 feet+/-east of Blackwater Trail | 30 |
| US 377, from 122 feet southeast of Kermit Street to 430 feet northwest of Davenport Avenue | 30 |
| US 377, from 623 feet southeast of Lyndon Drive to Osbun Street | 30 |
| Street | New speed limit (mph) | Council district |
|---|---|---|
| Cantrell-Sansom Road, from 122 feet east of Deerfoot Trail to 200 feet east of Lionfish Way | 20 | 2 |
| North Tarrant Parkway, from 340 feet west of Rainy Lake Drive to 425 feet east of Rainy Lake Drive | 25 | 2 |
| Blue Mound Road/F.M. 156, from 365 feet +/- south of Texan Drive in Denton County to 850 feet +/- north of Texan Drive in City of Fort Worth | 35 | 2 |
| Bison Court, from Wall Price Keller Road to Lori Valley Lane | 20 | 2 |
| Keller-Hicks Road, from 465 feet west of Ridgeview Circle to 150 feet west of Alta Vista Road | 25 | 2 |
| Lori Valley Lane, from Bison Court to 291 feet west of St. James Street | 20 | 2 |
| Diamondback Lane, from 200 feet east of Trail Break Drive to 200 feet west of Trail Stone Lane | 20 | 2 |
| West Northside Drive, from 100 feet east of Gould Avenue to Lagonda Avenue | 25 | 2 |
| Timberland Boulevard, from 300 feet southwest of Hollow Valley Lane to 300 feet northeast of Durango Root Drive | 25 | 2 |
| Winter Hawk Drive, from 90 feet east of Harmon Road to 60 feet northwest of Frosted Willow Lane | 20 | 2 |
| Brentwood Stair Road, from 120 feet west of Mims Street to 80 feet west of Muse Street | 25 | 4 |
| Sandshell Boulevard, from 87 feet northeast of Corrine Drive to 203 feet northeast of Crofton Drive | 20 | 4 |
| Ramey Avenue, from 180 feet east of Farrell Street to 149 feet west of Cass Street | 20 | 5 |
| McCart Avenue, from 200 feet north of Mountain Meadow Road to 1,380 feet south of Mountain Meadow Road | 20 | 6 |
| McPherson Boulevard, from 487 feet northwest of South Hulen Street to 157 feet northwest of Willow Branch Way | 20 | 6 |
| Poynter Street, from Nevis Drive to North Crowley Cleburne Road | 20 | 6 |
| Woodway Drive, from 340 feet south of Wedgworth Road South to 510 feet north of Altamesa Boulevard | 20 | 6 |
| North Academy Boulevard, from 52 feet south of Blue Bell Drive to 60 feet south of Osprey Drive | 20 | 7 |
| Blackmore Avenue, from 315 feet east of Halloran Street to 290 feet west of Halloran Street | 20 | 7 |
| Old Decatur Road, from 650 feet south of Longhorn Road to 435 feet south of Grand National Boulevard | 30 | 7 |
| Cromwell Marine Creek Road, from 495 feet east of Provinces Street to 32 feet west of Glen Knoll Drive | 20 | 7 |
| Everman Parkway, from 250 feet northwest of Marlene Drive to 260 feet southeast of Marlene Drive | 25 | 8 |
| Samuels Avenue, from 22 feet north of East Bluff Street to 290 feet south of Gounah Street | 20 | 9 |
Posted March 4, 2010
The City of Fort Worth’s Parks and Community Services Department (PACS) is partnering with the Van Cliburn Foundation to bring extraordinary music to city neighborhoods. Di Wu, a finalist in the 30th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held in 2009, returns to Fort Worth to perform one-hour concerts in several Fort Worth community centers. These events, sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation, are free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:
Residents of Fort Worth with debris related to tree damage from the recent snowfall will not be charged for the collection of brush and bulk items that exceed the city’s ordinance.
The Fort Worth City Council approved the city manager’s recommendation to temporarily not charge residents for the collection of brush and bulk piles that are larger than 10 cubic yards.
This policy only applies to the collection of debris related to the record snowfall the city experienced on Feb. 11 and 12. No special collections outside the normal scheduled yard and bulk waste collections will be made. This temporary suspension of charges will only be in effect until Saturday, March 13. Additionally, the no-charge policy will be retroactive for piles of weekly brush and bulk waste that have been collected since Feb. 13 where customers were subject to being charged.
This temporary policy change only applies to bulk waste collections directly related to tree and debris damage as a result of the weather. Charges for the routine collection of bulky piles that are over 10 cubic yards containing such items as a broken swing-set, unwanted household items, discarded furniture or similar will still be applied.
The city is reminding residents about its policies for bulk and yard trimming collections:
Residents also can take bulky waste to one of the City’s three drop-off stations.
For more information about pickup schedules for garbage, recycling, yard trimmings, brush pickup, the drop-off stations or damaged carts, call the City Call Center at 817-392-EASY (3279) from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
]]>Fort Worth residents should pay close attention to the mailbox in March, when census questionnaires will be mailed out to households throughout the country.
The 2010 census questionnaire has only 10 easy questions and should take an average of 10 minutes to complete. Each question helps to determine how more than $400 billion will be allocated to communities across the country.
Questionnaire assistance centers will open this month for those who need assistance in completing the form.
Residents who do not receive their questionnaire by April 1 may call 866-861-2010 to locate the nearest center where forms will be available.
Households that do not return questionnaires may expect a visit from a census taker sometime after March.
To learn more, go to www.census.gov.
]]>The Mayor's Committee on Persons with Disabilities will be accepting applications for the Disabilities Scholarship Awards through April 2.
The Disabilities Scholarship Awards are open to graduating high school seniors with a qualifying disability who are residents of Fort Worth. The scholarship must be used in academic year 2010-2011.
To apply, download a copy of the 2010 application. All applications must be postmarked, delivered or e-mailed on or before April 2, 2010. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
For more information, call 817-392-6200 or e-mail Teresa Myers.
]]>Alta Vista Road between State Highway 170 and Keller-Haslet Road in Far North Fort Worth will be closed through early July for road reconstruction.
It is not practical to maintain traffic on this section of Alta Vista Road during construction.
Northbound Alta Vista traffic should detour east on Keller-Haslet Road, then north on Park Vista Boulevard to State Highway 170. Southbound traffic should detour northeast on State Highway 170, south on Park Vista Boulevard and west on Keller-Haslet Road.
Fort Worth has been selected to receive $750,000 in federal stimulus grants for traffic signal projects.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced the awards last month. The stimulus grants will be administered by the Transportation Efficiency Program through the Comptroller’s State Energy Conservation Office.
Fort Worth will use the funds to make hardware and software improvements and equipment upgrades at 14 traffic signals and to reconstruct two traffic signals.
Fort Worth will provide $187,500 in matching funds, making the total project $937,500.
Timing green lights leads to better traffic flow, helps drivers save time on their commutes, and also helps air quality by reducing emissions from cars idling too long at stop lights.
Fort Worth is among 15 Texas cities and one county that shared $6 million in grants.
]]>Parking fine increases that go into effect March 1 will bring Fort Worth’s fines in alignment with those assessed by other Texas cities of comparable size.
A benchmark study of five Texas cities --Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Irving and Dallas -- was completed last June. The results indicated that the average fine for violations in Fort Worth is $26.70, which is significantly lower than the benchmark cities’ average of $54.21.
The last increase in parking fines was adopted in August 2003.
Here are the new fines:
A late fee of $25 will be charged for a fine that is not paid within 15 days of the violation. That fee is significantly below the Texas cities’ benchmark average of $32.03.
Posted Feb. 25, 2010
After a storm, residents may need services such as electrical work, roofing repair or tree trimming and removal. While there are many reputable individuals and companies in the area that provide these services, it is not uncommon for unscrupulous people to capitalize on that demand even though they may not be qualified to do the job.
The City of Fort Worth offers the following tips when hiring a service provider:
When record snowfall from the recent storm melted, streets reappeared with many more potholes than before. Today the Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW) is launching a citywide pothole blitz to repair as many roadways as possible before they worsen. The blitz will continue for at least two weeks, possibly longer if needed.
TPW’s Street Services Division has determined that 40 percent more potholes are on Fort Worth streets now compared to before the storm. Conditions are expected to worsen over the next month.
But street repair crews are concentrating on potholes, suspending all other work except other emergency repairs. With 26 crews working citywide, capable of repairing 150 to 200 potholes each per day, some 4,000-5,000 potholes will be repaired daily.
Arterial streets that carry more traffic are assigned a high priority for repairs. Other streets will be repaired as resources allow.
To report potholes, call 817-392-8100.
]]>“Butterflies in the Garden,” an exhibit of thousands of live butterflies, opens Feb. 27 and runs through April 4 in the conservatory of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Proceeds from the event support established public education and environmental projects of the Fort Worth Botanical Society and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, which host the event with the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Fort Worth Garden Club.
The exhibit will be open daily from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tickets are sold for timed entrance every 30 minutes with the last tickets being sold at 4 p.m. Tickets for timed entrance may be purchased in person at the Garden on exhibit days.
]]>