Examining the Original Plan for Extending a Bike Trail Through Downtown

OK.  According to the Transportation Enhancement Grant application I recently received from the City of Brownsville via a Public Information Request,  Adams and Jefferson Streets downtown will be turned into one-lane, one way streets, each with a one way bicycle lane.  East 11th Street, from Harrison to Adams, would also hold one lane of vehicle traffic, but include a two way bicycle lane(as pictured above).  E. Harrison Street, from Linear Park to E. 11th would be configured similar to E. 11th.  In sending the application through City Secretary Estela Von Hatten, City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez added this disclaimer:  Please note that the attached is only the application. The actual details of the project are still being worked out.

City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez

With those words, Planner Gonzalez repeats what he has told me personally, that the city is looking at alternative routes to the one detailed in the application.  Actually, when I first asked Gonzalez about the concern of some downtown business owners that the city was planning to eliminate parking spaces on Adams Street for a bike lane, he denied it.  "I don't know where that came from. We're in the process of deciding where to make the connection, but it will not be along Adams Street," were Gonzalez' words at the time.

According to the application, the proposed project is included in the Imagine Brownsville Comprehensive Plan and the Metropolitan Planning Organization's Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. 


The plan, as we've stated in previous articles, is to connect the Battlefield Hike & Bike Trail, which currently runs between the Palo Alto Battlefield and Linear Park, with historic Fort Brown.  Here is what city officials hope the grant will accomplish:
• Enhance access for individuals with mobility impairments and improve connections to downtown businesses and the state-of-the-art La Plaza Multimodal bus terminal.
• Create a new alternative transportation option for the residents of downtown Brownsville, mostly of low to moderate income, with the installation of the bicycle route.
• Expand direct bicycle and pedestrian access for residents in neighborhoods along the existing nine-mile Trail to downtown offerings, the Fort Brown earthworks and the U.S. and Mexico international border.
• Promote conservation goals by reducing the need for personal vehicles.
• Create youth and adult outdoor engagement opportunities and increase physical activity in
Brownsville to help combat obesity in the community
• Support economic development through increased visitation to Brownsville attractions through the creation of safe, accessible and clearly marked bicycle and pedestrian routes.

The writer of the grant application was very generous in describing the current usage of the Battlefield Hike & Bike Trail, telling federal officials that "the trail currently has an estimated 1,000 daily users." That seems like hyperbole as I seldom notice more than an occasional rider and I DO pay attention.

The city proposes "5 foot bicycle lanes" created "through striping and the installation of permanent delineated barriers through downtown to provide protection from vehicles."  Also, "non-ADA compliant sidewalks and curb ramps will be demolished and replaced by new ADA compliant sidewalks and cross-slopes consisting of alternating concrete and brick pattern hardscape. New sidewalks will be added where none currently exists. Amenities such as bicycle racks, benches, trash receptacles and way-finding signage will be incorporated within existing right-of-ways."

Another claim by the city, that I'm currently investigating, is: 
The City Planning Department mailed a Notification Letter to 175 addresses along the proposed route to inform them of the project and request written and verbal feedback on the project. The mailing also included a map of the proposed route and a description of the proposed improvement.

I've reached out to two property owners who live on the proposed route to see if they recall getting this written notification of these plans.

(to be continued)