Fort Worth residents are poised to enjoy increased connectivity to Arlington as construction kicks off on the CentrePort Trail. In a project approved by the Fort Worth City Council for $6 million, the trail aims to provide an alternative transit option that bridges the gap between the two cities. Work on the trail began this past June, a decision that finds support in community members like Jeff Kinlan, a North Arlington resident who expressed his enthusiasm to the Fort Worth Report, saying, "I think this is a great step in connecting not only those two major population centers, but the cities and the transit centers along the way".
Spanning from the Trinity Railway Express CentrePort Station in Fort Worth to the east end of Arlington River Legacy Trail, this trail is envisioned to foster more sustainable and enjoyable travel experiences. Kinlan highlighted the convenience factor in an interview obtained by the Fort Worth Report, mentioning, "If you can just quickly ride your bike to the CentrePort Station, you can quickly take the train, ride it all the way into Dallas, and watch a Mavs game or eat at a new restaurant." This reflects a potential shift away from car dependency to swiftly embrace more environmentally friendly and less stressful modes of transport.
Jing Yang, the City of Fort Worth's project manager and landscape architect, pointed out the broader implications of such infrastructure, emphasizing the project's vision to interconnect communities and cities. According to The Dallas Express, Yang mentioned, "By using a trail, they're not only connecting one community to another community, it's connecting one city to multiple cities."
The CentrePort Trail is but a fragment of the larger strategy to unite the Dallas-Fort Worth region. There are plans for an extensive 63-mile city-spanning trail system, a vision set in motion since 2013, expected to reach completion by 2026. The trail is not only about facilitating bike or foot traffic; it's meant to also significantly boost the quality of living in the area, as highlighted by Yang in an article from the Fort Worth Report. "Eventually we want to provide more alternative transportation options to people instead of just driving," Yang said, accentuating the push for transportation diversity through federal grant applications. The project's completion aims to see a year-round, active communal lifeline, fully functional and bustling with movement between Fort Worth and Arlington.
