Fort Worth is planning a makeover for a 6-mile stretch of the East Berry Street corridor, from Riverside Drive east to Lake Arlington.
Residents are being asked to share their input as the city begins its corridor planning study.
“This isn’t just going to be a pretty visioning plan. This is also going to lead to real construction, land use policy coordination along it, as well as economic development,” said Kelly Porter, assistant director of transportation and public works for the city of Fort Worth.
The study aims to determine how to create “a safe, equitable, inclusive and thriving corridor.”
East Berry is a fast-growing area of Fort Worth, seeing a 20.4% increase in population since 2010.
The first public open house was held on May 4 at the Fort Worth Public Library – East Berry branch. Visitors were able to share feedback on proposed improvements to the area.
Tracy Rolla, one of the attendees at the open house, has lived in the area for 17 years. More businesses along the corridor would be nice, she said.
“I would like to see maybe a nice family restaurant, maybe a movie theater or dine-in restaurants,” Rolla said. “I would like to see maybe a strip mall with stores. Facilities for the youth and seniors. And also jobs. There needs to be businesses all the way across to 820.”
Want to share what you want to see along East Berry Street?
The city’s online survey is now available here. An interactive map is also posted for residents to see the area impacted by the future plan.
East Berry has long suffered from years of disinvestment. The lack of job opportunities in the area meant more workers were having to commute outside of East Berry instead of keeping their dollars in the community, according to data presented at the open house.
But recent efforts to boost the area – like the construction of Renaissance Square in southeast Fort Worth — have opened the door for more jobs and economic growth.
“There’s more money coming into the area than leaving it because that was such a big economic boom. So people do have dollars to spend in their community and people will come from outside the community to spend their dollars here,” Porter said.
The study will also examine future land use for the area.
About 70% of East Berry is residential and just 10% is commercial. Mixed-use accounts for around 14% of the land.
Mary Clark has lived in the area for 51 years. While she would like to see more commercial development along East Berry, she is worried that some of the redevelopment would gentrify the area.
“It would be nice to have beautiful sidewalks, restaurants, but people will have to lose their homes to get it,” Clark said.
East Berry demographics
Around 46.3% of residents in the area identify as Hispanic, according to city data.
- 26.2% white
- 31.9% black
- 21.7% other
The median household income in East Berry is $41,294.
Other areas of focus in the study include transportation and safety. Using money from the 2022 bond as well as the East Berry Tax Increment Financing district, the city could be adding new sidewalks, trails, and bike lanes, as well as improving intersections and lighting.
Right now, about 62% of the area does not have sidewalks.
The city will be holding a second open house meeting in September. The study and ensuing action plan are expected to be completed and adopted in March 2024.
“We will update the thoroughfare plan based on different elements of the study. So it’s really about action,” Porter said.
Sandra Sadek is a Report for America corps member, covering growth for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at sandra.sadek@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter at @ssadek19.
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