The Fort Worth District of the Army Corps of Engineers plans to close a cyclist bypass near Benbrook Lake starting Oct. 1.
Corps of Engineers officials made the decision to maintain safety because of an uptick in recurring incidents with cyclists and campers. Fort Worth cycling community members say they are trying to find alternatives to the closure.
The bypass is between North Holiday and South Holiday Park. North Holiday Park is used for day use, while the South Holiday Park is for camping.
Richard Bumgardner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chief of public affairs, emphasized the policy change is not in place yet and officials may find another solution.
Between early May and July 4, officials recorded 388 incidents of cyclists not following the rules of the road, Bumgardner said.
“Basically doing as they like within the park,” Bumgardner said. “We’re not saying that you can’t bike at Benbrook Lake, but we’re saying we’re not going to allow you to bike through the South Holiday Park or the campground.”
Craig Roshaven, a member of the Fort Worth Bicycling Association, has used the trail for over 22 years. Roshaven sees the bypass closure as punishing all cyclists for a few bad actors, he said.
Nathan Scaggs, a North Richland Hills resident, described the planned closure as the wrong approach.
“They’re screwing it up for everybody,” Scaggs said.
In 2019, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Fort Worth Bicycling Association came to an agreement to allow older people or those who couldn’t make it up over the Nice Hill to use the bypass road.
The cycling community has offered to help park rangers regulate the 2019 rules, Roshaven said.
“What we can do as a cycling community is we can persuade all the people who are persuadable to be more reasonable,” Roshaven said. “A lot of folks just don’t know.”
A meeting between the Corps of Engineers and cycling organizations is scheduled for Aug. 18, Roshaven said.
Juan Salinas II is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at juan.salinas@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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