Big changes are proposed for Fort Worth public transportation. Residents had the chance to learn about project proposals at public meetings on Wednesday.
The meetings took place at the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center, with one meeting at 11:30 a.m. and another at 5 p.m.
Curvie Hawkins, the assistant vice president of planning for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, said the meetings were designed to inform and engage citizens.
“We want to present our recommendations,” he said. “We still want input and involvement.”
Large posters were displayed around the room where attendees could view renderings of proposed routes. People were also encouraged to place sticky notes with comments on the posters.
Jennifer Wieland, the principal consultant for the master plan, presented the strategy to attendees.
“We can see that the areas of significant demand are projected to grow,” she said. “We established a vision and goals and the 5-year recommendations are how we want to achieve those.”
Some recommendations include:

• A more robust system with more frequent service that operates for more hours
• The expansion of service to new areas
• New rail services
• The development of Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, in major corridors
• New Spur* services
• Transit Emphasis Corridors that would provide very frequent service between major activity centers
• Simpler, straighter, faster service
• The consolidation of stops to make service faster
• The development of outlying transit centers as focal points for outer area services.
• New crosstown services
• Rebranding some services to improve legibility
• Better service coordination
• Expanded park-and-ride opportunities
• Better matching service levels with demand
• New “Flex” services in lower demand areas

After the presentation, attendees could ask questions and provide feedback. Many said they wanted to see more routes that reflected their needs.
“Our population has doubled between 1980 and 2010, but our service area still looks like it’s stuck in the 80s,”  Hawkins said. “We need to look to the future.”
Hawkins and Wieland encourage residents to get involved by visiting the website to add their input.