Waco to seek grants for $13.2M in bike-ped projects in downtown, East Waco

The city of Waco is seeking federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, including new sidewalks along Dallas Street in East Waco.
JB Smith

Waco Tribune-Herald
Kourtney David
May 15, 2023

The city of Waco is poised to pursue another round of federal funding for street projects, with sections of Dallas Street, 11th Street and Austin Avenue up for $13.2 million in new bike lanes, sidewalks and other pedestrian features.

The Waco City Council will vote Tuesday on submitting an application to the Texas Department of Transportation for the three projects under the federal Transportation Alternative Set-Aside Program. The grants would cover 80% of each project’s cost, with the city providing a 20% match, estimated at nearly $3 million.

The council meets for a 3 p.m. work session and 6 p.m. business session at the Waco Convention Center’s Bosque Theater.

The projects would go before the Texas Transportation Commission in a competitive process, with decisions expected next winter. The council would then approve each project separately.

The project corridors, identified by BGE, Inc., are marked by sidewalks that are overgrown, cracked or nonexistent in some places.

The 0.57-mile stretch of Dallas Street from Ashburn Street to Elm Avenue in the Carver neighborhood could be revitalized with new curbs, repair of 4-foot sidewalks, handicap-accessible ramps, bike lanes, lighting, seating and other decorative elements suhc as landscaping and a limestone retaining wall.

The Dallas Street project is estimated to cost $4.74 million total, but with the 20% match the city of Waco would pay about $1 million on its own.

Sidewalks are also in the plan for the segment of about 0.9 miles of 11th Street between Washington Avenue and the Interstate 35 frontage road. The project would cost $5.4 million, including $1.2 million of local funds.

The city has recently installed bike lanes along the same stretch of road, which connects to the near 11th-12th Street underpass at I-35.

A third project would rehabilitate 0.7 miles of Austin Avenue walkways between City Hall and 11th Street, bringing the downtown corridor into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The project would replace cracked and failing sidewalk, smooth out trip hazards, install accessible ramps and include cosmetic improvements, such as decorative brick pavers and replacement of dead trees.

Improvements on Austin Avenue are estimated to cost $3 million total, with the city paying about $692,000.

In other business Tuesday, the council will:

Discuss decorative design standards of the globe lights that were installed and subsequently removed at the Fourth and Fifth Street underpass at I-35 on May 3. The presentation mentions issues with current lighting on the Brazos River Bridges and proposes some $750,000 to repair and upgrade lights on the bridges. Direct-view LED nodes are a possible solution.

Host a public hearing and first reading of the ordinance amending boundaries and lighting requirements for the Brazos River Corridor District. The Waco Plan Commission recommended approval of the expansion on April 25 by an 8-2 vote. The new overlay would include sections of 19th Street, downward facing lights to protect migrating birds and increase safety and tree planting requirements for residential and commercial lots.

Consider agreements with Catalyst Urban Development, LLC, regarding the Brazos Riverfront Development and Foster Pavilion, changing construction phasing on the riverfront projects and providing $2.4 million more in Tax Increment Financing Zone funding to reserve additional public parking garage spaces.