In anticipation of the opening of its TEX Rail station at the northeast corner of Main Street and Dallas Road in late 2018, the city of Grapevine is getting ready to spend about $10 million on improving the Dallas Road corridor.

City Manager Bruno Rumbelow said the corridor, between Dooley Road and Ball Street, will be revamped into a safer, more pedestrian-friendly and visually appealing area.

“We’re getting ready to invest quite a bit of money in a commuter rail station, and we need for people who are interacting with Dallas Road, whether they are on a bicycle or walking, to feel more comfortable,” he said.

To help fund the Dallas Road corridor project, the city has applied for a grant through the North Central Texas Council of Governments in the amount of $5 million.

The city will find out this summer if it is receiving the grant money. If awarded, there will be local funds used to match the NCTCOG funds.

Grapevine is one of three cities that will have a station for TEX Rail, which is a 27-mile commuter rail line that will extend from downtown Fort Worth through Colleyville and Grapevine into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Grapevine Capital Improvement Projects Manager Kathy Nelson said although the station is a priority, the transit-oriented development and landscaping surrounding it is just as important.

“That quarter- to half-mile walkability around the station [along Dallas Road] is going to either make it successful or not,” she said. “We want it to be successful because we want folks who live in Grapevine or who wish to dine or be entertained in Grapevine or work in Grapevine to have easy access to the train station. It’s crucial that the last half-mile is comfortable for people to walk to the train station, and they feel comfortable to walk to their place of employment from the train station.”

Making Dallas Road more pedestrian-friendly

In describing Dallas Road in its current state, Rumbelow said: “It’s a sea of concrete, and getting across it feels unsafe.”

Traffic Engineer Rich Larkins said Dallas Road will be reconfigured to help increase pedestrian safety.

“Dallas Road is five lanes wide—two lanes in each direction with a center left-turn lane—and when you have a roadway that is very wide, it can be challenging for pedestrians to cross,” Larkins said. “So one of the things we are doing is we are adding a center median where the center left turn is.”

Nelson said pedestrians can stand in the median while waiting to get across the street.

Larkins said pedestrian signals called HAWKs, or high-intensity activated crosswalk beacons, will be installed along Dallas Road.

“We have two HAWKs in Grapevine—one on Westport [Parkway], which is south of  [SH] 114, for the GameStop facility, and we have another one on Mustang, and that’s at one of our community centers,” he said. “What happens is if a pedestrian wants to cross, they push the pedestrian button; it then flashes a red flash just like a traffic signal. Motorists are required to stop at any red signal, so we will be installing those in the corridor to enhance the ability for pedestrians to move across the Dallas Road corridor.”

Nelson said landscaping will also be added along the street as a safety measure to serve as buffers between the trail, sidewalk and the roadway.

“When you add landscaping in those buffer areas, it not only makes the pedestrian more comfortable, but it makes them more willing to want to use those trails or sidewalks because they feel comfortable,” she said. “It also makes a person in the car slow down. Studies show people inherently slow down when you have canopy trees or any kind of vegetation.”

Although city staff has not drafted a final design, Nelson said the intersection of Dallas and Main will be revamped to serve as an entry point to the corridor.

“We want to create a focal point so that anybody on foot or in a car will become more aware that they are entering the Dallas Road corridor, so whether that’s done with a star [design on the intersection] or raised intersection, it will be noticeable,” she said.

Nelson said although the Dallas Road corridor will have a different feel, it will still complement the style of historic Main Street.

“It’s not going to mimic [Main Street], but at the same time we are not going to have some sort of space-age, totally urbanized, streamline feel,” she said. This is Grapevine, and we have our own style here. You’ll still know that you are in Grapevine.”

Cotton belt trail expansion

In an effort to expand regional connectivity in Grapevine, city officials have decided to expand its pedestrian Cotton Belt Trail as part of the project.

The Cotton Belt Trail covers about 11 miles along the former Cotton Belt Rail corridor and goes through the cities of North Richland Hills, Hurst, Colleyville and Grapevine.

“I think the icing on the cake for this particular project is expanding our regional Cotton Belt Trail,” Nelson said.

Currently the trail stops at the intersection of Ira E. Woods Avenue and Ball Street. Once expanded, the trail will extend through the Dallas Road corridor and connect to Links Trail. Links Trail extends to Grapevine Mills.

Nelson said there are regional plans for the Cotton Belt Trail to extend to Plano.

The trail not only further connects Grapevine to the region but it also provides residents who live near the corridor a way to walk to the station.

“Currently we don’t have any neighborhood connections,” Nelson said.

Restaurants, retail and apartments

One other project under construction in the Dallas Road corridor is Trinsic Residential Group’s 250-unit multifamily project, Aura Grapevine, that will contain retail and restaurant uses. The two-building project, at the corner of Dallas Road and Berry Street, broke ground in October.

The first building will be ready for tenants in February with the second building coming online in fall 2018.

“It gives you a very good idea of the feel of what is going to occur in the near future of the Dallas Road corridor in response to the new TEX Rail station,” Nelson said.

Trinsic Managing Director Adam Brown said the company is currently talking to several potential restaurants.

“There is definitely a lot of interest being shown,” he said. “We hope to put two to three restaurants below the apartments.”

Brown said the project will be unique to Grapevine and feature a plaza and a public dog park as well as other features that will make the development pedestrian-friendly.

“We think of ourselves as a good catalyst for what’s going to come to the corridor,” Brown said. We are excited to create another component of that live aspect of the live, work and play concept along the Dallas Road corridor. A year from now [the corridor] is going to be something special.”