Texas strategizing plans to enhance mass, active transit statewide
As Texas’ population continues to boom, state transportation leaders are seeking public feedback to help cultivate a vision for mass transit and active transportation initiatives across the Lone Star State.
The Texas Department of Transportation is developing the Texas Statewide Active Transportation Plan (TSATP) and the Texas Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan (TSMTP). The goal is to “lay out a coordinated, unified vision for transit and active transportation priorities through 2050 and beyond,” per TxDOT documents. Officials added both plans are needed to improve mobility and connectivity as well as to support population and economic growth.
Draft TSATP documents outline more than a dozen challenges facing Texas mobility, including increased traffic congestion, pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, limited available right of way on Texas roads and a “lack of coordination between land use planning and active transportation implementation.”
Findings from a statewide survey conducted also found 77% of respondents don’t feel safe while using active transportation in Texas, while 83% said they want improvements to trail connectivity, 63% supported enhanced roadway crossings and 74% shared support for upgraded sidewalks.