Farmers Branch staff outlines Active Transportation Plan update, urges public input April 17

City staff presented an update on an Active Transportation Plan intended to refine pedestrian and bicycle connections across Farmers Branch and align projects with the city’s comprehensive plan.

Alex Vermaikos, identified in the meeting as the city's sustainability manager in Public Works, said the initiative is an update to the 2015 trail master plan and aims to improve mobility for pedestrians and cyclists, reduce vehicle dependency and lower pollution. "We're in nonattainment for ground level ozone," he said, noting that regional summer ozone formation ties to vehicle emissions and that the 10-county Dallas–Fort Worth region often exceeds federal limits.

Vermaikos said the plan will produce a five-year prioritized list of pedestrian and bicycle projects with a funding strategy. Staff will launch a community survey next month and host a consultant-led public input event in the Pecan Room on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 PM, with map exhibits where residents can mark desired connections.

Board members asked about overlap with concepts like the '15-minute city' and whether protected bike lanes or sharrows would be preferable on streets such as Valley View. Vermaikos said the plan will present multiple facility types — from sharrows to off-street trails — and solicited resident preferences on safety and convenience.

Staff said the plan will use community input to prioritize projects and noted constraints including street width, underground utilities and funding availability. The next steps are community engagement (survey and April 17 event) and collecting board and public feedback to shape the five-year project list.