Fort Worth considers taking land from the Botanic Garden to improve University Drive

It could become easier to walk to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden without taking your life in your hands as the city plans to improve a roughly half mile stretch of University Drive.

Fort Worth is proposing to add a six-foot sidewalk on the west side of University Drive between Trail Drive and Rock Springs Road, according to the city. It is part of a plan to make the area more walkable and make it easier for people to get to the Botanic Garden and Trinity Park without a car.

The city is working on the first phase of the project between Riverfront Drive and the Interstate 30 overpass. The city closed the center lanes of that stretch in December to help with the construction of a raised median.

This second phase would add traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, and bus stops at the Botanic Garden entrance and the Rock Springs Road intersections. The $7.7 million project will be funded with money from the state Transportation Department.

The changes would result in the removal of 11 trees and taking about five acres from the Botanic Garden and Trinity Park, so the city is holding a 6 p.m. meeting on Jan. 30 to discuss the project. The meeting will take place at city hall.

The city expects to start construction by Summer 2026 with completion scheduled for Summer 2027.