Commuting by bicycle between the Northeast Texas Trail and Historic Downtown Paris will soon be more accessible and safer with the addition of dedicated bicycle lanes.
The Texas Department of Transportation has awarded the City of Paris funding to aid construction of the bike lanes through the department’s Transportation Alternatives Program.
The project will connect downtown with the Trail de Paris portion of the NE Texas Trail near First Street SW and Hearne Avenue.
Five-foot-wide bicycle lanes will be marked on the existing pavement along each side of First Street SW to West Sherman Street.
The southbound bicycle lane will extend north along First Street SW to Kaufman Street, and the northbound bicycle lane on First Street SW will turn onto West Sherman Street and then north on South Main Street to Kaufman Street.
City of Paris Engineer Todd Mittge worked with Chris Donnan of Hayter Engineering to submit the grant request.
“The competition for these grants was strong. Only 82 of 465 applications were selected statewide,” Mittge said. “I am pleased that TxDOT recognizes the need for more bike lane infrastructure in our wonderful city, and we are excited to get started connecting the trail with our historic downtown.”
The bicycle lanes will be marked with lane striping and bicycle lane markings. Bike lane and no parking signs along the paths, safety signs at intersections and vertical delineators about every 500 feet will also be installed.
The TxDOT TA program administers federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects in Texas communities.
The projects funded this grant cycle are valued at $345 million. The City of Paris will receive just over $400,000 for the project.
The City must provide a 20% match to secure the grant funds
