Two upcoming parades celebrate the rich heritage and traditions of Fort Worth. You won’t want to miss these events:

Fort Worth Stock Show Parade

The Fort Worth Stock Show’s All Western Parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 19 in downtown Fort Worth. Nearly 100,000 spectators line the streets of downtown Cowtown to watch this spectacular annual event. Plenty of horses and other livestock can be seen — but no motorized vehicles are allowed.

The parade starts at the corner of Weatherford and Main streets, heads south on Main Street to Ninth Street, then north on Houston Street before ending at Houston and Bluff streets.

To reserve parade seating, contact the ticket office at 817-877-2420 and keep your seat ticket because it also serves as general admission to the Stock Show grounds any day during the 23-day run (rodeo performances are not included).

To learn about all the western activities coming up Jan. 18-Feb. 9, check out the Stock Show’s website.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade

Fort Worth’s 34th annual tribute to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. steps off at 11 a.m. Jan. 21.

The parade begins at Ninth and Commerce streets, heads west on Ninth Street, north on Houston Street, east on Weatherford Street, south on Main Street before ending with a rally at Sundance Square Plaza from about noon-1:30 p.m.

To learn more, contact Roderick Miles Jr. at 817-247-7964.

Before the parade begins, the Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Trails marker will be unveiled. Join special guests Dr. Gary and Anne Lacefield and the TCU Jazz Ensemble at 9 a.m. at the corner of Main Street and 9th Street. The ensemble will perform under the direction of Dr. Amy Stewart and a former member of the Texas Rangers Baseball Team.

Reasonable apartment rents put Fort Worth at No. 7 on the list of most affordable cities to live and work.

For recent graduates, young professionals or anyone considering a career change, affordability of housing often becomes a deciding factor in where they choose to look for a job. That’s good news for Fort Worth, which was recently named No. 7 on a list of most affordable cities to live and work.

BusinessStudent.com wanted to see which areas of the country, and which cities in those areas, give business professionals the biggest bang for the buck, so they compared the highest quoted salaries from more than 100 business-related jobs to average rent for a two-bedroom apartment.

The average salary for Fort Worth was recorded at $75,797, and the average rent was $1,108. That leaves an after-rent salary of $62,501 or 82 percent of the total salary.

Cities that ranked above Fort Worth were Tulsa, Okla. (No. 1); Lexington, Ky.; Oklahoma City; Las Vegas; Memphis; and Columbia, S.C.

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The City Council accepted a slate of more than 20 recommendations from the Task Force on Race and Culture on December 11.

Mayor Betsy Price directed city staff to research costs of implementing the recommendations and to investigate how other large cities in Texas and across the nation handle issues of racial and cultural disparity.

If all aspects of the recommendations were to be approved and implemented, there would be a $3 million impact on the fiscal year 2020 city budget. The costs would represent .5 percent of the city’s general fund budget and would add seven full-time and 20 part-time staff positions.

Further action on implementing the recommendations is expected in 2019.

View the recommendations.

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The city council voted to approve the pension plan proposed at last night’s meeting.

Council members voted to approve the plan as follows:

• For: Mayor Betsy Price, Councilmembers Carlos Flores, Brian Byrd, Cary Moon, Gyna Bivens, Jungus Jordan, Dennis Shingleton and Ann Zadeh
• Against: None
• Present but abstained from voting: Kelly Allen Gray
• Absent: None

The final plan that was accepted by the city council includes increasing contributions from the city and employees, eliminating service credit for future accruals of sick leave and major medical leave, and making changes to Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). (More detailed information on each element, and a list of frequently asked questions are being prepared for future distribution.)

Key elements of the proposed pension plan can be view here.

Fort Worth’s Transportation & Public Works Department added two members to its leadership team. They join the staff in January.

Tanya Brooks

Tanya Brooks will be assistant director overseeing the Traffic Management Division. In her new role she will be responsible for maintaining and operating the city’s parking, signal, street lighting, pavement markings and street signage programs, as well as the transportation and engineering planning sections.

Chad Edwards

Chad Edwards will be the mobility and innovation officer. He comes to Fort Worth with nearly 20 years of experience in transportation planning. Most recently, Edwards was assistant vice president of capital planning at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, where he had oversight of several areas, including corridor development, feasibility assessments, transit system planning and travel demand modeling.

The Texas Department of Transportation invites residents to review proposed improvements to I-30 from Linkcrest Drive to I-820. The meeting will be an open house format with no formal presentation, allowing residents to come and go at their convenience. The meeting will be 6-8 p.m. Dec. 5 at Covenant Classical School, 1701 Wind Star Way.

The project length is 3.4 miles. Approximately 3.48 acres of additional right of way is anticipated to be required. The study limits for the traffic and environmental evaluations include I-30 from Walsh Ranch Parkway to Las Vegas Trail and along I-820 from Clifford Street to Chapin Road.

The proposed alternatives include:

• Widening from a four-lane (two general-purpose lanes each direction) freeway to a six-lane (three general-purpose lanes each direction) freeway.
• Improvements to the I-30 and Spur 580 interchange to reduce congestion and improve safety.
• Construction of continuous two-lane, one-way frontage roads throughout the project limits.

To learn more, contact TxDOT at 817-370-6500.

Fort Worth has finally crossed the King of Country’s mind.

Country legend George Strait is set to play at Dickies Arena on Nov. 22, 2019. The performance, which is the first concert announced at the venue, will begin at 8 p.m. Asleep at the Wheel will open for Strait.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Dec. 7 at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $19.82 to $250, with limited tickets available at $19.82 to commemorate one of Strait’s only Fort Worth performances, at Billy Bob’s in 1982. VIP packages will also be available for purchase.

“We are thrilled to make Texas legend George Strait our first concert announcement at Dickies Arena,” said Trail Drive Management Corp.’s Matt Homan, president and general manager of Dickies Arena. “This performance will be in one of George Strait’s most intimate arena settings, and we can’t wait to bring this to Fort Worth.”

Dickies Arena will be a 14,000-seat multipurpose venue adjacent to the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth. The facility is the result of a pioneering public-private partnership between the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, the state of Texas and a group of private-sector participants, including foundations, individuals and organizations.

The arena will be owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by the not-for-profit operating entity Trail Drive Management Corp. The state-of-the-art arena, scheduled to open in November 2019, will host concerts, sporting events and family entertainment, and will be the new home to Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo performances.

Would you ride a cool, clean-energy, electric circulator along the W. 7^th Street corridor? Would you ride this alternative transportation instead of taking your car if it provided frequent service every 15 minutes? What hours of operation would meet your needs?

We invite you to participate in a community survey about your transportation habits and needs, specifically your transportation patterns to downtown, the West 7^th area and the Cultural District. This survey will require about 5 minutes of your time. Your individual responses are completely confidential and will never be shared. Thank you for your participation in this important research. Please complete the survey by Friday, October 19.

Click here to take the survey: TRANSIT SURVEY LINK

If you have already taken the survey, we appreciate your feedback.

Feel free to forward the survey link to others you know who live and/or work in downtown, W. 7^th corridor, and the Cultural District

Thank you for your time and participation!

Do you walk or ride your bike in Fort Worth? Do you use public transportation? If you answered yes to one of these questions, mark your calendar and make plans to attend a public meeting to give input on how the city can make mobility improvements.

The City of Fort Worth has partnered with the North Central Texas Council of Governments with support through the Blue Zones Project to create an Active Transportation Plan. Active transportation is transportation powered by human energy, and the active transportation network is the bicycle and pedestrian facilities, as well as connections to the public transportation system, that allows people to get around the city without a car.

Public transportation is active travel because it often starts or ends with a walking trip and it provides an essential connection for people who walk (including people who use mobility devices).

This plan will integrate and update previous planning efforts such as the Walk Fort Worth and Bike Fort Worth plans, develop a new Trails Master Plan and provide coordination with the regional Transit Master Plan. The result will be a unified, citywide transportation network for people who walk and bike, with a coordinated implementation strategy for planning, prioritizing and building improvements.

Meetings are scheduled for 6-7 p.m. at these locations:
Sept. 25, Fort Worth Central Library, 500 W. Third St.
Sept. 27, Southwest Regional Library, 4001 Library Lane
Oct. 2, Northside Senior Center, 1100 N.W. 18th St.
Oct. 3, Sycamore Community Center (Computer Lab), 2525 E. Rosedale St.
Oct. 8, Heritage Church of Christ, 4201 Heritage Trace Parkway.
Oct. 9, Greenbriar community Center (Computer Lab), 5200 Hemphill St.
Oct. 10, Chisholm Trail Community Center (Computer Lab), 4936 McPherson Blvd.

The Sept. 25 meeting will have a presentation at 6 p.m. followed by audience comments and questions. The other meetings will be an open house format so the public may come and go at their convenience, and staff will be available to answer questions.

For those who are unable to attend, an online presentation from the Sept. 25 public meeting and online survey will be available through Nov. 2.

To learn more, contact Julia Ryan at 817-392-2593.

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Work continues on West Seventh Street traffic and safety improvements, and the next step addresses parking.

Parking meters are being installed in and near the West Seventh area and are expected to be operating by Aug. 30. Parking fees for these meters will vary based on time of day. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m., the rate will be $1 per hour. From 4 p.m.-10 p.m., the rate will be $2.50 per hour. There is no fee from 10 p.m.-10 a.m.

Parking fees may be adjusted by 25 cents per hour on a weekly basis based on demand, with a maximum allowable rate of $4.50 per hour and a minimum rate of $1 per hour.

Fort Worth will be the first city in Texas to implement a demand-driven variable-rate structure for on-street parking. The combination of extended-hours metered parking and the implementation of a demand-driven variable rate has been successfully used in high-demand business and entertainment districts in cities such as Seattle, New York, San Francisco and Boston to address the issue of excessive parking demand and a limited supply of on-street spaces. The use of demand-driven variable-rate parking has resulted in a decrease in search time and congestion as well as an improvement in space turnover and overall business activity in high-demand districts in those cities.

Parking will also be available at the Fort Worth school district’s Farrington Field, located at the corner of University Drive and Lancaster Avenue. Under a new agreement, 400 spaces will be available for employee parking and fee-based parking for the general public beginning Aug. 30. This effort is being managed by the West Seventh Restaurant and Bar Association. Fee-based surface lots and garages in the West Seventh Urban Village are additional alternatives.

The availability of parking at Farrington Field will coincide with the opening of a portion of the new Trail Drive Extension adjacent to Farrington Field to allow easier access to the parking lot.

Learn about other traffic and safety improvements scheduled for the area. http://fortworthtexas.gov/transportation/west-seventh-improvements/