Summary: Parker County is the sixth fastest growing county in the US, and as Fort Worth inches closer to a million residents, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Weatherford, and Parker County are working together to find ways to move people and goods efficiently across the community while attracting new job opportunities that bring in jobs.
Latest Update: posted Wednesday, 14 February, 2024
As Tarrant and Parker Cos. populations surge, transportation experts discuss the economic impact of region’s next steps
Parker County is the sixth fastest growing county in the US, and as Fort Worth inches closer to a million residents, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Weatherford, and Parker County are working together to find ways to move people and goods efficiently across the community while attracting new job opportunities that bring in jobs.
Northwest Tarrant County and its western neighbor, Parker County, are hot spots for new projects. The northwest part of the county is home to about 600,000 residents, and Parker County is the sixth fastest growing county in the country. [1]
Growth has been so overwhelming that Parker County took a $130 million, 32-project transportation bond to voters in November 2023. [1]
“We were slightly behind the curve,” Parker County Judge Pat Deen said. “We’ve got to set the precedent now, working together and collaborating together in getting buy-in in every one of the cities because we’re all in this together. This isn’t just a county issue.” [1]
Interesting aside, Dallas-Fort Worth commuters spent 2 hours longer in rush hour in 2023
Sources
• As Tarrant population surges, transportation experts discuss economic impact of region’s next steps, Fort Worth Report 09 February, 2024
Solid transportation infrastructure that responds to exponential population growth has never been more important, and both the private and public sectors came together to discuss it during the 14th annual Tarrant Transportation Summit at the Hurst Conference Center.
As Fort Worth inches closer to a million residents, city staff and business partners are looking at different ways to move people and goods efficiently across the community while attracting new job opportunities that bring in jobs.
Kelly Porter, assistant director for the city’s transportation and public works department, shared that Fort Worth is working on its first master transportation plan, which will look at long-range infrastructure projects over the next 25 years.
Tackling the population surge north and west.
Northwest Tarrant County and its western neighbor, Parker County, are hot spots for new projects. The northwest part of the county is home to about 600,000 residents, and Parker County is the sixth fastest growing county in the country.
Growth has been so overwhelming that Parker County took a $130 million, 32-project transportation bond to voters in November 2023. It included funding for work on I-20 as well as local roads throughout the city of Weatherford and Parker County.
“We were slightly behind the curve,” Parker County Judge Pat Deen said. “We’ve got to set the precedent now, working together and collaborating together in getting buy-in in every one of the cities because we’re all in this together. This isn’t just a county issue.”
According to Deen, around 60% of the city’s workforce travels east toward Fort Worth and beyond for jobs — a tremendous strain on Weatherford’s economy as well as the roads in Tarrant County.
That has to stop, he said.
In northwest Tarrant County, the infrastructure of what was once a rural part of the county has not always kept pace with the rapid development of that area.
“Northwest Tarrant County is kind of the last bastion of a rural portion of a major county in the nation,” said Dillon Maroney, executive administrator of operations for Tarrant County Precinct 4.
In response to the needs of the area, the county has been working with TxDOT to bring projects that allow better traffic flow while improving overall safety on the roads.
Infrastructure opens up economic opportunities. Weatherford Mayor Paul Paschall said that several employers, including Costco and H-E-B., expressed interest in expanding in the city shortly after the 2023 bond was approved.
“Along with mobility and growth and job creation, the roads are key,” Paschall said.
• Dallas-Fort Worth commuters spent 2 hours longer in rush hour in 2023, Axios Dallas, 09 February, 2024
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