Fort Worth officials are near the point of seeking public feedback on proposals to improve traffic flow and safety where Camp Bowie Boulevard intersects with Horne Street and Bryant Irvin Road and  to facilitate redevelopment along Horne into the Como neighborhood through streetfront improvements. Lydia Guajardo Rickard, executive director of the Camp Bowie District economic development nonprofit, sat down for a Q&A with 76107 about the projects.

76107: Tell us about the status of these projects.

Rickard: We have two bond issues that passed in the previous bond election, the most recent one. They were both for infrastructure improvements for Bryant Irvin at Camp Bowie and Horne Street at Camp Bowie. Those are currently at almost 30 percent design with the city right now, so shortly they will be going out to the public to present their proposed plans and then solicit feedback.

The biggest thing is that the Horne Street intersection has a lot of traffic flow issues, but it also has some safety issues. If you’re heading east on Locke and you want to turn onto Horne, you have a light to turn onto Horne to go southbound or to go northbound. Then you have this immediate next light at Horne Street, so they’re within feet of each other. It creates this confusion. They’re trying to clean that up right now.

Then the other thing is it’s a preparation for the city to put a new streetscape improvement plan in action, southbound on Horne Street. That will put in better sidewalks, better lighting, better green space. We’re connecting the dots between the Horne Street intersection and Horne Street, as a thoroughfare and a commercial corridor. The city is approximately 30 percent on that.

76107: Following the city’s time frame, when might these improvements go in?

Rickard: The city is hoping that in the next 18 months, these projects will be well underway. I would liken it to the Race Street transformation over east of downtown Fort Worth.

76107: Remind us of the city and community plan that’s in place for Horne Street revitalization.

Rickard: They broke up Horne Street into zones, and there’s three different zones. There’s commercial, there’s education and then there’s residential. The north end is commercial, the middle section is education and then the third zone is focused on appropriate residential development.

76107: Has there been any real estate activity on Horne from Camp Bowie south. Property changing hands?

Rickard: Not yet. It’s coming. We also have what’s called a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone that has been overlaid. There are incentives in there for developers to come in. There are fees that can be waived when certain criteria are met. There are some people who are actually finally taking advantage of that.

76107: What interest is there right now in real estate on Horne coming south of Camp Bowie?

Rickard: You’d be surprised. There’s quite a bit. It’s just making sure that we’re putting in there what best suits that community. Creating opportunity, especially for the underserved populations, to be able to be a startup area for some of this entrepreneurial-type business, be it a small bakery, be it a small shop. There’s ample space for that to be built out. This is a great place for that to happen. You have access to Camp Bowie, you have access to the other areas around the area and now we’re forcing this cross-pollination to happen from Camp Bowie to Horne and vice versa.