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Explosive growth continues in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, with Mansfield projecting its population to double between now and 2040.
The city is preparing a new vision for Mansfield, including new neighborhoods and a redesigned downtown area aimed at growing specific industries.
Currently, four lanes of Highway 287 run through downtown Mansfield. With all the traffic, people who work downtown told NBC 5 it can feel more like a racetrack than a city center.
“It’s definitely crazy,” says Flying Squirrel Coffee Company barista Ryan Rodriguez. “A lot of people are speeding past. We can hear it.”
That big traffic jam will never go away.
Mansfield leaders said the city’s population has exploded since the late 1980s, from about 15,000 to more than 83,000 today.
And city leaders said they expect Mansfield’s population to double again by 2040, up to about 160,000 people.
“We can sit back and just let it happen, or we can participate in it,” said Mansfield’s Place 2 City Councilor Tamera Bounds. “And we can control our own neighborhoods.”
The city’s new vision is to capitalize on all of this anticipated growth.
Mansfield leaders approved a plan to create a new district for new businesses, including an entertainment district with a new professional soccer stadium and an innovation corridor with office space and headquarters.
“There are so many people who want to move here and we’re looking for a place to accommodate them,” Mansfield Mayor Pro Tem Todd Tonore said.
Another part of the plan is a redesign of downtown.
“We’re trying to eliminate some of that terrible traffic, narrow the roads, create more parking and make it more walkable,” Bounds said.
The city approved a plan to narrow roads, install a roundabout on Main Street and build more than 100 parking spaces downtown.
The goal is to make the area a destination rather than a transit point.
“Growth and development is being attracted to the downtown area, and we’re talking about nearly $500 million in growth and development over the coming years,” Mansfield Mayor Michael Evans said.
City leaders told NBC 5 that Mansfield’s expected population growth will increase property tax and sales tax revenue, which will help pay for the city’s share of these projects.
Downtown businesses told NBC 5 that adding more parking and reducing traffic will meet the widest range of needs and are excited to see what the future holds for Mansfield.
“I think that’s a really good thing. It’s going to bring more people into the business, and that’s a really good thing,” Rodriguez said. Small and medium-sized enterprises really need a lot of human resources. We really depend on it. ”
City leaders said the downtown project and innovation corridor is expected to break ground in 2024 and will take at least five years to complete.
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