Source: City of Kennedale
Did you know that the city?s downtown was destroyed by fire in 1908. Kennedale has 3 parks. Kennedale owns a piece of the Twin Towers from 9-11. The City of Kennedale has a total land area of 6.6 square miles. {{more}}Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the land is vacant with 28% used for single family units and less than 1% used for multi-family units. In 2010 58% of households were married couples living together and 40% of households had children under 18. Kennedale has plans for a bridge over the railroad tracks and for a large Village Creek Recreation Area with hiking and biking trails.
All of this information and more can be found in the following report issued by the City of Kennedale.
Overview
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| City of Kennedale |
Kennedale is a city of approximately 7,000 people located immediately southeast of Fort Worth, in South Tarrant County, Texas at 32.648686, -97.2252. Kennedale shares borders with Fort Worth and Forest Hill to the north, Arlington to the east, and unincorporated areas of Tarrant County to the south and west. Kennedale?s location at a convergence of Loop-820, Interstate 20, and US 287 provides convenient access to Tarrant County and DFW International Airport.
History
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| Old train station |
Though it was not incorporated until 1947, Kennedale was founded in 1882. Kennedale was known in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for agricultural areas, brickyards, and mineral wells. This along with the city?s location along the old Fort Worth and New Orleans Railway (today the Union Pacific Railway) and the Mansfield Cardinal Road led to the city?s early prosperity. The city?s downtown was destroyed by fire in 1908. During the 20th century commercial development oriented away from downtown toward Kennedale Parkway (Business Highway 287)
Recreation/Parks
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| Splash Pad at Sonora Park |
Sonora Park is a scenic 22.47-acre multi-purpose park and recreation space just south of Kennedale Town-Center. Sonora Park is an ideal spot for picnics and birthday parties with a beautiful pavilion, picnic tables, and benches throughout the park, barbecue grills, a bird habitat, wooded areas, grassy hills surrounding the duck pond, a fishing pier, and paved pathways and nature trails. As the city?s largest park, this area is an active hub for sports and recreation, including the Kennedale Ballfields, a water splash pad, 9-hole disk golf course, horseshoe pits, and playground equipment for the kids. This park also has restroom facilities. A concrete walking/jogging path surrounds the park and provides easy access via a pedestrian bridge over a creek to three ball fields.
Rodgers Farm Park is a small park in the Rolling Hills Neighborhood which features woodsy pathways with several picnic tables and park benches along a concrete jogging path. It also has a 1/2 size basketball court, playground equipment and a climbing feature.
Town-Center Park is nestled between Kennedale City Hall, the Police Department and the public library. The park has a large stage and pavilion. A children’s play area is accessible to youngsters with disabilities and comes complete with a multilevel play structure, baby swings, and
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| 911 Memorial Town Center
Park |
bouncyspring toys! There is a grassy area for picnics and a quarter mile walking path around the park. At the center of the park is a large fountain topped by a bronze eagle overlooking a veterans? memorial. A large clock tower leads visitors to a memorial recalling for the 9/11/01 attack on America. At the center of the memorial, a 3,000-pound column salvaged from the collapsed World Trade Center casts a sundial shadow on one of the five granite walls honoring the 2,460 victims of the attack.
Current Land Use
Kennedale has a total land area of 6.6 square miles. 28.3% of the land in Kennedale is vacant, 28.2% single-family residential, 18.6% Industrial, 7.6% is transportation, 4.9% for mobile homes, 3.0% land fill, 2.2% civic-institutional, 2.1% parks, 2.1% utilities, 1.7% retail, 0.9% water, multi-family residential is 0.2%. Other uses account for less than 1%. Residential subdivisions are generally located in the northern portion of the city east of Kennedale Parkway.
Large-lot single-family houses constitute the bulk of residential units. Traditional single-family housing predominates in the ?old-town? area and in neighborhoods adjacent to four KISD schools. Small apartment complexes, duplex tracts, and mobile home parks are located on connector streets and Kennedale Parkway. New housing targeted to middle-income families continues to be built east of Kennedale Parkway.
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| Kennedale Employment
District Master Plan |
In 2012, the City of Kennedale adopted a Comprehensive Land Use and Development Plan. The plan forecasts future residential subdivisions developing in the southwest area of Kennedale, where a majority of vacant land is located. The city is working with current landowners to facilitate mutually beneficial arrangements for their continuity of operations prior to the ultimate purchase and acquisition of the land by the city. The comprehensive plan envisions linear parks and trails connecting existing and future neighborhoods to recreation, shopping, civic facilities, and employment centers. Key infrastructure for the development includes a bridge over the Union Pacific Railway tracks connecting Little School Road (E-W) with New Hope and Dick Price roads (N-S). A linear park will connect the southwest residential development with a reclaimed Village Creek recreational area near the proposed employment center to be developed near the north intersection of Kennedale Parkway and Interstate 20.
Transportation
A vast majority of vehicle traffic in Kennedale moves north and south along Kennedale Parkway (Business Hwy. 287). In 2012 the City of Kennedale adopted a comprehensive land use plan which charts the course for future development. The plan addresses residential and commercial development connected to the urban village by attractive streets, trails, and parks. New housing targeted to middle-income families continues being built east of Kennedale Parkway. Future areas for large-scale residential development are primarily located west of Kennedale Parkway.
Infrastructure to support that development will require a substantial investment in utility infrastructure and a bridge over the railroad adjacent to Kennedale Parkway.(Business Hwy. 287) a five lane undivided roadway with a center turn lane which runs from Fort Worth through Kennedale to unincorporated Tarrant County. Kennedale Sublett, Little School, Dick Price, Bowman Springs Eden Avenues funnel traffic to Kennedale Parkway. Recent improvement projects have eased traffic congestion on all of the streets listed except Eden. Union Pacific
Railway transports a large amount of freight through Kennedale around the clock. In 2011, street and grade crossing improvements facilitated Kennedale?s designation as a railway ?Quiet Zone?.
Demographics
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In 2010 there were 2,241 households. 40.2% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.11. The population spread was 28.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males. Median income for a household in the city was $49,091, and the median income for a family was $53,901. Males had a median income of $43,182 versus $25,508 for females. The per capital income for the city was $24,323. About 4.9% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age18 and 12.4% of those aged 65 or over. The population density was 1024.70 people per square mile. There were 2,241 housing units at an average density of 371.0 per square mile (143.3/km2).
Government
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| City Council Meeting |
Kennedale has a council-manager form of government. Five council members and a mayor provide policy governance with the aid of advisory boards. The city manager is the chief executive officer of the city, which employs a full-time staff of seventy-two employees. The city has its own fire, police, and public works departments. Municipal streets, water, and sewer systems are owned and maintained by the city. Kennedale has a superior public water supply of deep well water supplemented by water purchased from Fort Worth. Water and sewer treatment are contracted services. All other utilities are furnished by private companies.
Employment
A vast majority of Kennedale residents commute to their place of employment outside of Kennedale. Major employers within the city limits are FWT Inc. (tower manufacturing) Goss International, Speed Fab-Crete, Chase Elastomer, Central Dynamic Mfg. Kennedale ISD, and the City of Kennedale.
Education
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| James Arthur Intermediate
School |
Kennedale Independent School District educates the majority of Kennedale?s (K-12) school children at four campuses within the Kennedale city limits. Fellowship Academy (K-12) private school completed construction on a new Kennedale campus in the summer of 2011. They have exceeded their current capacity of 300 students and plan new construction in 2014, which will add facilities for 200 more students.
Hazards
Kennedale has experienced infrequent but costly damage caused by natural and man-made disasters. Following best professional practices before during and after these disasters has allowed our responders, officials, and volunteers to prepare, mitigate, and respond effectively to each of the disasters listed in this report.
Flooding of Village Creek is a certainty based history. Fortunately residents and business operators affected by the flooding know what to expect and how to avoid being injured if they are given sufficient warning. Kennedale has contracted an emergency phone, text and e-mail messaging system which has allowed timely warning before natural disasters. During flooding events our most effective response actions is the closure of low water crossings and limited voluntary evacuation of known trouble spots.
Public tornado warnings are automatically issued to Kennedale residents, businesses, and schools by our emergency messaging system whenever a waning is issued for Tarrant County. Our response to the April 3, 2012 tornado was adequate and provided a good test and on-the-job training for responders, EOC staff, support personnel, and volunteers. The 2013 tornado season has been much worse than normal and prompts intelligent people to plan ahead.
Infrequent ice storms are a fact of life in North Texas. Kennedale Public Works employees provide sand on known trouble spots and firefighters gear up with tire chains and a supply of dry clothes. Again, advance warning and common sense are keys to injury avoidance and response.
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| Kennedale Fire Engine |
Fire safety education and early warning by working smoke detectors are known to save lives. The ignition of attic fires by lightning strikes during thunder storms are uncommon but should be anticipated during any severe storm event. In May 2013 smoke detectors alerted sleeping Kennedale residents to a fast moving fire in their attic. All three occupants escaped without injury despite a mobility impairment of a senior citizen that was provided assistance by her relatives.
Aggressive prosecution of arsonists is effective in reducing wild fires. Seasonal mitigation of combustibles around and on structures is very effective mitigation. Strict enforcement of banned outdoor burning is essential. Fire prevention and education efforts are important throughout the year and should be increased during drought conditions.
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