OK, now that I understand the scenario better my opinion is this: I think you need to find a way to end the bicycle portion of your commute at the end of the nice bike path near TCU and take other, suitable transportation to work. (Or find an alternate route in.)

Yes, this may make you "multi-modal" rather than a pure bike commuter, but I think it's unrealistic to think that training, weapons, alertness, etc., will always carry the day if you're traveling in a bad enough area often enough. At some point, the odds may catch up with you.

I say this as someone who has training, weapons and alertness (after enough coffee). Still, I will do what I can to avoid areas when they appear dodgy. Bad guys tend to be lazy in that they target people they think they 1) outnumber, 2) outgun, 3) will surprise. They may be mistaken, but if they're mostly right, things can go south with surprising brutality and speed.

I realize this doesn't seem right or fair, but it is what it is. To be sure, I'd consider all the advice about training, awareness, self-defense tools, etc., but the advice I'd consider the most is the need to avoid dangerous encounters.

I commute daily through a bad part of town. But what I've observed on my particular commute is that Bad Guys like their beauty sleep and are virtually absent during my early ride in. I take the train home, though, as I found out one Friday that the scene is much different in the afternoon.