News & Updates

April 26, 2024 Issue

Save the Date! TCNT Annual Luncheon, September 20, 2024

Registration Opens Next Week!

DCTA Board to Discuss Lewisville Transit Development at Upcoming Meeting


communityimpact.com


Denton County Transportation Authority officials are expected to discuss updates to the agency’s service plan and proposed transit development in Old Town Lewisville at an April 25 board of directors meeting.


The agenda includes a discussion item related to proposed transit development in Old Town Lewisville. Staff are expected to deliver an update on a transit-oriented development planning analysis that was completed earlier this year, according to the agenda.


The analysis, which was federally funded, included a conceptual master plan for the proposed A-Train station in Lewisville. Staff are also expected to detail a path forward for project development, according to the agenda.


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Council Approves $45.9M in Taxpayer Spending


dallasexpress.com


On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved $45,964,706.30 in expenditures, including over $18 million for sidewalk improvements and more along Dallas Area Rapid Transit bus routes.


Using a portion of about $80 million in DART funding from excess sales-tax collection and regional transit council funds, officials have contracted Ragle Inc. to complete sidewalk and ADA-accessible ramp improvements on public rights of way throughout Dallas.


The DART service area also includes Garland, Carrollton, Addison, Farmers Branch, Cockrell Hill, Irving, Glenn Heights, Richardson, Plano, Highland Park, Rowlett, and University Park. The member cities pay a 1-cent sales tax, and that money accounts for about 75% of DART’s roughly $1 billion budget, as The Dallas Express reported earlier this month.


Meanwhile, DART is targeting some operational areas customers say need attention, spending “$110 million to provide rider improvements in the area of security, cleanliness, and reliability.”


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Grapevine Main LIVE! Brings Free Concerts Back Starting May 3


focusdailynews.com


Get ready to rock and groove under the Texas sky as Grapevine Main LIVE! returns for another season of free, live music! Grapevine Main LIVE! Presented by Trinity Metro TEXRail brings the party to life every Friday night in May and June at 7:30 PM! Get ready to groove under the stars at the scenic Peace Plaza.


Free Live Music on Fridays during May and June 7:30 p.m. on Peace Plaza.


This year’s lineup promises a diverse mix of musical styles, featuring beloved artists from across the decades. Dance to the infectious energy of Windy City, a Chicago tribute band, or tap your feet to some Texas Blues with the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band Texas Flood.


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Brightline Founder Eyes Private Rail Expansion to Texas, Seattle


ajot.com


A new era of fast passenger rail is poised to sweep across the US, according to Wes Edens, the billionaire founder of Brightline — the first private train operator in the country in more than a century.


After kicking off construction this week on Brightline’s latest venture, a $12 billion rail project spanning from Las Vegas to Southern California, Edens is already envisioning the next major hub. 


The Texas triangle of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio is among the promising routes, as are Atlanta-Charlotte, Portland-Seattle and Chicago-St. Louis, the Fortress Investment Group co-chair and chief executive officer said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin.


“When we think of places that are likely to be next on the list, it’s city pairs that have got the same characteristics as we see here — which are two big population centers separated by 200 to 300 miles and lots of traffic between them,” said Edens. Brightline already has a footprint in Florida connecting Miami, West Palm Beach and Orlando. So far, though, Florida ridership has lagged the firm’s own projections.


“A successful launch of this will be the beginning of not only the next rail system but of the rail industry,” Edens said of the Fortress-backed project. “In this country we have a big automotive industry, we have a big aeronautical industry, I think it is time to have a big passenger rail industry.” 


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Don’t Let the Commuter Rail Pass You By


dallasnews.com

Op-Ed by Mayor Oscar Trevino


If cars are the only option, our roads and highways have no chance of keeping up. Building more and more traffic lanes is impractical, unsustainable and cost-prohibitive. Commuter rail is a necessary alternative that will continue to shape the Dallas-Fort Worth region.


“Where the rail goes, the communities flourish. Where it passes them by, they wither and die.” My good friend Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate spoke those words at the groundbreaking ceremony for TEXRail in 2016. As TEXRail is celebrating its fifth year of operation, his statement rings true. Areas up and down the TEXRail line are flourishing.

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The 27-mile TEXRail commuter rail line between downtown Fort Worth and DFW International Airport has provided nearly 3 million rides and is growing an average of 25% each year. In 2026-27, ridership will increase exponentially as TEXRail is extended to the Fort Worth Medical District and connects with DART’s 26-mile Silver Line at DFW Airport, creating 53 miles of commuter rail between Fort Worth and Plano.


Reviving passenger service made sense in a Dallas-Fort Worth region experiencing continuous growth and is now the fourth-largest metro area and is expected to add another 3 million people over the next 25 years.


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Transit Coalition of North Texas

TransitNorthTexas.org