Transit Tour, More TEXRail Service, High Speed Rail Route Study, Ride to the Polls & More

News & Updates

November 1, 2024 Issue

We had a great time on the Regional Transit Tour!

The TCNT Regional Transit Tour started in three different locations on Wednesday, October 30, and the participants met up at the beautiful Grapevine transit-oriented-development for some time to chat about all they saw.

Huge thanks to Huitt-Zollars, Inc. for sponsoring the reception and to DART, DCTA, and Trinity Metro for putting together thoughtful tours for our local, state, and federal officials. We appreciate all of our elected officials and their staff that took the time to learn more about the economic impact of transit in North Texas.

Trinity Metro TEXRail to Increase Schedule Between Fort Worth, DFW Airport

communityimpact.com

Trinity Metro TEXRail will run increased midday services starting Nov. 3.

According to a news release, the service from Fort Worth T&P Station to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal B Station will run every 30 minutes instead of every hour.

The first trip will start at 4:13 a.m. and continue through a 6:43 p.m. departure from Fort Worth. After that, trains will run every hour until 10:43 p.m.

From the airport heading west, the first trip will be at 5:10 a.m. and run through 7:40 p.m., according to a news release. For night time hours, the train’s last trip is at 11:40 p.m. to T&P Station. An additional train will leave at 12:30 a.m. and head toward Mercantile Center Station in Fort Worth.

FTA: $10.5 Million for TOD Funding

transit.dot.gov

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced nearly $10.5 million in grants to support the development and preservation of affordable housing near public transit in communities across the country. Funding is awarded to 11 communities in 10 states through the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning, which is funded by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Grants will advance a key part of the Administration's Housing Supply Action Plan by helping communities develop plans to encourage ridership by developing housing and businesses near transit corridors.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments will receive funding to plan for transit-oriented development along a portion of the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line between the Medical/Market Center station to Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, and from Handley-Ederville Road to Precinct Line Road in Tarrant County. The plan will identify areas for development along this corridor and recommend strategies to increase ridership, improve connectivity, boost economic development and create equitable communities.

List of Projects

How to Get a Free Ride to Vote on Election Day

nbcdfw.com

DART

Dallas Area Rapid Transit provides free transportation to polling locations for the Nov. 5 election. Voters can ride at no charge on all DART buses, trains, GoLink, the Dallas Streetcar, Paratransit Services and the TRE between EBJ Union Station and CentrePort/DFW Airport Station. Customers must show a valid voter registration card to ride for free on Election Day. GoLink riders can use promo code VOTEPRES at checkout for a complimentary Adult Local Day Pass in the DART GoPass app on Nov. 5. You can learn more at dart.org/vote.

TRINITY METRO

Trinity Metro will offer free rides for voting on all local services on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. Customers who are riding to or from the polls are eligible for free rides on Trinity Metro buses, Trinity Metro On-Demand rideshare services (including paratransit) and Trinity Metro TEXRail. Free rides also include Trinity Railway Express stations in Tarrant County, including CentrePort. To get a free ride, customers should notify their driver or train conductor that they are traveling to or from a voting location.

DCTA

The Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) will be providing free rides to the polls on Election Day via train, bus and GoZone.

STAR TRANSIT

STAR Transit offers free, round-trip rides to local polling places for early and Election Day voting. Free early voting service will be available on weekdays across the entire STAR Transit service area from Monday, Oct. 21, through Friday, Nov. 1. In Balch Springs, Mesquite, and Terrell only, free early voting service is also available on Saturday, Oct. 26. Free service to the polls is available across the entire service area on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Dallas to Study Economic Impacts of High-Speed Rail Lines to Houston, Fort Worth

dallasnews.com

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved paying a consultant firm nearly $567,000 to analyze the economic impact high-speed rail lines to Houston and Fort Worth could have on the region.

The one-year deal with the Boston Consulting Group comes from a council request in March after some members raised questions about the need for a second rail line connecting Dallas to Fort Worth. Council members passed a resolution in June opposing the planned seven-story high downtown area throughline, saying they could revisit the issue after they get the results of an economic impact study.

The preferred route was changed during the summer to loop around downtown after council members worried the train would otherwise disrupt plans for a new $3 billion convention center and other multibillion-dollar redevelopment projects near Reunion Tower.

City officials estimated the study could take around three months to complete.

Plano Staff Present Legislative Priorities Centered on DART, Hotel Project Funding

communityimpact.com

Ahead of adopting legislative priorities later in October, Plano staff presented potential policy area focuses at a preliminary open meeting Oct. 14.

Plano City Council received an overview of the city’s legislative priorities, which include advocating for reduced contributions to Dallas Area Rapid Transit and getting added to the list of eligible cities for qualified hotel projects.

Council members received an update on a potential legislative agenda ahead of the 89th Legislature convening in 2025. City staff are expected to work with various stakeholders in the legislative process to further Plano's legislative priorities.

Andrew Fortune, Plano’s director of policy and government relations, said there are four areas of focus, including:

Maintaining local control
Addressing DART funding
Getting Plano added to cities allowed to use qualified hotel project funding mechanisms
Imposing stricter regulations on public facility corporations and housing finance corporations

DART Breaks Ground on Silver Line Maintenance Facility

progressiverailroading.com

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officials last week broke ground on a Silver Line equipment maintenance facility in the Plano, Texas.

When completed, the facility will feature two buildings to house, clean and maintain Silver Line vehicles; an underground fueling tank; a canopy structure; and a storage yard.

Construction will take place within DART’s rail right-of-way (approximately 14 acres), near the end of the Silver Line track alignment and a few hundred feet from the Shiloh Road Station. The site is also located behind an office building that DART purchased earlier this year in Plano’s industrial district. The office building will serve as the operations and maintenance home for Silver Line staff once the regional-rail service begins late next year or in early 2026.

Tunnel to Fort Worth Transit Station to Aid in High-Speed Rail Plans, Downtown Development

fortworthreport.org

Plans to make a downtown Fort Worth transit station the site for a proposed high-speed rail route to Arlington and downtown Dallas are moving forward with a planned tunnel connection.

The Fort Worth Central Station, 1001 Jones St., will be included in development plans recently approved by the City Council’s Local Development Corp. for the southeast portion of downtown. Engineering consulting firm AECOM is developing a comprehensive plan for the 13.3 million-square-foot area situated east of the Fort Worth Convention Center, west of Central Station and north of the Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus currently under construction.

Transit Coalition of North Texas

TransitNorthTexas.org