Category Archives: Transportation

Trinity Project: It’s Time for Plan B

I’ve written an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News describing “Plan B” for the Trinity Project:

Join me at a Dallas City Council meeting five years from now:

It’s 2014. Under Mayor Tom Leppert’s plan, the Trinity toll road should have opened last year, but its construction hasn’t even begun. It remains mired in federal safety analyses due to concerns about its effect on Dallas’ levees. The North Texas Tollway Authority bowed out in early 2011 when it determined it could not fund the now $2.4 billion project.

City staff reluctantly informs the council and mayor that there is no way to bridge the enormous funding gap. The buckets of money once touted to finance the road have been spent on other more critical transportation needs in the region. Less than half of the city’s $84 million in bond funds for the road remains. Continue reading →

Council Approves Towing Cars When Driver Cannot Show Proof of Insurance

Today, Councilmember Rasansky moved and I seconded a motion to tow cars of uninsured drivers. As of January 1, 2009, if the police pull over a driver and that driver cannot provide proof of insurance, their car will be towed to the city impound lot. (When there are extenuating circumstances, the police may use their discretion not to tow.) To get the car back, the driver will have to pay a fee and show proof of insurance.

I fully support this proposal. I disagree with the argument that towing uninsured cars will disproportionately hurt the poor. On the contrary, I think this will most benefit poor, law-abiding citizens who spend their hard-earned money to ensure they’ve got insurance. An example: a single mother who works two jobs is the victim of an accident. She has insurance. She pays $66 every month to comply with Texas state law that requires every driver in the state to carry proof of financial responsibility (insurance). But she can’t afford to carry the more expensive, “uninsured motorist insurance” that would protect her if she’s hit by a driver who doesn’t have insurance. If she’s hit by an uninsured driver, she has to pay out of her own pocket for any hospital care she needs as a result of her injuries, any physical rehabilitation she may require, any work time she may lose, any repair her car may need. How is that fair?

Law-abiding drivers have to pay more for their car insurance to make up for those drivers who refuse to obey the law. How is that fair?

Car insurance is part of the cost of owning a car. I checked with four insurance companies. Basic liability insurance is as little as $66 a month. That’s a tank of gas, a cellphone bill, a couple of dinners out. If someone can’t afford insurance, they shouldn’t drive. They will have to use public transit, walk, or carpool.

A Streetcar Named Desire: Connecting the Dots in Downtown Dallas

See? I’m already fulfilling my New Year’s Resolution. Good for me.

For my first legitimate blog post of the new year, I want to focus on Downtown and the next step in its evolution.

Not to get all Andy Rooney at the very start of the new year, but you know what bugs me? Folks who criticize Downtown Dallas when they haven’t visited in a decade.

My husband and I lived in Downtown between 1998 and the end of 2000. NOTHING was going on. There were fewer than 500 residents and little to do. The last decade has seen incredible changes: Today, Downtown is home to more than 3700 residents and growing. Our Arts District is exploding with three new venues, a renovated arts magnet high school, two awesome historic churches (one just renovated, another about to begin), new offices, and new residential development. We’re about to get not one, not two, but THREE major new parks in Downtown (Woodall Rodgers, Main Street, and Belo). Stone Street Gardens is taking off, and we’ve got the Farmers Market, Dealey Plaza, the West End, and the Convention Center rounding out the mix.

Add to the that the projects just outside the loop: Victory, Deep Ellum, Uptown, the Cedars, Old City Park, the Katy Trail, and the Trinity Park. Cranes are everywhere. The Merc’s lights are back on. Great things are happening. We should have an amazing Downtown.

So why doesn’t it feel that way?

Lack of connectivity.

Having islands of activity isn’t enough. To have an amazing Downtown, to see the benefit of all the energy and work and money that’s gone into getting Downtown to this point, we have to connect the dots. We’ve got to make it easy and enjoyable to get from Victory to the West End over to the Nasher and on to the Farmers Market. We have to give people the opportunity to check out Dealey Plaza, head over to a picnic at Woodall Rodgers Park, then venture to Deep Ellum for some great live music.

It’s only then that our Downtown will feel amazingly active, vibrant, and interesting. It’s that combustion of intense connectivity that will ignite our Downtown. This is the next CRITICAL STEP for Downtown success.

How do we do that? Create a streetcar SYSTEM. I emphasize “system” because it can’t just be one line. Or two. It needs to be at least three lines to connect enough points of interest to ignite this transformation. We can’t half-ass it and then wonder why it didn’t work.

It also needs to be free. People will ride it if it’s free. A payment system is cumbersome, hard to enforce, and will reduce ridership – especially of tourists. The point isn’t to make money, it’s to attract passengers, encourage cross-pollination of venue visitors, and bring our Downtown closer together.

Whatever the ultimate routes selected, the streetcar system needs to be composed of simple, straight shots. No complex loops or labyrinthine twists and turns. Make it simple and people will feel confident that if they get on, they will get exactly where they want to go.

We also need to make sure all the streetcars are air-conditioned and heated. People will ride it if they are comfortable.

Most importantly, most critically, we’ve got to ensure that the system hits all the major points of interest in Downtown and that it complements the second DART light rail alignment. Here’s where I’d like to see the streetcar go:

A Map With Some Ideas for Where a Downtown Streetcar Could Go

Why streetcars and not just buses? The rails embedded in concrete provide a sense of certainty as to where the trolley’s going. People are more comfortable getting on a streetcar than a bus, especially if they are unfamiliar with the area. Buses are a crapshoot — Is it the right bus number? Why is the bus turning here? Where will I wind up? With a streetcar, you know what you’re getting.

Aside from bringing Downtown points of interest closer together, a streetcar system will offer other benefits as well, both economic and environmental. Other cities have found remarkable redevelopment resulting from streetcar lines, and we can see the same here, particularly in areas in need of revitalization like Deep Ellum. Getting people out of their cars and onto a trolley will also help improve our air quality.

There’s already some support on the council for a streetcar system in Downtown, including Councilmember Linda Koop, who is chair of the Transportation Committee. Linda has so much transportation experience and has visited other cities with streetcar systems. Her knowledge about mass transit, funding processes, and streetcar systems will be very helpful as we go forward. Councilmember Pauline Medrano also represents Downtown (including Victory, the West End, the Cedars, and Deep Ellum) and along with Linda and I is serving on the DART policy group for the second rail alignment.

There are a lot of details to figure out, not the least of which is finding funding sources (DART is tapped). By August, we’ll have an “alternatives analysis” for the streetcar system, which is really the first step in securing federal funding. It’s also a critical step in figuring out where we can and can’t put the rail lines.

Now, here’s the thing. I’m impatient. I want to see this streetcar up and running tomorrow. Today, if possible. But that’s not going to happen. We’ll push as fast as we can, but getting the funding, figuring out technical issues, creating an organization to oversee the system, building the thing, all of this will take a few years (how many, we don’t know yet — we’ll get a better handle on a realistic timeline as we go through the streetcar analysis).

Our need for a connector can’t wait several years. Too much is happening in our Downtown now, and we need to capitalize on the successful islands of activity right now. So, we’re going to look at an intermediate solution. I was cold to this idea at first, but have warmed up to it: We’re going to investigate a “trolley on wheels” system that will mimic the trolley line until the streetcar gets up and running. Right now we’re at the very, very initial stage of investigation, looking at how much a system like this would cost and how we’d pay for it. We’d like to do a study run to see how well it works, then expand it. We can’t, however, become satisfied with our trolley-on-wheels system and lose sight of our ultimate goal of creating a true streetcar system.

Just collecting this info and figuring out funding is several months away, so this isn’t going to happen overnight. But it will happen.

I-75 Live Oak Exit to Close Sunday, June 17 through June 2009

From City of Dallas:

Effective Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Live Oak exit on southbound US 75 (Exit 284C) will be closed starting Sunday night, June 17 and remain closed until June 2009. The closure is part of DART”s Green Line Rail construction around the Bryan/Hawkins intersection.
Two bridges in the area are being removed and the road is being lowered to street level.

Motorists who typically take the Live Oak exit are advised to either exit at Lemmon or take the Ross exit and travel to Pearl St.

Northbound traffic is not affected at this time. Weekly updates on all DART Rail construction are available at www.DART.org/constructionupdates.

NTTA Press Release: South End of Tollway To Be Closed Temporarily

This just in from the North Texas Tollway Authority:

On the night of Friday, June 22, starting at midnight until Monday, June 25, at 5:00 a.m., the south end of the Tollway will be closed northbound from IH-35E to Mockingbird and southbound from Northwest Highway to the southern end of the Tollway. The Cedar Springs Road Bridge, in both directions, will also be closed during this time. On Monday morning, the Tollway and the Cedar Springs Road Bridge will both be open to two-way traffic.

NTTA construction crews will be demolishing the old Cedar Springs Road Bridge, placing drainage lines under the Tollway to prevent flooding during heavy storms, hanging bridge beams for the bridge over Oak Lawn Avenue and performing pavement repairs on the IH-35E ramp northbound to the Tollway.

“The best news is that on Monday morning, when we reopen the Tollway, we will also be reopening the new Cedar Springs Bridge to two-way traffic,” said Mark Bouma, NTTA’s Director of Engineering. “Over the weekend of the 23rd, we will be performing several different projects to reduce the necessity for additional closures and customer inconvenience.”

On the Tollway, southbound motorists will have to exit at Northwest Highway or sooner. The southbound entrance ramps at Lovers Ln., Mockingbird Ln. and Lemmon Ave. will be closed. Southbound entrance ramps from Walnut Hill, Royal Lane and Forest Lane will also be closed due to the short distance before they have to exit. Northbound Tollway entrances at Harry Hines Blvd., IH-35E and Wycliff Ave. will be closed and northbound traffic will not be able to enter the Tollway until Mockingbird Lane. Signage will be placed on the Tollway in several places to notify motorists of the closure.

“We hope to cause minimal inconvenience, but we are excited about this project because, when complete, it will result in a safer commute for motorists. Safety is a top priority at the NTTA,” Bouma said.

During these closures, motorists should plan ahead, seek alternative routes and expect delays. IH-35E and Central Expressway serve as viable alternatives to the Tollway during this time.

This project is part of a $50 million dollar renovation to the 40-year-old South end of the Tollway. It is one of several projects and major construction efforts being undertaken by the NTTA to improve mobility in north Texas. Other major projects include: the Tollway Extension Phase 3 from State Highway 121 to U.S. 380 in Collin County, the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge in Denton County, the eastern extension of the President George Bush Turnpike, the Southwest Parkway in Tarrant County and the Trinity Parkway near downtown Dallas.

All efforts are subject to weather conditions.

Council Approves Red-Light Cameras

On Wednesday, the City Council approved the use of red-light cameras to automatically ticket anyone running a red-light at certain intersections. The cameras snap a picture of cars running red-lights, and then a private company sends out the fine to the car’s owner.

The matter was on the Council’s consent agenda (where dozens of items are grouped to be approved in a single vote), and I did not pull it to address the issue independently. I’ve had my say about the red-light cameras, and it is clear that the majority of the council approves of them.

A few years ago, my mother and step-dad were hit by a driver who ran a red-light, so I have a particular interest in this issue. On first blush, red-light cameras are a no-brainer. Who doesn’t want to decrease traffic accidents and fatalities? But therein lies the question: Do red-light cameras really increase public safety, or are they just a revenue generator for cities?

The research suggests the latter. In fact, a recent Washington Post article analyzing the use of red-light cameras in Washington, D.C. revealed that accidents and fatalities did not decrease where red-light cameras were used. A study by the Federal Highway Administration confirms that rear-end collisions actually increase where cameras are used.

Seeing I was in the minority on this issue, I have requested that city staff keep extensive records on collisions and fatalities at the intersections where we are posting cameras. After a year’s time, we will compare the post-camera statistics with the pre-camera numbers. That way we can tell if the cameras are actually improving safety. If they are more of a hazard than benefit, and if they’re just a revenue-generating mechanism, we’ll need to reconsider. I, for one, remain skeptical, but hope to be proved wrong.

New Uptown Trolley Line Approved

Today the City Council voted to approve a new trolley line connecting Uptown to Downtown. The trolley line will run from the current McKinney trolley line, turn south down Olive Street, and end at Bryan Street. The line will run down the west side of Olive, go through the Arts District past the Nasher, and connect to the Pearl Street DART light rail line on Bryan Street. Right now, the plan is for the trolley to return along the same line. In the future, there will likely be a separate return route.

There is currently a trolley line from McKinney Avenue down St. Paul , the line ends at Ross Avenue. The McKinney Avenue Trolley Authority, a non-profit that supports the Uptown Trolley, analyzed various ways to extend the trolley line to a DART light rail line in Downtown. In particular, MATA examined extending the St. Paul line, but due to underground utility problems, could not do so.

I’m very excited about the new connection to Downtown, into the Arts District. Just yesterday, the Economic Development Committee was briefed on the final report of the Inside the Loop Committee. The Inside the Loop Committee is a group of Downtown stakeholders who, at the City’s direction, have developed a comprehensive plan for Downtown that includes transportation, parks and trails, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, and improved signage. One of their primary objectives is to link Downtown to nearby areas, including Uptown, and this trolley line accomplishes that.

This resolution was important. While we did not allocate funds to this project, we ensured that a state grant that was given to the City years ago did not expire.

VOTE: The new trolley line was unanimously approved.

Dallas to Begin Timing Traffic Signals

A number of residents I’ve spoken with have expressed a frustration with the fact that Dallas’ traffic signals aren’t timed to one another. This results in stop and go traffic, a bad driving experience, and unnecessary air pollution.

The City’s Public Works and Transportation (PW&T) Department is participating in a program that will eventually analyze and upgrade the timing of 725 of the City’s 1,300 signalized intersections through the Thoroughfare Assessment Program. Many of the signals in District 14 will be synchronized in early 2006 (the Oak Lawn area) and late 2006 (Downtown and Greenville).

As part of the Federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality program, the City is partnering with the federal government, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The regional program, including other North Texas cities is administered by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).

“The overall effect of the project is to improve air quality, helping the City comply with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements,” said Dybala. “An added benefit of this will be a reduction of overall driver delays,” he added.

Following the upgrade, commuters should experience a reduction of travel time when driving through coordinated signal systems. Better signal synchronization usually results in fewer collisions since there will be smoother traffic flow and fewer stops. Environmentally, these improvements will result in less idling by vehicles, reduced air pollution, less gas consumption and cost savings.

The 725 intersections located throughout the City were selected on the basis of changing traffic/growth patterns, length of time since previous timing updates, and arterial streets that extend through a bordering city.

Phase I of the analysis and upgrade began with a pilot program a few years ago when NCTCOG hired a consultant to analyze signals in the North Dallas/Carrollton area resulting in about a dozen retimed Dallas signals.

Phase II consists of a 119 signal implementation and is expected to be completed in early 2006 including Coit Rd., Hampton Rd., Illinois Ave. and the Oak Lawn Area.

Phase III will include 147 signals and is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2006 including Ledbetter, Harry Hines, and the North Dallas area bounded by the Dallas North Tollway, US 75, IH 635 and NW Hwy.

Phase IV includes 459 signals and is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2006 including Camp Wisdom, Wheatland, Westmoreland, South Buckner, Central Business District, Industrial, Greenville Ave., Forest Ln. and the area north of IH 635.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit Meeting

I met with leaders of DART this morning to discuss the future downtown rail alignment, the possible Love Field DART connection, issues surrounding an Arts District LRT stop, and the possibility of creating a DART Rail stop at Knox – Henderson.

DART planners excavated the underground shell of a Rail station at Knox – Henderson when creating the current Red/Blue Line, but the station was never completed due to neighborhood concerns. As Knox – Henderson has evolved, I believe that now is a good time to consider creating a stop in this bustling, growing area. As always, finding the funding for this project will be the most challenging aspect.