3 North TX mayors: We need new DART line downtown and in N suburbs
September 23rd, 2016
September 22, 2016 - Dallas Morning News -
By Todd Meier, Harry LaRosiliere and Paul Voelker -
The original vision for a regional transportation system, when the Dallas Area Rapid Transit was first conceived, was a collaborative plan that would benefit 13 area cities and the entire North Texas region.
The Cotton Belt line, connecting North Dallas and some northern suburbs to DFW International Airport, fits that vision and is absolutely critical to DART's plan and to overall North Texas connectivity. In fact, that need is even more imperative today than it was when DART began. Developed in tandem with the D2 light rail line through downtown Dallas, these projects will contribute significantly to a truly regional transit system that serves us all better.
Building them both, sooner rather than later, is a win-win. And it's a must.
With nearly 7 million residents today, and a population that will double in the coming decades, North Texans cannot afford to think solely about their own neighborhoods, or only about their own cities, in future planning. Infrastructure costs are too great, and the burdens of traffic congestion too broadly dispersed, to take a narrow view.
We need to think big picture in developing transit solutions that serve the greater good.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20160922-north-texas-needs-both-new-dart-lines-downtown-and-in-northern-suburbs.ece
By Todd Meier, Harry LaRosiliere and Paul Voelker -
The original vision for a regional transportation system, when the Dallas Area Rapid Transit was first conceived, was a collaborative plan that would benefit 13 area cities and the entire North Texas region.
The Cotton Belt line, connecting North Dallas and some northern suburbs to DFW International Airport, fits that vision and is absolutely critical to DART's plan and to overall North Texas connectivity. In fact, that need is even more imperative today than it was when DART began. Developed in tandem with the D2 light rail line through downtown Dallas, these projects will contribute significantly to a truly regional transit system that serves us all better.
Building them both, sooner rather than later, is a win-win. And it's a must.
With nearly 7 million residents today, and a population that will double in the coming decades, North Texans cannot afford to think solely about their own neighborhoods, or only about their own cities, in future planning. Infrastructure costs are too great, and the burdens of traffic congestion too broadly dispersed, to take a narrow view.
We need to think big picture in developing transit solutions that serve the greater good.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20160922-north-texas-needs-both-new-dart-lines-downtown-and-in-northern-suburbs.ece