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MAKING TRACKS - Vol. 2, No. 3 - Summer 1996
Entire contents of MAKING TRACKS is copyright © 1996 by Village Crosstown Trolley Coalition,
but may be reproduced either in whole or in part with a clear acknowledgment of the source.
Please report any errors to us at VCTC. Thanks.
Inside this Issue
Light Rail Rolls in "Big D"
Merchants Win Restoration of Historic Dallas Trolley
Trolley Topics
Letter from the Editor
By William K. Guild
Modern trolleys started running on the streets of Dallas June 14th as service began on the first segments of a 20-mile light rail "starter" system. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail transit (LRT) system has won the enthusiastic support of local merchants and developers, both on the downtown transit mall and near station sites along the entire system. One long-time Texas oil and gas entrepreneur, who has visited other cities with new light rail systems and now owns Landmark Center in the West End district, sees rail as "a driving force" for economic development in downtown Dallas. The Central Dallas Association and the Downtown Improvement District are promoting "everything from restaurants to offices" along the system because they see the great economic potential of rail. The transit mall is responsible for a number of new downtown developments, as well as residential, retail and business renovations.
DART has worked hard to build a strong consensus for light rail. Most effective have been invitations to business and community leaders, from cities coast-to-coast with new or expanded LRT systems, to share their experience and support for light rail with their Dallas counterparts. First-hand reports on revitalized business and residential sites along existing transit malls allayed concerns and persuaded the local community that the benefits of improved mobility--for residents, employees and customers--would far outweigh lost parking spaces or inconveniences during construction.
Station sites outside the central business district (CBD) were recognized early on as magnets for new or enlarged business centers. For example, four banks, two supermarkets, and numerous restaurants and shops have already sprung up along the South Oak Cliff corridor. On the North Central Expressway, the proximity of the Mockingbird Lane light rail station has been a key factor in recruiting major tenants for the rebuilt historic Dr Pepper plant, opening this summer as a retail and business center. Southern Methodist University officials are pleased that college students heading for the West End entertainment area from the campus, also adjacent to Mockingbird Lane, no longer have to drive downtown. And City Place, the only station "caverned out" in a deep bore tunnel segment, will open in 1998 to serve a major commercial development outside the CBD, featuring a 42-story office tower.
Like most of the new light rail installations in this country, the DART system is designed mainly to whisk commuters between suburban stations and the central business district (CBD). As in San Diego, Sacramento and Buffalo, the street-running segment in Dallas is a double-track transit mall barred to most cars and trucks. This segment, along Bryan and Pacific Streets, is similar to VCTC's proposal for a transitway and pedestrian space along the central segment of the Village Crosstown corridor.
There are four stations along the 1.2 mile Dallas transit mall, from Pearl Street to West End. The latter, in the West End Historic District, will also be an interchange point with the McKinney Avenue line (see Merchants Win Restoration of Historic Dallas Trolley below). From West End, the line swings behind the former Texas School Book Depository building and infamous "grassy knoll," scene of the Kennedy assassination. The line then turns off Pacific Street onto an existing railroad alignment leading to Union Station. After about three additional miles of off-street trackage down-town, including stops at Union Station and the Dallas Convention Center, the tracks cross the Trinity River before diverging to reach suburbs west and south of the city. Trains on all future DART light rail lines and extensions will be routed through the new transit mall and off-street segments downtown.
Light rail service will be extended this December from the opposite end of the downtown transit mall to Park Lane, six miles to the north, with more than half the new route in an extraordinary deep-bore tunnel under the North Central Expressway. The "starter" system will be completed next May with a 3-mile Blue line segment built mainly in a freeway median. Planned extensions and new lines to Garland, Plano and Pleasant Grove will bring the light rail system up to a total of 53 miles over the next few years.
In addition to light rail, DART is building a 37-mile commuter rail network, with a 10-mile segment from South Irving also due to open this December. This line, as well as extensions now under construction to Ft. Worth and the DFW International Airport, will connect to the light rail system at Union Station in downtown Dallas. The Union Station connection will enable light rail riders to "fly to their destinations without undergoing the agony of airport parking," in the words of one local official.
As with other new light rail systems in the United States, most of the Dallas system is built on abandoned or under-used rail and interurban corridors, resulting in enormous savings in time as well as money. With the consolidation of rail properties and significant reduction in total mileage since World War II, inactive or under-used rail lines criss-cross the entire country, including New York City and the metropolitan area. While Dallas and many other cities have recycled these resources, for freight as well as for transit, New York has been slow to recognize that such rail corridors are irreplaceable assets.
It is encouraging that Texas, which led the nation in abandoning electric streetcars in the 1930s, has now turned to light rail as a solution for traffic congestion. Like LRT pioneer California, the Lone Star State became a victim of auto over-dependence, in spite of its famous wide open spaces, and is now taking steps to remedy the situation. In addition to the DART and McKinney Avenue systems in Dallas, Galveston built a "wireless" streetcar line in the 1980s, while both Houston and state capital Austin are actively planning for light rail. Nearby Ft. Worth--"Cow Town" to Texans--has had a private light rail line in operation for some years. Ironically, even as these car dependent communities explore rail solutions, New York, which has been dependent on a superior transit system for over a century, now downgrades and defunds existing transit while waffling on light rail proposals.
The DART fare structure encourages transit use, especially by riders who must transfer during a trip. The basic local ticket is valid for 90 minutes on any bus or LRV, allowing transfers, stopovers or even a return trip on the original route. A small discount is offered on multi-ticket purchases. Monthly passes are also available for $30--a real bargain!.
The effort to get people out of cars and onto public transit includes the "Hopabus" loop, operating weekdays at 10-minute intervals throughout downtown Dallas at a fare of 50c. The basic $1 DART fare is also reduced to 50c on "ozone action days" to reduce auto use when air pollution levels become unhealthy. All this stands in stark contrast to New York's persistent "two-fare zones" and the overriding concern that some riders might take "unfair" advantage of multi-trip or monthly transit passes.
Fortunately, this may be changing. MTA chairman E. Virgil Conway recently reaffirmed his commitment to end two fair zones in NYC. This will be a huge boost for transit riders who live some distance from subways and must take buses to reach them. Included in this group are users of crosstown lines like the M8 which follows the route of VCTC's proposed trolley.
Why do light rail projects seem easier to bring on line in auto-centric California and Texas than in traditionally transit-centered New York? San Diego had its "Tijuana Trolley" rolling in July 1981, after less than five years of planning and construction, and the system has been growing ever since. Initial segments of expanding light rail systems in Sacramento and San Jose went into service in 1987. Now Dallas has its "starter system" operating four years after breaking ground. Yet in New York the 42nd Street trolley remains on "hold" after two decades of plans, debates and approvals.
In a number of cities, including Dallas, early light rail initiatives failed because they were too grandiose. When "scaled down" plans have been implemented, ridership has almost always exceeded expectations and new lines or extensions have received strong community support (see Trolley Topics below). VCTC believes that a light rail line operating in Manhattan will generate a public demand for more such installations.
Neither the 42nd Street project nor the Village Crosstown plan is "grandiose," but in the absence of political or institutional leadership, support for such initiatives must come from the community itself. VCTC seeks to mobilize the entire Village community--merchants, residents and all other segments--behind this important effort.
By George Haikalis
Three miles of restored streetcar tracks with "vintage" trolleys running through the heart of a turn-of-the-century neighborhood on the north side of Downtown Dallas--this was the dream of a group of merchants and property owners in 1982. Seven years later, cars began to roll on McKinney Avenue. Funded by contributions and fares, the trolley is now fully accepted by transit officials as an integral part of Dallas' light rail system.
The non-profit McKinney Avenue Transit Authority had a bumpy ride. It was only through the hard work of a dedicated group of trolley advocates and business leaders that the project survived at all. Two extensions are now under construction, nearly doubling the length of the original route--south to a connection with the DART light rail line at West End station, and northeast to the City Place commercial district and another DART light rail station.
Most of the route is double track, in the center of a lightly-trafficked street. But the northeast extension will include one segment, along Blackburn Street, in a pedestrian and trolley only street.
The Village Crosstown Trolley combines features of the Dallas LRT and the McKinney Avenue trolley. VCTC proposes to use modern, low floor light rail vehicles, in order to carry the substantial loads the crosstown trolley will generate, as it feeds the four north-south subway lines in the central part of the village. But like the McKinney Avenue line, the crosstown trolley will create a whole new demand for ridership that does not now exist. Currently over half of McKinney Avenue patrons see the trolley itself as a destination and are just going for a ride. This will almost certainly change when the extensions now under construction are completed, with the McKinney Avenue trolley serving as a feeder for the more extensive DART light rail system, and vice versa.
Ultimately, the McKinney Avenue line has succeeded because residents and businesses along the route pressured Dallas officials to allocate more funds for transit, and less for roadway expansion. In the Village, residents can watch the beginnings of the massive $380 million West Street rebuild, a remnant of the misguided Westway project. With only ten percent of this road-building investment, the Crosstown Trolley would reap tremendous rewards for the Village and the city. The McKinney Avenue trolley took seven years to become a reality, and another five years to gain needed public financial assistance. VCTC supporters will need plenty of patience and endurance to succeed in bringing modern light rail to the Village Crosstown corridor.
Be sure and visit Dallas, to see a modern light rail system and a restored urban streetcar line working together to improve mobility and reduce congestion in a large American city. But if you plan to ride the non-air conditioned vintage trolleys on McKinney Avenue, you might want to wait until fall!
The French Tramway systems have been an immediate success, according to the Electric Railway Society Journal, far exceeding initial ridership projections and reducing road congestion. In Strasbourg the new system is being used by an astonishing 63,000 people daily, and an estimated 6,000 cars are being left in their garages. The Rouen tramway is less busy, but with 37,500 daily users and ridership rising by 30% per year, it is clearly successful.
Both cities plan extensions and those planning entirely new systems include Clermont-Ferrand, Montpelier, Nice, Orleans and Valenciennes. These LRT routes will be running by the year 2000.
Closer to home, Little Italy is enjoying a weekend respite from cars and trucks on Mulberry Street from Memorial Day to Labor Day. A month-long test last year won over residents as well as cafe and restaurant owners, who found business up as much as 20%. Vehicles are banned between Canal and Broome Streets from Friday night through Sunday night, leaving the street to strollers and al fresco diners. Mer-chants have made a special effort to keep the car-free street clean and secure.
Barely a mile west of the Christopher St. terminus of the proposed Village Crosstown Trolley, NJ Transit is about to begin work on its first new light rail projectþthe Hudson-Bergen LRT line. By 1999 the initial 10-mile phase will run from Bayonne through downtown Jersey City to the Hoboken Terminal.
Eventually the line will be extended 10 miles north from the Hoboken Terminal to Ridgefield. This northern segment will use a former West Shore Railroad tunnel under Bergen Hill in Weehawken. This line will use modern low-floor light rail vehicles.
Letter From the Editor
With this issue of MAKING TRACKS, VCTC congratulates Dallas, Texas on becoming the latest American city to embrace light rail! Here we describe both the new LRT system and a complimentary line restored several years ago using "vintage" trolley cars. Dallas joins a growing list of cities turning to light rail as a means of reducing congestion, pollution and the myriad other problems created by overdependence on the automobile. We fervently hope that NYC will soon join this list.
Michael Goodman, Editor
NY Today
TimeOut New York
CitySearch New York
