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[Transportation and Infrastructure Committee/ DART Board Special Called Joint Meeting on December 2, 2025.]
AREA RAPID TRANSIT BOARD MEMBERS REPRESENTING DALLAS.WELCOME TO OUR JOINT MEETING. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
OUR FIRST BRIEFING ITEM IS A, QUARTERLY DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT UPDATE.
I NOTE THAT A QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL, TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE IS PRESENT, AND I TURN THE MIC OVER TO CHAIR BRIAN. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN RIDLEY.
SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. AS I MENTIONED, OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM IS ITEM A, AND THIS ENTAILS A PRESENTATION BY THE 'DART BOARD CHAIR RANDALL BRYANT.
AND NADINE S LEE, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF DART. IS NADINE PRESENT? NO. DO WE HAVE A SUBSTITUTE? YES, SIR. DO YOU LIKE IT? CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER NADINE SENDS HER REGARDS.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE DEE. PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU AGAIN, CHAIRMAN RIDLEY. I'LL START IT OFF AND PASS IT OVER.
SO IF YOU GIVE ME JUST A SECOND.
ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON. SO TODAY, THE DART BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAVE CONVENED THE DALLAS MEMBERS OF THE DART BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAVE CONVENED TO GIVE YOU ALL WHAT HOPEFULLY CAN CONTINUE TO BE A QUARTERLY UPDATE. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN RIDLEY, AS OUR NEW TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE CHAIR WE'VE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH COUNCILMAN NARVAEZ OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND IN THAT ROLE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED SUCCESS AND COLLABORATION WITH YOU ALL. TODAY AND GOING FORWARD WE WILL BE COVERING TODAY.
WELL, I'M JOINED TODAY BY OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, DEE LEGGETT, AS WELL AS OUR CHIEF OF POLICE, CHIEF KATO. WE'LL BE DISCUSSING FOUR TOPICS IN DALLAS TODAY.
THE SECURITY UPDATE, THE FIFA PLANNING AND THE PENDING WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO YOU WILL FIND A COPY OF DART'S POINT B STRATEGIC PLAN ANNUAL REPORT, WHICH SHOWCASES DARTS PROGRESS WITHIN EACH OF OUR SIX STRATEGIC GOALS AND DEMONSTRATES OUR COMMITMENT TO EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS, CITIES AND THE REGION.
AS YOU REVIEW THE ANNUAL REPORT, YOU WILL SEE THE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN SEVERAL AREAS.
A FEW OF OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE HIGHLIGHTED ON ON THIS SLIDE.
FIRST, I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE UNT'S ECONOMIC RESEARCH GROUP STUDY FOUND THAT IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, DART HAS CATALYZED ONE POINT, I'M SORRY, $18.1 BILLION IN ECONOMIC DIRECT IMPACT WITHIN A QUARTER OF A MILE OF ALL RAIL STATIONS. THIS TRANSLATES INTO JOBS, TAX REVENUE FOR OUR CITIES AND RENT PREMIUMS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
ON OCTOBER 25TH, WE OPENED THE 26 MILE, 26 MILE SILVER LINE.
OUR FIRST EAST TO WEST RAIL SERVICE LINKING OUR NORTHERN SERVICE AREA CITIES, INCLUDING TWO DALLAS STATIONS, NOEL TRAIL AND CYPRESS WATERS, TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE DFW AIRPORT.
WE ARE NEARLY COMPLETE WITH THE CUSTOMIZED AREA PLANS FOR EACH CITY, WE THANK THE STAFF THAT'S BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY ON THAT WITH DALLAS UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW, AS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY SPRING 2026.
WE'VE PROVIDED 56 MILLION TRIPS LAST YEAR, MOVING 171,000 PASSENGERS ON AVERAGE EVERY DAY TO WORK, SCHOOL, MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS AND MORE. WE'VE COMPLETED, WE HAVE COMPLETED OR ARE IN PROGRESS ON 29 PROJECTS TO ENHANCE CLEANLINESS,
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SECURITY AND RELIABLE AND RELIABILITY ON OUR SYSTEM THANKS TO A $110 MILLION RIDERSHIP IMPROVEMENT FUNDS AUTHORIZED BY THE BOARD IN FY 23. OUR LATEST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY SHOWED ANOTHER STRONG GAIN IN OUR NET PROMOTER SCORE, A MEASURE OF BRAND LOYALTY, A GAIN OF 40 POINTS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.LASTLY, WE ARE ADVANCING A $2.5 BILLION SYSTEM MODERNIZATION PROGRAM, UPDATING OUR FLEETS, FACILITIES, SIGNALS SYSTEMS AND MORE. NEW BUSSES ARE ARRIVING OR ALREADY ARRIVING FOR THAT PLAN.
THERE WERE 476 TOTAL 76 30 FOOT BUSSES AND 400 40 FOOT BUSSES.
A NEW TICKET VENDING MACHINE WAS UNVEILED LAST TWO WEEKS AGO AND PUBLIC INFORMATION DISPLAYS ARE BEING INSTALLED TO THAT EFFECT, WITH MORE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE WAY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND NOW I WILL TOSS IT OVER TO DEE LEGGETT. THANKS.
CHAIR. CHAIR. BRYANT. CHAIR BRYANT SPOKE OF OUR RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. I'LL NOW SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO OUR RIDERSHIP AND SERVICES AND WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE. OUR POINT B STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE SET IN FRONT OF YOU, IS FOCUSED ON DELIVERING QUALITY AND SEAMLESS SERVICES FOR OUR PASSENGERS.
AND OUR WORK OVER THE LAST YEAR IS INDICATIVE OF THAT.
HOWEVER, WE ARE CONTINUING TO SEE SIGNIFICANT GROWTH ON WEEKENDS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THOSE RIDERSHIP TRENDS, LET'S DO A REFRESHER ON OUR SERVICES THAT DART OFFERS ACROSS OUR 700 SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA. HERE YOU SEE OUR FOUR LIGHT RAIL LINES ARE JOINTLY OPERATED TRE SERVICE BETWEEN DALLAS AND FORT WORTH AND THE NEWLY OPENED SILVER LINE SERVICE, WHICH DIRECTOR BRYANT TALKED ABOUT. LIGHT RAIL OPERATES AT 15 TO 20 MINUTE FREQUENCIES AND HEADWAYS WITH COMMUTER RAIL IS 30 TO 60 MINUTE FREQUENCIES.
AND THEN WE PROVIDE SUPPORT WITH THE OPERATIONS OF THE MCKINNEY AVENUE TROLLEY.
THIS ALLOWS US TO FURTHER EXPAND THE RAIL AND MULTIMODAL FOOTPRINT IN WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND THESE ARE PLACED IN OUR HIGH RIDERSHIP CORRIDORS, SIGNIFICANTLY SURVEYING THE CITY OF DALLAS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OUR NEXT LAYER OF BUS SERVICE, WHICH STILL OFFERS STRONG PEAK FREQUENCIES, IS SHOWN HERE IN PURPLE. THESE ARE OUR LOCAL BUS NETWORK BUS ROUTES THAT OPERATE 15 MINUTE PEAK AND 30 MINUTE DURING THE MIDDAY.
THIS PROVIDES COST EFFECTIVE COVERAGE ACROSS OUR SERVICE AREA BASED ON RIDERSHIP DEMAND.
THIS MATCHES WORKFORCE COMMUTER PATTERNS INTO DALLAS AND REVERSE COMMUTE PATTERNS OF OTHER HIGH EMPLOYMENT AREAS, SUCH AS ADDISON AND PLANO. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
WE SERVE FIRST AND LAST MILE CONNECTIONS AT KEY TRANSFER POINTS AND PARTNERSHIPS WITH UNIVERSITIES AND MAJOR EMPLOYERS THROUGH SHUTTLE SERVICES, WHICH ARE SHOWN HERE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AND THEN OUR SERVICE AREA IS FURTHER COVERED WITH FIRST AND LAST MILE CONNECTIONS OFFERED BY GOLINK. DART OPERATES ONE OF THE LARGEST MICROTRANSIT NETWORKS IN NORTH AMERICA.
WE DO THIS THROUGH A MIXED SUPPLY MODEL, WHICH INCLUDES DEDICATED, ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES THAT ARE OPERATED THROUGH OUR CONTRACTOR AND THEN ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UBER AND LYFT. TRIPS CAN BE BOOKED THROUGH GO PASS BY PHONE OR ON THE GO PASS APP, AND THE HOURS LARGELY MIRROR THAT OF OUR FIXED ROUTE. I WILL NOTE THAT THE SERVICES THAT I JUST WALKED THROUGH, THE MAPS THAT I JUST SHOWED, WILL BE CHANGING IN FEBRUARY. THE SUMMARY OF THOSE FEBRUARY 26TH CHANGES IS IN YOUR APPENDIX.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THESE BAR CHARTS GRAPH RIDERSHIP OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. FIVE YEARS. AS YOU CAN SEE, RIDERSHIP VARIES BY QUARTER DEPENDING ON WEATHER AND VARIOUS ACTIVITIES IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
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PROVIDING OVER HALF OF OUR RIDERSHIP. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS SLIDE, DALLAS REPRESENTS ABOUT 75% OF OUR TOTAL SYSTEM RIDERSHIP.
NEXT SLIDE. DALLAS, BEING THE DRIVER OF OF OUR SYSTEM IS ALSO INDICATIVE BY THIS MAP.
WE PARTNER WITH THE NORTH CENTRAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS TO CONDUCT A BOARDING AND ALIGHTING STUDY.
THIS IS CONDUCTED EVERY FEW YEARS AND REALLY DRIVES THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION MODEL AND DRIVES A LOT OF THE DATA THAT DART LOOKS AT AND CURRENTLY. SO THE LAST 2023 SURVEY SHOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN OUR CITIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIVITY INTO DALLAS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, DALLAS REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT REGIONAL TRIP GENERATOR.
FOR EXAMPLE, 8% OF CARROLLTON TRIPS STAY IN CARROLLTON, 77% OF THOSE TRIPS GO INTO DALLAS.
FOR IRVING, 29% OF THE TRIPS ARE INTERNAL, 63% TRIPS GO TO DALLAS, AND 15% TRIPS GO TO RICHARDSON.
GARLAND, 15% ARE INTERNAL, 68% OF THOSE TRIPS GO TO DALLAS.
AND THAT'S WHY OUR DECISIONS CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON MAINTAINING COVERAGE.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OUR TOP FIVE RIDERSHIP ROUTES, FOUR OF WHICH ARE IN THE CITY OF OF DALLAS. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE ROUTE 22 FOREST LANE ROUTE, IN SEPTEMBER OF 2024 DART INVESTED IN PUTTING ADDITIONAL FREQUENCY ON THIS ROUTE. THIS HELPS ILLUSTRATE THE INVESTMENT IN FREQUENCY AND HOW THAT DRIVES RIDERSHIP PERFORMANCE.
SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE SEEN OVER A 77% INCREASE IN RIDERSHIP ON ROUTE 22.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THESE ARE THE TOP FIVE GOLINK ZONES, TWO OF WHICH ARE WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS CYPRESS WATERS AND INLAND PORT. EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1ST WE HAVE CHANGED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INLAND PORT.
WHAT IS IS SHOWN HERE CURRENTLY INCLUDES THE INLAND PORT CONNECT.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON.
WE'VE INSTITUTED A COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY STRATEGY WHICH INCLUDES THESE PARTS.
WE'VE INCREASED OUR UNIFORM PRESENCE ON THERE BY HIRING TRANSIT SECURITY, CONTRACTING WITH TRANSIT SECURITY OFFICER COMPANY INTER-CON SECURITY TO PROVIDE 100 ADDITIONAL UNIFORM LEVEL THREE. SO THEY'RE ARMED WITH PEPPER SPRAY, A FIREARM, AND HANDCUFFS, SECURITY OFFICERS, TO SUPPLEMENT OUR DART POLICE OFFICERS AND OUR FARE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ON OUR TRAINS.
ALSO, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED A CLEAN TEAM GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO RIDE THE TRAINS FROM STOP TO STOP AND AND ARE STATIONED AT CERTAIN STATIONS ALONG THE WAY TO GET ON THE TRAIN AND HOW CAN I HELP YOU OKAY. WE'VE WE'VE ALSO RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE MENTAL ILLNESS OF THE PEOPLE WHO RIDE THE SYSTEM.
WE PAIR THEM UP WITH A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER.
OUR VENDOR HAS BEEN PARKLAND. PARKLAND HEALTH HAS AGREED TO EXTEND IT FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO THE SPRING OF 2026, AND THE BOARD APPROVED THAT. WE HAVE AN RFP OUT TO MAKE THIS A PERMANENT PROGRAM.
IT'S BEEN A PILOT PROGRAM SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2023.
WE HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO INDICATE THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE THE PROGRAM.
AND WITH THE BOARD'S SUPPORT, WE'RE ADVANCING THAT PROGRAM.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS.
WE WANT TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY.
OUR IT DEPARTMENT HAS PROCURED A NEW VIDEO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHICH IS GENETEC.
AND WE'VE ALSO THE BOARD JUST APPROVED A CONTRACT TO UPDATE ALL OF OUR CAMERAS ON OUR SYSTEM.
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WE CAN'T POSSIBLY HUMANLY VIEW 7700 CAMERAS. SO THIS SOFTWARE IS GOING TO SCAN THOSE CAMERAS AND ALERT THE CAMERA MONITORS TO WHAT FOR SPECIFIC ACTIVITY, FOR EXAMPLE, WEAPONS OR A FIGHT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NOW, THESE THESE STATISTICS HERE ARE FROM THE FOURTH QUARTER.
SO IN THAT TIME, OUR CRIMES AGAINST PERSON, WE LOOK AT CRIME LIKE NIBRS, THE NATIONAL INCIDENT BASED REPORTING SYSTEM, CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS, CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY AND CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY. CRIMES AGAINST PERSON IS DOWN 16% DURING THAT COMPARISON PERIOD COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL CHANGES IN THE IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE OPERATE IN THAT HAVE AFFECTED US.
AND AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, CAUSED BECAUSE OUR SYSTEM OPERATES IN 13 CITIES.
IT'S IMPACTED US, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE ENCOUNTER.
WE'VE TAKEN A PROACTIVE APPROACH BECAUSE SMOKING, ESPECIALLY MARIJUANA ON A TRAIN OR ONE OF OUR BUSSES, IS SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS OTHER PEOPLE. SO WE'VE TAKEN INCREASED APPROACH, AND THAT'S THE ONLY AREA ARREST CATEGORY THAT WE'VE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY IS OUR DRUG RELATED OFFENSE ARREST. ALSO INCREASED ARRESTS FOR CRIMINAL TRESPASS, WHICH IS LOITERING AND FARE EVASION.
WE'VE TAKEN A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO THAT TO NOT ALLOW FOLKS TO JUST HANG OUT.
THEY EITHER HAVE TO HAVE FARE AND HAVE A DESTINATION OR THEY GET REMOVED FROM THE SYSTEM.
AND WE'RE ALSO POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, THE QUARTERLY REPORT, OUR REPORT TO THE BOARD EVERY QUARTER, AND SO ON THE FISCAL YEAR QUARTER. AND THEN WE'RE HAVE OUR NEIGHBORS REPORT FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS ON THERE ALSO.
SO WE ENHANCED OUR REPORTING TO INCREASE OUR TRANSPARENCY ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND WITH THAT I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHAIR BRYANT.
THANK YOU. CHIEF JUST WANT TO UNDERSCORE SOMETHING ON OUR SAFETY.
BUT IT SUMMARIZES A BIT IN, IN SHORT, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CHIEF TALKED ABOUT AND, AND IT EXPLAINS SOME OTHER THINGS BASED UPON YOU KNOW, YOU ALL KNOW THIS. I BECAME THE CHAIR ON OCTOBER 28TH.
AND OF COURSE, SAFETY WAS ONE OF THOSE TOP FIVE GOALS.
SPECIFICALLY WITHIN THAT A GOAL TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE UNIFORM PRESENCE ON EVERY TRAIN CAR AND EVERY STATION PLATFORM DURING ALL HOURS OF OPERATIONS. AND SO THAT IS INCLUDED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT HERE, THIS FRONT SIDE HERE LAYS OUT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AT DART, WHICH I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO SHARE THE FACTS THAT, THAT CRIME AGAINST PERSONS AND CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY IS, IN FACT, DOWN. I, AS THE CHIEF NOTED, WE HAVE ADDED THESE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS.
AND SO WE'RE WE'RE SEEING THIS INCREASE IN PROACTIVE SYSTEM REMOVALS.
YOU SEE, UNDER PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT, DART IS THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER, HAS THE SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF JAIL BOOKINGS OF ALL DEPARTMENTS AND, AND MUNICIPALITIES IN DALLAS COUNTY, ONLY SECOND BEHIND THIS CITY HERE.
AND SO WHEREAS IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS ARE BEING JUDGED INCORRECTLY IN MY OPINION THAT CRIME IS UP WHEN THE TRUE CRIME AGAINST PEOPLE AND PROPERTY IS DOWN. BUT THE CRIME THAT'S UP IS IN THE AREAS THAT THE TSOS ARE DOING THEIR JOBS.
THEY'RE ADDRESSING ISSUES AND REMOVING PEOPLE FROM OUR SYSTEM THAT ARE CAUSING ISSUES ON OUR SYSTEM.
MOVING OVER TO INCREASED SECURITY, SECURITY PRESENCE AGAIN.
HOW WE'VE DONE THAT IS THROUGH WHAT WAS STARTED WITH ARPA FUNDS, AND IT HAD SUCH GREAT SUCCESS THAT WE AS A BOARD AND ENSURED THAT THAT PROGRAM WOULD CONTINUE, AND WE ARE NOW INVESTING IT YEAR OVER YEAR WITH OUR GENERAL FUND.
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I'M SORRY, THE SECURITY CAMERAS CONTRACT THAT THE CHIEF TALKED ABOUT, AS WELL AS OUR BUS SHELTER CLEANING CONTRACT THAT WAS APPROVED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.ON THE BACK SIDE, WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT'S NEXT.
WE CAN SCALE IT UP AND SCALE IT DOWN AS APPROVED.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WAY TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THAT RIGHT NOW.
THAT SO THAT COVERS POINT ONE AND TWO AND OF, OR ACTUALLY FOR POINT TWO, HAVING MORE UNIFORM PRESENCE ALLOWS US TO IMPORTANTLY TO ENSURE OUR FARE ENFORCEMENT, IS IS IS UP TO SCALE AS WELL.
WE'RE LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSIT AMBASSADOR PROGRAMS. SOME VETERANS ACTUALLY HAVE COME TO US TO ASK ABOUT THIS PROGRAM SEE HOW THEY CAN GET INVOLVED WITH BEING AMBASSADORS FOR OUR SYSTEM.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, WE KNOW AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW DO WE INCREASE RIDERSHIP, HOW DO WE CAPTURE THAT LAST 20%, THAT WE HAVE NOT DONE A GREAT JOB OF CAPTURING OR RECAPTURING PRE-COVID? THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, JUST VARIOUS STIGMAS AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE DART SYSTEM AND OF DART CRIME AND SAFETY.
AND SO, OF COURSE, WE'VE DONE THE WORK TO GET THE NUMBERS DOWN.
AND NOW THE NEXT STEP IS TO DO EVEN MORE WORK TO ADDRESS THE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY ON OUR SYSTEM.
BY THE NUMBER SAFETY IS OF COURSE DOWN THOUGH.
THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF ARRESTS THAT ARE MADE ON OUR SYSTEM.
AND THIS COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE COUNTY TO DART.
THAT SAME INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN ARRESTED ALMOST FOUR TIMES ON AVERAGE FOR THE SAME CRIME.
IT IS A REVOLVING DOOR. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS MIAMI-DADE MODEL AS, AS AN OPTION.
THE LAST TWO ITEMS ARE SOME NEW POLICIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT.
THE BOARD ACTUALLY HAS SEEN THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
THIS IS ACTUALLY NEW. WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IT AT OUR DECEMBER 9TH MEETING. BUT I WANTED YOU ALL TO HAVE IT AS WELL. SO TWO ADDITIONAL POLICIES THAT AND THE START OF SOME NEW POLICIES BECAUSE THERE MAY BE OTHERS, BUT ENSURING THAT ALL RIDERS HAVE A GUARANTEED DESTINATION AND ONE RIDER PER SEAT POLICY WOULD BE SOME NEW POLICIES TO IMPLEMENT FOR THE DART SYSTEM. AND THEN, AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED AT THE BOTTOM, WE DO NOW HAVE OUR WEBSITES UPDATED WITH THE QUARTERLY POLICE REPORTS THAT GO BACK TWO YEARS, AS WELL AS OUR NIBRS REPORTS ARE UPDATED ON A QUARTERLY BASIS FOR THIS YEAR.
I KNOW THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED AND BROUGHT UP.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I TALKED ABOUT AND IT'S NOW BEEN TAKEN CARE OF.
AND WITH THAT, WE WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO DEE FOR TO TALK ABOUT FIFA.
DART, LIKE MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING THE CITY OF DALLAS IN THIS REGION, HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR HOW TO SERVE THE GLOBAL VISITORS THAT WILL BE COMING TO THE GAMES, COMING TO THE INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST CENTER AND COMING TO FANFEST. DART'S USED TO SUPPORTING MAJOR EVENTS, WHETHER IT'S GAMES AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER OR IT'S THE TEXAS OU GAME AT THE TEXAS STATE FAIR, WE CAN AND HAVE CARRIED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VISITORS TO AND FROM A MAJOR EVENT.
WHAT MAKES THIS EVENT CHALLENGING IS THAT THE GAMES ARE NOT PLAYED IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT PLANNING FOR THIS EVENT, WE'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE LEVERAGE OUR EXISTING SERVICES TO SERVE THE MAJOR EVENTS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN OUR SERVICE AREA? INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST CENTER, FANFEST, THE MAJOR HOTEL VENUES, THE OTHER MAJOR VENUES, WHILE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN BE A REGIONAL PARTNER IN SERVING THE GAMES THAT ARE BEING PLAYED OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA.
SO WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW TO MAXIMIZE OUR EXISTING SERVICES.
WE'VE ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE SERVE THESE AREAS OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA, WE'RE NOT IMPACTING OUR SERVICE TO OUR CURRENT RIDERS.
AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, A LOT OF THIS IS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH OUR TRANSIT PARTNERS, THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, DALLAS SPORTS COMMISSION, FIFA, VISIT DALLAS AND THE CITY OF DALLAS AND LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. AS WE PLAN FOR THE WORLD CUP, WE ARE TREATING THIS LIKE 39 DAYS OF RUSH HOUR
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TRAFFIC OR 39 DAYS OF TEXAS OU. WE PLAN TO LEAN HEAVILY ON OUR HIGH CAPACITY MODES LIKE BUS AND RAIL.WE REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON WHAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO ACCOMMODATE GAME DAY CAPACITY ON THE TRE SO WE'VE ADDED AND RELEASING ADDITIONAL RAIL VEHICLES TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, TRE WILL BE RUNNING EVERY 30 MINUTES ON GAME DAYS FROM THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT TO CENTERPORT, WHERE GAME DAY GOERS WILL BE OFFLOADED ONTO CHARTER BUSSES TO BE TAKEN TO AT&T STADIUM.
ADDITIONAL BUS SERVICE AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DALLAS SPORTS COMMISSION AND COG WILL OPERATE ALONG I-30 TO ACCOMMODATE ANY OVERFLOW GAME ATTENDEES THAT COULD NOT RIDE THE TRE. WE'LL RUN PEAK PERIOD FREQUENCY ON THE GREEN LINE WITH ADDITIONAL CARS TO SERVE FANFEST.
WE'VE BUDGETED OVER $18 MILLION TO COVER OUR WORLD CUP RELATED EXPENSES.
WE'VE PARTNERED WITH COG ON ABOUT 7.2 MILLION OF THOSE.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OTHER IMPROVEMENTS. AND DIRECTOR BRYANT SPOKE ABOUT OUR PASSENGER INFORMATION DISPLAY SYSTEMS AND OUR NEW TVMS THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
WE'RE WORKING WITH BOTH AIRPORTS ON SIGNAGE AND ACCESS VIA TRANSIT TO OUR SERVICE AREA, CONTINUE TO COORDINATE WITH THE TRANSIT AGENCIES TO MAKE SURE THE JOURNEY IS SEAMLESS. WE RECOGNIZE CUSTOMERS DON'T CARE WHETHER IT'S OPERATED BY DCTA, DART OR TRINITY METRO.
THEY JUST NEED TO GET WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. THAT'S DEFINITELY TRUE FOR VISITORS AS WELL, AND WE'RE GOING TO STRONGLY PROMOTE THE USE OF GOPASS, WHICH PROVIDES REAL TIME TRIP PLANNING, SERVICE ALERTS AND CONTACTLESS PAYMENT ALL IN ONE PLACE.
NEXT SLIDE. I'LL BE GLAD TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO DIRECTOR BRYANT. THANK YOU.
SO THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, SO TO SPEAK. AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE FOUR CITIES HAVE VOTED, THEIR COUNCILS HAVE VOTED TO PLACE A MEASURE BEFORE THEIR VOTERS ON THE MAY 2ND ELECTION.
TODAY THE CITY OF ADDISON WILL CONTEMPLATE THAT DECISION AS WELL.
IT'S A BIT FLUID BECAUSE JUST WEEKS AFTER SOME OF THESE CITIES DID TAKE THOSE VOTES, THEY'VE OFFERED, YOU KNOW, A CERTAIN SET OF SOLUTIONS THAT WE ALSO ARE REVIEWING RIGHT NOW.
SO THE TRUE FINAL OUTCOME TIME WILL BE THE TEST OF WHAT THOSE DECISIONS WILL BE.
SO THE CITIES, OF COURSE, CAN HOLD AN ELECTION TO WITHDRAW FROM DART EVERY SIX YEARS.
THAT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED SINCE 1995. OF COURSE, FOUR CITIES HAVE APPROVED THOSE ELECTIONS, AS I'VE STATED. THEY HAVE THE CITIES HAVE UP UNTIL FEBRUARY, I BELIEVE, THE 12TH OR THE 13TH TO CALL THE ELECTION, AND THEN THEY HAVE UNTIL MARCH THE 18TH, WHICH IS 45 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ACTUAL ELECTION DAY ITSELF, TO CALL THE ELECTION OFF. IF VOTERS DO CHOOSE TO WITHDRAW FROM DART, ALL SERVICES WITHIN THOSE CITIES, ALL OF OUR MODES OF TRANSPORTATION BUSSES, TRAINS, PARATRANSIT, MICROTRANSIT THEY WILL ALL CEASE UPON THE CERTIFICATION OF THOSE ELECTIONS, AND THE SALES TAX WILL BE CONTINUED TO BE COLLECTED.
THAT SHOULD BE UNTIL WE APOLOGIZE FOR THAT TYPO UNTIL THEIR FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS ARE FULFILLED.
THAT'S A BROAD RANGE FOR EVERY CITY BASED UPON WHAT THEIR GENERAL AND SPECIFIC DEBT THAT IS OWED.
THERE ALSO ARE SETS A CERTAIN SET OF POLICY DECISIONS THAT THE DART BOARD WOULD HAVE TO TAKE.
THAT'S ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 452. SO THE EXACT NUMBERS, THE EXACT AMOUNTS AND WHAT THAT TRANSLATES INTO PROJECTED YEARS, WE DO NOT HAVE THOSE THOSE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNTS RIGHT NOW.
OF COURSE, AGAIN, BECAUSE CHAPTER 452 MANDATES THAT IF A CITY DOES WITHDRAW, THE DART BOARD WOULD HAVE TO VOTE ON WHAT THOSE POLICIES ARE TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS. 90 DAYS OUT PRIOR TO ANY WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS, AT AT LEAST 90 DAYS OUT, THE DART STAFF WILL HAVE TO CONDUCT A SERIES OF PUBLIC HEARINGS AND TOWN HALLS.
THAT'S IN ACCORDANCE WITH FDA GUIDELINES. AND THAT WILL BE IN EVERY CITY, BECAUSE AS NOTED EARLIER, I BELIEVE THERE WAS A 22 ROUTE IT TRAVELS BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN ADDISON AND THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO RESIDENTS OF THE THESE RESPECTIVE CITIES THAT ARE CONTEMPLATING THESE ELECTIONS, THEY WILL BE AFFECTED, BUT ALSO WHETHER THAT'S FOR JOB OR WORK OR SCHOOL OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, CITIES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THESE CITIES THAT ARE TAKING THE VOTES,
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THOSE RESIDENTS AND THOSE INDIVIDUALS WILL BE IMPACTED AS WELL.AND AGAIN, OF COURSE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WHAT THE SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE A DAY AFTER OR WEEKS AFTER ANY SUCCESSFUL WITHDRAWAL ELECTION TAKES PLACE WILL BE, WE CAN'T GIVE HYPOTHETICALS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WHAT THAT WOULD COULD BE.
WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE 1985.
IN 1989, THERE WERE EIGHT CITIES THAT TRIED TO WITHDRAW FROM DART.
ALL WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. AND SO THIS IS NOT A PLACE THAT WE'VE NOT BEEN IN BEFORE.
IT'S NOT THE BEST PLACE FOR US TO BE IN RIGHT NOW.
BUT WE ARE CONTINUOUSLY WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES.
THOSE THAT ARE CONTEMPLATING THESE ELECTIONS, BUT ALSO THOSE THAT ARE NOT, BECAUSE WE CANNOT PENALIZE THE CITIES THAT HAVE THAT ARE STRONGLY SUPPORTING DART AT THE EXPENSE OF ACCOMMODATING THE REQUEST OF THE CITIES THAT ARE CONTEMPLATING THESE VOTES.
AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR AND WE'LL OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE CITY STAFF OR FOR FOR THE DART STAFF ON THE PRESENTATION OR OTHERWISE? MR. ROTH? THANK YOU FOR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
IT'S REALLY ENLIGHTENING FOR ME AND APPRECIATE ALL THE, THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN DONE.
AND ALSO AND APPRECIATE THE, THE DIFFICULTIES THAT YOU'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW IN THE PUBLIC WITH THIS.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
JUST ON YOUR ON YOUR RIDERSHIP ANALYSIS. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE THE AVERAGE RIDE PER, PER HOUR. ARE THOSE BASED ON 12 HOUR DAYS OR HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE PER PERSON RIDERSHIP? THE RIDERSHIP PER HOUR IS BASED ON OUR TOTAL OPERATING HOURS, WHICH FOR LIGHT RAIL IS FROM 4 A.M TO 1 P.M..
SO TOTAL RIDERSHIP ACROSS THAT DAY DIVIDED BY THE OPERATING HOURS 1 A.M..
SORRY. THANK YOU. DOES THAT CLARIFY FOR YOU? IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THE NUMBERS DIDN'T MATCH UP.
YOU HAD THOUSAND RIDERS AND 600 AND IT WAS ABOUT FIVE RIDERS PER HOUR.
SO I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S BASED ON.
DIFFERENT HOUR OF OPERATION. ON, ON. ARE YOU LOOKING AT THE GO LINK RIDERSHIP? WAS ON THE GO LINK IN PARTICULAR. YES. AND THEN ALSO ON THE RIDERSHIP, THE TOP BUS RIDERSHIP HOURS.
JUST WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WHAT KIND OF A.
YES. WE OPERATE MULTIPLE BUSSES ON THOSE ROUTES IN A GIVEN HOUR.
SO IF YOU'RE AT 20 MINUTE FREQUENCIES, WITH WITH GO LINK, IT'S A DEMAND RESPONSE SERVICE.
SO EVERY EVERY ANALYSIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
THAT'S WHY THEY MADE DIFFERENT NUMBERS. I WAS WITH THE, WITH THE NEW SILVER LINE THAT'S COMING OUT.
AND IT'S REALLY SORT OF BEEN PROMOTED AND IT'S BEEN VERY POSITIVELY PRESENTED.
IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S GOING TO BE A MAJOR ACTIVITY FOR THE, FOR THE AIRPORT.
I WOULD, I WOULD A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED, BUT BUT NOT ADVERSELY SURPRISED AT YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR NEW POLICIES ABOUT HAVING MAYBE LIMITATIONS ON BAGGAGE, BECAUSE THAT IN, IN MANY COUNTRIES, MANY CITIES THAT THEY UTILIZE TRANSPORTATION TO THE AIRPORTS.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING A POLICY THAT YOU MAY WANT TO REALLY LOOK AT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S USER FRIENDLY, THAT IT'S ACCOMMODATES PEOPLE THAT REALLY ARE ENCOURAGING TO BE TRAVELING IN THAT.
SO JUST AS A JUST AS AN FYI, THANK AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
THE THE POLICY ITSELF IS TO DRIVE DOWN BEHAVIORS OF LARGE EXTREMITIES OF ITEMS THAT WE'VE SEEN. SOME OF OUR RIDERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND IS TO TRY TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW,
[00:35:02]
THE RIDERS ARE NOT ENCROACHING ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE OTHER RIDERS THAT ARE ADJACENT TO THEM.BUT FOR THE CIVIL LINE IN PARTICULAR, THERE ARE LUGGAGE RACKS THAT CAN ACCOMMODATE THE LUGGAGE. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, IT SEEMS LIKE RIDERSHIP SEEMS TO BE STABILIZING OR POSSIBLY DECLINING A LITTLE BIT. I'M CONCERNED THAT THAT THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT IN A, IN A PART OF THE WORLD WHERE OUR DEMOGRAPHICS ARE INCREASING, WHERE WE'RE GETTING TREMENDOUS INCREASES IN POPULATION.
I'D LIKE TO TO HOPE THAT THAT THAT WOULD BE A FOCUS OF TRYING TO STIMULATE MORE RIDERSHIP, ENCOURAGE MORE RIDERSHIP, AND PREPARE FOR MORE RIDERSHIP AND ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES OF SAFETY, SECURITY, CONVENIENCE, AND AND USER FRIENDLY OPERATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT THAT WE'RE SERVING THROUGH DART.
THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN. THANK YOU.
WELL, FIRST I WANT TO SAY, RANDALL, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU.
SO I THINK THAT'S YOU. I DO WANT TO SAY ESPECIALLY THANK YOU ON THE RIDERSHIP NUMBERS FOR STARTING WITH PRE-COVID, SO IT DOESN'T LOOK ALL SKEWED. IT SHOWS THE WHOLE PICTURE.
AND AGAIN, WE HAVEN'T REALLY SEEN THAT KIND OF TRANSPARENCY.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT.
CRIME DATA IS NOW ON THE WEBSITE. THANK YOU CHIEF, APPRECIATE THAT.
I WOULD PREFER IT BE IN THE NIBRS FORMAT, WHICH I BELIEVE IS HOW YOU REPORT IT TO FBI.
BUT SEE IF YOU CAN'T MAYBE DO THAT INSTEAD OF A SUMMARY.
IT IS IT IS IN THE NIBRS FORMAT ON THE CRIME ON THE WEBSITE.
YES. OKAY. I HAVE RECEIVED MULTIPLE CRIME REPORTS, SO I MAY HAVE THAT MIXED UP.
I DO HAVE THE NIBRS REPORT, SO THANK YOU. SO NEXT TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE SAME KIND OF PRESENTATION THAT YOU'VE GOT FOR RIDERSHIP, WHICH IS, AGAIN, MUCH MORE COMPLETE DEALING WITH FINANCE.
SO IF THAT WITH FINANCE. SO PERHAPS THAT COULD BE A FOCUS.
AND I'LL JUST SAY I WANT TO ADD THIS COMMENT, YOUR NOTE ABOUT THE ARRESTS THAT DART HAS MADE.
I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
THAT'S ACTUALLY NECESSARY FOR YOUR CONTINUED RIDERSHIP.
AND PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO CHOOSE DART IF CRIME IS HAPPENING AND THERE AREN'T ARRESTS.
IT'S WHAT'S NECESSARY FOR GOOD MANAGEMENT. IF I CAME ACROSS AS IF I WAS APOLOGIZING FOR IT, THEN I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT [LAUGHS]. I THAT WAS NOT MY INTENT.
I, I THINK HAS HAS BEEN HAPPENING IS THAT THE DATA THAT SHOWS INCREASE IN EITHER CRIMES OR RESPONSES TO CRIMES OR BEING SHOWN IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT AS IF CRIME IS UP AND WHEN. THE REALITY IS WE ARE ADDRESSING CRIME AT HIGHER NUMBERS BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE TO RESPOND TO THEM.
OKAY, SO LET'S LOOK AT THE RIDERSHIP. RIDERSHIP IS ACTUALLY DOWN.
IT'S NOT IT'S NOT INCREASING. AND SO WHEN YOU COMPARE FISCAL YEAR 25, QUARTER FOUR WITH FISCAL YEAR 24, QUARTER FOUR, RIDERSHIP IS DOWN, CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND IF YOU DO THAT FOR THREE QUARTERS GOING BACK, SO QUARTER FOUR, QUARTER THREE AND QUARTER TWO, COMPARING FISCAL YEAR 25 WITH 24, ALL OF THOSE ARE DOWN.
IS THAT CORRECT? ACT. THAT IS LARGELY CORRECT.
YES. OKAY. SO RIDERSHIP THAT YOU'RE SHOWING IN FISCAL YEAR 20 QUARTER ONE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST, I MEAN, WE HAVEN'T RETURNED TO PRE-COVID LEVELS.
THAT WAS ALREADY NATIONALLY ONE OF THE LOWEST RIDERSHIP OF ANY MAJOR SYSTEM IN AMERICA.
AND SO I JUST HAVE TO ASK YOU, IF DALLAS IS 75% OF THE RIDERSHIP, I MEAN, THE SUBURBS MUST HAVE A VERY MINUSCULE AMOUNT OF RIDERSHIP. IS THAT TRUE? IS THE QUESTION WHERE THE WHERE THE RESIDENTS LIVE? BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. IN FACT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT 75% OF OUR TRIPS ACROSS MULTIPLE CITY LINES, WE PUT WE INCLUDED THAT IN THE REPORT. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE REGIONAL SYSTEM, THE REGIONALISM OF OUR SYSTEM MOST IMPACTFUL IS THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS INNER CITY COMMUTING THAT'S THAT'S TAKING PLACE.
THAT'S NOT ONLY THE SOLUTIONS THAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR. I'M A I'M A NATIVE DALLAS.
[00:40:04]
I STARTED A LITTLE BIT BEFORE I WAS BORN, BUT I'M BORN AND RAISED HERE IN THE CITY, AND I'M A HISTORIAN OF THE CITY.AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE, THE ORIGINATION OF THE CONCEPT OF DART WAS TO WAS TO ENSURE JOB CONNECTIVITY FROM, FROM CITIES TO CITY, RIGHT. AND NOT JUST A AND THAT'S WHY I SAY SALES TAX MODEL AND NOT A PROPERTY TAX MODEL, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITIES THAT ARE PAYING FOR THE SYSTEM THAT ARE IMPACTED BY IT.
IT'S A SALES TAX MODEL THAT THAT ALL REGION, EVERYONE FROM THIS REGION AND EVERYONE THAT TOURS THIS REGION PAYS INTO THAT SALES TAX MODEL. AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE BENEFIT AND THE VALUE OF TRANSIT FOR DART IS NOT JUST WHAT IS HAPPENING FOR OUR RESIDENTS, ONLY IN A SMALLER POPULATED CITY THAN DALLAS.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT. I GUESS THE POINT THAT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS THE MOST RECENT CENSUS OF THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, WHICH IS 2023, SHOWS FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS, LESS THAN 2% OF OUR RESIDENTS ARE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO WORK.
WE NEED PUBLIC TRANSIT IN DALLAS. ABSOLUTELY CAN'T CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT.
THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT WE ALSO NEED TO ACTUALLY HAVE PEOPLE USE THE SERVICE.
BUT WE'RE NOT GETTING THE RIDERSHIP FOR THE INVESTMENT WE'RE MAKING EITHER.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT I THINK THIS YEAR OUR PLAN IS $460 MILLION A YEAR AS A CONTRIBUTION OF OUR SALES TAX, 460 MILLION FOR LESS THAN 2% OF OUR PEOPLE USING IT TO GET TO WORK.
THAT'S REALLY DIFFICULT CONCEPT, AND WE NEED RIDERSHIP TO EXPAND.
AND I'M JUST GOING TO TELL YOU I'M ALREADY SEEING EMPTY SILVER LINE TRAINS.
THAT'S NOT THE RIDERSHIP. IT'S NOT GOING TO THE PLACES PEOPLE NEED TO GO TO.
AND SO THAT'S THAT'S MY QUESTION ON THAT. THE CITIES THAT ARE GROWING IN NORTH TEXAS ARE NOT THE MEMBER CITIES OF DART, BECAUSE THEY'RE USING THAT PENNY TO TAKE AWAY OUR BUSINESSES AND ATTRACT SPORTS TEAMS AND OTHER THINGS.
AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THIS VALUE PROPOSITION WORTH IT.
SO YOU SAY YOU WERE NOT EVEN BORN WHEN DART STARTED.
THAT'S. I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE THAT YOUNG. MY GOODNESS.
I BELIEVE THERE IS A CITY THAT HAD A VOTER REFERENDUM AND PULLED OUT COPPELL AND FLOWER MOUND.
AND FLOWER MOUND IN 1989. AND THEN THEY CAME BACK.
NO, NO. OKAY. AND HOW MANY CITIES HAVE JOINED SINCE DART BEGAN? NONE. NONE. AND COULD I MAKE A POINT TO THAT IN MY IN MY HUMBLE OPINION IN 1983.
WELL, FIRST, THE THE ORIGINAL DART VOTE IN 1978 FAILED.
FIVE YEARS LATER, A BETTER PLAN CAME BEFORE THE VOTERS IN 1983, AND IT PASSED.
AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU LOOK AT LARGE, COMPLEX CONCEPTS AS SUCH AS DART, YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, AND YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MORPH IT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.
IN MY OPINION, THIS IS THE CULMINATION OF IT, GIVEN KIND OF WHERE THE SENTIMENT OF SOME OF THESE CITIES ARE AS FAR AS WHAT THEY'RE GETTING OUT OF DART. IMAGINE IF A NEW CITY WOULD HAVE CAME IN FIVE YEARS AGO, AND WE STARTED BUILDING CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN THEIR CITIES WITHOUT DELIVERING ON THE ORIGINAL PROMISE THAT WAS MADE TO AN ADDISON THAT HAD NOT GOT THEIR RAIL IN 40 YEARS.
IMAGINE WHAT THE SENTIMENT OF THEM WOULD BE. SO, IN MY OPINION, 40 SOME ODD YEARS LATER, WE'VE WE'VE MADE GOOD ON THE PROMISE, THE ORIGINAL PROMISE. AND NOW IT'S HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD.
BUT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR ANY CITY OR A GOOD IDEA FOR ANY CITY, GIVEN WHERE A LOT OF THESE CITIES ARE AND THEY'VE THEY'VE CONTINUOUSLY BEEN TRYING TO REMOVE THEMSELVES FROM THE SYSTEM OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
THAT PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE WORKED OUT WELL FOR US. SO AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND IT AS A TALKING POINT, BUT IN REALITY, WE'VE MADE GOOD ON THE PROMISES FROM 1983 THIS YEAR WITH THE SILVER LINE.
AND NOW IT'S TIME TO MOVE FORWARD AND MAKE NEW PROMISES AND NEW COVENANTS WITH NEW CITIES, IN MY OPINION. SO I'M NOT SURE IF YOU REALIZE THAT ACTUALLY THE SILVER LINE THEN CALLED THE COTTON BELT THE PROMISE WAS NOT FOR RAIL,
[00:45:01]
IT WAS FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT. THAT'S WHAT THE PROMISE WAS WHEN THAT LINE WAS PURCHASED.SO ALL THAT TO SAY I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU ON HERE.
YOU SAID THAT SHOULD A CITY SUCCESSFULLY PASS A VOTER PROPOSITION TO PULL OUT A DART, THAT ALL SERVICE ENDS IMMEDIATELY? YES. BUT HAVE YOU VERIFIED WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT ALL YOUR LOAN COVENANTS MEAN THAT THAT'S TRUE, THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO ACTUALLY STOP THE RAIL SERVICE? I'M HEARING THAT PERHAPS THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
I'M TAGGING A FRIEND, OUR CFO, BECAUSE I BELIEVE I KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT JUST IN CASE.
GOOD AFTERNOON, JAMIE EDELMAN, EVP AND CFO FOR DART.
YES, WE CAN STOP SERVICE IMMEDIATELY, BUT WE DO HAVE TO POTENTIALLY REPAY THE FTA FOR THEIR INTEREST ASSOCIATED WITH ANY ASSETS RELATED TO THAT SERVICE. SO CHAPTER 452 IN THE WITHDRAWAL OBLIGATION CALCULATION INCLUDES A PROVISION FOR FTA INTEREST IN PROPERTY.
AND THAT BECOMES A PORTION OF THE WITHDRAWAL OBLIGATION FOR THE WITHDRAWING CITY.
OKAY. MY NEXT QUESTION IS SORT OF A BIGGER ONE.
WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RIDERSHIP IN YOUR LISTING TRIPS.
YOU COUNT THAT AS FOUR TRIPS, NOT ONE. CAN YOU BUILD A CLOSED SYSTEM WHICH WOULD GREATLY IMPACT.
THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE A SAFE EXPERIENCE FOR PEOPLE, BUT ALSO TO COUNT RIDERSHIP AND TRIPS IN A MORE TRANSPARENT WAY OR MORE ACCURATE WAY. SO WE COUNT BOARDINGS JUST LIKE AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC COUNTS.
COUNT TRAFFIC ON A STREET. SO MY COMMUTE IN INTO WORK.
WHEN I DRIVE INTO THE CITY OF DALLAS, I MAKE FOUR TURNS.
I GET COUNTED FOUR TIMES FOR EVERY TIME I TURN ON A DIFFERENT ROAD.
SO WE COUNT BOARDINGS. EVEN ON A CLOSED SYSTEM, WE WOULD COUNT THE BOARDINGS WE ARE AS PART OF OUR FY 26 BUDGET, LOOKING AT WHERE WE MIGHT COULD CLOSE OUR SYSTEM.
CITY PLACE IS IS THE BEST PLACE TO PILOT THAT BECAUSE THAT IS A SUBSURFACE STATION.
SO IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW COULD WE SAFELY CLOSE THE SYSTEM.
IT WOULD HELP WITH WITH SAFETY AND SECURITY AS WELL.
WE THEN THEN LOOK AT OUR ELEVATED STATIONS. THOSE ARE KIND OF THE NEXT OBVIOUS ONES THAT MAY CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LIMIT THOSE PEOPLE THAT GO UP TO THE PLATFORMS. THE HARDER ONES ARE THE AT GRADE STATIONS THINK CITY LINE, RICHARDSON, THINK, THINK THE CBD.
SO WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THEM IN KIND OF THREE TRANCHES.
THANK YOU. CHAIR, I HAVE JUST TWO MORE. FIRST IS DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL CITIES CONSIDERING A VOTER PROPOSITION TO PULL OUT? I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THAT, BUT CHAPTER 452 ALLOWS ALL CITIES TO CONTEMPLATE IT EVERY SIX YEARS.
SO ALL 13 CITIES COULD BE CONVENING AND DISCUSSING IT RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S THAT'S THEIR RIGHT AND OBLIGATION TO THEIR VOTERS UNDER CHAPTER 452.
OKAY. AND THE LAST ONE IS THE SLIDES YOU HAVE IN THERE ABOUT STREETCAR AND D2 FUNDING.
ARE WE GOING TO GO THROUGH THAT SEPARATELY OR IS THAT PART OF THIS? NO. SEPARATELY. OKAY. THEN I'LL WAIT AND HOLD THAT.
THANK YOU. COUNCILMEMBER GRACEY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. CHAIR BRYANT, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND THE LEVEL OF DETAIL.
I HAVE REALLY THREE QUESTIONS BROKEN DOWN BY SAFETY, RIDERSHIP AND THEN THE WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS.
AND MOST OF IT IS JUST FOR CLARITY UNDER THE SAFETY, YOU SAID THERE'S A GOAL TO HIRE 100 OFFICERS PER YEAR SO THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ONE OFFICER PER CAR. HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO THAT NOW? DO YOU KNOW? SO THE NUMBER OF ACTUAL UNIFORMED OFFICERS WERE TRYING TO PINPOINT THAT DOWN, EXACTLY HOW MANY IT WILL TAKE. WE THINK WE THINK IT WILL BE ABOUT 100.
AND SO IF WE USE THE EXISTING TSO CONTRACT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, THAT'S ABOUT $9 MILLION.
[00:50:04]
THAT PROGRAM. PERFECT. AND OKAY. AND THAT'LL HELP CONTINUE THE HIRING OF THOSE HUNDRED OFFICERS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO SCALE.AND THAT'S KIND OF THE BEST PART ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR GROUP OF UNIFORMED PRESENCE.
SO WE HAVE THREE WE HAVE FAIR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHICH ARE DART EMPLOYEES.
WE HAVE DART POLICE WHICH ALSO ARE DART EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN IN THE MIDDLE ARE THE TSOS, THE TRANSIT SECURITY OFFICERS.
AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, THEY ARE LICENSED. THEY THEY CARRY A WEAPON, THEY CARRY HANDCUFFS.
THEY CAN'T MAKE ARRESTS, WHICH IS WHAT ONLY DART POLICE CAN DO.
BUT THEY CAN REMOVE FROM THE SYSTEM. THEY CAN DO ALL THE OTHER INTERMEDIARY THINGS.
ON BEHALF OF THAT PERCEPTION THAT I WAS GETTING AT EARLIER.
RIGHT. WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE TRAINS, WE WILL ALWAYS NEED OUR POLICE AND BE QUITE HONEST.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH FROM BOTH OF US RIGHT NOW TO, TO TO SOLVE FOR THESE PROBLEMS. BUT WE'RE NOT NAIVE TO THEM, AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN UNDER THE THE RULES THAT WE HAVE TO WORK UNDER.
YOU KNOW, IF A PERSON BUYS A $6 FARE TO RIDE THE SYSTEM THE ENTIRE DAY, UNLESS THEY ARE UNRULY, I CANNOT REMOVE THEM FROM THIS SYSTEM. RIGHT.
RIGHT. ALL THOSE SAME RESTRICTIONS APPLY TO US JUST AS THEY APPLY TO YOU ALL.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION. I'M JUST.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I JUST WANT TO GET CLARITY ON THE RIDERSHIP SIDE ON SLIDE 15.
I'M JUST I'M GOING TO ASK THIS QUESTION TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CHART.
AND I'M NOT PICKING ON ANY ONE CITY, BUT I JUST HAPPEN TO WRITE THIS ONE DOWN.
BUT FOR THE CITY OF IRVING, IF THEY WERE TO WITHDRAW, AM I TO UNDERSTAND THAT 63% OF THEIR RIDERS FROM IRVING TO DALLAS WOULD NEED TO FIND NEW TRANSPORTATION INTO DALLAS? DID I SAY THAT RIGHT? YES. OKAY. AND THEN IN THAT SAME ROW, YOU HAVE 29% IN THAT THAT'S RIDERS IN IRVING THAT ARE TAKING THE TRAIN SOMEWHERE IN IRVING.
SO THAT WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL 29% OF RIDERS THAT WOULD.
ADDITIONALLY NEED TO FIND NEW MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION WITHIN IRVING.
YES. OKAY, SO A TOTAL OF I CAN'T DO MY MATH ON THE SPOT.
WAS THAT ALMOST 90%, 93% OF THEIR RIDERS WOULD WOULD NEED TO.
AND THEN AS FAR AS AND SHE'S ALREADY ASKED THAT IN A CLARIFICATION THERE IN TERMS OF WITHDRAWALS, ALL RIDES WOULD STOP. WOULD THEY JUST GO THROUGH A PARTICULAR CITY TO THE NEXT STOP? IT DEPENDS ON WHICH CITY WE'RE WE'RE REFERRING TO.
IF THERE ARE END OF LINE CITY, LIKE PLANO, FOR EXAMPLE.
THEN THE SERVICES WOULD STOP AT THE PRECEDING CITY IF THEY ARE PART OF THE SYSTEM, LET'S SAY HIGHLAND PARK, RIGHT? WE HAVE A BUS THAT TRAVELS NORTH AND SOUTH ON PRESTON ROAD.
THAT BUS WOULD CONTINUE. IT JUST WOULD NOT STOP IN THE CITY OF HIGHLAND PARK ANY LONGER.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
COUNCIL MEMBER BLACKMON. THANK YOU. AND THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
I APPRECIATE THE WORK. SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
TELL ME, OKAY, SO YOU'VE GOT YOUR POINT B STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I WANT TO FOCUS ON THE PLACES AND THE PARK IN THE STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS. CAN AND YOU'VE SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'VE GOT 37 PROPERTIES OR PROJECTS AROUND DART LINE.
HOW MANY DART LINE STATIONS DO YOU HAVE IN THE SYSTEM? WE HAVE 65 LIGHT RAIL STATIONS IN OUR SYSTEM.
OKAY. SO THEN HALF OF THEM DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF DEVELOPMENT AROUND IT.
IS THAT A IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET TO IS FANTASTIC PLACES PUBLIC ART GREAT, WHATEVER.
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE NEED SALES TAX AND WE NEED PROPERTY TAX.
HOW CAN WE PARTNER BETTER? I KNOW WE HAVE THE BUCKNER GO STATION HAPPENING.
HOW DO WE MAKE THINGS HAPPEN LIKE THAT FASTER? I KNOW EVEN IN MINE MOCKINGBIRD STATION, A PARKING LOT IS BEING CONVERTED INTO A INTO HOUSING.
SO WHAT TO HELP WITH THIS PILLAR OF YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN? WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO. BECAUSE I THINK THAT WILL AFFECT YOUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS, WHICH I'M GOING TO GET TO IN A LITTLE BIT.
[00:55:01]
SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? YEAH, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND A GREAT POINT.SO AT THE NEXT DART BOARD MEETING WE'LL ACTUALLY GET AN UPDATED BRIEFING ON ALL OF OUR TODS, UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE LIKE SAINT PAUL STATION, WHICH IS WHERE I LIVE, THERE IS NO PARK AND RIDE THERE, RIGHT? SO SOME OF OUR STATIONS IN THAT OTHER HALF WOULDN'T EVEN QUALIFY FOR A TOD PROJECT BECAUSE THERE'S NO LAND AROUND IT.
HE'S BEEN LEADING THAT COMMITTEE FOR A FEW TERMS NOW AND IS AND HE'S OUR DE FACTO LEADER ON ALL TOD PROJECTS AND OF COURSE, DEE IS ON THE STAFF SIDE. SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO.
THANK YOU, CHAIR. AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER BLACKMON FOR THE QUESTION. I'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH VP OF REAL ESTATE KAITLIN HOLLAND ON THIS BECAUSE I SHARE THE FRUSTRATION, I GUESS, AND THE LACK OF WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH OUR REAL ESTATE OVER 40 YEARS.
AND WE'RE MOVING OFF SOME OF THOSE IN IN PROGRESS RIGHT NOW, SUCH AS ALONG JEFFERSON AND OAK CLIFF.
ONE THING THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON IS, AND I'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS WITH, WITH KAITLIN QUITE EXTENSIVELY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH ZONING BECAUSE MOST OF OUR PROPERTIES ARE NOT ENTITLED TO DO DEVELOPMENT OR DO THE RIGHT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT THAT WE WOULD NEED TO TO ACTIVATE THOSE STATIONS AS PROPER TODS. AND WE HAVE BEEN KIND OF HOLDING BACK WAITING FOR THE CITY TO WORK THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT CODE AND FORWARD DALLAS UPDATE, AS WELL AS THE VARIOUS STATE HOUSING BILLS TO SEE, OKAY, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ALL OF THESE THINGS MOVE FORWARD? WHERE DO WE STAND? WHAT STILL NEEDS TO MOVE FORWARD? AND SO ONE THING THAT WE HAVE DONE TO BE MORE PROACTIVE IS ESSENTIALLY CREATE AN INVENTORY OF ALL OF OUR PROPERTY AND CREATED A NEEDS LIST OF ALL OF THEM TO TO SAY, OKAY, WHAT NEEDS WHAT NEEDS ZONING OR ZONING, WHAT NEEDS, YOU KNOW, UTILITY WORK AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO WE CAN EVEN BE THINKING ABOUT WHERE DO WE INVEST TO HELP WITH SOME THINGS, LIKE DO WE NEED UNDERGROUND UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS? WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO INVEST IN SOME OF THAT STUFF AS WELL. SO WE'RE I'D LOVE TO SAY WE HAVE A FULLY BAKED PLAN ON THAT RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS IS NOT QUITE THERE, BUT IT IS A MOTIVATION OF BOTH CHAIR AND MYSELF TO MOVE A LOT OF THAT FORWARD.
SO INSTEAD OF BEING 7 TO 10 YEARS TO BE MORE LIKE 2 TO 4, BECAUSE A LOT OF DEVELOPERS ARE TURNED OFF BY THOSE LONG PROCESSES AND DON'T WANT TO WORK WITH US BECAUSE THEY CAN'T PREDICT WHAT THE DEVELOPMENT CYCLE IS GOING TO BE LIKE BY THE TIME IT'S READY TO BREAK GROUND. AND OUR CFO WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING TO IF SHE IF THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU.
SO ONE THING THAT WE JUST DID THIS LAST YEAR, REALLY AT THE SPEED OF MARKET, WAS PUT INTO PLACE ILAS WITH OUR SERVICE AREA CITIES TO CONTRIBUTE TO TAX, INVESTMENT TAX, INVESTMENT TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONES.
THANK YOU. SO THAT WE CAN PARTNER BETTER WITH OUR SERVICE AREA CITIES.
AND WHAT WE ARE DOING IS CONTRIBUTING 50% OF THE GROWTH ON THAT INCREMENT, THE TAX INCREMENT IN THOSE ZONES TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAND AROUND OUR FACILITIES. AND WE TRY TO MAKE THAT AS FLEXIBLE AS POSSIBLE.
WE GOT TO A POINT WHERE WE WANTED TO HAVE AN AUTOMATIC.
YES. SO THAT THERE WAS NO DART SLOWING DOWN THE PROCESS.
IF THE CITY BROUGHT FORWARD A REASONABLE PLAN, THERE WAS A TRANSIT FIXTURE, TRANSIT ASSET WITHIN THAT TOURS WERE YES, AND WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD AND INVEST IN THAT DEVELOPMENT.
SO I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS YOU MAKE A POSSIBLE THREAT INTO AN OPPORTUNITY OR A STRENGTH.
AND I THINK WE'VE GOT THE EDC, WE'VE GOT I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY NOW FOR ALL THE PARTS TO COME TOGETHER, BECAUSE WE ALL NEED THE SAME THING. YOU NEED SALES TAX, WE NEED PROPERTY TAX AND YOU NEED RIDERSHIP, WHICH NOW WANT TO GO INTO THAT. IT'S INTERESTING THAT YOU HAVE WEEKEND.
YEAH. IT'S IT'S REALLY INDICATIVE OF A NATIONAL I MEAN, IT'S LIKE BECAUSE IT'S NOT AS FREQUENT AS THE WEEKDAY.
CORRECT. WHICH AND SO WE'VE INVESTED MORE FREQUENCY IN THE WEEKEND OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
DO YOU KNOW THE REASON WHY? IT'S REALLY BECAUSE HOW TRAVEL PATTERNS HAVE CHANGED POST COVID.
AND SO WHAT WHAT ARE Y'ALL DOING TO ACCOMMODATE? I GUESS THE QUESTION IS, DO YOU KEEP YOUR SAME MODEL, OR DO YOU CHANGE YOUR MODEL TO ADAPT TO THE NEEDS OF THE RIDER? WE ARE CHANGING OUR MODEL TO ADAPT TO THE NEEDS OF THE RIDER.
[01:00:08]
SO WE NO LONGER HAVE THESE PEAK OFF PEAK PERIODS.WE'RE OPERATING A CONSISTENT 20 MINUTE FREQUENCY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
I MEAN, BECAUSE YOU ARE SHOWING INCREASE AND IT'S INTERESTING, BUT IT'S NOT PRE-COVID, WHICH WAS ALREADY I MEAN AND SO I GUESS, I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S ALWAYS OPPORTUNITY TO FIGURE OUT.
AND I KNOW A BIG SHIP IS HARD TO TURN, BUT BUT WE CAN'T GET WE NEED TO KEEP A REGIONAL MODEL.
AND SO I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT INCREASING, WHICH I DO BELIEVE THE FINANCIAL PART OF THIS, BECAUSE I THINK YOU HAD A 1.8, 1.76 BILLION, AND IT WENT UP BY ALMOST 3% TO 1.81 BILLION.
WHAT YOUR PROJECTIONS ARE GOING INTO THE NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE SPENDING THAT 2% ON AND WHATEVER ELSE, BECAUSE IT SHOULD BE INITIATIVES THAT PUSH THE THE AGENCY FORWARD, NOT TO JUST PAY X, IT REALLY NEEDS TO GO TO YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, IN MY OPINION. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT ON THE NEXT ONE TOO.
THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER CADENA. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND THEN ONE THING I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS JUST THE NUMBERS FOR THE TOYOTA WEST DALLAS CIRCUIT.
I KNOW OVER THE YEARS THAT'S EXPANDED QUITE A BIT, AND OUR RESIDENTS LOVE THAT SO MUCH.
AND I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE.
SO IT WILL BE CONTINUING IN YOUR DISTRICT. AND IT'S GREAT BECAUSE IT'S AN INNOVATIVE YOU KNOW, OTHER MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, ELECTRIC CAR THAT RUNS AND NOT JUST A BUS.
AND SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THAT IN OUR IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THANKS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER BLAIR. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
I'M TRYING TO GET MY LAPTOP JUICED UP SO IT DOESN'T DIE ON ME.
THAT COULD COME. A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT HAS HAPPENED, IS HAPPENING, WILL BE HAPPENING IN THE SOUTHERN AREA, NOT ONLY IN THE SOUTHERN AREA OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, BUT IN THE SOUTHERN MUNICIPALITIES.
LOOKING ON SLIDE 15, I SEE WHERE GLENN HEIGHTS HAS AN 83% RIDERSHIP COMING IN TO DALLAS. IS THAT AM I READING THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST NUMBERS. I KNOW THAT THAT FACILITY QUITE WELL.
FRIEND WHO LIVES OVER THERE. SO I PASS IT ALL THE TIME.
SO IT IT TELLS ME THAT THE OPPORTUNITY DOES EXIST.
RED OAK. IN IN THAT AREA, EITHER IN CEDAR HILL, DUNCANVILLE, DE SOTO.
I CAN'T GET. AND IF YOU COME DOWN HAMPTON ON OFF OF I-20, IT'S ALWAYS JAMMED WITH CARS. BUT GUESS WHAT? THERE IS NO OPPORTUNITY TO GET ON ANY TYPE OF DART SERVICE AT THAT LOCATION IN ORDER TO STIMULATE RIDERSHIP. EVERYONE IN THAT AREA HAS TO HAVE A CAR.
I KNOW I GOT THREE AND I LIVE IN THAT AREA BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAVE A CAR.
ONE BREAKS, I NEED ANOTHER ONE. SO. BUT SO THAT TELLS ME THERE'S THERE'S LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY IF WE WANT TO GET RID OF PARKING, YOU KNOW, REQUIREMENTS AND, AND, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET PEOPLE FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, YOU GUYS NEED TO HELP US. YOU NEED TO PROVIDE US WITH SERVICES THAT ACTUALLY GETS PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.
MY DISTRICT, THE MOST SOUTHERN DISTRICT IN THE CITY, ONLY HAS ONE RAIL.
THAT'S THE BLUE LINE THAT GOES TO UNTD. HELLO? I HAVE A WHOLE COMMUNITY ON THE SOUTHERN EAST, THE MOST SOUTHERN SOUTH EASTERN SECTION OF THE CITY.
[01:05:01]
I KNOW YOU CAN'T GET A BUS OUT THERE, BUT. SO THERE'S NO SERVICES.IF THE PEOPLE WANTED A JOB, THEY CAN'T GET TO A JOB.
SO THERE ARE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES, EVEN ON THE BLUE LINE AT YOU AT RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET TO UNTD AT THE CAMP WISDOM STATION, YOU HAVE A BIG PARKING LOT THAT HAS VERY LITTLE USE.
WHEN YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT THE ZONING AND PLANNING PROCESS TAKES TOO LONG, I DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING TO CHANGE THOSE TIMELINES THAT WOULD BETTER SERVE YOUR NEEDS AS WELL.
I ASKED, I'M ASKING, I'VE BEEN ASKING AND I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO ASK.
I HAVE THE INLAND PORT. YOU GUYS CHANGED AND REMOVED SERVICES, AND WE HAD TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO GET RIDERS TO THAT LAST MILE TO WORK. SO INSTEAD OF HELPING YOU REMOVING.
I NEED YOU TO CONTINUE. I MEAN, I NEED YOU TO FIND A PLAN THAT ACTUALLY GIVES EVEN THE CITY OF DALLAS IN THE SOUTHERN AREA FULL SERVICE. IT'S IT'S A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY THAT SEEMS TO BE MISSING.
SO CAN YOU PLEASE HELP US? HELP YOU? SO I WOULD FIRST SAY THAT YOU ALL MAY NOT BELIEVE WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY NEXT, BUT IN IN THIS SHORT PERIOD OF TIME OF DISCOURSE BETWEEN DART AND OUR CITIES WHAT I'VE APPRECIATED MOST IS ACTUALLY HEARING SPECIFICALLY FROM OUR CITIES EXACTLY WHAT THEIR WANTS AND NEEDS ARE.
DARTS TASK IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE TO USE OUR INTRINSIC KNOWLEDGE AND INDUSTRY STANDARD KNOWLEDGE TO PROVIDE HIGH LEVELS OF SERVICE FOR THE ENTIRE REGION. BUT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY CITY, EVERY COMMUNITY, EVERY, YOU KNOW GROUPS OF OUR CITIES NEED TAILORED SERVICES AT TIME, FROM TIME TO TIME.
YOU BROUGHT UP THE INLAND PORT. THAT'S ACTUALLY OUR ONE OF OUR MOST HIGHEST RIDERS GOING ZONES IN, IN THE, IN THE NETWORK. IT'S IT'S IN IT'S IN THE IT'S IN THE BRIEFING MATERIAL.
BUT IN KLEBERG RYLIE, WE DON'T HAVE BUSSES, BUT WE DO HAVE A GO LINK SERVICE.
RIGHT. AND SO WE HAVE TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION THAT WE HAVE, WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE CONNECTIVITY ISSUES, BUT ALSO WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
BUT THEN IN THAT SAME COUNCIL MEETING, YOU KNOW, THE A COUNCIL MEMBER DOESN'T WANT GO LINK BECAUSE HIS HIS RIDERS DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO PHONES AND THEY CAN'T BOOK A, A TRIP ON THEIR PHONE.
RIGHT. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO THREAD THIS NEEDLE BY PROVIDING AS MANY DIFFERENT MODES OF TRANSPORTATION AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES AND THEN WORK WITH YOU ALL. BUT THAT IS KNOWLEDGE THAT WE NEED TO DEEPLY LIKE, DIVE INTO AND UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT ARE THE NEEDS SO THAT WE CAN CREATE BETTER PLANS THAT WORK FOR BOTH YOU AND US. WELL, I WILL SAY THAT IN KLEBERG RILEY, WE'RE GROWING.
SO IT WOULD BE WHO? BOTH OF US TO SIT DOWN AND MAKE A PLAN TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGH DART SERVICES, AS OPPOSED TO CARS. IT WOULD ALSO BEHOOVE US TO LOOK AT THE INLAND PORT.
EVEN IF WE HAVE TO SAY YOU'RE GOING TO GO, YOU'RE GOING TO DO AN INTENSIVE RIDE FROM EARLY MORNING, LATE NIGHT, 5:00 MIDNIGHT, WHATEVER THE TIMES THERE ARE.
THERE'S SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY. I JUST WISH THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT OUR, OR THAT THERE WOULD BE A VISION THAT INCLUDES THOSE SOUTHERN CITIES TO GET PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO GO AND OFF THE STREETS.
I'D EVEN TRY DART. I'VE ONLY BEEN ON DART ONCE OR TWICE BECAUSE YOU DON'T SERVE ME.
[01:10:03]
SO I WOULD EVEN TRY IT IF THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF.SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM WILLIS, THANK YOU.
BUT I, I FEEL LIKE RIGHT NOW WHAT'S GOING ON IS SINCE WE'RE IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON, WE'RE KIND OF DEALING WITH GHOSTS OF DARK PAST, AND THAT IS WHY THERE'S GLOMMING ON TO YOU KNOW, A TREND ON THESE ELECTIONS.
HOWEVER, I KNOW THAT SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL THAT THERE HAS BEEN A REALLY THOUGHTFUL EFFORT TO APPOINT PEOPLE WITH YOU ALL'S QUALITIES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND COLLABORATION, AND THAT EVEN STARTING, I THINK, WITH CHAIR NARVAEZ ON, ON THIS COMMITTEE TO START HAVING THESE JOINT MEETINGS IS A GREAT STEP FORWARD.
I LAMENT THAT THIS HAD NOT BEEN HAPPENING IN THE PAST BECAUSE THAT MIGHT HAVE REALLY BEEN HELPFUL, DON'T YOU THINK? IN MANY WAYS. BUT I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING IN.
IT'S NOT EASY RIGHT NOW, AND CERTAINLY TO DART STAFF AS WELL.
AND SO WITH EVERY REPORT AND PRESENTATION LIKE YOU HAVE GIVEN TODAY, IT IS A STEP TOWARD, I THINK, REBUILDING SOME CONFIDENCE AND TRUST.
MY CONCERNS ARE AROUND GO LINK AND THEN ALSO SOME SPECIFIC INSTANCES AROUND THOSE WITH DISABILITIES WHO NEED TO USE THE PARATRANSIT AND SOME WHO ARE ON A BUBBLE AND THEREFORE AREN'T ABLE TO USE IT, BUT REALLY SEEM LIKE THEY SHOULD.
THAT'S NOT SOMETHING FOR ME TO HASH OUT WITH YOU HERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS SOME SPECIFICS AND JUST SEE WHAT CONSIDERATION THEY COULD BE GIVEN. THANK YOU. CHAIR BRYANT. I'D LIKE FURTHER EXPLANATION ABOUT THE IMPACT ON DART OF THE POSSIBLE WITHDRAWALS OF MEMBER CITIES. YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN ELECTIONS IN THE PAST AND TWO CITIES HAVE WITHDRAWN IN 1989. ARE THERE ANY RECORDS THAT INDICATE WHAT PLANNING DART DID AT THAT TIME TO ADDRESS THE WITHDRAWAL OF THOSE CITIES, OR HAVE THOSE BEEN LOST TO TIME? I THINK THE CHALLENGE WITH LOOKING BACK AT THAT TIME FRAME IS SO LITTLE OF OF THE SYSTEM WAS BUILT AT THE TIME THAT THOSE CITIES PULLED OUT.
SO WE HAD NOT ISSUED DEBT. WE HAD NOT BUILT LIGHT RAIL.
WELL I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT. I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR SOME POTENTIAL HISTORICAL ADVICE THAT COULD INFORM US TODAY. CHAIR BRYANT, YOU'VE INDICATED THAT THE SITUATION IS VERY FLUID, WHICH, OF COURSE IT IS.
BUT IT STRIKES ME THAT AT SOME POINT YOU WILL NEED TO LOOK AT THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF WITHDRAWAL OF THESE CITIES AND ROUTE PLANNING AROUND THOSE CITIES. AT WHAT POINT DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU WILL BE UNDERTAKING THAT KIND OF STUDY? YES. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, CHAIR. SO I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. BUT I THINK THE MY BIGGEST TASK RIGHT NOW IS TO TRY TO STOP THESE ELECTIONS.
I BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, BEFORE THE VOTES TOOK PLACE THE WEEK OF THE, THE FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBER, I ISSUED A LETTER TO ALL OUR THE CITIES THAT WERE CONTEMPLATING AND ASKING FOR A 30 DAY REPRIEVE.
THEY MOVED FORWARD, IN SPITE OF WHICH IS THEIR CHOICE TO DO SO.
BUT AGAIN, EVEN WITHIN A WEEK, BOTH PLANO AND IRVING SUBMITTED PROPOSALS FOR US TO REVIEW.
WE ARE NOW DOING WHAT'S CALLED A RATE STUDY THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE RETURNED BY JANUARY.
THAT'S IN COORDINATION OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING WITH THE NTC AND COG AND THAT SMALL WORKING GROUP OF CITIES TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND PER COST, PER MODE OF TRANSPORTATION, WHAT THINGS ARE COSTING US.
AND WE CAN BETTER BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THE PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED.
BUT WE SHOULD BE DOING BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. BUT MY BIGGEST FOCUS AS THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD IS TO TRY TO STOP THESE ELECTIONS AND WORK WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES THOSE THAT ARE CONTEMPLATING IT, BUT ALSO, AGAIN, THOSE LIKE DALLAS THAT AREN'T CONTEMPLATING AND ENSURE THAT WHATEVER WE AGREEMENTS WE COME TO OR WITH THOSE 4 OR 5 POSSIBLE CITIES DOESN'T HURT OR HARM THE CITIES THAT ARE NOT TAKING UP THOSE ELECTIONS AGAINST US RIGHT NOW AS WELL.
SO OTHER THAN IRVING IN PLANO, WHICH I KNOW HAVE SUBMITTED PROPOSALS FOR DART'S CONSIDERATION, HAVE THE OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE APPROVED WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS PROVIDED ANY GUIDANCE AS TO WHAT WOULD CAUSE THEM TO CANCEL THEIR ELECTIONS
[01:15:07]
AND STAY IN DART? FORMALLY, NO. OKAY. AND I ASSUME THAT YOU'RE HAVING ONGOING DISCUSSIONS WITH AT LEAST PLANO AND IRVING ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE RAISED WITH SERVICE AND THE TERMS UNDER WHICH THEY WOULD AGREE TO STAY AND CANCEL THEIR ELECTIONS.ARE THOSE BEING HELD ON ANY KIND OF REGULAR SCHEDULED BASIS OR JUST WHEN THE INITIATIVE STRIKES? AS OF RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NO INTERVAL OF OF MEETINGS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE AGAIN RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THOSE THINGS WORK.
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL COST? WHAT WOULD BE THE OPERATIONAL IMPACT OF THEM ON THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
AND SO WE'RE NOT THEY'RE AT A POINT, I THINK, WHERE WE CAN START HAVING WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY MEAN AND HOPING THAT THEY'VE DONE SOME INVESTIGATORY WORK ON THEIR END THAT COULD HELP SPEED UP THAT PROCESS ON OUR END TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE.
SO DO YOU BELIEVE THAT A BUFFET STYLE OF SERVICE, AS PLANO IS REQUESTING, IS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR MEMBER CITIES? IF IT WERE APPROVED BY DART FOR PLANO, WOULD IT HAVE TO BE APPROVED FOR OTHER CITIES AS WELL? SO RIGHT NOW WE ACTUALLY HAVE A POLICY THAT DOESN'T ALLOW US TO PROVIDE A 3.07, A RAIL OPTION, A LA CARTE TYPE OF SERVICE. SO WE WOULD FIRST HAVE TO CHANGE THAT POLICY.
AND SO AGAIN, THESE ARE SOME OF THE DECISIONS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO CONTEMPLATE WHETHER THAT'S POLICY A RAIL OPTION ONLY SYSTEM DOESN'T EVEN WORK IN THE SENSE OF FTA GUIDELINES FOR PARATRANSIT. NOW THEY'VE COME BACK AND SAID THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO NEGOTIATE ON THE PARATRANSIT PART OF IT, BUT THAT WASN'T A PART OF THE THE CONTEMPLATION OF THE ORIGINAL OFFER.
RIGHT. AND SO YOU KNOW, THERE THERE ARE A LOT OF FEDERAL GUIDELINES.
THERE'S CHAPTER 452. WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE WE'RE HELD AND BOUND TO.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT'S GREAT THAT WE HAVE A STARTING POINT.
WELL, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY THE CONSENSUS OF THE COMMITTEE THAT WE WISH YOU SUCCESS IN YOUR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THOSE CITIES THAT ARE CHOOSING TO HOLD WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS, BECAUSE I THINK WE'D ALL LIKE TO SEE DART REMAIN WHOLE AND WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS. IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT THIS COMMITTEE OR INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN DO TO ASSIST YOU IN THAT EFFORT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL UPON US. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU ALL.
AT THIS POINT, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM DART BOARD MEMBERS OF YOUR STAFF? OKAY. MISS MENDELSOHN, YOU INDICATED THAT YOU HAD A QUESTION ABOUT STREETCAR.
I NOTICED THAT THE LAST PAGE OF THE APPENDIX IN ITEM A DEALS WITH STREETCAR COORDINATION.
IF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT THAT SUBJECT, FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM NOW, WE DO HAVE ITEM C COMING UP ON THE AGENDA, WHICH HAS TO DO WITH STREETCAR PLANNING PROJECTS.
SO IF IT RELATES TO THAT SUBJECT, PLEASE HOLD THOSE QUESTIONS UNTIL ITEM C IS CALLED.
MY SUBJECT IS ABOUT D2 AND STREETCAR. ALL RIGHT.
PROCEED. THANK YOU. SO THE EXPLANATION, FRANKLY, IS UNACCEPTABLE.
AND SO THE FACT THAT YOU USED CAPACITY THAT WAS AVAILABLE, INTENDED FOR D2 FOR OTHER RAIL LINES DOES NOT MITIGATE YOUR OBLIGATION FOR D2. AND D2 WAS PROMISED TO THE CITY OF DALLAS IN EXCHANGE FOR ACCEPTING THE COTTON BELT SILVER LINE. AND THAT'S JUST A FACT.
MY COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS TRACKED THIS PROJECT SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN WHEN THE ABANDONED LINE WAS PURCHASED, THIS WAS THE CONCESSION, WAS THAT D2 WOULD HAPPEN.
[01:20:09]
IN FAR NORTH DALLAS, WHICH ISN'T EVEN SHOWN ON SOME OF YOUR RIDERSHIP MAPS.AND WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT TRANSIT NEEDS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
AND SO WHILE THE RIDERSHIP GOALS FOR THE TRAIN WERE NEVER MET TO TRIGGER D2, SO IT SPECIFIES WHAT WAS REQUIRED, WE'RE NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO IT.
I MEAN, IT'S GOT TO BE FRACTIONAL, LIKE LESS THAN 25%.
I THINK THERE STILL SHOULD BE THIS COMMITMENT THAT WELL, WE PROMISE YOU THIS CAPITAL PROJECT, JUST AS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ADDISON AND THEIR THREATS FOR NOT GETTING THE SILVER LINE.
WELL, DALLAS WAS PROMISED THIS PROJECT. YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD COMMENTS THAT PERHAPS OUR PRIOR CITY MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION MAY HAVE AGREED TO SOMETHING, THE ORDINANCE THE RESOLUTION DID NOT SAY GO BACK AND TALK TO OUR CITY MANAGER. IT SAID BRING IT TO COUNCIL. AND WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT WE HAVE A VERY STRONG PRIORITY AND IDEA ABOUT HOW THE TINY STREETCAR THAT COSTS US OVER $2 MILLION A YEAR TO OPERATE NEEDS TO CONNECT TO THE MATA TROLLEY SO THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING THAT WORKS.
AND WHETHER IT'S THAT OR SOMETHING ELSE, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY WE ARE OWED THAT PROJECT.
AND SO THIS, THIS EXPLANATION THAT, WELL, WE SPENT IT UPDATING OUR OTHER RAIL LINES.
I'M JUST GOING TO SAY FOR ME THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE.
THANK YOU. I'LL JUST COMMENT THAT, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THAT HOW THAT PROJECT PLAYED OUT WAS BEFORE I EVEN JOINED THE BOARD, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WHICH WAS FEBRUARY OF 24.
I'M NOT I'M NOT QUITE SURE ON THE DETAILS OF WHERE THE MONEY THAT WAS PROMISED.
I KNOW THERE WERE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WERE APPROPRIATED TO IT.
OBVIOUSLY NO ONE GOT ANY, NO ONE RECEIVED ANY OF THOSE DOLLARS.
HOW MUCH OF DALLAS GOT THAT? I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW.
WELL, I ENCOURAGE YOU. I AGREE, YOU KNOW, DEE SITTING THERE, I THINK YOU WERE THE THIRD, MAYBE FOURTH PERSON INVOLVED IN THE SILVER LINE PROJECT JUST SINCE I WAS INVOLVED. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TURNOVER AND LEADERSHIP CHANGES.
AND SO PERHAPS SOME OF THE STORY AND HISTORY IS MISSING.
IT'S ALL DOCUMENTED. THESE THESE WERE OPEN DEBATES THERE ON ON THIS CITY'S WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN WATCH RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE LOGGED IN. THESE ARE JUST A FACT. AND SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO BACK.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT ISN'T GOING TO BE DECIDED TODAY.
PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE SET ASIDE A LITTLE BIT GIVEN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE VOTER PROPOSITIONS.
RIGHT. I MEAN, YOU COULD BE LOOKING AT SOMETHING RADICALLY DIFFERENT FOR DART.
SURE. SO IT'S PROBABLY NOT A BIG DISCUSSION POINT TODAY.
BUT WHAT I COULDN'T DO IS SAY NOTHING GIVEN WHAT WAS WRITTEN IN THERE.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO THAT POINT, I'LL ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU TALK ABOUT ALL THE NEW BUSSES AND LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO PURCHASE, AND I HOPE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DEFER THAT. ALSO WAITING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH THESE ELECTIONS.
BUT THIS CONVERSATION SHOULD NOT STOP BECAUSE IT VERY CLEARLY SAYS IN THE RESOLUTION TWO RESOLUTIONS, ONE WAY BEFORE ANY OF US WERE HERE, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS WERE TO GET THE D2 PROJECT, WE DON'T MEET THEM.
BUT THE SECOND ONE WAS ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT THAT PROJECT WILL BE AND WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE.
[01:25:08]
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.WE FEEL THAT IT IS A MEANS OF INCREASING RIDERSHIP FOR THE EXISTING CITY OF DALLAS STREETCAR SYSTEM, AS WELL AS MATA, AND A GREAT CONVENIENCE IN CONNECTING THOSE TWO SYSTEMS FOR RIDERS, IN PARTICULARLY THE CORE OF DALLAS.
AND SO PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND.
AT THIS POINT, IT IS NOW 2:30 P.M. AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE.
LET'S SEE. WELL, WE HAVE TWO MEMOS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA.
AND ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABOUT THAT MEMO ITEM B? I HAVE A QUESTION. COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN.
I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE WOULD BE PAYING THEM TO CLOSE A STOP.
WELL, THAT'S A VALID QUESTION. ROSA, CAN YOU ANSWER THAT? GOOD AFTERNOON. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. ROSA FLEMING, DIRECTOR OF CONVENTION AND EVENT SERVICES.
AND AS WE DISCUSSED AT THE COUNCIL MEETING ON NOVEMBER 12TH, THE CLOSURE OF THE STATION WAS SOMETHING THAT WE CONTEMPLATED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MASTER PLAN PROJECT, AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH DART TO LESSEN THE IMPACT OF THAT CLOSURE.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR IN WHAT WE BROUGHT TO COUNCIL IS ONE, A LIMITED GO LINK SERVICE THAT WILL FUNCTION FOR AN INITIAL PERIOD OF 18 MONTHS.
WE'RE COVERING THE FIFA PERIOD. RIGHT. AND THEN THE OTHER COSTS ARE RELATED TO THE COCOONING OF THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH THAT WE DON'T CAUSE DAMAGE TO THAT AS WE DO CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION AROUND THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE AND ABOVE THEM.
AND THEN THERE ARE COSTS RELATED TO WORKING AND COORDINATING WITH THEM AS WE WORK THROUGH DEMOLITION PLANS AND AS WE WORK THROUGH CONSTRUCTION PLANS SO THAT THEIR STAFF CAN REVIEW THOSE IN COLLABORATION WITH US SO THAT THERE'S NO PERMANENT DAMAGE AGAIN, TO THEIR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE. AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'LL BRING BACK A CONSTRUCTION COMPONENT THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT INTEGRATION OF THE STATION AND CONTINUITY OF THEIR OPERATIONS. SO AGAIN PERHAPS I SEE THE CFO IS STILL HERE.
IF WE WERE ASKING FOR A NEW STATION TO BE BUILT, DART WOULD SAY, WOW, WE HAVE EXPENSES WITH THAT.
WE HAVE TO HAVE SECURITY. WE HAVE TO HAVE MAINTENANCE.
WE HAVE TO EMPTY OUT THE TRASH CAN, CHANGE THE LIGHT BULBS.
WE'VE GOT TO DO ALL THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING A STATION.
SO IF WE'RE GETTING RID OF A STATION, THEY SHOULD HAVE REDUCED COSTS.
WHO SAID THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A GO LINK? THE STATION IN DEEP ELLUM IS STILL OPEN.
WHY WOULD WE NEED TO HAVE A GO LINK? WHY IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT'S BEEN? HI. DEE LEGGETT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER SO I THINK THERE WERE MULTIPLE QUESTIONS ASKED.
SO I'LL START WITH THE, THE LATTER OF, OF THE TWO, WHILE, YES, THERE WILL BE PORTIONS OF THE CONVENTION CENTER THAT WILL BE CLOSED DURING CONSTRUCTION, NOT EVERYTHING IN THE AREA WILL BE CLOSED DURING CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT OUR RIDERS STILL NEED TO BE SERVED BY THAT TRIP.
SO THAT'S WHY WE LOOKED AT AND WORKED WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS ON THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO MAKE SURE THERE IS AN APPROPRIATE TRANSIT CONNECTION BETWEEN UNION STATION AND CEDARS FOR THOSE RIDERS THAT STILL NEED TO GET TO THIS AREA.
[01:30:07]
THERE ARE COSTS THAT THIS PROJECT IS PUTTING ON DART RELATED TO THIS STATION BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A DART PROJECT, WE'RE ASKING THAT THE CITY COVER THOSE COSTS.THERE IS NOT A SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL SAVINGS FROM US CLOSING THIS STATION.
THERE ARE STILL ASSETS IN THAT STATION THAT HAVE TO BE OPERATED AND MAINTAINED.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CONTRACTOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL HAVE ASSET ACCESS TO THAT.
SO THERE'S NOT AN OPERATIONAL SAVINGS. AND IF THERE WERE AND SUCH IN SOME OF OUR OPERATING COSTS ON THE BUS SIDE, WE'VE ALREADY NEGOTIATED THAT INTO THE COST. AND WHAT IS THE RIDERSHIP FOR THAT STATION? THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE FORECASTED FOR THE PERIOD OF FIFA.
SO THE WEEKDAY DAILY RIDERSHIP IS 700 AT THE CONVENTION CENTER RIGHT NOW? YES. SO IF I WENT AND SPENT THE DAY AT THE CONVENTION CENTER AT THE STATION, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO COUNT 700 PEOPLE IN A DAY GETTING OFF THAT STATION. YES. OKAY. I DO THINK WE SHOULD PAY YOU FOR THE COCOONING OF THE TRAIN TO GO THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION. I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT.
BUT EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEANT, ROSA, ABOUT PAYING THE STAFF TO REVIEW PAYING THE DART STAFF TO REVIEW OUR PLANS? ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE PAYING A PORTION OF THEIR STAFF COSTS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO COORDINATE WITH THEM, AS WE HAVE BEEN DOING WEEKLY, AS WE GO THROUGH OUR DESIGNS FOR DEMOLITION AND FOR CONSTRUCTION AROUND THEIR STATION SUCH THAT WE DON'T CAUSE ANY DAMAGE. AND DID DART PAY THE CITY OF DALLAS TO REVIEW PLANS WHEN THEY HAVE BUILT THINGS IN OUR AREA? SO IF I, IF I COULD IF I COULD CLARIFY ROSA'S STATEMENT.
SO DART IS HIRING CONSULTANTS TO HELP EXPEDITE DESIGN REVIEW.
WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE CITY IS ON A TIGHT TIMELINE.
WE, STAFF DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PRIORITIZE THESE DESIGN REVIEWS.
WE ALSO HAVE THE TXDOT PROJECT HAPPENING IN THIS AREA AT THE SAME TIME.
SO WE HAVE HIRED A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT TO EXPEDITE REVIEWS.
THIS IS PAYING FOR THE TIME ASSOCIATED WITH A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT.
I WOULD SUBMIT THAT WE DO NOT NEED A GO LINK AND SHOULD NOT BE SPENDING THIS MUCH MONEY ON THIS.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON AGENDA ITEM B? SEEING NONE, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT AGENDA ITEM C WHICH IS THE STREETCAR PLANNING PROJECTS UPDATE.
IT IS NOW 2:37 P.M. AND I ADJOURN THE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE AT 2:37 P.M..
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE TODAY.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.