PAUL RIDLEY: IT IS NOW 01:10 PM ON OCTOBER 19, [Call to Order] [00:00:07] AND I AM CONVENING THE OCTOBER MEETING OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE. OUR FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS APPROVAL [MINUTES] OF THE MINUTES FOR THE SEPTEMBER 14 TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE MEETING. IS THERE A MOTION? BILL ROTH: I SECOND. PAUL RIDLEY: ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE? ALL: AYE. PAUL RIDLEY: ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. NEXT ITEM, WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE ORDER [BRIEFING ITEMS/ ACTION ITEMS] TO TAKE ITEM B FIRST THE TXDOT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT UPDATES AND I-345 UPDATE. WELCOME CEASON CLEMENS. CEASON CLEMENS: GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR. GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS. HAPPY TO BE HERE. WE PROVIDED A MEMO ON TXDOT PROJECTS TO COUNCIL. I'LL BRIEFLY GO OVER THEM AND THEN BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THE FIRST PROJECT IS OUR LBJ EAST PROJECT. WE RECENTLY HAD A RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY WHERE WE OPENED THE MANAGED LANES LAST MONTH. VERY APPRECIATIVE OF COUNCILWOMAN BLACKMON BEING THERE, AS WELL AS COUNCILWOMAN STEWART. BUT THAT PROJECT IS ESSENTIALLY COMPLETE. WE'RE JUST WORKING ON PUNCH LIST ITEMS THROUGH THE END OF NOVEMBER. OUR I-30 CANYON PROJECT IS PROGRESSING. AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'RE REBUILDING INTERSTATE 30 JUST SOUTH OF THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. WE'RE ABOUT 10% COMPLETE. THAT PROJECT WILL CONTINUE TO GO INTO 2031. THE BIG NEWS IS THIS WEEKEND, WE DO HAVE A FULL CLOSURE OF INTERSTATE 30 THAT WILL START 10:00 PM SATURDAY NIGHT AND GO UNTIL MONDAY AT 5:00 AM. THE REASON WE NEED TO DO THAT IS WE NEED TO DEMOLISH BRIDGES THAT GO OVER THE INTERSTATE. AND SO WE'VE CHALLENGED OUR CONTRACTOR AND WE WILL BE TAKING DOWN THREE BRIDGES THIS WEEKEND IN THAT SATURDAY NIGHT, SUNDAY CLOSURE. THE LAST PROJECT I'LL BRIEF ON THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION IS OUR KLYDE WARREN PARK PHASE II. WE RECEIVED BIDS IN JUNE. WORK IS JUST NOW STARTING ON THAT. SO YOU SHOULD START SEEING ACTIVITY AROUND THE PARK HERE VERY SOON. AGAIN, THAT IS TO EXTEND KLYDE WARREN PARK. AS FAR AS INTERSTATE-345, WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES. REALLY JUST LOOKING AT DOING UTILITY WORK AND DOING SOME GEOTECH INVESTIGATIONS. THE GOOD NEWS IS, AS YOU ALL KNOW, TXDOT HAS A 10-YEAR FUNDING PLAN. WE CALL IT THE UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM. THAT'S NOT GUARANTEED FUNDS, BUT THAT ALLOWS US TO PLAN WHAT WE THINK WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS. OUR TXDOT COMMISSION UPDATES THAT ONCE A YEAR IN AUGUST, AND THIS YEAR, THE FUNDING WAS INCREASED BY $315 MILLION. AND SO TO DATE, THERE ARE $910 MILLION PROGRAMMED TO INTERSTATE-345. THE TOTAL PROJECT CONSTRUCTION COST IS $1.65 BILLION. SO WE STILL NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BUT THAT IS PRETTY TYPICAL. TO FIND $1.65 BILLION IS NOT TYPICAL IN JUST ONE YEAR, AND SO IT WILL TAKE MULTIPLE UTP CYCLES, IF YOU WILL, TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE THAT FUNDING. BUT WE ARE STILL CONTINUING THAT PRE-CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES. AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. PAUL RIDLEY: THANK YOU, CEASON. ANY QUESTIONS? VICE CHAIR ROTH? BILL ROTH: JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE KLYDE WARREN PARK PHASE II, THE $94 MILLION, THAT'S DEALING WITH THE TXDOT PORTION OF THE CONFIGURATION OF THE EXTENSION OF THE PARK. CEASON CLEMENS: THAT IS CORRECT. SO WE ESSENTIALLY BUILD THE STRUCTURE, AND THEN THE PARK FOUNDATION WILL COME IN WITH A SEPARATE CONTRACTOR TO BUILD EVERYTHING ON TOP. BILL ROTH: OK. AND DOES THE CITY HAVE ANY OTHER-- DOES THE CITY HAVE ANY OTHER OBLIGATIONS OTHER THAN, AS FAR AS YOU'RE NOT-- I KNOW YOU'RE REPRESENTING TXDOT, BUT-- CEASON CLEMENS: FOR THE TXDOT PROJECT, WE HAVE ALL THE FUNDING THAT THE CITY WAS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE TO US. AND SO AT THIS TIME, NO. IF CONSTRUCTION COSTS WERE TO GO UP THROUGH CHANGE ORDERS, WE COULD POTENTIALLY BE COMING TO THE CITY. BUT RIGHT NOW, EVERYTHING, IT'S JUST STARTING. BUT NOTHING RIGHT NOW. BILL ROTH: GREAT. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: ANYONE ON THIS SIDE? YES, COUNCILMEMBER BLAIR? LORIE BLAIR: EXCUSE ME. CAN YOU TELL ME WHICH ON/OFF, WHICH BRIDGES ARE YOU GETTING READY TO DEMOLISH ON I-30 NOW? CEASON CLEMENS: SO I'LL HAVE TO GET THE LIST FROM OUR AREA ENGINEER, BUT LAMAR BRIDGE IS ONE OF THEM. AND THEN I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THE OTHER TWO THAT WE'RE DEMOLISHING. LORIE BLAIR: AND WHEN ARE YOU DEMOLISHING THESE BRIDGES? CEASON CLEMENS: THAT'LL BE WITH THAT CLOSURE THAT STARTS 10:00 PM SATURDAY NIGHT. THE INTERSTATE WILL BE CLOSED ALL DAY SUNDAY, AND WE WILL HAVE TRAFFIC OPEN BY 5:00 AM MONDAY. LORIE BLAIR: SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO REROUTE THIS TRAFFIC-- ALL THIS TRAFFIC? TRAFFIC IS ALREADY IMPEDED BY THE DEMOLITIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED. ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THIS IS DOING IS CUTTING THE WHOLE SOUTHERN SECTOR, THE SOUTHEAST SECTOR OF THE CITY OFF [00:05:01] FROM ANYWHERE ELSE GOING NORTH. CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO US, HAS THERE BEEN COMMUNICATION TO THE RESIDENTS THAT UTILIZE THESE SERVICES ARE EVEN COMING FROM EAST TO WEST ON I-30, THAT YOU'RE IMPEDING THE ABILITY TO COMMUTE WHILE YOU'RE DOING THIS WORK? CEASON CLEMENS: SO WE PUT OUT A PRESS RELEASE FOR THIS WEEKEND'S CLOSURE LAST WEEK, AND THE REROUTING WILL DETOUR FOLKS UP TO WOODALL, RODGERS, AND BACK AROUND. THE REASON WHY WE CHOOSE OVER THE WEEKEND IS WE'RE TRYING NOT TO IMPACT THE WEEKDAY COMMUTE. AND SO THIS IS THE LEAST IMPACTFUL. SUNDAY IS TYPICALLY THE LOWEST VOLUME DAY OUT OF ALL SEVEN DAYS. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING THIS CLOSURE AT THAT TIME. LORIE BLAIR: IS THERE A REASON WHY ALL THE BRIDGES ON I-30 MUST BE DEMOLISHED AT ONE TIME? CEASON CLEMENS: WE'RE NOT DEMOLISHING ALL OF THEM. WE'VE GOT BRIDGES THAT ARE OPEN TO TRAFFIC. WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY WHILE WE WERE DEVELOPING THE PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WERE ADEQUATE DETOUR ROUTES FOR THE CITY STREETS THAT GO ACROSS, AND SO THAT WAS WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH STAFF AS WE DEVELOPED THE PLANS. LORIE BLAIR: HAVE YOU SEEN THE TRAFFIC THAT'S TRYING TO GET FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH, WITH THE CLOSURES THAT ALREADY HAVE OCCURRED, ESPECIALLY ON THE WEEKENDS? IT DOESN'T MATTER-- WEEKENDS, ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE, THE TRAFFIC AND HOW THAT TRAFFIC HAS BEEN IMPEDED BY THE DEMOLITION ON I-30? CEASON CLEMENS: YES, WE DRIVE IT EVERY SINGLE DAY AND WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO MINIMIZE THAT IMPACT. BUT WE ARE BUILDING $800 MILLION WORTH OF WORK. AND SO WE'VE GOT TO FIND A WAY TO TRY TO KEEP TRAFFIC FLOWING THE BEST THAT WE CAN WHILE WE RECONSTRUCT INTERSTATE-30. LORIE BLAIR: WELL, THE RESIDENTS ON THE SOUTHERN SECTOR FIND THIS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS TO REPRESENT THE SOUTHERN AREA OF THE CITY, THESE DEMOLITION OF ALL OF THESE BRIDGES THAT IMPEDE TRAFFIC FROM THE SOUTH-- I UNDERSTAND PROGRESS AND YOU GUYS WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS. I UNDERSTAND WE WANT TO DO THINGS THAT MAKE THINGS BETTER, BUT THE ROUTING AND THE DUMPING OF TRAFFIC ONTO THE RESIDENTIAL STREETS, WHILE THE RESIDENTIAL STREETS ARE-- WHILE THE STREETS ARE ALSO BEING IMPACTED BY THE CITY'S OWN INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES, IS TOTALLY IMPEDING THE ABILITY FOR ANYONE COMING SOUTH, WHETHER IT'S THE CITY OF DALLAS OR MUNICIPALITIES SOUTH OF US, WHERE TXDOT IS ESSENTIALLY IMPEDING ANY KIND OF TRAFFIC TO GET FROM THE SOUTH TO THE NORTH AND BACK. I FIND THIS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. CEASON CLEMENS: SO OUR DETOUR FOR THIS WEEKEND'S CLOSURE IS ALL ON THE STATE SYSTEM. SO IT RUNS UP 35. IT RUNS TO WOODALL. AND SO OUR INTENT IS NOT TO DETOUR ONTO CITY STREETS OR NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS. THE SIGNED DETOUR WILL BE ON THE STATE SYSTEM. LORIE BLAIR: EVEN WHEN YOU'RE GOING FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH, TRYING TO GET FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH, IT HAS INCREASED OUR TRAVEL TIME EXPONENTIALLY BECAUSE OF THESE CLOSURES. IS THERE ANY TYPE-- IS THERE ANY POSSIBILITY THAT NO MORE BRIDGES ARE DEMOLISHED UNTIL WE GET A BETTER WAY TO GET TRAFFIC FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AND SOUTH TO NORTH? CEASON CLEMENS: SO IN ORDER TO ADD LANES ON INTERSTATE-30, WE'VE GOT TO TAKE DOWN THE CITY STREET BRIDGES ABOVE IT, BECAUSE THE NEW ROADWAY WILL GO WHERE THE SUPPORTS OF THOSE EXISTING BRIDGES EXIST TODAY. AND SO IN ORDER TO INCREASE CAPACITY UNDERNEATH, WE'VE GOT TO GET THE OLD BRIDGES OUT SO THAT WE CAN BUILD THAT NEW PAVEMENT. LORIE BLAIR: SO IS IT POSSIBLE THEN, IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY, THAT THERE'S A METHODOLOGY THAT SHORTENS THE TIMELINE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT ANYONE WHO'S TRYING TO TRAVEL ON I-30 AND IN TRANSVERSE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, EAST AND WEST? CEASON CLEMENS: THAT'S OUR INTENT. WE'VE GOT TO KEEP THE CONTRACTOR GOING SO THAT WE CAN GET EVERYTHING DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE TAKING DOWN THREE BRIDGES THIS WEEKEND, IS BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO OPEN UP WORK UNDERNEATH FOR THEM. BUT WE ARE KEEPING ALL ROUTES OPEN. IT'S JUST WE'VE REDUCED CAPACITY. THE BIGGEST IMPACT SO FAR IS IF YOU'RE HEADED NORTHBOUND TO EASTBOUND-30, THAT WENT FROM TWO LANES TO ONE LANE. BUT THAT ROUTE IS STILL AVAILABLE AND IT'S STILL MOVING. OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO OPEN THAT UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT WE'VE GOT TO GET THESE OLD BRIDGES OUT OF THE WAY. LORIE BLAIR: IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT A TIMELINE CAN BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITIES AND THE RESIDENTS THAT WILL TELL THEM WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THIS IS GOING TO BE DONE, AND A PATHWAY TO COMPLETION? CEASON CLEMENS: WE CAN WORK ON A TIMELINE. IT WILL BE VERY HIGH-LEVEL. THINGS CHANGE THROUGHOUT CONSTRUCTION. AND SO REALLY THAT IMPACT IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR OVER SEVERAL YEARS. LORIE BLAIR: CHAIR, CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE DO [00:10:03] GET THIS TIMELINE, AND THE TIMELINE IS DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, THAT TXDOT GETS THIS SENT OUT TO EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: THANK YOU, MS. BLAIR. MR. GRACEY? ZARIN GRACEY: I SECOND. PAUL RIDLEY: NO? WELL, IS DR. KHANKARLI HERE? I SAW HIM EARLIER. COUNCIL MEMBER: CHAIR, LET ME RESPOND TO THAT. WE'LL WORK WITH TXDOT TO CONTINUE TO GET INFORMATION. AS CEASON MENTIONED, THEY HAVE BEEN PROVIDING US WITH INFORMATION ABOUT CLOSURES. WE SENT A MEMO OUT ON FRIDAY ABOUT THE CLOSURE THAT SHE SPOKE OF AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. I THINK WE'VE PROVIDED SOME OTHER EXHIBITS WITH THE CLOSURE SCHEDULE, BUT OF COURSE, THINGS ARE CHANGING AND WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THIS WITH TXDOT TO MINIMIZE THE CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS TO MOBILITY BUT ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF ALTERNATIVE ROUTES. AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK AND YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT MAYBE PROVIDING MORE AND MORE OFTEN. CEASON CLEMENS: THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILWOMAN BLACKMON? NO? COUNCILWOMAN? ANYBODY ELSE? NO. I JUST HAD A QUESTION MYSELF. CEASON, HOW MANY MORE COMPLETE SHUTDOWNS OF I-30 DO YOU ANTICIPATE DURING THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION? WILL THIS BE THE LAST, OR DO YOU ANTICIPATE MORE? CEASON CLEMENS: NO, WE HAVE MORE COMING. SO ANYTIME WE'RE WORKING BELOW THE LANES-- SO BRIDGE DEMOLITION WILL BE ONE. WHEN WE HANG THE BEAMS FOR THE NEW BRIDGES, WE'VE GOT TO CLOSE IT DOWN COMPLETELY. OUR GOAL IS TO DO MOST OF THE WORK AT NIGHT, BUT THE BRIDGE DEMOLITION DOES TAKE A LONGER PERIOD. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. BUT WE CAN FOLLOW UP WHEN WE PROVIDE THE SCHEDULE, THE HIGH-LEVEL SCHEDULE. WE'LL TRY TO PROVIDE HOW MANY FULL CLOSURES WE EXPECT OVER WEEKENDS GOING FORWARD. PAUL RIDLEY: GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE. CEASON CLEMENS: THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: OUR NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS WILL GO BACK TO ITEM A, THE QUARTERLY DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT UPDATE. RANDALL BRYANT: GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR RIDLEY. MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, MY NAME IS RANDALL BRYANT. I AM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD FOR DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT, ALSO JOINED WITH BY OUR INTERIM PRESIDENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MR. DAVID LEININGER. THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST TIME SEEING HIM IN THIS CAPACITY, AT LEAST, AS WE ARE TRANSITIONING, OBVIOUSLY, TO OUR NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO. BUT I DEFINITELY WANT TO IN FRONT OF THIS BODY AS WELL AS WE'VE BEEN DOING RECENTLY, THANK DAVID FOR HIS SUPPORT OVER THE PAST FIVE OR SO MONTHS. WE ARE PROVIDING YOU WITH OUR QUARTERLY UPDATE, AS WE'VE DONE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. I WILL ALSO JUST ADD THAT DALLAS IS SETTING THE BAR NOW FOR OTHER CITIES TO BEGIN A REGULAR CADENCE. SOME WILL BE QUARTERLY, SOME WILL BE BIANNUALLY, SOME WILL BE ANNUALLY. BUT THIS IS A PART OF INCREASED COMMUNICATION THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES. AND DALLAS HAS TAKEN A LEAD, AND WE ARE USING YOU ALL AS THE EXAMPLE AND THE MODEL FOR GOING FORWARD. IN ADDITION TO MYSELF AND DAVID, WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY ADDITIONAL DART BOARD MEMBERS. MY SECRETARY CARMEN GARCIA, PAST CHAIR MICHELLE KRAUSE, BOARD MEMBERS ENRIQUE MACGREGOR, MORRIS WEST, AND MAUREEN MILLIGAN, AS WELL AS BOARD MEMBER AND PAST BOARD CHAIR GARY SCHLEGEL, AND GARLAND BOARD MEMBER JEFF BASS. FOR TODAY, WE WILL BE COVERING, AS PART OF OUR STANDARD, UPDATES, SOME THINGS, AS WELL AS SOME SPECIFIC THINGS WITHIN THIS PREVIOUS QUARTER, FUNDING AND GOVERNANCE UPDATE, THE SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP FOR THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. THE MODERNIZATION PLANS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR QUITE SOME TIME, SOME SECURITY INITIATIVES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN-- THAT HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, AND THEN AN UPDATE ON OUR TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. FOR GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING, OBVIOUSLY, COMING INTO THE CHAIR'S ROLE IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR, SO IT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR NOW THAT I'VE COME BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE TO BE SPEAKING ABOUT THESE IN PARTICULAR. IF YOU GO BACK IN TIME, A PERIOD THAT WE DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT A LOT NOW THAT WE'VE ALL COME THROUGH IT. BUT WHEN WE WERE IN THE MIDST OF THE WITHDRAWAL ELECTION PROCESS, THE THREE PILLARS THAT WE CONTINUOUSLY AND CONSISTENTLY [00:15:02] TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS WHAT WE COULD SOLVE FOR WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF DART AND OUR MEMBER CITY MODEL WAS GOVERNANCE, FUNDING, AND SERVICE. AND MY PERSONAL OPINION, WE AS AN AGENCY AND NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU AS A CITY NEVER FULLY SOLVE FOR SERVICE. SERVICE IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONTINUOUSLY TRYING TO MAKE BETTER AND UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS OF TRAFFIC PATTERNS AND DENSITY PATTERNS, AND HOW THEY SHIFT WITHIN THE CITY. SO THAT'S NEVER A DONE DEAL, BUT IT IS OF MY OPINION THAT WE HAVE MADE A GREAT STRIDE IN THE GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING SECTIONS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ON FUNDING SPECIFICALLY, AS YOU ALL HAVE APPROVED, AND YOU SHOULD BE WELL AWARE OF THE REALLOCATION OF SALES TAXES BACK TO OUR DART CITIES. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE UNIVERSITY PARK AND ADDISON. PART OF THE STIPULATION FOR THIS FUNDING AGREEMENT WAS THAT IF YOU HAD CALLED FOR AN ELECTION, THAT YOU MUST HAVE PULLED IT BACK DOWN. AND SO OBVIOUSLY ADDISON AND UNIVERSITY PARK, AND AT THE TIME, HIGHLAND PARK MOVED FORWARD WITH THEIR ELECTIONS. THEREFORE, THEY WERE DISQUALIFIED FROM THIS PROGRAM. BUT ESSENTIALLY, IT WILL TAKE LAST FISCAL YEAR 5%, SCALING UP 1% YEAR-OVER-YEAR THROUGH 2031. TO REALLOCATE IT WOULD GET TO A TOTAL OF 10% BACK TO THE CITIES THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN IT. IT IS THROUGH A MATCH OF $75 MILLION FROM THE RTC. THIS WILL NOW-- THIS 400 MILLION-PLUS, ABOUT 450 MILLION THAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE WITH DART, WILL REALLOCATE NEARLY $850 MILLION BACK TO OUR SERVICE CITIES. AND THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT, I THINK, IN MY OPINION, WHEN THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF DART OR WHEN THE QUESTION OF FROM DART OR TO DART IS, WHAT IS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR CITIES. IT'S NOT JUST DELIVERING CORE SERVICES FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE AROUND THE CITY, BUT WE'RE ALSO IMPROVING OR INVESTING INTO THE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND THE DELIVERY FOR OUR CITIES AS WELL. AND SO THE GMP, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY THE PROJECT, THE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE EMBARKING UPON FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WILL BE AN ESTIMATED $211 MILLION BACK FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS, SPECIFICALLY. WE JUST MADE OUR FIRST QUARTER PAYMENT. IT WAS 21.2 MILLION ON OCTOBER THE 1. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO I COVERED A LOT OF THIS ALREADY. BUT ESSENTIALLY, THE GMP OR THE GENERAL MOBILITY PROGRAM IS OUR FOURTH MODEL IN ADDITION TO THE LAP PROGRAM AND THE TRIP PROGRAM. CITY OF DALLAS DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE TRIP PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE PTI FUNDS, WHICH WAS THE EXCESS DART COVID FUNDS THAT WE SHARED BACK WITH OUR CITIES AS WELL. ULTIMATELY, I'VE MADE THIS VERY CLEAR. AT DART, WE ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR CITIES AND WORK WITH OUR LEGISLATURE TO FIND ULTIMATELY, A NEW FUNDING MODEL, NOT JUST FOR DART, BUT FOR THE OTHER TWO REGIONAL PARTNERS IN TRANSIT THAT WE HAVE HERE IN NORTH TEXAS, BUT ALSO THE ADDITIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITIES ACROSS THE STATE, AND THAT WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF BEING A PENNY-VALUED ORGANIZATION. WE ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OUR CITIES AND THE CAP RATES THAT YOU ALL ARE IMPOSED UPON. I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US FOR THAT REASON, BUT FOR ALSO ON THE OTHER SIDE OF HOW WE GROW THE SYSTEM TO BRING IN NEW CITIES. THERE IS NOT ANY CITY ADJACENT TO DART THAT HAS A PENNY THAT HAS NOT BEEN PLEDGED TO A REFERENDUM. THERE ARE MANY CITIES, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT, AND I'VE BEEN VERY VOCAL ABOUT HOW WE DELIVER SERVICES TO OTHER CITIES AND EXPAND THE SERVICE AREA. BUT EVEN IF THERE WAS A COUNCIL THAT WAS WILLING TO DO IT, THEY WOULD HAVE TO UNDO THE VOTE THAT THEY TOOK IN THE 1990S WHERE THEY PLEDGED PART OR ALL OF THEIR SECOND PENNY TO 4(A), 4(B). SO FOR THE SAKE OF TRYING TO RELIEVE THE BURDEN FOR THE CURRENT CITIES WITHIN DART AND TO ALSO REDUCE THE BARRIER FOR ENTRY FOR NEW CITIES, 25% IS WHAT I THINK MOST OF US HAVE AGREED UPON WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO. BE VERY CLEAR-- THAT 25%, THOUGH, NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BY SOME OTHER FORM OF REVENUE, EITHER DIRECT FEES OR SOME OTHER SOURCE OF REVENUE OR DIRECT FUNDING FROM THE STATE. IT IS NOT THE WILL OF DART TO REDUCE OUR CONTRIBUTIONS OR REDUCE THE SHARE OF CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CITIES WITHOUT THE REPLACEMENT OF THOSE REVENUES. AND SO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT SLIDE, [00:20:01] AND WE CAN PROBABLY GO THROUGH CAN PASS THE NEXT ONE AS WELL AND GO TO GOVERNANCE. WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, AS FAR AS WHAT WE PLAN TO ADVANCE WITH THE STATE LEGISLATURE, IS A GOVERNANCE BILL-ONLY, NUMBER ONE, TO GIVE US BACK THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS AND SPIRITS THAT CREATED DART BACK IN THE 1980S. WE ALL KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING AGAINST SOME OF OUR CITIES OVER THE PAST THREE SESSIONS, AND AGAINST BILLS THAT WERE FILED. WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY OF THOSE BILLS TO BE FILED FROM THE GOVERNANCE OR THE FUNDING SIDE THAT ARE NOT IN LINE OR IN SUPPORT OF WHERE DART IS CURRENTLY. AND SO THE GOVERNANCE ITSELF, THANKS TO THIS COMMITTEE FOR ITS SUPPORT ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO. BUT AT THIS POINT, THE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK THAT DART AND ALL CITIES, EXCEPT FOR UNIVERSITY PARK, HAVE AGREED TO AND ARE WORKING THROUGH THEIR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA PROCESS TO APPROVE IS THAT THE BOARD CURRENTLY, WHICH IS 15 MEMBERS, WOULD EXPAND TO 21 UNDER A NEW GOVERNANCE MODEL THAT'S BUILT UPON POPULATIONS NOT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT IT IS NOW, JUST DIFFERENT PARAMETERS. THE CITY OF DALLAS WOULD, IN THAT SCENARIO, OR THAT MODEL WOULD MOVE FROM EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAD CURRENTLY FULLY APPOINTS OR JOINTLY APPOINTS ONE OF THE EIGHT TO SEVEN MEMBERS ONLY THAT REPRESENT 45%. CURRENTLY, WE HAVE EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS. ONE OF THEM IS JOINTLY APPOINTED WITH THE CITY OF COCKRELL HILL. WE DO HAVE THE MAJORITY VOTE OF IT. THEORETICALLY, WE HAVE EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS THAT REPRESENT EIGHT OF THE 15-- I THINK IT'S 52%. SOMEONE CAN CHECK THE MATH ON THAT. GOING FORWARD, IT WOULD BE SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS THAT REPRESENT 45%. EVERY CITY REMAINING, THEREFORE, WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE BOARD MEMBER FOR CITIES LIKE ROWLETT OR GLENN HEIGHTS OR COCKRELL HILL, WHERE THEY HAVE TO SHARE ALL OF THEIR SEAT, ALL OF THEIR ONE SEAT WITH SOMEONE ELSE, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO APPOINT ONE PERSON DIRECTLY. FOR THE CITIES OF GARLAND, IRVING, AND PLANO, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO APPOINT TWO INDIVIDUALS. ALL BOARD MEMBERS WOULD THEN HAVE SOME VARYING AMOUNT OF VOTE SHARE TO THE ENTIRE BOARD. THIS WAS OUTLINING WHAT THE CITY OF DALLAS HAS DONE, AND AS FAR AS APPROVING IT THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE AND IN THE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AS WELL. GOING BACK TO THE FUNDING, IF I HAD A CRYSTAL BALL ON A GO FORWARD BASIS, IT WOULD BE MY ASSUMPTION THAT THE GOVERNANCE BILL WOULD-- IT'S ALREADY BEEN FILED. IT'S IN LEDGE COUNCIL RIGHT NOW FOR REVIEW. IT SHOULD BE A PART OF THE PRE-FILING PROCESS THAT IT'S MY ASSUMPTION THAT THE BILL WOULD BE APPROVED AND VOTED OUT OF BOTH CHAMBERS AND SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR, WHICH GIVES US A NEW FOUNDATION TO WORK ON FUNDING AND THEN OF COURSE CONTINUOUSLY ON SERVICE. AND SO IT WOULD BE MY HOPE AND INTENTION THAT THE SECOND AND THIRD LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS BE USED FOR DEVELOPING AND APPROVING THAT NEW FUNDING FRAMEWORK THAT I WAS SPEAKING TO EARLIER AND THAT'S THE ENTIRE MODEL OF THE GMP THAT IT GIVES US SIX YEARS WHERE NO ADDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL ELECTIONS COULD BE CALLED UNDER STATE LAW, AS WELL AS TWO ADDITIONAL SESSIONS TO WORK FOR DEVELOPING A NEW FUNDING MODEL FOR DART AS WELL. AND SO THAT'S THE HOPE OVER THE NEXT TOTAL FIVE YEARS. NEXT SESSION. I'M SORRY, NEXT SLIDE. AND I THINK DAVID WILL TAKE OVER FROM HERE. DAVID LEININGER: MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, DAVID LEININGER, INTERIM. PAUL RIDLEY: COULD YOU PULL THE MICROPHONE CLOSER TO YOU? DAVID LEININGER: OK. DOES THIS HELP? PAUL RIDLEY: YES. DAVID LEININGER: OK. THANK YOU. EXCUSE ME. SO, AS THE CHAIR, MR. BRYANT SAID, OUR CHAIR, I'LL BE IN THIS POSITION FOR FIVE MORE DAYS, AND THEN THAT BOARD WILL BE ARRIVING, ASSUMING THE RESPONSIBILITIES ON MONDAY. A COUPLE COMMENTS ON SERVICE AND RIDERSHIP BEFORE I STEP INTO THE SLIDES. THE BOARD APPROVED IN SEPTEMBER THE FY27 BUDGET AND FINANCIAL PLAN ABOUT 800 MILLION ON THE OPERATING BUDGET, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 800 MILLION ON CAPITAL, AND THEN 225 ON DEBT SERVICE. THOSE ARE THE THREE ITEMS THAT THEY HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO FINALIZE EVERY YEAR. AND THAT IS THEY APPROVE BOTH THE BUDGET ANNUAL BUDGET, BUT THEY ALSO APPROVED THE 20-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN ON THAT SAME MEETING IN SEPTEMBER. THE SERVICE PROGRAM THAT IS INCLUDED IN FY27 IS EXACTLY THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN FY26, WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT THERE WERE [00:25:04] A COUPLE OF THINGS APPROVED IN '26 TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN '27, NOTABLY IN THE PLANO AREA AND ONE OVER IN ADDISON. BUT ESSENTIALLY, IT'S THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR IN TERMS OF A SERVICE PLAN, AS THE AGENCY AND THE OTHER 12 ARE WORKING, 11 ARE WORKING THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES THAT RANDALL TALKED ABOUT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS IS JUST A BRIEF REMINDER. OF COURSE, YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE A NUMBER OF TIMES ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE SYSTEM, WHICH IS CONSIDERABLE. OF COURSE, WE'RE NOW, WE HAVE BOTH OF OUR COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEM IN PLACE, WITH THE SILVER LINE HAVING OPENED UP THIS LAST YEAR, AND THIS MONTH, ACTUALLY, AND THE 80 BUS ROUTES, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT 7,000 STOPS. I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND A LITTLE BIT LATER, THE MICRO TRANSIT ZONES AND THEN PARA-TRANSIT. I WOULD JUST MENTION THAT WITH THE EXTENSION NOW OF THE SILVER LINED INTO DFW AIRPORT, THAT REPRESENTS THREE TRANSIT SERVICES TERMINATING AT DFW. THAT'S THE ONLY AIRPORT IN THE COUNTRY WHERE THAT ACTUALLY IS THE CASE. NEXT SLIDE. I BELIEVE YOU'VE SEEN SOME OF THIS INFORMATION BEFORE, BUT IT'S NOTEWORTHY AND NOTABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE FIFA SUCCESS. ZERO INCIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE FIFA PERIOD OF TIME WAS NOTABLE. THE CHIEF IS GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE LESSONS LEARNED COMING OUT OF THAT, AND HOW THAT'S BEING APPLIED TO A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT THAT HE'LL SPEAK TO A LITTLE BIT LATER. RIDERSHIP IN TERMS OF COMPARISON TO SAME PERIOD IS UP 36%, PARTICULARLY IN TRA. TRA WAS THE MAIN VEHICLE TO GET PEOPLE OVER CLOSE TO THE STADIUM. THERE WAS A BUS BRIDGE THAT WAS FUNDED THROUGH THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT'S CRTC THAT WOULD THEN CONNECT DOWN TO THE STADIUM ITSELF. ALL THAT WORKED OUT WELL. GREEN LINE RIDERSHIP, YOU CAN SEE, WAS UP 27%. ORANGE LINE, CENTER POINT, ALIGHTINGS AT 32,000. OUR HIGHEST DAY WAS A LITTLE BIT OVER 12,000. AND WE WERE AVERAGING 8,000 TO 11,000 THROUGH THAT PERIOD OF TIME. IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP ON LIGHT RAIL, OUR HIGHEST DAY ACTUALLY WAS NOT A FIFA MATCH THAT WAS HERE IN DALLAS, BUT RATHER THE MATCH IN MEXICO CITY. AND WE HAD 22,000 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE OVER AT STATE FAIR ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY. AND AS IT POINTS OUT HERE, WEST IRVING AND CENTER POINT WERE THE BUSIEST STATIONS. A LOT OF OUR RIDERS BECAME PRETTY CLEVER, AND THEY IDENTIFIED WEST IRVING AS AN ACTUALLY A GOOD OPTION AS OPPOSED TO TAKING OTHER OPTIONS. AND SO WE HAD A LOT MORE ACTIVITY AT WEST IRVING THAN WE HAD ACTUALLY ANTICIPATED. WE ACTUALLY HAD SOME WHO TOOK THE SILVER LINE OVER TO THE AIRPORT AND CAUGHT THE BUS DOWN TO CENTER PORT THAT WAY AS WELL. SO A LOT OF WAYS TO GET THERE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. A COUPLE OF THINGS NOTABLE ABOUT THIS SLIDE. WE HAD A SERVICE CHANGE IN FEBRUARY OF 2026 THAT ACTUALLY REPRESENTED A REDUCTION IN SOME OF OUR SERVICES. AND SO AS A CONSEQUENCE, RIDERSHIP IS DOWN COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS, LARGELY BECAUSE OF THAT PARTICULAR INCIDENT. I CAN TELL YOU MORE RECENTLY, WHEN I GO PAST THE FIFA EVENT AND TALK ABOUT STATE FAIR, ON TEXAS OU, WE LOOKED AT THE BENCHMARK THAT AGAINST LAST YEAR. WE'RE WITHIN ABOUT 3,000 RIDERS IN THE 110,000 AREA RANGE ON THE LIGHT RAIL AND THEN BUS AN ADDITIONAL 6,000. SO IT WAS ROUGHLY ABOUT THE SAME AS LAST YEAR. SO DESPITE HAVING A REDUCTION IN SERVICE AND CONNECTION TIMES, WE ACTUALLY OVERCAME THAT. AND THAT WAS A COMMENDABLE EFFORT ON EVERYONE'S PART. I DO WANT TO COMMEND THE STAFF BOTH ON THE FIFA PLANNING AND ALSO ON STATE FAIR. THEY DID AN EXCELLENT JOB. VERY FEW INCIDENTS OF ANY KIND THROUGHOUT THAT PERIOD OF TIME. I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE STAFF FOR THE FACT THEY JUST KEPT THEIR HEADS DOWN AND CONTINUED TO WORK ON WHAT WAS REQUIRED. NEXT SLIDE. YOU CAN SEE THAT RIDERSHIP, THE NOTEWORTHY POINT HERE IS THAT DALLAS RIDERSHIP IS 74% OF THE SYSTEM RIDERSHIP. AND THERE'S SOME OTHER DATA HERE THAT CONFIRMS THAT INSIDE DALLAS, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING INSIDE DALLAS. AND OUTSIDE OF DALLAS, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM OUTSIDE DALLAS OR IRVING 0.0, GARLAND, ET [00:30:02] CETERA TO A DESTINATION IN DALLAS. I WOULD POINT OUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME-- I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME SERVICE RIDE AND SERVICE DATA THAT WE'RE MAKING AVAILABLE MORE GRANULAR BASIS. THE ONE AREA THAT DID IN TERMS OF MODE THAT DID INCREASE OVER THIS LAST YEAR IS THE GOLINK RIDERSHIP. IT SAW GROWTH OF 7.6%. AND THAT'S AS YOU KNOW, ARE ON-DEMAND SERVICE AREA. AND THAT IS THE AREA IS GROWING. AND IT'S THE AREA WHERE COVERAGE IS LIMITED IN LIGHT RAIL AND MORE PARTICULARLY ON BUS. AND THIS BECOMES THE OPTION FOR THEM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ON THE BUS ROUTES, OF COURSE, BUS CONTINUES TO BE THE DOMINANT MODE OF RIDERSHIP FOR THE SYSTEM. AND THEN ESPECIALLY IN DALLAS WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF BUS SERVICES ARE, YOU CAN SEE THE FIVE TOP BUS ROUTES. AND I JUST NOTE THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE RIDERS PER HOUR, 19.4, 20, 20, 15, 15-- THOSE ARE VERY GOOD NUMBERS ON A RIDERSHIP PER HOUR BASIS. WHEN YOU GET INTO THE 8, 7 RANGE, THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF BUS BECOMES MORE OF A PROBLEM. BUT AT THESE LEVELS, THESE ARE COMMENDABLE ROUTES AND COMMENDABLE PERFORMANCE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THESE ARE THE LIGHT RAIL STATIONS. AND YOU CAN SEE THE TOP LIGHT RAIL STATIONS AVERAGE WEEKDAY BOARDINGS. AND NOT SURPRISINGLY IN WEST END AND PEARL, BECAUSE OF COURSE, WE HAVE FOUR LINES THAT ARE ALL CONVERGING IN DOWNTOWN. AND THEN PARKER ROAD OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN, OF COURSE, IS AN END OF THE LINE STATION, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE AREAS WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF COMMUTING GOING IN, AND TWO LINES, RED AND ORANGE THAT ARE SERVING THAT AREA. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND THESE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE AREAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE CBD, PARKLAND, AND THE MOCKINGBIRD, BACHMAN, VICTORY, AND WESTMORELAND. YOU CAN SEE, AGAIN, WESTMORELAND BEING AN INTERLINE STATION. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WESTMORELAND IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TOD INITIATIVE AND THE RFP THAT'S OUT IN THAT CURRENTLY. PARKLAND, AGAIN, NOT A REAL SURPRISE. THAT'S A MAJOR DESTINATION FOR A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS, BOTH ON BUS AND RAIL. MOCKINGBIRD, OF COURSE, IS THE SAME. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT MOCKINGBIRD AGAIN BECAUSE THE CONSTRUCTION IS GOING ON THERE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE SILVER LINE RIDERSHIP CONTINUES TO INCREASE AS WE GO FORWARD. THE HIGHEST RIDERSHIP ON A DAY WAS ACTUALLY IN TEXAS. SO YOU GOT UP TO 2,900. AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE NOW THE EFFECT OF IT AS IT SPEAKS TO SPECIAL EVENTS AND EVENTS LIKE THE CARROLLTON EVENTS AND THE ADDISON EVENTS AND SO FORTH. AND THEN, OF COURSE, PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS AN OBVIOUS AND CONVENIENT CONNECTION TO THE AIRPORT. THERE'S A LOT OF ADDITIONAL WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATING ITS AVAILABILITY AND AWARENESS AMONG THE OBVIOUS SERVICE AREA UP THERE. THAT WILL BE A BIG FOCUS THIS NEXT YEAR. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE GOLINK ZONES ARE DESIGNATED. HERE ARE OUR TOP GOLINK ZONES. AGAIN, WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 29, THE MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE IN THE DALLAS AREA. BUT YOU CAN SEE INLAND PORT, SOUTH DALLAS, AND YOU CAN SEE THESE RIDERS PER HOUR. WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. BUT GOLINK, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT PRETTY CAREFULLY IN TERMS OF SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS WE NEED TO DO IN RESPONSE TO THE FACT THAT THERE'S A CHANGING SET OF INTERESTS ABOUT HOW TO USE GOLINK ON-DEMAND SERVICES AND HOW TO INTEGRATE THEM INTO LIGHT RAIL, AND ALSO HOW TO INTEGRATE THEM INTO SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS. EACH OF THE SUBURBAN AREAS, IN TALKING TO THEM, HAVE COME UP WITH DIFFERENT AREAS AND DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY WANT TO USE THE ON-DEMAND SERVICES. IRVING'S GOT A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE URBAN CENTER OVER THERE. PLANO HAS GOT A FOCUS ON LEGACY, AND WHAT THEY CALL SENIOR RIDES PROGRAM. ADDISON HAS A DIFFERENT INTEREST THAT THEY HAVE RELATIVE TO MOVING PASSENGERS AND RIDERS OVER FROM THEIR HOTEL AREA, OVER TO THE RETAIL SIDE AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TOLL ROAD. AND THAT GOES ON AND ON. CARROLLTON HAS ITS OWN SET OF UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS AS WELL. SO NOW, SOME FLEXIBILITY, SOME ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY HAS TO BE INTEGRATED THERE. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. [00:35:02] AGAIN, PARATRANSIT. AND I REMIND EVERYONE ANYTIME I HAVE A PRESENTATION THAT PARATRANSIT IN THE DART SYSTEM EXTENDS THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM, IS NOT LIMITED TO JUST THE 3/4 MILE ON EITHER SIDE OF A FIXED ROUTE SERVICE AREA. YOU CAN SEE THE CONCENTRATION WHERE THE HIGHEST MAJORITY PARATRANSIT DROP-OFFS IS. IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT RIDERSHIP CATEGORY. IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST TRANSIT-DEPENDENT AND MOST IN NEED OF SPECIAL SERVICE. AND IT'S GOING TO ALWAYS, I WOULD HOPE, WOULD BE A HIGHEST, IF NOT THE HIGH PRIORITY OF DART. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE MATRICES, THIS PARTICULAR CHART IS INTENDED TO TRY TO SUMMARIZE SOME OF THE INFORMATION COMING OUT OF THE ON-BOARD TRANSIT SURVEY THAT THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT CONDUCTS, THE MOST RECENT ONE BEING 2023. AND IT GETS INTO BOARDINGS AND DESTINATIONS AND JOURNEYS AND THAT SORT OF THING. AND YOU CAN SEE BY THIS THAT WHAT THIS IS POINTING OUT IS THAT 68% OF PEOPLE WHO BOARD IN DALLAS ARE GOING TO SOME OTHER DESTINATION IN DALLAS. IF YOU LOOK AT FARMERS BRANCH, 71% OF THE PEOPLE ARE BOARDING IN FARMERS BRANCH ARE GOING TO DALLAS, GARLAND 68%, ET CETERA. SO THIS GIVES YOU A GOOD INDICATION OF WHERE PEOPLE ARE RIDING, WHAT THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION IS. AGAIN, DALLAS IS THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION. AND OF COURSE, THERE'S A LOT OF DOUBT. SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PARKLAND, TALKING ABOUT BAYLOR, DOWNTOWN, A VARIETY OF THE EMPLOYMENT DISTRICTS. SO THERE'S A LOT OF DESTINATIONS THAT COULD ADDRESS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS REALLY GETS INTO SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS, AGAIN, DRAWN FROM THAT SAME INFORMATION ABOUT HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND A VARIETY OF STATISTICS ABOUT AGE AND SO FORTH. IT'S INFORMATION THAT IS POINT IN TIME. SO IF YOU DID THIS SAME SURVEY NOW, THERE WOULD BE SOME ABOUT THIS THAT WOULD CHANGE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS INTERESTING TO ME IS THAT 51% HAVE NO VEHICLE IN THE HOUSEHOLD. IF YOU LOOK AT THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF VEHICLES PER HOUSEHOLD IN THE COUNTY, IT'S ACTUALLY ALMOST 0.8, MEANING THAT THERE'S NOT-- THIS MAKES SENSE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE WITHOUT A VEHICLE IN THE HOUSE WOULD BE YOUR HIGHEST RIDERSHIP. BUT AS A RISING NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE VEHICLES IN THE HOUSEHOLD, THAT MEANS THAT MORE AND MORE OF THOSE ARE DISCRETIONARY RIDERS, NOT TRANSIT-DEPENDENT RIDERS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED, AND I MET WITH ALL THE CITIES OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST FEW MONTHS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY ALL ASKED ME TO DO MORE OF IS PRODUCE RIDERSHIP DATA THAT WAS SPECIFIC TO THEIR OWN CITY. SO DALLAS BEING THAT AMONG THEM. MORE GRANULAR, MORE ABOUT INFORMATION THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THAT CITY, AND ALL MODES, NOT ONLY ON-DEMAND BUT ALL MODES. AND SO WE'VE BY AUGUST, WE STOOD UP DASHBOARDS FOR EACH CITY, SEPARATE AND INDIVIDUAL BY ALL MODES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS GIVES YOU A TASTE OF IT, SO TO SPEAK. YOU CAN GO INTO ALL CITIES. YOU CAN GO INTO YOUR CITY, AND YOU CAN LOOK AT THE PERFORMANCE OF ALL MODES FOR ON RIDERSHIP. AND THEN YOU CAN AS I SAY, YOU CAN COMBINE IT IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS. WE HAVE ONE OTHER ONE THAT'S BY LIGHT RAIL RIDERSHIP EXCLUSIVELY, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE THAT IS ACTUALLY BROKEN OUT BY ON-DEMAND. THAT ONE IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE ON AN OVERNIGHT BASIS. AND WE'RE WORKING WITH EACH CITY TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE INSIDE OF EACH CITY TO ACCESS THIS INFORMATION CONVENIENTLY. THE ALL MODES RIDERSHIP AND THE LIGHT RAIL RIDERSHIP IS EASILY ACCESSED BY ANYONE IN THE PUBLIC, SO STAFF AND RIDERS ALIKE. IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED TO GET TO THE DAILY DASHBOARD. BUT EVERY CITY ASKS FOR THIS INFORMATION. EVERY CITY WANTED THEIR OWN. WITH DALLAS, WE HAVE TO TAKE THIS ONE MORE STEP AND BREAK THIS INTO SUB-ZONES. HAVING A TOTAL DALLAS INFORMATION IS HELPFUL, BUT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE AREAS IN THE CITY WHERE SERVICE IS BEING MADE AVAILABLE, WE REALLY NEED TO BREAK IT DOWN. [00:40:02] AND IT'S GOING TO BE EITHER FIVE OR SIX ZONES. WE'VE HAD ONE CONVERSATION WITH DEB ABOUT THIS, AND WE'LL HAVE MORE AS WE THINK THROUGH THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT COULD BE PRESENTED. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. HERE WE GO. SYSTEM MODERNIZATION. I THINK YOU'VE BEEN BRIEFED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS ABOUT DART TRANSFORM, WHICH IS, AS IT SAYS, A 10-YEAR SYSTEM MODERNIZATION PROGRAM THAT COVERS A VARIETY OF THINGS-- VEHICLES, SIGNAL SYSTEM, STATIONS, OPERATING FACILITIES. A COMMENT ON VEHICLES-- THERE'S A TOTAL OF 140 IN THE FLEET CURRENTLY. THE SOLICITATION WILL BE TO REPLACE 120. WE HAVE MORE THAN THE OVERALL REQUIREMENT IS GOING FORWARD. THAT SOLICITATION, THE RFP IS OUT. CURRENTLY, WE'VE EXTENDED IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS TO GIVE NET FORD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE SOLICITATION PRIOR TO ACCEPTING PROPOSALS. WE ALSO LOST RECENTLY, TRAY WALKER, WHO, IF YOU RECALL, WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF THE CAPITAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM, WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THIS AND ALSO WAS THE INTERIM EVP FOR DEVELOPMENT. SO WE WANTED TO GIVE EVERYBODY A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO REVIEW EVERYTHING THOROUGHLY BEFORE WE OPEN IT UP AND BEFORE EVERYONE SUBMITTED THEIR SUBMISSIONS. SO THAT WILL BE FEBRUARY 26, WHEN THOSE WILL BE OPEN, AND THAT WILL BE FOR THE FIRST 53 OR SO. IT WILL BE PHASED. THE SIGNAL SYSTEM REALLY IS TO BRING EVERYTHING UP TO THE SAME STANDARD, AND THAT'S OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND SIGNALING THROUGHOUT THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM. WE HAVE VARIOUS VINTAGES. THEY'RE GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE '70S. SO THAT ALL HAS TO BE BROUGHT UP TO A STANDARD SET OF CHARTS. THESE TWO ITEMS TOTAL ALMOST A BILLION 8, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE OF HOW MUCH THEY ARE. ANOTHER THING PROBABLY BE USEFUL IS TO NOTE IS THAT WE'VE INVESTED $7.5 BILLION IN OUR RAIL SYSTEM TO DATE. AND SO THIS IS OVER AND ABOVE THAT IN TERMS OF FUTURE INVESTMENTS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS BIG IN SCALE SMALLER INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS. THE MODERN BUS SHELTERS, ONE OF WHICH IS PICTURED HERE, IS A PROGRAM THAT'S ONGOING. THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 4,290 BUS STOPS IN THE CITY OF DALLAS. 909 CURRENTLY HAVE A SHELTER, 470 HAVE A BENCH. ALL OF THESE ULTIMATELY WILL BE REPLACED WITH NEW SHELTERS AND NEW BENCHES. THE STATUS OF THE SHELTERS IS CALLED THE NEXT-GEN SHELTER. 65 TOTAL HAVE BEEN INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM, 37 IN DALLAS. THERE'S A NEW ADA ACCESSIBLE CONCRETE AMENITY PAD 103, 23 HAVE BEEN BUILT IN DALLAS SINCE '24. 48 NEW ONES ARE IN PRE-CONSTRUCTION. OUR GOAL IS TO MOVE TO 7 TO 10 SHELTERS PER WEEK ONCE THE SHIPMENTS ARRIVE, AND CONTINUE UNTIL WE COMPLETE. THE NEW SHELTERS PROVIDE 30% MORE PROTECTION FROM THE ELEMENTS. THEY HAVE RELIABLE LED LIGHTING, REFLECTIVE ROOF MATERIALS, DIGITAL REAL-TIME ARRIVAL INFORMATION. SO PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL. TO REPEAT, ALL CURRENT SHELTERS, TRASH CANS, AND STEEL BENCHES WILL BE REPLACED WITH ALL REPLACEMENTS IN PLACE BY THE END OF 2030. IN ADDITION, OF COURSE, TO THE LIGHT RAIL FLEET, WE ALSO ARE REPLACING OUR BUS FLEET. NOW IT IS NEARLY COMPLETE BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR. WE HAVE 276 BUSES THAT HAVE BEEN RECEIVED, 269 ARE IN SERVICE, SEVEN IN MECH-READY, 200 MORE BUSES TO ARRIVE BETWEEN NOW AND THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR, 476 BUSES IN TOTAL. SO YOU SEE MORE AND MORE OF THEM EVERY DAY, REALLY EVERY WEEK THAT ARE ROLLING OUT IN THE SYSTEM. AND THAT IS MOVING VERY NICELY. I WOULD COMMENT AS A SAFETY AND SECURITY ELEMENT TO THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE BOARD HAD ASKED AND DIRECTED IS THAT WE NOT WRAP THESE BUSES, THE NEW BUSES ABOVE THE LOWER END OF THE WINDOW SO THAT THE RAP DOES NOT CONCEAL THE WINDOW. THE WRAPS THAT ARE ON THESE BUSES ACTUALLY GO UP, EITHER UP TO ABOVE THE WINDOW, OR ACTUALLY ALL THE WAY AROUND THE BUS. THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE DONE GOING FORWARD. AND WE'VE MODIFIED OUR ADVERTISING PROGRAM [00:45:03] AND ADJUSTED IT. THAT'S A DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENT OF $2.5 TO $3 MILLION IN REVENUE. BUT IT SEEMED THAT THIS SAFETY AND SECURITY IS A SIGNIFICANT IMPORTANCE, THAT THAT DECISION WAS A DECISION THAT THE BOARD REALLY IMPRESSED UPON US TO IMPLEMENT. I WOULD MENTION ONE OTHER THING BECAUSE IT'S CURRENTLY IN CONSTRUCTION. THE CITY PLACE ELEVATORS OR ESCALATORS ARE JUST ABOUT COMPLETELY REPLACED. AND NOW WE ARE ALSO FINISHING OUT THE REFRESH OF THE ENTIRE PLATFORM. IT WILL BE MUCH BRIGHTER. LIGHTING IS BEING CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY, SO IT WILL BE MUCH LIGHTER. IN ADDITION TO THE PAINT AND FLOORING, WHICH WILL BE MUCH LIGHTER. AND THAT WILL BE THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION LOCATION FOR GATING. SO THERE WILL BE GATES THAT WILL BE INSTALLED AT THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION. AND WE HAVE SOME PICTURES OF WHAT THAT LOOK LIKE. DO I HAVE THEM? WE WERE JUST BRIEFED THIS SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE THAT THE CHAIRMAN HAS PUT UP. SO I UNFORTUNATELY WASN'T ABLE TO GET THAT INTO THE SLIDE DECK, BUT IT'S AVAILABLE. WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE ALL THAT. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND I WOULD INVITE CHIEF CATO TO JOIN ME UP HERE. AND BEFORE WE GET INTO THIS DISCUSSION, SOME OF THE DETAIL, RANDALL, MR. CHAIR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SAFETY AND SECURITY OVERALL INITIATIVE? RANDALL BRYANT: THANK YOU, DAVID. AND I THINK WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW AS AN AGENCY WITH THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR CITIES, FROM OUR RIDERS, FROM OUR EMPLOYEES, AND NOT JUST WHERE THINGS ARE WITH DART, BUT FROM A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE, IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ONLY CONCERNED, BUT ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE SOLUTION TO ENHANCING AND INCREASING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THOSE THAT COME IN CONTACT WITH OUR SYSTEM EACH AND EVERY DAY. IT IS A PRIORITY OF MYSELF PERSONALLY. IT IS A PRIORITY OF THIS BOARD AS WELL, TO COME UP WITH COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS, TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE DOWN THE RATES OF CRIMES THAT WE ARE SEEING, BUT ALSO INCREASE THE PERCEPTION OF THE AGENCY. AND SO ABOUT A MONTH AGO OR SO, I PUT TOGETHER A COMMITTEE OF BOARD MEMBERS TO BEGIN INTENSIVELY LOOKING AT SIX ESSENTIALLY GOALS. THE FIRST ONE WOULD BE TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION TO CLOSE OUR SYSTEM. OBVIOUSLY, DART HAS BEEN VERY PRIDEFUL IN UP UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO, HAVING THE LARGEST LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. IT'S 66 STATIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE LINES. AND SO THERE OBVIOUSLY IS A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT WOULD GO INTO WHAT THAT ACTUALLY WOULD LOOK LIKE. BUT I HAVE TASKED THE COMMITTEE CHAIR, RICK GRADY FROM PLANO, IS CHAIRING THAT COMMITTEE AND IS IN LOCKSTEP WITH US. DAVID HAS BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE OF GETTING THE TEAM TOGETHER INTERNALLY AS WELL AS CHIEF CATO, TO NOT ONLY ADVANCE WHAT THIS COULD LOOK LIKE. AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO HAVE A DETERMINATION BY JUNE OF NEXT YEAR BROUGHT BACK TO THE BOARD, WHEREBY IF THERE IS ANY FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT NEED TO BE IMPACTED FOR OUR NEXT FISCAL YEAR BUDGET OR OUR 20-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN, WE HAVE AMPLE TIME TO DO THAT. SO THERE ARE NUMEROUS KIND OF THINGS HAPPENING ALL AT ONCE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IS IN DECEMBER, DECEMBER THE 13TH THROUGH THE 17TH, WE ARE INVITING ALL CITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN A DELEGATION TRIP WITH US TO THE CITIES OF ST. LOUIS AND SEATTLE. ST. LOUIS HAS RECENTLY CONVERTED TO A FULLY-CLOSED SYSTEM. SEATTLE IS LOOKING AT DOING IT RIGHT NOW. AGAIN, WHERE WE ARE AT DART IS NOT UNIQUE TO THE SERIOUS CONCERNS THAT MANY OTHER CITIES AND MANY OTHER TRANSIT AUTHORITIES THAT ONCE HAD THIS OPEN CONCEPT SYSTEM PLATFORMS TO ALLOW A MORE GATED AND CONTROLLED PLATFORM. AND SO YOU WILL START TO SEE, EVEN BEFORE WE EVEN GET TO THAT POINT, OF A TRULY CONTROLLED SYSTEM, OR EVEN TO THE JUNE DEADLINE FOR THIS COMMITTEE, YOU WILL BEGIN TO SEE CHANGES WITHIN HOW WE BOARD AND CHECK FARES HERE AT DARDEN. I THINK, CHIEF CATO, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, [00:50:02] WILL BEGIN TO DISCUSS THAT. CHARLIE CATO: CHARLIE CATO, CHIEF OF POLICE FOR DALLAS RAPID TRANSIT. CHAIR RIDLEY AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE. WE HAVE A MULTIFACETED SECURITY STRATEGY OF DIFFERENT RESOURCES WE EMPLOYED. SINCE 2023, WE'VE EMPLOYED 100 TRANSIT SECURITY OFFICERS. THOSE ARE ARMED UNIFORMED SECURITY OFFICERS. IT'S AN ADDITIONAL CONTRACT INTO OUR NORMAL SECURITY CONTRACT WHERE WE HAVE AT OUR FACILITIES. SO TWO SEPARATE COMPANIES DOING THOSE JOBS. SO WE HAVE A PRESENCE ON OUR PLATFORMS AND IN OUR FACILITIES AND ON OUR TRAINS. WE ALSO SUPPLEMENT THAT WITH OUR FARE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, OUR UNIFORMED OFFICERS. THEY'RE NOT SWORN-PEACE OFFICERS. THEY CHECK FARES AND THEY CAN ISSUE CITATIONS, MUCH LIKE A PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IN THE CITY OR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER HERE. AND WE ALSO HAVE IMPLEMENTED CLEANING CREWS TO MAKE THE SYSTEM CLEAN, ATTRACTIVE, AND SAFE AND RELIABLE. SO THE TSOS WE'VE ADDED IN THE BUDGET, 25 ADDITIONAL TRANSIT SECURITY OFFICERS FOR THE 2027 BUDGET. WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESPONSE TEAM, OR MDR. IT WAS MODELED AFTER YOUR RIGHT CARE TEAM HERE IN DALLAS. IN FACT, YOUR LIEUTENANT OVER THE RIGHT CARE TEAM HELPED US SELECT THOSE PERSONNEL AND SET THAT UP. SO CHIEF COMO AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE OF US THIS YEAR. WE CONTRACT WITH PARKLAND TO PROVIDE FOR LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS TO PAIR UP WITH FOUR OF OUR OFFICERS, TO GO ACROSS OUR SYSTEM AND ENGAGE WITH THOSE FOLKS WHO MAY BE IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS OR SOME SORT OF MENTAL HEALTH STATE. SO PROACTIVELY, HOPEFULLY, BEFORE THEY REACH A MOMENT OF CRISIS. THE REASON WE DID THIS WAS BECAUSE WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE IN 2022, THE NUMBER ONE ARREST CATEGORY WE HAD EVERY MONTH WAS EMERGENCY DETENTION, WHICH MEANS SOMEBODY WAS IN SUCH A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS THAT WAS COMING RIGHT OUT OF THE PANDEMIC. THEY WERE IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS WHERE THEY PRESENTED AS A DANGER TO THEMSELVES OR TO OTHER PEOPLE. AND NOW THAT ARREST CATEGORY IS NUMBER FOUR. SO IT'S GONE DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. WE'VE SEEN TREMENDOUS PROGRESS THERE. IT WAS A PILOT PROGRAM. WE JUST MOVED IT TO FULL MULTI-YEAR FUNDING AGREEMENT FOR 2027. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO ALSO WE'VE UPGRADED OUR CAMERA SYSTEM. WE HAVE A NEW VIDEO MANAGEMENT SYSTEM VENDOR, GENETEC. AND THEY'RE UPDATING OUR CAMERAS ACROSS OUR NETWORK. WE HAVE 7,700 CAMERAS OR SO ACROSS OUR SYSTEM. AND SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING ALL THOSE UP WITH ANALYTIC CAPABILITIES SO WE CAN GATHER DATA FROM THOSE CAMERAS. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE CAMERA MONITORS IN OUR DISPATCH CENTER, BUS, RAIL AND POLICE. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO HUMANLY MANAGE THAT NUMBER OF CAMERAS, SO THE ANALYTICS ARE GOING TO BE IMPORTANT TO HELP IDENTIFY CRISIS SITUATIONS OR AREAS WHERE WE COULD DEPLOY OFFICERS. WE ALSO HAVE EMPLOYED DDACTS, DATA-DRIVEN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIME AND TRAFFIC SAFETY. SO OUR OFFICERS ARE DEPLOYED EVERY DAY. EVERY 15 DAYS, WE LOOK AT THE STATISTICS AND WE DETERMINE WHERE THE NUMBER OF CALLS ARE COMING OUT. THE STATIONS WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CALLS, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CRIMES, HIGHEST NUMBER OF INCIDENTS. WE ADJUST OUR DEPLOYMENTS EVERY 15 DAYS BASED ON THAT NUMBER. AND THAT ALSO INCLUDES BUS ROUTES, BUS STOPS OR TRAIN STATIONS. AS WE FOUND THAT A RAIL IS WHERE WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OUR RESOURCES ALLOCATED. A BUS STATION, A TRAIN STATIONS, AND TRAIN PLATFORMS ACCOUNT FOR OVER HALF OF OUR REPORTED CRIMES. SO THAT'S WHY WE DEPLOY THERE THE MOST. WE ALSO ARE EXPLORING DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE OUR SECURITY WITH CONTROLLED ACCESS. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. WE BRIEFED THIS SEPTEMBER 8 AND IN OCTOBER 13. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. ONE MORE. ONE MORE SLIDE, PLEASE. SO OPERATION ACCESS IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT. WE'VE IDENTIFIED FIVE STATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AND THE TWO STATIONS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, WANT TO USE A COMBINATION OF BARRICADES. WE LEARNED SOME OF THESE LESSONS FROM THE FIFA. IF WHEN WE MANAGE ACCESS, WE HAVE BETTER SECURITY OUTCOMES. AND SO WE SELECTED PEARL AND WEST END STATION ON EACH END OF THE TRANSIT MALL AND DOWN IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM WITH SOME BARRICADES AND PERSONNEL, ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO CHANNEL PEOPLE TO A CENTRAL POINT WHERE WE CAN CHECK EVERYBODY'S FARE COMING INTO THE TRAIN. THE OUTLYING STATIONS WERE SELECTED FOR TWO DIFFERENT REASONS. NUMBER ONE IS THEY GIVE US ACCESS TO ALL OF OUR RAIL LINES. FOR EXAMPLE, EIGHTH IN CORINTH GIVES US ACCESS TO OUR RED AND BLUE LINES GOING SOUTH. THE MARTIN LUTHER KING STATION GIVES US ACCESS TO OUR GREEN LINE GOING SOUTH. AND THEN THE FOREST LANE GIVES US RED AND ORANGE GOING NORTH. WHITE ROCK STATION GIVES US ACCESS TO THE BLUE LINE GOING EAST. AND THEN THE BACHMAN STATION GIVES US ACCESS TO THE ORANGE LINE GOING NORTH. AND SO THIS GIVES US A SECONDARY RING OF PROTECTION. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IS WE'RE GOING TO DEPLOY TEAMS AT THOSE STATIONS [00:55:02] TO MANAGE ACCESS ON THOSE STATIONS. BUT ALSO THERE'S GOING TO BE ENFORCEMENT TEAMS OF TWO FAIR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, TRAINED SECURITY OFFICER WITH A POLICE OFFICER ON RAIL SUPPORTING THE VEHICLE, FOLLOWING THEM, GOING BETWEEN THOSE OUTLYING STATIONS AND THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT STATION TO CHECK EVERY FAIR OF EVERY CAR EVERY PERSON AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE VEHICLES. AND SO OUR GOAL IS 100% COMPLIANCE. DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE SLIPPED INTO A CULTURE OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE FAIR AND WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS CODE OF CONDUCT. SO WE WANT TO RE-ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF COMPLIANCE, KNOWING THAT FOLKS ARE GOING TO BE CHECKED, THAT THEY WILL CHECK THEIR FARES COMING IN AND THEY WILL BE CHECKED IF THEY BOARDED ON ONE OF THOSE OTHER STATIONS. WE BELIEVE WITH THIS LAYERED APPROACH, AND IT'S NOT JUST GOING TO BE BARRICADES, EVEN AT THE END OF IT, IT'S STILL GOING TO REQUIRE A COMPREHENSIVE ALLOCATION OF PERSONNEL AND OTHER RESOURCES WITH CAMERAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS A SUCCESS. PAUL RIDLEY: THAT'LL START WHEN AND HOW LONG? CHARLIE CATO: WE HOPE TO START THE SECOND WEEK OR SO OF NOVEMBER. WHEN WE GET THE BARRICADE-- WE HAVE TO HAVE THE BARRICADES. AND SO WE'RE IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR THOSE BARRICADES. BUT THE GOAL IS TO START IT IN NOVEMBER, AND IT WILL RUN FOR 90 DAYS. AND WE WILL TRACK THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM. I'M SURE MY HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS CLASS KICKS IN, AND THE NEWTON'S THIRD LAW OF MOTION SAYS FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE'S AN EQUAL OPPOSITE REACTION. SO WE WANT TO SEE WHAT DO WE CAUSE WHEN WE DO THIS? WHERE DOES IT GO? WHERE DO THE PEOPLE GO? AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING ALL THOSE EVALUATIONS, REPORTING BACK TO OUR BOARD AND TO OUR ADMINISTRATION. OK. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WE'VE HAD SOME POSITIVE SECURITY OUTCOMES SO FAR WITH THE DEPLOYMENTS I'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT WITH OUR CAMERAS, OUR ENHANCEMENTS, AND OUR DEPLOYMENTS ON THE TRAINS WITH ADDITIONAL UNIFORMED PERSONNEL. OUR CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY IS DOWN 20% FROM LAST YEAR. OUR CRIMES AGAINST-- CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS DOWN 20%, CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY IS DOWN 14.3%. THE ONLY CATEGORY THAT WE'RE UP IN IS DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES. AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE MADE A SPECIFIC EFFORT TO FOCUS ON THOSE WHO USE NARCOTICS ON THE SYSTEM, SMOKING MARIJUANA, FOR EXAMPLE. EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH PROSECUTIONS, AND SOME OF THOSE WE STILL PURSUE THEM BECAUSE IT CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE ON OUR SYSTEM. SO WE'RE AGGRESSIVELY ADDRESSING THOSE. WE'VE ALSO HAVE INCREASED OUR RISK FOR CRIMINAL TRESPASS. THAT'S OUR NUMBER ONE ARREST CATEGORY NOW IS CRIMINAL TRESPASS. AND WE'VE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF CITATIONS WE'VE ISSUED FOR FARE EVASION. OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES. AND ONCE I DO THE PRESENT THE FOURTH QUARTER REPORT TO THE BOARD, IT'LL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL. DAVID LEININGER: IF WE COULD GO BACK A COUPLE SLIDES TO THE ONE THAT SAYS POSITIVE CUSTOMER OUTCOMES, IT'S ABOUT THREE SLIDES BACK, I THINK. THAT ONE RIGHT THERE. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THIS SURVEY WHICH IS DONE ANNUALLY, THIS ONE WAS DONE IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR BEFORE THE PULL-OUT ELECTION. AND IT'S GOOD NEWS. THE SATISFACTION LEVELS ARE UP 4.7%. LIKELIHOOD TO CONTINUE, IT'S UP 6 POINTS AT 89%. SILVER LINE SATISFACTION, 82%, AT FIRST YEAR SUCCESS METRIC. AND THE NET PROMOTER SCORE WENT UP 10 POINTS FROM BASICALLY 22 TO REALLY 11 POINTS FROM 22 TO 33. PAUL RIDLEY: DAVE, COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE NET PROMOTER SCORE IS? DAVID LEININGER: YEAH, IT'S BASICALLY WHEN YOU SURVEY PEOPLE, YOU ASK THEM TO RATE FROM 1 TO 10, 9 AND 10 IS CONSIDERED GOOD, 7 DOWN IS YOU COUNT AS NOT A RATING AND THEN 8-- I'M SORRY, 7 AND 8 ARE THE ONES THAT YOU ACTUALLY DISMISS. SO YOU'RE REALLY JUST LOOKING AT THE ONES THAT WERE, QUOTE, "NOT REALLY PROMOTING OR ARE PROMOTING." AND IT GOES FROM A NEGATIVE 100 TO A POSITIVE 100. YOU CAN HAVE THAT BIG OF A SWING. MOST AGENCIES COME IN SOMEWHERE IN THE 20 TO 30 RANGE IN THAT TIME FRAME. THE BUT YOU CAN GO UNDER 00, AND WE DID ACTUALLY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. SO TO GO FROM 23 TO-- YEAH, BASICALLY 23 UP TO NEARLY 34 IS A BIG, BIG IMPROVEMENT. I WOULD POINT OUT THAT THIS OCCURRED IN APRIL. THIS AGAIN, THE SURVEY WAS DONE IN APRIL. 06,000 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THIS, A CROSS-SECTION OF ON BOARD SURVEYS AND ONLINE AND OTHER [01:00:02] CONTACT POINTS. SO IT'S A PRETTY GOOD CROSS-SECTION AND PRETTY MUCH REPRESENT WHAT WE DO. AND WHEN WE CONDUCT THESE SURVEYS DONE BY A THIRD-PARTY THAT CONDUCTS THIS. SO BY AND LARGE, THE SENTIMENT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE FEELING BETTER ABOUT DART, ARE FEELING BETTER ABOUT RIDING A DART. AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE THAT ALSO CURRENTLY IN THE RIDERSHIP THAT IS OCCURRING. BUT TO GET BACK, MR. CHAIRMAN, TO YOUR SPECIFIC POINT, THE NET PROMOTER SCORE IS USED AS A COMMON WAY TO MAKE A GAUGE WHETHER OR NOT YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO REFER OTHERS TO YOUR SYSTEM OR NOT. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE WRITING, WOULD YOU REFER WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS TO SOMEBODY ELSE? KIND OF YES OR NO IN THAT. BUT THAT'S A VERY HIGH-LEVEL SWING THROUGH IT. IF WE GO NOW A COUPLE OF SLIDES DOWN TO TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT. THANK YOU. NEXT SLIDE, I'LL JUST MENTION THIS IN PASSING BECAUSE YOU'VE SEEN THIS QUITE A LOT. BUT I JUST WANT TO REINFORCE THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN A STUDY CONDUCTED SINCE THE LATE '90S, EVERY THREE TO FOUR YEARS, SOMETIMES FIVE, SOMETIMES THREE, LOOKING AT THE ECONOMIC INVESTMENT THAT'S OCCURRED WITHIN A QUARTER MILE OF A PLATFORM. AND THAT THAT'S BEEN MEASURED THROUGHOUT THAT PERIOD OF TIME. AS TIME WENT ON, WE ALSO TESTED FOR NOT ONLY REAL ESTATE VALUES IN TERMS OF APPRAISED VALUES, BUT ALSO RENT PAYMENTS, AND LOOKING AT WHETHER RENT ON OFFICE AND RESIDENTIAL WAS HIGHER, IF IT WAS CLOSE AND MORE PROXIMATE TO STATIONS THAN IF IT WAS FURTHER AWAY. THERE'S A DISTINCT BENEFIT AND MEASURABLE IMPACT IN THAT REGARD. AND THIS SUMS UP IN TOTAL THAT THERE'S BEEN NEARLY, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. JUST IN THE '22 TO '24 TIME FRAME, THERE WAS 9,500 JOBS, $100, ALMOST $200 MILLION IN TAX REVENUE, ALMOST $2 BILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT. AND THAT WAS INSIDE OF THAT TIME PERIOD. SO THERE'S A DISCERNIBLE BENEFIT AND ECONOMIC BENEFIT. AND AGAIN, THIS IS DONE BY UNT. IT'S MEASURED EVERY-- RIGHT NOW, IT'S RIGHT ABOUT EVERY THREE YEARS AND DONE FOR THIS EXPRESS PURPOSE. IT'S DONE SO THAT EACH OF THE CITIES CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW IT IMPACTS THEM AND WHAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE. NEXT SLIDE. WE'RE GOING TO TALK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT THE CURRENT TOD PROJECTS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE CITY OF DALLAS. THERE ARE A COUPLE THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE CITY OBVIOUSLY. ONE THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION IS UP AT TRINITY MILLS. TRINITY MILLS IS WHERE THE A TRAIN FROM DCTA COMES IN AND JOINS ON A PLATFORM WITH A GREEN LINE IN FRONT OF THE DART SYSTEM IN CARROLLTON. THAT PROJECT IS UNDERWAY. THE FIRST APARTMENT COMPLEX THERE IS COMPLETE AND FULLY RENTED, AND THEY'LL BE LOOKING AT STARTING PHASE II INSIDE OF THE NEXT SIX TO NINE MONTHS. THE OTHER ONE THAT'S-- THE TWO THAT ARE ACTIVELY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, BUCKNER, WHICH IS GETTING VERY CLOSE. THERE'S 304 UNITS. THEIR FIRST PHASE STARTS LEASING NEXT MONTH. AND THAT ONE, THERE'S 244 THAT ARE AFFORDABLE AND 60 THAT ARE MARKET-READY IF YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT 304 ALL TOGETHER. AND THEN MOCKINGBIRD STATION, STATION THAT'S BEEN A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT'S TAKEN A GOOD LONG TIME TO GET TO THIS POINT BUT NOW IT'S ACTIVELY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THERE'S A TOPPING-OUT CEREMONY ON THE FIRST PROJECT, WHICH WILL BE OCCURRING IN-- LET'S SEE. I'M LOOKING AT THIS. I THINK THE SPRING OF '27, WE'RE GOING TO BE VERY CLOSE. ACTUALLY THE TOPPING-OUT IS GOING TO OCCUR THIS NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. BUT THEN THEY'RE MOVING FORWARD ON THE SECOND PHASE. THE GARAGE IS ALSO DUE TO BE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER '27. ON TOP OF THAT, AND THAT'S A SUBSEQUENT PHASE, NOT THE SECOND PHASE, THERE'S A PLAN FOR A HOTEL AND AN OFFICE PROGRAM. THE NEXT PHASE WILL BE MORE RESIDENTIAL, SIMILAR TO THE RESIDENTIAL THAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER PROJECTS THAT THE DART AND THE DART TEAM ARE WORKING ON. YOU CAN SEE UNDER CITY AGREEMENT. SOUTH GARLAND AND THEN A DEVELOPER SELECTED AND THAT'S LAKE RAY HUBBARD. [01:05:02] SO IN SOUTH GARLAND, THAT MEANS WE'VE ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY. BUT THERE'S NOT A DEVELOPER SELECTED FOR THAT ONE. AND THAT ONE-- BOTH OF THESE, BOTH GARLAND AND LAKE RAY HUBBARD, WHICH IS ALSO IN GARLAND, WE WILL RECONSTRUCT, REBUILD THE TRANSIT CENTER PIECE AND THEN THERE WILL BE ACTIVE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT. THEY'LL BE ON THE BALANCE. WITH RESPECT TO AN RFP THAT'S RFP-- IT'S REALLY AN RFQ, AS JACK SAYS, RFQ/C, BECAUSE IT INCLUDES NOT ONLY QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPER, BUT ALSO A CONCEPT OF WHAT THE DEVELOPER WOULD HAVE IN MIND. AND THIS IS FOR THE WESTMORELAND LOCATION. THAT WAS ISSUED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AND WE'LL JUST START NOW, BEGINNING TO SEE SOME ACTIVITY ON THAT. BUT THE RFQ-- THE PROBLEM WITH THE RFQ IS THAT IT LETS YOU KNOW ABOUT FINANCIAL CAPABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE. BUT YOU DO REALLY WANT TO SEE WHAT THE UNDERSTANDING IS OF THE DEVELOPER ABOUT YOUR LOCATION, YOUR MARKET, AND WHAT IDEAS THEY MIGHT HAVE WITHOUT DOING AN ACTUAL PLAN, BUT AT LEAST GIVING YOU AN IDEA THAT THEY UNDERSTAND IT. SO THAT IS OUT ON THE STREET CURRENTLY, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT FORTHCOMING. THERE ARE FIVE MORE SITES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT WILL BE WORKING ON WITH THE CITY TO SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS IN THE NEXT ROUND THIS NEXT YEAR. THAT'LL BE LATER ON IN '27. SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. I'M JUST GOING TO WALK THROUGH THESE QUICKLY. THESE ARE PICTURES, I THINK, SOME OF WHICH YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE. BUCKNER STATION, THE PALLADIUM PROJECT THE NEARLY COMPLETE. NEXT SLIDE. AGAIN, THIS IS JUST SHOWING YOU THE PHASING. AND THE FIRST UNITS DELIVERED IN FEBRUARY. LEASING BEGINS RIGHT NOW. NEXT SLIDE. AGAIN, I MENTIONED MOCKINGBIRD STATION AND THE GARAGE. YOU CAN SEE THE CALL-OUT IN THAT, THAT SUBSURFACE WORK IS BEING DONE. FUTURE PHASE REALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE OFFICE HOTEL THAT WE MENTIONED. AND THEN THE MULTIFAMILY. YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST LOCATION THAT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED, AND THAT WILL-- IT'S BEING TOPPED-OUT AND MARKETING WILL START IN THE FALL-- IN SPRING, RATHER. NEXT SLIDE. NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS THE WESTMORELAND I MENTIONED, SHOWING YOU THE 18 ACRES, IS A SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF REAL ESTATE. SO THERE SHOULD BE SOME GOOD DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. NEXT SLIDE. AS YOU KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN AREA PLAN UPDATES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALL THE CITIES AND CITY OF DALLAS IN PARTICULAR. THE NEXT SLIDE. AND JUST TO REMIND REALLY WHAT'S GOING ON THERE, IT'S A COMBINATION OF LOOKING AT EACH OF THE STATIONS AND LOOKING AT WHAT THE POTENTIAL IS FOR JOINT DEVELOPMENT CONTIGUOUS TO OR NEAR THE STATIONS. AS YOU ARE ALL ACUTELY AWARE, YOU ALL CONTROL BUILDING, PERMITTING, AND ZONING. SO DEVELOPMENT PLANS HAVE TO BE DONE IN CONCERT WITH THE CITY IN WHICH THE STATIONS ARE LOCATED. AND THEN FINALLY, NEXT SLIDE? SO IN SUMMARY, THERE'S ACTUALLY BEEN-- I'M SORRY, NEXT SLIDE. OUR CHAIR HAS TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE BILL, WHICH WILL BE OBVIOUSLY A MAJOR FOCUS OF ATTENTION. GMP ALLOCATIONS. YOU HAVE YOUR FUNDING AND REALLY THE GNP HAS BEEN FUNDED IN THE FINANCIAL PLAN ALL THE WAY OUT TO 2031. YOUR NEXT ALLOCATION FY '27 IS 27 MILLION, WHICH I THINK WE PROVIDED PREVIOUSLY. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE POLICE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. WE'RE WAITING REALLY FOR COMPLETE THE ORDER ON GATES. AND GATING THAT WILL BE USED IN COMBINATION WITH THAT. THERE'S A LOT FROM THAT WE'LL BE ANTICIPATING. WE CAN FACTOR INTO THE GATING DISCUSSION, THE CLOSING THE SYSTEM. I WILL TELL YOU THAT IN VIRTUALLY EVERY CITY I'VE TALKED TO AND MET WITH THE MAYORS AND CITY MANAGERS, IN EVERY INSTANCE, THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD PREFER US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH GATING THE SYSTEM, GATING THE PLATFORMS IN THEIR CITIES. AS YOU ALL, I BELIEVE, HAVE BECOME COMMUNICATE SOMETHING SIMILAR. SO IT'S QUITE A FOCUS, EVERYONE. THE SECURITY INITIATIVES, OUR CHAIR RANDALL [01:10:02] HAS TALKED ABOUT WITH RESPECT TO THE COMMITTEE. THE SECOND MEETING OF THAT COMMITTEE WILL BE NEXT TUESDAY. AND AGAIN, DIRECTOR GRADY WILL BE LEADING THAT. KAY SHELTON WILL BE STAFF SUPPORT FOR THAT PARTICULAR COMMITTEE. ON THE RIDERSHIP DASHBOARD, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK BEING DONE. THE GOLINK DASHBOARD FOR DALLAS IS BEING DEVELOPED SO THAT WE CAN BREAK IT DOWN IN A WAY THAT'S USEFUL TO CITY STAFF. AND THERE'LL BE QUITE A LOT MORE WORKING ON THAT. TINA MARSH PIERRE FROM, WHO HAS BEEN HEAD OF STRATEGIC PLANNING, IS ALSO NOW OVER GO PASS AND SERVICE PLANNING WILL BE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS IN PARTICULAR ON GETTING THIS THING ADVANCED. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE AREA PLAN PRIORITIES. THE RTC TRANSIT VISION SUBCOMMITTEE NOT ONLY ADDRESSES THE GOVERNANCE THING, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER DIMENSION THAT HAS TO DO WITH 2.0 ON COMMUTER RAIL IN PARTICULAR, AND COMMUTER RAIL PLAN THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED TO THE RTC RECENTLY. AND THE MAIN THING THAT IS RELEVANT THERE IS THAT WE NEED FUNDING SOURCE. OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE AWAY FROM HAVING 13 CITIES UNDERWRITE THE ENTIRE REGIONAL COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEM, THEN WE NEED TO HAVE A FUNDING SYSTEM THAT REALLY IS MUCH MORE BROAD-BASED AND MULTI-COUNTY. AND THAT'S A DISCUSSION THAT WILL OCCUR OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, NOT THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION. ONE OTHER THING, AND FINALLY, RANDALL MENTIONED THAT WE DID PRESENT SOME INFORMATION ABOUT COST ESTIMATES. WE'VE ESTIMATED THAT IF YOU TO GATE THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, ALL 66 PLATFORMS, EXCLUDING COMMUTER RAIL STATIONS, IT WOULD BE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 290 MILLION TO 300 MILLION. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE. IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT THE DART SYSTEM CAN AFFORD, GIVEN THE SIZE OF THE INVESTMENT WE'VE MADE OVERALL. AND IT COULD BE HIGHER THAN THAT. IT COULD BE LOWER THAN THAT. BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE EARLY THINGS WE WILL BE TESTING FOR ARE THOSE ESTIMATES THAT WAS DONE DEVELOPED BY LOOKING AT EVERY STATION BASED ON OUR INFORMATION, SOME PRIOR WORK WE'VE DONE. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: WELL, THANK YOU, MR. LEININGER AND MR. BRYANT, FOR YOUR VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATIONS. WE'LL START WITH QUESTIONS NOW WITH VICE CHAIR ROTH. BILL ROTH: THANK YOU. GOOD SUMMARY. GOOD REPORT. WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH RIDERSHIP PER HOUR, IS THAT THE HOURS THAT ARE LISTED ON YOUR AUXILIARY SHEETS, YOUR-- DAVID LEININGER: RIDERS. YEAH, THE RIDERS PER REVENUE HOUR, YOU MEASURE THAT BY VEHICLE AND BY ROUTE TO GET TO THAT. NOW, THERE'S ANOTHER RIDER PER HOUR, WHICH IS MORE ON THE TOTAL MODAL SIDE, WHAT WE LOOK AT AS WELL. BUT THE REVENUE RIDERS PER HOUR IS SPECIFIC TO A ROUTE. BILL ROTH: GOOD. AND THEN AS FAR AS OTHER RIDERSHIP TRENDS ON PAGE 11, ARE THOSE CUMULATIVE NUMBERS BUILDING UP FOR EACH QUARTER? DAVID LEININGER: YEAH, IT JUST KEEPS ADDING UP TOWARD AS WE GET TO THE END OF THE YEAR. THERE IS A QUARTER, A THIRD QUARTER-ONLY NUMBER. BUT THE OTHER ONES ARE INTENDED TO GIVE YOU A RIDERSHIP CUMULATIVE. WE WISH IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL BE RIGHT IN THE 54 MILLION ALL TOLD FOR THE SYSTEM. AND THEN DART WILL BE DALLAS WILL BE A LITTLE BIT UNDER 39 MILLION OF THAT. BILL ROTH: DID YOU ALL MAKE ANY KIND OF PROJECTED GOALS OF WHERE YOU ALL WANT TO BE IN TERMS OF IMPROVING RIDERSHIP/ IS THERE ANY STRATEGIC-- DAVID LEININGER: RIDERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IS A BIG ISSUE. WE WERE AT 70 MILLION BACK IN 2016. AND WE'RE AT 55 MILLION AND ACTUALLY TRENDING DOWN. OUR ACTUAL NUMBER FOR NEXT YEAR, JUST BASED ON THE SYSTEM SCHEDULES AND SO FORTH, GETS US TO 52.5 TO 53 MILLION. OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S GOING THE WRONG DIRECTION. WE'VE GOT ACTUALLY A WORKING GROUP ON RIDERSHIP DEVELOPMENT EXCLUSIVELY FOCUSED ON WHAT'S IT TAKE TO GET US BACK WELL ABOVE WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY IN GETTING CLOSER TO WHERE WE WERE IN 2016. I THINK IT'S FUNDAMENTAL THAT AN AGENCY HAS TO TRY TO DEVELOP RIDERSHIP, RECOGNIZING YOU LOSE RIDERS BECAUSE PEOPLE MOVE OUT OF THE SYSTEM ALL THE VARIOUS REASONS. BUT WE HAVE NEW PEOPLE COMING IN. AND WE'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND HOW-- THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG METRICS THAT NAT FORD FOCUSES ON, TOO. HE'S VERY WELL AWARE OF THE RIDERSHIP CHALLENGE. AND I'VE BEEN TALKING TO THE BOARD ABOUT IT [01:15:03] REALLY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. EVERY TIME I'M IN A MEETING WITH THEM. BILL ROTH: AND RELATED TO THE STATE FAIR, HAVE YOU HAD ANY ANECDOTAL INFORMATION ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS WITH THE STATE FAIR RIDERSHIP? DAVID LEININGER: ONE DAY I BENCHMARK WAS TEXAS. I WOULD SAY ON BALANCE, IT'S SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN LAST YEAR FROM EVERYTHING WE CAN SEE. BUT THE LIGHT RAIL SUPPORT ITSELF SEEMS TO BE HOLDING UP. BUT OVERALL, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LOWER. TEXAS IS REALLY VERY CLOSE TO LAST YEAR. BILL ROTH: GREAT. I DO WANT TO ASK YOU A POINTED QUESTION. THERE'S BEEN SOME NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT SOME ISSUES RELATING TO THE NEW CEO. WOULD YOU ALL GIVE US AN UPDATE AND A SORT OF A BACKGROUND ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN THAT SITUATION AND HOW THAT'S AFFECTING YOUR OPERATION OR PLANS? DAVID LEININGER: I THINK I SHOULD DEFER TO MY CHAIR ON THAT ONE. THANK YOU, CHAIR. RANDALL BRYANT: THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. ROTH, FOR THE QUESTION. SO AS FAR AS BACKGROUND, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH-- AS AN AGENCY, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH MORE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED MORE SO THAN YOU ALL HAVE RECEIVED AS GENERAL PUBLIC AWARENESS. OUR GENERAL COUNSEL IS IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THE LEGAL TEAMS IN JACKSONVILLE. AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE GONE THROUGH, IN OUR OPINION, A VERY THOROUGH PROCESS, THE MOST OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS THAT WE'VE HAD TO HIRE A CEO. OBVIOUSLY, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE BEING REPORTED OUT NOW WERE REPORTED ON. THEN WE DID AN INVESTIGATION OF THOSE THINGS AT THE TIME. I PERSONALLY HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE CURRENT MAYOR, THE PREVIOUS MAYOR, SO A 12-YEAR SPAN OF MAYORS. THE CURRENT BOARD CHAIR AND TWO PREVIOUS BOARD CHAIRS, SO SIX YEARS OF BOARD CHAIRS THAT I SPOKE WITH BEFORE I TOOK MY FINAL VOTE. I SHARED ALL THOSE INFORMATION, CONTACT INFORMATION WITH ALL OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS TO DO THEIR OWN DUE DILIGENCE. AS OF RIGHT NOW, AND I DON'T EVEN WANT TO USE THIS FORUM AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO A BATTLE WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA. BUT WE HAVE MADE OUR DECISION BASED UPON WHAT WE KNOW AT THE TIME AND WHAT WE KNOW NOW. THERE IS NOT ANY BELIEF OF THE BOARD TO MAKE A CHANGE IN THAT DECISION. WE HAVE AFFIRMED THAT FORD IS OUR CEO AND WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT. BILL ROTH: GREAT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UPDATE. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER BLAIR? LORIE BLAIR: I DON'T. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER GRACEY? ZARIN GRACEY: THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. IT WAS A LOT. I WANT TO GO TO-- SO I'M GOING TO TRY TO BACK UP BECAUSE IT REALLY WAS A LOT. AND I'M TRYING TO GET CAUGHT UP ON MY NOTES. ONE, YOU MENTIONED FROM A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE, THE BUS WRAPPING. EXPLAIN THAT AGAIN. I THINK I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND THEN WHAT THE I THINK YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THREE MILLION IN-- DAVID LEININGER: ADVERTISERS HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF ADVERTISING THAT THEY CAN PUT ON THE SIDE OF A VEHICLE. ONE IS KIND OF A LOWER PIECE OF A WRAP, AND IT GOES BELOW THE WINDOWS AND MORE OR LESS, THE LENGTH OF THE BUS. THERE'S ANOTHER ONE CALLED THE SUPER KING, WHAT I JUST DESCRIBED WAS THE KING. THE SUPER KING ACTUALLY GOES OVER THE WINDOW AND IT COULD BE EITHER HALF THE BUS. IT COULD BE THE FULL SIDE OF THE BUS. A WRAPS LITERALLY GOES ON BOTH SIDES. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT VEHICLE INVENTORY, YOU'RE LOOKING AT KINGS, ONE SIDE OR TWO SIDES, SUPER KINGS, HALF YEARS. SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF THINGS YOU'RE LOOKING AT, THAT WHEN YOU WRAP THE WINDOW, THEN YOU'RE PUTTING A FILM OVER THE WINDOW. SO WHILE IT'S TRANSPARENT, IT'S NOT TRANSLUCENT. SO YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE IN OR OUT NEARLY AS WELL. AND POLICE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR SOME TIME. SO WE REALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE IN THE CAR. RIDERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE IN THE CAR, AND RIDERS IN THE CAR NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE CAR. SO THAT'S WHAT THAT REFERS TO. ZARIN GRACEY: AND IT'S JUST SO WE CAN SEE IT. THANK YOU. AND THEN FOR THE WESTMORELAND-ILLINOIS TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT THERE, I SAW IT SAID IT RFQ/RFP, WHICH ONE IS IT? BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE CURRENTLY HAVING PUBLIC HEARINGS ABOUT IT. SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM Y'ALL'S PERSPECTIVE REGARDING AN [01:20:02] DAVID LEININGER: RFQ REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION HAS BEEN ISSUED. ZARIN GRACEY: PERFECT. OK. DAVID LEININGER: IT ASKS FOR A PRELIMINARY CONCEPT IDEA. SO OFTEN A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION ONLY ASKS FOR EXPERIENCE AND FINANCIAL CAPACITY. IT'S REALLY HELPFUL IF YOU CAN ALSO GET A CONFIRMATION OF UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR PROJECT. SO GENERAL CONCEPT, BASED ON WHAT THE CITY AND DART ARE LOOKING FOR AT THAT LOCATION. CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW YOU WOULD THINK ABOUT? THAT'S REALLY THE CONCEPT PIECE. THAT'S NOT A DESIGN. IT'S REALLY JUST CONFIRMING THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE SITE IS AND WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THE CITY IS INTERESTED IN SEEING THERE AND THAT THEY CAN PLAY BACK, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT THAT'S NOT THE SAME AS A DESIGN. ZARIN GRACEY: PERFECT. THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET TO. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE FOR PUBLIC EARS IN MY OWN UNDERSTANDING, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THESE TWO THINGS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, AND I WANT TO-- AND WE'VE KIND OF RECENTLY STARTED THIS PROCESS. SO I KNOW WE'VE HAD OUR FIRST KIND OF COMMUNITY MEETING ABOUT IT, AND A LOT OF THEM WEREN'T REALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS. SO WE'RE KIND OF RESETTING AND DOING A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE WHILE WE'RE DOING THIS, PLANNING IN URBAN DESIGN ARE DOING THE AUTHORIZED HEARING MEETINGS. YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY A DEVELOPER THAT WILL POTENTIALLY CARRY OUT THE DESIGNS BASED ON THE FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY. IS THAT-- DAVID LEININGER: YEAH, NOW THE RFQ PROCESS WILL ONLY GET YOU INTO QUALIFYING A GROUP. ZARIN GRACEY: WHO'S QUALIFIED TO-- DAVID LEININGER: WHO YOU INVITE THEN TO SUBMIT A MORE DETAILED PROPOSAL. SO THERE WILL BE ANOTHER FULL ROUND OF DISCUSSION, AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS WITH THE COMMUNITY WHAT DEVELOPMENT IDEAS. WE REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW MANY DEVELOPERS WILL COME FORWARD YET, SO IT'S TOO EARLY TO REALLY SPECULATE ABOUT WHO AND WHEN. ZARIN GRACEY: THANK YOU. WELL, THAT AREA IS AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT ENTIRE AREA, GIVEN EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S HAPPENING. SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND I JUST WANT TO FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND HOW ALL OF THESE PIECES ARE WORKING TOGETHER. BOTH THE CITY AND DART ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS ONE. DAVID LEININGER: WELL, AGAIN, THE CITY DICTATES SITE USE AND OVERALL USE THERE. AND I WOULD SAY THAT AGAIN, 18, I'M THINKING 18 ACRES. THAT'S A REALLY NICE SITE ACREAGE WISE. A LOT OF THESE OTHERS, WE HAVE ARE 5, 6, 7. SO THAT'S A REALLY NICE SITE. AND IT REALLY HAS A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL. ZARIN GRACEY: GAME CHANGERS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER BLACKMON? PAULA BLACKMON: YES. THANK YOU. AND REAL QUICK, JUST SOME REFRESHERS, ON PAGE 6, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SIX-YEAR GMP EXPIRES, OR DOES IT EXPIRE-- I'M SORRY, I'VE HAD MANY OTHER VOTES AND I HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS ONE-- WHAT THE TIMELINE IS ON THIS ONE. RANDALL BRYANT: SO MAYBE A BETTER QUESTION TO HELP ESPECIALLY IDENTIFY WHAT ACTUAL VERSUS ESTIMATES ALSO MEAN. PAULA BLACKMON: WELL, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER FISCAL YEAR '32? IT JUST FLATTEN OUT? RANDALL BRYANT: SO IF NO NEW COUNCIL AND NO NEW BOARD HAS CAME UP WITH, BECAUSE I HOPE NONE OF US ARE STILL HERE, THEN HAS NOT COME UP WITH ANYTHING ELSE OR ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE AGREEMENT OR ANY CONTINUANCES, THEN THE FUNDING AGREEMENT ITSELF ENDS, NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PREVIOUS AGREEMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE CITY. PAULA BLACKMON: AND IT GOES BACK TO THE-- THERE'S NO SPLIT ANYMORE. RANDALL BRYANT: YES, MA'AM. PAULA BLACKMON: I THOUGHT THAT WAS IT, BUT I SAID, I'VE MET. AND SO DO WE HAVE ANY-- ARE WE GOING TO WORK TOWARDS SOMETHING ELSE? IS THAT THE PLAN? RANDALL BRYANT: THAT'S DEFINITELY THE INTENT OF DART, IS TO WORK TOWARDS SOMETHING ELSE. I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY HONEST AT DART AND SAY WE DON'T HAVE THE SOLUTION TO WHAT THE ELSE IS. I THINK WHAT YOU HEAR CONSISTENTLY FROM US IS THAT WE HAVE A WILLING AND COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT TO WORK WITH OUR CITIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY WITHIN DART CITIES, OUTSIDE OF DART, OUR REGION OUR RTC, AS WELL AS OUR STATE LEGISLATORS WHO HAVE THE ULTIMATE SAY SO OVER WHAT THIS ULTIMATELY WOULD LOOK LIKE. PAULA BLACKMON: AND THEN AS WE TALK ABOUT RIDERSHIP, AND WE'VE SEEN A INCREASE IN OUR GAS PRICES. AND USUALLY THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE TURN TO MASS TRANSIT. ARE YOU SEEING UPWARD TRENDS LIKE THAT? AND I'M ALSO CURIOUS, IS THE DOWNTOWN VACANCY RATE HURTING RIDERSHIP COMING INTO THE CBD? DAVID LEININGER: WELL, LET ME ANSWER THE LAST QUESTION FIRST. YES. PAULA BLACKMON: DON'T WANT TO SCOOT IT UP. DAVID LEININGER: THAT LARGE VACANCY RATE IS A PARTICULAR PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT OUR RAIL SYSTEMS ALL COME INTO DOWNTOWN. [01:25:01] SO GETTING THOSE BUILDINGS RE-TENANTED EITHER WITH RESIDENTIAL OR OFFICE, PREFERABLY OFFICE IS A BIG DEAL. I MEAN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS OF SQUARE FEET. I THINK IT'S 5 OR 5 MILLION SQUARE FEET. SO THAT REALLY IS A RETARDANT. IT'S A DRAG ON RIDERSHIP. IN TERMS OF THE GAS PRICE, I THINK THE GAS PRICE-- THIS MY THIS IS ANECDOTAL. JUST MY OBSERVATION IS THAT IT'S BEGINNING TO BECOME A CONCERN. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE WERE CHANGING THEIR HABIT FOR A FEW MONTHS. BUT NOW SINCE THIS HASN'T GONE DOWN, IT'S STAYING UP, I'M SEEING AGAIN, IT'S ANECDOTAL. I'M SEEING MORE PEOPLE ON TRAINS DURING NORMAL WORKING HOURS THAN WE SAW, REALLY, EVEN BACK IN THE SPRING. SO IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO TEASE OUT BECAUSE WE'VE HAD FIFA THAT GENERATES SOME UNUSUAL RIDERSHIP. AND OF COURSE, WE HAD STATE FAIR. I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WILL BE REALLY INSTRUCTIVE. PAULA BLACKMON: AND THEN SO I WAS LOOKING AT, I GUESS, YOUR ROUTES, AND IT WAS INTERESTING, THE ONES THAT WERE REALLY HEAVILY TRAVELED. HAVE YOU ALL DONE ANY ANALYZING OF WHAT MAKES THAT A HEAVILY-TRAVELED ROUTE, LIKE THE WESTMORELAND GOING NORTH AND SOUTH? BECAUSE THE IDEA MAY BE TO REPLICATE THAT AS A DEVOUT FROM THE LAND USE SIDE OF IT IN ORDER TO CREATE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, ARE YOU FINDING ANYTHING THAT'S A TREND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE ROUTES? DAVID LEININGER: THE RIGHT ANSWER IS THAT IF I ANSWER THAT, I'M OVER MY SKIS A LITTLE BIT. BUT OUR SERVICE PLANNING PEOPLE, I HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH ACTUALLY LAST WEEK ABOUT SOME OF THE RIGHTS AND SOME OF THE BEHAVIOR. AND THERE'S A COUPLE ROUTES, PARTICULARLY THE WESTMORELAND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT. THERE'S A COUPLE ROUTES THERE THAT HAVE SOME REALLY STRONG RIDERSHIP CHARACTERISTICS. AND I KNOW THAT THE TEAM IS LOOKING AT HOW DO YOU REINFORCE THE STRONG BUS RIDERSHIP AND THEN WHAT MORE CAN WE DO TO AUGMENT NOW. AGAIN, THEY'RE ALSO DEALING WITH THE FACT THAT WE LOST SOME ROUTES THIS LAST YEAR IN THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT MADE-- THERE WERE PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ADJUSTMENTS THAT WERE MADE. BUT THE RIGHT ANSWER IS YES, THE PERSON WHO CAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT IN A LOT OF DETAIL IS TINA MAUSS PIERRE AND THE SEAT. PAULA BLACKMON: SO Y'ALL DO ANALYZE THAT? DAVID LEININGER: YEAH. PAULA BLACKMON: AND I THINK AS THE CITY, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH YOU TO CREATE THOSE LAND USE OPPORTUNITIES THAT CREATE RIDERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES? WE ARE TRYING TO DO THAT. AND YOU SHOWED THAT-- DAVID LEININGER: WE HAVE A TON OF RIDERSHIP DATA, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE, AND WE SHOULD BE. PAULA BLACKMON: THANK YOU. ALSO TOO, YOU TALKED ABOUT MODERNIZATION FOR THE 10-YEAR SYSTEM. DO WE HAVE A PRICE TAG ON THAT? DAVID LEININGER: PRICE TAG IN THE MODERNIZATION? PAULA BLACKMON: THE MODERNIZATION PLAN, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S A 10-YEAR SYSTEM PLAN. AND YOU'RE GOING TO REPLACE VEHICLES. DAVID LEININGER: THERE'S 2.5 BILLION ALL IN. PAULA BLACKMON: OK. DAVID LEININGER: NO. BUT ROLLING STOCK AND THE SIGNALS WERE ABOUT $1.8 BILLION TO $1.9 BILLION NINE OF THAT. PAULA BLACKMON: AND SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ONLY GOVERNANCE CHANGES, RIGHT, IN COMING AT THE LEGISLATURE? RANDALL BRYANT: YES, MA'AM. PAULA BLACKMON: AND IT SHOULDN'T BE AS BUMPY AS THE LAST TIME. RANDALL BRYANT: I HOPE NOT. PAULA BLACKMON: IT SHOULDN'T, I DIDN'T SAY. AND DO YOU PLAN TO CIRCULATE THE LANGUAGE TO US WHEN YOU FINALLY GET IT WRITTEN? RANDALL BRYANT: YES. SO THE BILL LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW HAS BEEN FILED WITH SENATOR TOM PARKER'S OFFICE. HE'S REVIEWED IT. HE'S SUPPORTIVE OF FILING THE BILL. IT'S IN LED COUNCIL FOR REVIEW RIGHT NOW. SO WHEN WE GET IT BACK-- AND THIS IS ALSO EVEN FOR DART, WE DID NOT DISTRIBUTE ANY SPECIFIC BILL LANGUAGE WHEN WE APPROVED OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. IT WAS JUST IN CONCEPT, IN THEORY, TO APPROVE THE A BILL THAT WOULD SUPPORT A GOVERNANCE CHANGE AS APPROVED BY 10 OF THE 11 CITIES, I'M SORRY, 11 OF 12 CITIES. PAULA BLACKMON: THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILWOMAN CADENA. LAURA CADENA: SO WITH THE TOD PROJECTS, I DO RECALL THE ROYAL LANE IN DISTRICT 6 WAS CONSIDERED A SITE IN THE PAST. I'M JUST WONDERING, WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR THESE SITES TO BE SELECTED AND WHAT ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT TOWARDS THE FUTURE? DAVID LEININGER: LET ME TURN AROUND AND SEE IF JACK IS STILL HERE. RANDALL BRYANT: AND WHILE HE'S COMING DOWN, IF POSSIBLE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO STATE ALL OF DART ASSETS ARE IN REVIEW FOR HOW TO MONETIZE, AND THAT'S A VERY BROAD ARRAY OF WHAT THE FINAL ANSWER IS. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ANY ASSET THAT WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT A CREATIVE SOLUTION ON HOW TO MONETIZE IT, FROM OUR TODS TO BURYING FIBER IN OUR RIGHT OF WAYS TO LEASE THAT OUT. DAVID LEININGER: JACK, PRESS TO TALK. [01:30:03] AND YOUR QUESTION WAS SPECIFICALLY THE ROYAL LANE? LAURA CADENA: YES, BECAUSE I REMEMBER, THERE WAS DISCUSSION EVEN WITH THE COMMUNITY IN THAT AREA, AND THEY WERE EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE OF HAVING SOME DEVELOPMENT THERE. AND SO I REMEMBER THERE WAS CONVERSATION, BUT THAT WAS WITH THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEMBER. I'M NOT SURE. IT'S BEEN SOME TIME SINCE THAT. JACK WIERCINSKI: IT WAS IN THE LAST-- WE DID A FIVE-- PARDON? DAVID LEININGER: PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF FOR THE RECORD. JACK WIERCINSKI: OH, JACK WIERCINSKI, DART, 5450 VICTORY BOULEVARD IN YOUR DISTRICT. YES, WE HAD IN 2021, WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY ON FIVE SITES. IT STARTED OUT AT SIX AND WE DROPPED ONE, BUT ROYAL LANE WAS ONE OF THOSE. WE HAD ONE RESPONSE FROM THAT, BUT THEY DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD AFTER THEY LOOKED AT IT FOR A WHILE. THE ONE ISSUE WE HAD WITH THE SITE IS THERE IS A CELL TOWER RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. AND SO IT WAS PROBLEMATIC. BUT WITH ALL OF OUR SITES, AND WE'VE GONE THROUGH AND DEVELOPED SOME MORE NOW THAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO AN MOU. BUT WITH ALL OF OUR SITES, WE COORDINATE CLOSELY WITH CITY PLANNING STAFF AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STAFF AND THEN DEVELOP A LIST FROM THAT. THE OTHER THING WE LEARNED FROM THE PAST PROCESS WAS FIVE IS TOO MANY TO DO AT ONE TIME. SO WE'RE TRYING TO LIMIT AND THIS TIME, WE'RE DOING WESTMORELAND, WE'RE DOING THAT ON ITS OWN. BUT WE MAY DO TWO THE NEXT TIME. IT REALLY IS WORKING REAL CLOSELY WITH STAFF TO DEVELOP WHICH ONES WE THINK HAVE GOOD POSSIBILITY AND GOOD MARKET, GOOD DEMAND. RANDALL BRYANT: AND TO EVEN REINFORCE THAT POINT AT THE END, BUT ALSO JUST IN GENERAL, WE ADDED AN ADDITIONAL PERSON TO THE HEAD COUNT FOR REAL ESTATE THIS FISCAL YEAR SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO EXPOUND ON AS MANY POSSIBILITIES THAT WE CAN IMPROVE UPON. LAURA CADENA: OK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER MENDELSOHN? CARA MENDELSOHN: THANK YOU. WELL, MR. LEININGER, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN THE INTERIM CEO FOR DART? DAVID LEININGER: TWO. RANDALL BRYANT: YOUR MICROPHONE IS LOW. CARA MENDELSOHN: SECOND TIME. OK WELL, THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK OVER AND OVER. THAT'S GOOD. I WANT TO FIRST SAY THAT I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS TOWARDS THE CLOSED SYSTEM, SOMETHING I'VE BEEN SAYING, I THINK, FOR SEVEN YEARS. SO I THINK IT ACTUALLY SHOULD BE YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY. AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SAFETY ISSUES, I THINK THAT THESE GO HAND IN HAND AND IT WILL ALSO HELP WITH RIDERSHIP. SO AGAIN, APPLAUD YOU TAKING THAT STEP. MR. LEININGER, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING AT THE DALLAS REGIONAL MOBILITY COALITION ABOUT AN INVESTIGATION INTO DEATHS. CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS? DAVID LEININGER: THAT WE RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FROM THE FTA BASED ON REPORTED DATA THAT WE PUT INTO THE NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE, AND THAT'S PICKING UP EVERY A LOT OF INFORMATION, INCLUDING CRIMINAL INFORMATION, CRIME STATISTICS, DEATHS ON THE SYSTEM, THAT SORT OF THING. IN 2025, FY 2025, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE WERE FIVE HOMICIDES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY, THE US, ACROSS ALL AGENCIES, IT WAS A TOTAL OF 18. SO OBVIOUSLY, WE WERE APPROACHED BY FTA AND SAID, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT CIRCUMSTANCE IS, AND OUR CRIME RATE IN PARTICULAR. SO WE'VE GOTTEN A LETTER ABOUT THIS APPROXIMATELY A MONTH AGO BECAUSE OF ALL THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN UNDERWAY, I WAS ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A RESPONSE TO THE FTA VERY QUICKLY AND SAID, HERE'S THE '25 SITUATION, HERE'S THE '26 SITUATION. HERE ARE THE STEPS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN SINCE THEN. THERE ARE TWO RECORDED HOMICIDES IN FY26. THEY OCCURRED IN THE LAST CALENDAR A QUARTER OF '25. WE'VE HAD NO INCIDENTS LIKE THAT IN 2026, FROM JANUARY TO THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. BUT WHEN I WAS SPEAKING TO THAT, I WAS SPEAKING TO THE SPECIFIC NOTICE WE'D GOTTEN. WE IN OUR RESPONSE, SENT A COPY OF THE LETTER THAT WE GOT, PLUS OUR RESPONSE TO THAT LETTER TO EVERY MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER AT THE TIME. WE SENT OUR RESPONSE BACK SO THAT EVERYONE WAS ALERT TO THE FACT THAT THERE'S [01:35:01] SOMEONE IN THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AS WELL HAD BEEN NOTIFIED. THEY GET NOTIFIED SEPARATELY, OF COURSE, ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE FEDS. SO THAT WAS WHAT THAT WAS IN REFERENCE TO. CARA MENDELSOHN: AND THEN HOW MANY TOTAL DEATHS HAVE THERE BEEN, NOT JUST FROM VIOLENCE? DAVID LEININGER: THAT GETS A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING TO COME UP WITH FOR A COUPLE REASONS. ONE IS THAT THEY'RE NOT ALL ON THE PLATFORM OR ALL ON THE ROLLING STOCK, BUT THEY COULD BE ADJACENT. BUT TO GIVE YOU A CORRECT NUMBER, THAT WOULD INCLUDE, I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING TO THINGS LIKE OVERDOSE CONSIDERATIONS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. CARA MENDELSOHN: EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE TO REPORT, WHAT'S THE NUMBER THAT YOU REPORTED TO THEM? DAVID LEININGER: YEAH, I'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU. I DON'T HAVE THAT OFF-HEAD. CARA MENDELSOHN: IT'S IN THE 30S, THOUGH? DAVID LEININGER: I REALLY WOULDN'T WANT TO SPECULATE. I'LL GET BACK TO YOU. CARA MENDELSOHN: ARE YOU GOING TO GET BACK TO ME IN WRITING? DAVID LEININGER: SURE. I MEAN, WE PUBLISHED THE INFORMATION. SO THERE'S NO RELUCTANCE TO PROVIDING. I JUST DIDN'T BRING IT WITH ME. CARA MENDELSOHN: BUT IT'S IN THE 30, RIGHT? DAVID LEININGER: I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT. I REALLY DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION AT MY DISPOSAL. CARA MENDELSOHN: FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES, ANOTHER THING I'VE BEEN ASKING ABOUT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT THEY CAN HAVE ON THEIR PERSON OR AT THEIR STATION THAT WOULD PROVIDE THEM EVEN DEFENSIVE SAFETY MEASURES? RANDALL BRYANT: IN ADDITION TO THE UNIFORM PRESENCE, WHEN YOU REFER TO EMPLOYEES? CARA MENDELSOHN: THERE'S NOT A UNIFORM PRESENCE IN EVERY CAR, CERTAINLY, AND ON EVERY BUS. AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT NONE OF THE EMPLOYEES ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY SORT OF PEPPER SPRAY, ANY KIND OF ABILITY TO PROTECT THEMSELVES. AND MANY OF THEM ARE SENIORS, SOME ARE INFIRMED THAT ARE AT RISK FOR VIOLENCE, AND HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLENCE. I MEAN, THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT IT. SURELY YOU'VE HEARD THAT RANDALL BRYANT: I WAS TRYING TO CLARIFY WHEN YOU WERE IDENTIFYING EMPLOYEES WHAT THE DIFFERENTIATOR WAS. I WASN'T TRYING TO CHALLENGE YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS OF IT. I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU REFER TO EMPLOYEES, YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE NON-UNIFORMED PRESENCE THAT WE HAVE ON OUR SYSTEM, LIKE OUR OPERATORS, BUS OPERATORS, TRAIN OPERATORS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE POLICY FOR EMPLOYEES BEING ABLE TO CARRY. LET'S CALL THEM DEFENSE MECHANISMS. BUT YOU BROUGHT UP ONE THING THAT IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE'RE EVEN LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS WE DISCUSSED OUR 27TH COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS ACTUALLY EMPLOYING ONE UNIFORMED OFFICER AT ALL TIMES ON THE FIRST CAR OF EVERY LIGHT RAIL TRAIN THAT'S GOING IN AND OUT. AND SO, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE HAVE LAWS THAT ALLOW, I DON'T HAVE A POSITION ON ALLOWING OUR EMPLOYEES TO OR NOT TO BE ABLE TO CARRY DEFENSE MECHANISMS. CARA MENDELSOHN: WE'RE AN OPEN CARRY STATE. BUT I'M GOING TO TELL YOU, YOU DON'T ALLOW THAT OF YOUR EMPLOYEES. YOU DON'T ALLOW THEM TO HAVE PEPPER SPRAY, EVEN ANY OTHER KIND OF WEAPON OR DEFENSIVE MEASURE. AND SO IT'D PROBABLY HELP YOUR WORKERS' COMP SITUATION IF YOU PUT A SECURITY OR ARMED OFFICER IN THAT FIRST CAR, AND ALSO LOOKING AT YOUR BUSES WHERE YOU'VE HAD ISSUES. BUT I IMAGINE ONE COULD-- AND I HOPE THAT YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF BOARD MEMBERS HERE. I HOPE YOU HAVE REQUESTED THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MANY EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN INJURED ON THE JOB AND ARE OUT ON WORKERS' COMP AND HAVE SECURITY CONCERNS, AND MAYBE DO YOUR OWN SURVEY OF THEM BECAUSE I THINK YOU'VE GOT A REAL ISSUE THERE. A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN THE RED LINE TO GO TO THE STATE FAIR. AND I'M GOING TO TELL YOU, EVERYONE WHO HAS NOT HAD THEIR TICKET CHECKED, LET ME KNOW THAT. AND SO THAT FAIR ENFORCEMENT IS STILL NOT HAPPENING. AND WHETHER IT WAS SUSPENDED DURING STATE FAIR, I DON'T KNOW. YOU MAY HAVE THE RIDERSHIP BUT NOT HAVE RECEIVED THE FARES FOR THAT. EVEN IF THEY HAD PURCHASED THE TICKET, THEY ALL WALKED AWAY SAYING, NOBODY EVER CHECKED. RANDALL BRYANT: AND THAT EVEN IS A ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF CLOSING THE SYSTEM IS GUARANTEEING TO A GREATER DEGREE. I MEAN, THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY AROUND ANYTHING, OBVIOUSLY. BUT WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER CITIES [01:40:02] AND OTHER AGENCIES THAT HAVE GONE FROM A OPEN SYSTEM TO A GATED SYSTEM IN THE MOST RECENT MONTHS OR YEARS IS INCREASING RIDERSHIP AND INCREASING FAREBOX RECOVERY. AND SO THAT'S ALSO AN ADDED BENEFIT, AND IT'S A PRIORITY OF OURS TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THROUGH TO THE NEXT JUNE OF NEXT YEAR. CARA MENDELSOHN: OK. WELL, I THINK IT GOES BACK TO THAT CLOSED SYSTEM SOLVES A LOT OF DIFFERENT ISSUES, INCLUDING MAY ASSIST WITH REVENUE. THIS IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE BRIEFING, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO LIKE FOUR BRIEFINGS IN ONE. SO I'M JUST GOING TO FOCUS ON RIDERSHIP AS MY LAST ITEM, WHICH IS YOU START WITH 2021. IF WE LOOKED OVER TIME, MR. LEININGER TALKED ABOUT 2016, WHERE YOU HAD A MUCH HIGHER RIDERSHIP THAN YOU DO TODAY. WHY DO YOU THINK IT'S LOWER? I'D LOVE TO HEAR THE ANSWER FROM EACH OF YOU. I MEAN, YOU HAVE-- MR. LEININGER, YOU HAVE DECADES AT DART AND YOU'RE WALKING OUT THE DOOR. I THINK YOU MIGHT BE FREE TO SAY SOME THINGS THAT ARE-- JUST TELL US THE TRUTH. WHY DO YOU THINK RIDERSHIP IS LOWER WHEN THE POPULATION OF YOUR SERVICE AREA HAS GROWN EXPONENTIALLY? I MEAN, MAYBE NOT IN DALLAS, BUT CERTAINLY IN THE OTHER SUBURBS. AND SO WHY WOULD RIDERSHIP BE DOWN SO MUCH? RANDALL BRYANT: SURE. I THINK IF FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, OBVIOUSLY COMING OUT OF COVID CHANGED JUST THE RIDERSHIP PATTERNS OF THE AGENCY. IF YOU LOOK SPECIFICALLY ON SLIDE 11, WHERE WE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED THAT NOT ONLY WAS THERE A SERVICE CHANGE, THE QUESTION IS, WHY DID WE HAVE A SERVICE CHANGE? WE HAD A SERVICE CHANGE BECAUSE WE TOOK $42.59 MILLION OUT OF OUR BUDGET AND STARTED REALLOCATING BACK TO THE CITY SO THAT YOU ALL CAN HAVE STREET PROJECTS. AND SO THAT'S A DIRECT CORRELATION OF WHEN WE REDUCE SERVICES FOR OUR SYSTEM, HOW THE RIDERS ARE AFFECTED BY IT. AND SO WE WERE ON A CONTINUAL GLIDE PATH. AND YOU HAVE TO MEASURE QUARTERS BY QUARTERS. THERE ARE DIFFERENT WEATHER PATTERNS AND TRAVEL PATTERNS AND SPECIFIC EVENTS THAT HAPPEN THAT CHANGE QUARTERS YEAR OVER YEAR. AND YOU COMPARE THOSE QUARTERS. BUT TAKING MONEY OUT OF OUR SYSTEM DIRECTLY AFFECTED THAT, AND WE'RE TRYING TO REBOUND FROM IT, THESE QUARTERS GOING FORWARD. AND IT WILL BE A CONTINUAL REMOVAL OF SERVICES AND DOLLARS FROM THOSE SERVICES TO THESE CITIES. CARA MENDELSOHN: SO RANDALL, LOOK, I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT ON TRACK ON CLOSING. I THINK YOUR FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY. YOU'RE RIGHT. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I KNOW I HAVE PUBLICLY SAID THAT BEFORE, AND I'LL CONTINUE TO SAY THAT. BUT IF THIS CHART WENT FURTHER BACK, THAT IS NOT GOING TO MATCH UP. AND BEFORE COVID HAPPENED, RIDERSHIP SLIPPED. AND JUST BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TRACKING THIS LONG ENOUGH, I CAN TELL YOU, THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS IS. AND THE BUS REDESIGN, WHY WOULD YOU THEN HAVE YOUR RAIL GO DOWN? THAT DIDN'T CHANGE. SO THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENING. AND IF YOU HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED IT, THAT'S FINE TO SAY, BUT IT CAN'T JUST BE THAT, OH A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, YOU TOOK SOME MONEY OUT OF THE SYSTEM. AND CERTAINLY, I WOULD EXPECT THAT THE ROUTES THAT YOU'VE CHANGED HAVE BEEN YOUR VERY LOWEST RIDERSHIP ONES, CORRECT? RANDALL BRYANT: THEY WERE THE PRIORITIES, YES. CARA MENDELSOHN: OK. WELL, I KNOW AT SOME POINT, I HAD A SPREADSHEET THAT HAD ALL OF THE BUS STOPS THAT DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE PERSON PICKED UP OR DROPPED OFF IN AN ENTIRE MONTH. AND IT HAD HUNDREDS OF ROWS. SO THERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE THE SYSTEM MORE EFFICIENT. THERE'S SOMETHING HAPPENING AND I HOPE YOU'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT. BUT THIS RIDERSHIP-- THIS ARTIFICIALLY LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONE UP OVER TIME. BUT IF THE OTHER PART WAS THERE, YOU'D HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND SHOW HOW MUCH IT'S ACTUALLY GONE DOWN. THE NEXT PAGE I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, SO THAT'S 11, IS SLIDE 12. AGAIN, WHY WOULD LIGHT RAIL HAVE DECREASED. RANDALL BRYANT: I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOUR QUESTION. CARA MENDELSOHN: SO YOUR SECOND BULLET, WHY DID LIGHT RAIL DECREASE IN RIDERSHIP? IF YOUR BUS WAS REDESIGNED-- RANDALL BRYANT: I THINK YOU'RE COMPARING TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. BUS REDESIGN WAS IN 2022. [01:45:02] THE SERVICE CHANGE, WHICH ALSO INCLUDED GOING FROM 15-MINUTE HEADWAYS TO 20-MINUTE HEADWAYS, ALSO IMPACTED LIGHT RAIL. SO THE ENTIRE SERVICE CHANGE HAPPENED IN 2026, WHICH-- CARA MENDELSOHN: AND YOU THINK YOU HAD ABOUT A 2% DECREASE IN RIDERSHIP SOLELY BASED ON THE FIVE MINUTES? RANDALL BRYANT: I WOULDN'T GO AS FAR TO SAY ANYTHING THAT'S HAPPENING AT DART IS SOLELY BASED ON ONE FACTOR. NO, NO DIFFERENT THAN I WOULD SAY IF WE HAD NOT CHANGED THE HEADWAYS. IF SAFETY AND SECURITY CONCERNS WERE NOT WHERE THEY STILL ARE, WOULD THEY NOT HAVE MAYBE POTENTIALLY DECREASED RIDERSHIP. I THINK THEY ALL WORK TOGETHER. AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU HAVE FORCE MULTIPLIERS ON EACH OTHER, WHEN YOU DECREASE. AND WHEN YOU HAVE A INCREASE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY PERCEPTIONS, THEY HAVE A COMPOUNDING EFFECT. IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT WE DID TAKE $42.5 MILLION OUT OF DIRECT SERVICES. THE MAJORITY OF IT CAME FROM DIRECT SERVICES. THERE WERE SOME PERSONNEL INVOLVED WITH IT TOO. BUT THE MAJORITY OF IT DID GO FROM 15-MINUTE HEADWAYS TO 20-MINUTE HEADWAYS IN PEAK. IT REMOVED A LOT OF BUS ROUTES. IT DID NOT IMPACT PARATRANSIT, SO THERE WERE SERVICES FOR THE ENTIRE 700 SQUARE MILES THAT WERE IMPACTED. OBVIOUSLY, SAFETY AND SECURITY, WHICH WE'VE DISCUSSED HERE, WHICH WE ALL FOR THE MOST PART, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING CONTRARY TO IT, BELIEVE THAT IT IS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE DECREASE IN RIDERSHIP AS WELL. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TAKING VERY SERIOUSLY TO ADDRESS. CARA MENDELSOHN: OK. WELL, I'M GOING TO FINISH UP WITH THE SILVER LINE ON THE RIDERSHIP. IN 2013, IT WAS PREDICTED BY DART THAT YOU WOULD HAVE 14,000 RIDERSHIP A DAY. IN 2018, YOU LOWERED IT TO 12,000 RIDERSHIP A DAY. IN 2019, YOU TOOK A BIG HIT SAYING 5,600 RIDERSHIP PER DAY. YOU'RE NOT EVEN AT HALF OF THAT. YOU'RE NOT AT A FIFTH OF WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY PREDICTED. I DON'T EVEN BELIEVE THE NUMBERS YOU'RE SHOWING. AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY AT-GRADE CROSSINGS IN DISTRICT 12, THAT WE SIT THERE AND WE SEE THROUGH THE TRANSPARENT WINDOWS THAT THERE ARE HARDLY ANY PEOPLE ON THAT TRAIN. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT DAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TIME. AND SO MATHEMATICALLY, WHEN I SIT HERE AND I GO, OK, IF YOU EVEN GENEROUSLY SAY THERE ARE 2,500 PEOPLE PER DAY, AND YOU DIVIDE THAT OUT BY HOW MANY THAT WOULD BE PER TRAIN, SO THERE'S 30 TRAINS ON A WEEKDAY, IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE. LIKE, ARE YOU COUNTING THE BAG THAT SOMEBODY IS BRINGING? I MEAN, COME ON. RANDALL BRYANT: SO FOR A SILVER LINE, WE HAVE CONDUCTORS AND THEY DO MANUAL COUNTS. AND SO IF THERE ARE ANY FAULTS IN THOSE NUMBERS, THEN THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT IT'S INTENTIONAL, NOT PROPERLY COUNTING. THE PREVIOUS NUMBERS THAT SUPPORTED THE PROJECT ITSELF IN 2018, IN THOSE YEARS, I WAS NOT EVEN A BOARD MEMBER, SO I CAN'T SPEAK ON WHY THEY WERE PRESENTED AS REASONS WHY. WELL, I WILL SAY IS I THINK THAT THERE'S SOMETIMES, AND I'M NOT ACCUSING YOU OF IT, PLEASE-- BUT WHEN I WAS AT THE CITY OF IRVING'S TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING, WE GAVE A SIMILAR PRESENTATION. THERE WERE THOUGHTS THAT THERE WERE EMPTY BUSES HAPPENING. AND WHAT I DID WAS, NOT ONLY I TOOK THE TRA OUT TO CITY OF IRVING, BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS I'M NOT GOING TO I CAN'T SAY THE BUS NUMBER. BUT I TOOK A BUS AND I LEFT FROM CITY HALL AND I WENT TO NORTH LAKE CAMPUS AND THEN TOOK THE ORANGE LINE BACK. AND ON THAT BUS THERE-- AND I TOOK PICTURES OF ALL OF THEM REPORTED BACK-- THERE WERE 30 PEOPLE THAT GOT ON THE BUS AND OFF THE BUS SOMEWHERE ALONG THE COURSE. SOME PEOPLE GOT ON THE BUS FOR ONE MINUTE, SOME PEOPLE GOT ON THE BUS FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION. SOME PEOPLE GOT ON AND GOT OFF BEFORE I GOT TO NORTH LAKE. I THINK THERE'S SOME IDEA THAT WHEN WE START A TRAIN IN DFW AIRPORT THAT EVERYONE GETS ON AND THEN EVERYONE IS ON THE ENTIRE TIME AND THEY GET OFF IN PLANO, AND THAT'S NOT WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING, EVEN AS DISPLAYED BY ONE OF THE CHARTS THAT WE SHOWED ON AND OFF BOARDINGS BETWEEN MULTIPLE CITIES. SO WHEN WE PRESENT OUR COUNTS AND WHEN WE PRESENT THE RIDERSHIP DATA, IT'S NOT FROM THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE GETS ON AND THE ENTIRE THING IS FULL THE ENTIRE TIME, AND THEN EVERYONE GETS OFF AT THE END. THERE ARE MULTIPLE STOPS HAPPENING. I'M NOT SAYING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT THAT'S HOW IT TRANSLATES BACK INTO OUR RIDERSHIP, THAT PEOPLE GET ON AT A STOP. THEY GET OFF AT A DIFFERENT STOP, AND IT'S HAPPENING ALL WITHIN REAL TIME. CARA MENDELSOHN: THERE'S ONE TRAIN GOING ONE WAY, ONE TRAIN GOING THE OTHER WAY ON SILVER LINE. IS THAT CORRECT? RANDALL BRYANT: YES, MA'AM. CARA MENDELSOHN: AND WOULD YOU SAY THEY'RE ABOUT EQUAL IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP? RANDALL BRYANT: WHEN YOU SAY EQUAL, YOU MEAN EAST TO WEST? [01:50:02] CARA MENDELSOHN: DO YOU THINK THAT AT ANY GIVEN TIME YOU COULD TAKE A DAY AND SAY, SOMEBODY'S GOING EAST, THIS RIDERSHIP IS GOING TO BE EQUAL TO THE RIDERSHIP GOING WEST? RANDALL BRYANT: I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER. AND WE CAN INCLUDE THAT IN THE RESPONSE BACK TO YOU. BUT I WOULD JUST SAY FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I TYPICALLY TAKE DART TO DFW AIRPORT EVERY TIME. EVERY IF YOU OUR RIDERSHIP-- I'M SORRY-- OUR TRAVEL EXPENSES ARE ALL ONLINE. YOU WILL NEVER SEE DFW AIRPORT PARKING FOR ANY TRAVEL EXPENSE I'VE EVER TAKEN BECAUSE I TAKE THE ORANGE LINE OUT EVERY TIME. CARA MENDELSOHN: I COMMEND YOU ON THAT. BUT IT ALSO OUGHT TO BE DART POLICY NOT TO PAY FOR PARKING AT THE AIRPORT. RANDALL BRYANT: OK. SO HOWEVER, ON RETURN BACKS, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT TIME OR AND IT'S NOT EVEN FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY. IT'S JUST IT'S BEEN A LONG FLIGHT, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO DO IT. IT BECOMES A BIGGER CHALLENGE TO COMMIT TO THAT. SO EAST TO WEST, IF FROM PLANO TO DFW AIRPORT, I WOULD ASSUME MORE PEOPLE ARE LIKE ME WILL GUARANTEE THAT ROUTE GOING OUT, BUT NOT ALWAYS COMING BACK. I DON'T KNOW THAT. AND WE CAN TO GET YOU THAT ANSWER. CARA MENDELSOHN: OK, I'D BE CURIOUS. THERE WAS A STATEMENT MADE THAT THE SERVICE AREA MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF THE SILVER LINE, AND I WILL JUST SAY I THINK WE ARE WELL AWARE. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILWOMAN BLAIR? LORIE BLAIR: THANK YOU, CHAIR. AND THANK YOU MR. BRYANT. I KNOW THAT YOU DO GET ON THE BUS IN EVERY SERVICE THAT DART OFFERS. I WANT TO ASK A COUPLE OF THINGS. I KNOW THAT AT THE TAIL END OF YOUR BUS LINES, THAT YOU'RE BEGINNING TO DO TODS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WESTMORELAND AND TO DISTRICT 5, BUCKNER STATION. AND I COMMEND THOSE REPURPOSING OF PARKING LOTS INTO SOMETHING MORE WALKABLE AND AMENABLE TO GETTING PEOPLE ON THE BUS OR THE DART RAIL. DO YOU KNOW IF THERE'S ANY MEASURES OR ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT TO OCCUR OUT IN OTHER AREAS WITHIN THE CITY SO THAT WE CAN DO MORE ENERGIZING OF THE RAILWAYS? RANDALL BRYANT: YES. THE ANSWER IS YES. I THINK THE PART OF THE CHALLENGE IS, AND I SHARED IT WITH IT BEFORE, IS WHAT OUR CAPACITY IS. DART WAS VERY FORTUITOUS IN THE 1980S TO NUMBER ONE BACK THIS AGENCY WITH A PENNY. THAT ALLOWED US TO PROVIDE OPERATIONS, BUT ALSO HAVE THE CAPITAL INVESTMENTS AS WELL. THE SECOND THING WAS-- AND THE SECOND THING WAS TO ACQUIRE RIGHT OF WAY FOR OUR RAIL ALL ACROSS THIS REGION. WE HAVE OWNERSHIP OF THE RIGHT OF WAY, ALL THE WAY TO SHERMAN FOR THE RED LINE. THE THIRD THING WAS TO ACCOMPANY THOSE RAIL STATIONS WITH PARKING RIGHTS THAT HISTORICALLY WERE UTILIZED TO GREAT LENGTHS. MORE RECENTLY, THERE AT AROUND 13%. AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT NOT DIVESTING OF THOSE PROPERTIES, BUT FINDING OUT WAYS TO UTILIZE THEM STRATEGICALLY TO TURN INTO REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES WHICH PROVIDE AD VALOREM TAX BASIS FOR YOU ALL, AS WELL AS SHARED SALES TAX BASES FOR BOTH OF US. SPECIFICALLY IN DISTRICT 8 OR REALLY ANYWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, IS JUST SIMPLY A CAPACITY ISSUE, WHICH IS WHY, LIKE I SAID, WE INTENTIONALLY ADDED ONE HEADCOUNT INTO THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR DART TO TRY TO INCREASE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES. BUT WE'RE MOVING, I PROMISE YOU, AS FAST AS WE CAN. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT COULD BE HELPFUL TO IT, TO US IN THIS ENDEAVOR, POSSIBLY A BLANKET ZONING CHANGE FOR ALL PROPERTIES. AND WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE HOLISTIC OBJECTIVES THAT WE WORK TOGETHER ON AND COME THROUGH BACK THROUGH A SITE PLAN ONLY PROCESS. THAT'S JUST ONE IDEA. AND WE'VE ACTUALLY EVEN TRIED TO ADVANCE THE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN DART AND YOUR CITY PLANNING COMMISSION. I BELIEVE IT WAS IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. MY REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT HEAD, CAITLIN HOLLAND, AS WELL AS PATRICK KENNEDY, WHO CHAIRS OUR DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE, CAME BEFORE THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE BUREAUCRACY AND THE RED TAPE AND WHAT THE PLANS ARE FOR US TO FIGURE OUT, WHAT COULD WE MEANDER THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE QUICKLY TO GET MORE STOOD UP. LORIE BLAIR: SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I KNOW THAT IN SOME AREAS, IT'S DIFFICULT BECAUSE THE LAND HAS BEEN BUILT UP SO DEEPLY THAT YOU CANNOT EXTEND PAST WHERE YOU ARE. BUT IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE COULD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT. [01:55:01] I'M JUST GOING TO-- JUST FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, CHAIR, BECAUSE I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU ABOUT SAFETY ON A EXTENSIVE. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE SEPTEMBER 21 MEMO. I KEEP IT NEARBY AND TO REMIND MYSELF WHAT YOU'RE DOING WHEN I GET THE URGE TO CALL AND SAY WHAT YOU'RE NOT. SO I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING. I DO WANT TO, ESPECIALLY, THANK YOU, BECAUSE I DO KNOW THAT SOMETIMES OUR UNHOUSED POPULATION, THEY USE THAT AS A MEANS TO BE SAFE AND THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE YOUR RIDERSHIP SAFER. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING AS A SAFETY MEASURE. THANK YOU, CHAIR. PAUL RIDLEY: THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. WE ARE GOING TO, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, POSTPONE THE ITEM C, THE 2025 DALLAS BIKE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE TO THE NOVEMBER MEETING. AND SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE BRIEFING ITEMS. [BRIEFING MEMOS/ ACTION ITEMS] ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS AMONGST THE COMMITTEE ABOUT BRIEFING ITEMS D OR E? MR. GRACEY, WHICH ITEM? ZARIN GRACEY: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. BRIEFING ITEM D. I JUST WANT TO THANK CITY STAFF FOR BRINGING THIS TOGETHER. I KNOW IT'S BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A LONG TIME AND I'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM REGULARLY. SO EXCITED TO FINALLY SEE THIS COMING TO FRUITION. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: VERY GOOD. ANYONE ELSE? YES, MS. MENDELSOHN? CARA MENDELSOHN: THANK YOU. E. PAUL RIDLEY: OK. CARA MENDELSOHN: I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD GET INFORMATION ON HOW MUCH THE STUDY WILL COST AND WHAT THE SOURCE OF FUNDS IS. PAUL RIDLEY: DR. KHANKARLI, ARE YOU PREPARED TO ADDRESS THOSE QUESTIONS? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: GOOD AFTERNOON. GHASSAN KHANKARLI, DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS. SO THE DOWNTOWN LINK IS THE ITEM WILL BE ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA ON THE 28TH. AND IT'S, I THINK, 1.1 MILLION. CARA MENDELSOHN: AND WHAT'S THE SOURCE OF THAT FUND? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: FEDERAL GRANT, PRIMARILY. CARA MENDELSOHN: AND THEN THERE'S A SECOND ONE TO THE STREETCAR AND THE CENTRAL LINK? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: THAT'S WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO. CARA MENDELSOHN: AND WHAT ABOUT THE STREETCAR? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: SO THE STREETCAR ITEM FOR THE RELEASE FOR US TO PAY THE ANNUAL OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE FOR DART IS ALSO ON THE 2028 AGENDA. CARA MENDELSOHN: OK, BUT ISN'T THIS A STUDY, THIS ITEM E1 THAT WAS IN YOUR MEMO? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: SO THE MEMO HAS THE TWO ITEMS. ONE IS THE CENTRAL LINK-- CARA MENDELSOHN: I'M SORRY. SO ARE THEY BOTH FEDERAL FUNDS? ARE THEY BOTH FROM FEDERAL FUNDS IN THAT 1.1 MILLION? GHASSAN KHANKARLI: SO 1.1 MILLION, SO 1 MILLION IS-- TO BE EXACT IS 980,000-SOMETHING IS FEDERAL FUNDS. AND THE 100 AND SOMETHING THOUSAND IS FROM GENERAL FUNDS. LORIE BLAIR: COUNCIL MEMBER MENDELSOHN, SORRY, I THINK YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT ITEM B, THE O&M STUDY UPDATE AND THE SOURCE OF FUNDS FOR THAT ITEM. IS THAT CORRECT? CARA MENDELSOHN: NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ASKING ABOUT. NO, I THINK YOU'VE ANSWERED THAT QUESTION THEN. THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER CADENA. LAURA CADENA: YES, SO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT. AND JUST BECAUSE I DID SEE ON FIGURE 5-14, IT LOOKS LIKE THE RUNWAYS ARE CLOSER TO WHERE THERE'S RESIDENTIAL AREAS. SO I DID SEE WHERE Y'ALL ARE HAVING A MEETINGS WITH VENDORS AND OTHER BUT IS THERE ALSO COMMUNITY MEETINGS LIKE THERE IS AT LOVE FIELD. AND I ASK BECAUSE AT LOVE FIELD, WE GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE RUNWAYS AND THE NOISE AND JUST WONDERING WHAT Y'ALL ARE PLANNING AS Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO EXPAND EXECUTIVE AS WELL. PATRICK CARRENO: THANKS. PATRICK CARRENO, DIRECTOR OF AVIATION. YES, WE DO HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS DOWN THERE, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO AT LOVE FIELD. THERE WERE ALSO A PUBLIC MEETINGS AROUND DEVELOPMENT OF THIS AIRPORT LAYOUT PLAN AS WELL. AND IT IS PART OF OUR NOISE PROGRAM, JUST AS WE DO AT DALLAS LOVE FIELD, WE DO MONITOR THE NOISE ACTIVITY LEVELS DOWN THERE AS WELL. LAURA CADENA: OK, GREAT. AND Y'ALL DO A GREAT JOB WITH OUR PROGRAM AT LOVE FIELD. SO I KNOW THAT THAT'LL BE A GREAT RESOURCE DOWN FOR THIS AREA AS WELL. SO THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: COUNCILMEMBER BLACKMON? PAULA BLACKMON: THANK YOU. ON ITEM D, I WAS LOOKING IN THE MAPS. AND IT I BELIEVE THAT WE DO HAVE PART OF THIS BOND THAT WILL BE IN YOUR AIRPORT, [02:00:05] BUT I'VE NOT SEEN IT, BUT OF COURSE I MEAN LIKE WE'VE BEEN READING TONS OF STUFF LATELY. IS IT IN THE SITE MAP ALREADY, OR IS THAT AFTER NOVEMBER 3? PATRICK CARRENO: THAT WOULD BE AFTER IF IT'S APPROVED, WHEN IT'S APPROVED, WE WOULD THEN START TO PUT THAT IN. HOW IT'S DELINEATED NOW IS WHAT WE WOULD CALL NON-AERONAUTICAL PROPERTY. SO ALL OF THOSE AREAS, WE DO THE SAME THING UNTIL A DEVELOPMENT COMES INTO PLAY. BUT WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF THE LEGWORK, AND WE WOULD EXPECT THAT PROPERTY TO BE RELEASED FROM ITS AERONAUTICAL OBLIGATION. LAURA CADENA: AND WHEN YOU RELEASE IT, IS IT SOMETHING WE DO OR DO YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR WHAT HAPPENS? PATRICK CARRENO: OH, THERE'S A PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH WITH TXDOT AND THEN THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION. AND THEN THEY KIND OF BLAST THE RELEASE SO THAT WE CAN USE IT FOR NON-AERONAUTICAL. AND THEN WE'VE ALREADY WORKED THROUGH THAT PROCESS WITH DEV AND JENNY AND THEIR TEAMS AS WE'VE LOOKED AT THAT TRAINING CENTER. LAURA CADENA: OK, THANK YOU. PAUL RIDLEY: ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT ITEMS D OR E? SEEING NONE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE FORECAST FOR COMING MONTHS. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? YES? PAULA BLACKMON: I THINK LAST MONTH, I ASKED IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO MAYBE ADD THE DISTRICTS IN THERE. AND SO I DON'T SEE THAT IN THERE. SO JUST WONDERING, AGAIN, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE COULD ADD DISTRICTS. PAUL RIDLEY: DISTRICTS IN TERMS OF WHAT? PAULA BLACKMON: FOR UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS. SO LIKE G-- PAUL RIDLEY: I'M SORRY, WE'RE ON THE BRIEFING FORECAST, I THOUGHT. PAULA BLACKMON: OH OK. SORRY PAUL RIDLEY: YES. WE'LL GET THERE IN A MINUTE. ANYONE ELSE ABOUT THE FORECAST? OK, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS. [POTENTIAL UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS] AND THIS IS YOUR COMMENT THAT YOU'D LIKE THE DISTRICT THAT IS AFFECTED BY THE ITEMS IDENTIFIED. DEV, IS THERE ANY REASON WE CAN'T DO THAT? COUNCIL MEMBER: NO, I DON'T BELIEVE SO. PAUL RIDLEY: I THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL INFORMATION. COUNCIL MEMBER: WE'LL LOOK TO WORK WITH OUR REGISTRAR TEAM TO MAKE SURE WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION. IT'S ALL AVAILABLE FOR THE ACTUAL AGENDA ITEM. BUT THESE OFTEN COME FROM THE DRAFT AND SO THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS FINAL. PAUL RIDLEY: ANY SUBSTANTIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS? OK SEEING NONE, IT IS NOW 3:12 PM. THE MEETING OF THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE IS ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.