Thursday, July 17, 2008

Fort Worth City Council tours TRE and DART rail systems for ideas and inspiration on their own mass transit system

By Laura Seewoester

Photo by Laura Seewoester

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief greets council members and employees and representatives of the T system as they board the TRE, headed for Big D.

Amidst soaring gas prices and a higher demand for mass transit, the Fort Worth City Council took a tour of the TRE and DART transit system Thursday for a little inspiration and lesson in rail systems from those "neighbors to the east" (also known as the City of Dallas). After the rail tour, they then met at Trinity Hall as Mayor Leppert and others involved in the DART rail expansion gave a presentation while Fort Worth City Council members took note.

As TRE ridership reached record highs on Wednesday, up to 12,600 trips from the usual average of 11,500 trips, the demand for a mass transit system in Fort Worth is pressing. DFW is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country and growing every minute. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief says the region must handle the growing demand because as people move into the area they expect to see a good public transit because they likely experienced it in other cities. Moncrief reiterated that "this is the future people mover."

Photo by Laura Seewoester

Mayor Moncrief looks like he's having so much fun on the train. That's because the TRE is air conditioned and awesome.

Fort Worth is starting their move into public rail systems by looking into a street car system. The Fort Worth Modern Streetcar Study Committee just met for the first time and is researching the best kind of system for the city, a good place to start and then, of course, they will figure out the issue of funding. The committee will be looking to other U.S. cities with street car systems to get some advice and figure the best way to go. And don't worry folks, after standing in the sun at the DART station on a hot July day, I'm pretty sure Fort Worth will not be choosing those old-timey streetcars that lack air conditioning.

Photo by Laura Seewoester

Mayor Leppert and Mayor Moncrief trade secrets about mass transit. Honestly I think they are talking about golf.

Luckily both the Fort Worth and Dallas City Councils understand that the issue of moving people from point A to point B transcends their city boundaries and are committed to making the transition between each city's rail lines as seamless as possible. (Which at the moment the transition is already pretty seamless, since one premium day pass will get you on the DART rail, DART bus, TRE and T bus system for a mere $5.) The current focus of both Dallas and Fort Worth at the moment revolves around D/FW Airport. Currently the TRE kinda stops at the airport, but you have to take a shuttle from the train station making the current situation not ideal. Dallas' future Orange line will go all the way out to D/FW, and Fort Worth's current focus is on the Cotton Belt Line that will extend from Southwest Fort Worth through the airport. Mayor Moncrief says connecting the cities in this way will symbolize a new way to get around.

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