the offical newsletter of DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT - Summer 2008

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DART FY2007 Financials
(1.9MB PDF file)

A letter from the DART Chairman of the Board.

Customer-driven

DART's driving commuters to public transit by focusing on customer expectations - stepping up service quality, customer courtesy and security - and flexing with their needs and lifestyles.

Delivering a Better Ride

Clean-fuel buses, low-floor light rail vehicles, a redesigned web site and well-trained employees are keeping DART on the leading edge of providing clean, efficient, customer-friendly service.

Growing the Green Line

The 28-mile, $1.8-billion Green Line is gaining momentum daily. The initial phase - opening in 2009 - will bring the first urban rail service to the State Fair of Texas in more than 50 years.

Changing the Way We Live

DART's push to get more people onto public transit is being matched by the incredible rise of transit-oriented developments throughout the growing rail system.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

As North Texas becomes increasingly interconnected, DART is paving the way for regional thinking and cooperation with the Fort Worth T and the Denton County Transit Authority.

Empowered to Achieve

In the service industry, employees are a company’s greatest asset, and FY07 saw DART elevating its commitment to employee satisfaction and leadership development.

Short Trips

Taking a fresh look at transit in downtown Dallas; DART saves cash and gas; couple says "I Do" on the Trinity Railway Express; State Fair Shuttle is a popular ride; getting ready to bike and bus down the road; DART honored for supporting businesses.

DART Board of Directors

DART Current and Future Services Map

DART: Live, On Tape and Online

Contact Webmaster at:
eelam@DART.org

Changing the place we call home

Cities and developers are putting out the welcome mat for DART Rail.

New transit villages up and down the rail lines let North Texans step out on the town and enjoy the good life without getting stuck in traffic.

The transit lifestyle puts dining adventures - like zesty fare at Mockingbird Station's Urban Taco (above) - just a short walk or train ride away.

DART's push to get more people onto public transit is being matched by progressive developers and forward-thinking member city planners. Nowhere is this more evident than in the incredible rise of transit-oriented developments (TODs).


West Village at Cityplace Station (above) bustles with nightlife, while The Ambrose at Baylor Medical Center Station (below) is bringing new energy to the Old East Dallas neighborhood.

Some of the area's hottest addresses - Mockingbird Station, West Village, the South Side, Downtown Plano, even Victory Park - are prototypical TODs. And there’s a lot more ahead.

"TOD is still a ground-floor opportunity and the sky's the limit," says Brian Tusa, development director of Alliance Communities. He's right: With more than $7 billion of TOD already built, planned or projected in the DART Service Area, the Federal Transit Administration estimates the local demand for housing near transit will increase nearly fivefold over the next two decades.

Wasting no time

Tusa's Ambrose, a mixed-use development emerging alongside the Green Line stop at Baylor University Medical Center, is nearing completion and already leasing its retail space. "The fact that DART was building the station was the key reason we bought this property, and I can already say it's one of the major reasons that retailers want to lease there," he says.

Dallas is leading the nation in transit-oriented development, notes Peter Calthorpe, urban planner and principal, Calthorpe Associates.

Exciting TOD projects are in the works up and down the developing rail lines and at many existing stations.

Here are just a few:

Driving home big economic returns

The public investment in public transit is delivering big dividends.

In fact, a 2007 study shows the $4.86 billion cost of the existing 45-mile light rail network – coupled with the 47-mile expansion through 2013 – is generating more than $8.1 billion in economic activity across the state.

"To say DART Rail's impact has been substantial for the Dallas region’s economy would be an understatement," says Dr. Bernard Weinstein of the University of North Texas Center for Economic Development and Research. "It's a trend that's impossible to miss; the local business community certainly hasn't."

• Park Lane Place. The former NorthPark East is being transformed into a $750 million work-live-play district – marketed as the "West End on steroids" – right across the street from Park Lane Station. The mammoth project should open later this year.

• Victory Park. This former brownfield has been transformed with some $3 billion worth of architecturally stunning hotels, condominium high-rises, retail shopping districts, and chic restaurants just steps from Victory Station.

• The Beat. Another exciting urban living option is coming to the developing South Side with this 10-story condominium building at Cedars Station.

• Brick Row. Richardson’s old east side is being revived with this $140-million investment in new apartments, shops and townhouses at Spring Valley Station.

• Carrollton and Farmers Branch. These cities at the northern end of the Green Line are working with DART and private developers to build attractive transit villages and revitalized town centers.

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