DART Reps Ask for UP City Council’s Support

Dallas Area Rapid Transit representatives told the University Park City Council during a Feb. 4 meeting that DART is working to better meet the city’s needs, and asked the council to adopt a resolution to maintain the agency’s funding.

“I think we’ll deserve it,” DART Administration Committee Chair Mark C. Enoch told the council. “And I think we have deserved coming back asking for this with the attention we have given the Park Cities, and particularly University Park, in the last few months.”

DART has come under fire recently from six of its 13 member cities, which have passed resolutions supporting a reduction in the amount of sales tax collected by the agency. 

The Regional Transportation Council has given DART until the end of February to resolve its funding debate. If DART fails to do so, the Transportation Council has threatened to remove support for DART’s current funding from its legislative agenda, according to an article in KERA News.

DART representatives said on Feb. 4 that the agency has plans to improve services in University Park. Key efforts could include enhancing worker access to businesses, especially in Snider Plaza, through expanded GoLink services. DART could also add additional train service during football games at SMU to reduce congestion, said DART Chief of Staff Kay Shelton.

Shelton said that University Park also has about $9.5 million available to be spent on transit-related projects through a program the city negotiated with DART in 2017 that returns some of its sales tax contributions.

More broadly, DART is changing its governance to give smaller cities more input, exploring how to better support economic development initiatives, improving safety and security, and developing transit plans with city-specific recommendations, representatives said.

“We’re here to provide services,” DART board chair Gary Slagel said. “But we need to collaborate, and be a better partner than perhaps we have been.”

After DART’s presentation, council member Phillip Philbin questioned whether DART is a good value for the city. Given the amount of sales tax that University Park contributes to DART, Philbin said, the city is paying $147.61 per rider on the bus, GoLink, and paratransit.

Philbin said he could take an Uber to a concert in Fort Worth and back for less than the city pays for a single rider to use DART services.

“That’s the issue that I’m having to explain to people when they say, ‘Look at how much money we’re paying DART,’” he said. “Imagine how much cheaper it would be for everyone in University Park to take an Uber to SMU stadium and back, cheer on those Ponies.”

Enoch responded that calculating cost per ride does not account for public transportation’s benefits of clean air and reduced congestion. He said that Park Cities business owners benefit when employees use public transportation, and that its existence helps attract new business to the area.

 “Beyond the traffic, beyond the employees, beyond the clean air, there are advantages, job creation and everything else, that makes this area, Park Cities, such a jewel in the metroplex, to be able to enjoy the benefits of the commerce that surrounds it,” he said.

Also during the meeting, the University Park City Council approved a proposal to replace the University Park Public Library elevator at a cost of $79,420. The library is located on the second floor, and its elevator has been out of service multiple times in the past two years. Repairs have not been successful in resolving the elevator’s performance issues.