Kevin Roden – 06.17.10

You know that soon-to-be rail line connecting us to Dallas that everyone is talking about?

If you are a mother and excited about the prospect of taking your children to the Dallas Zoo on the weekends, this is not your A Train.  If you are a lover of culture and anticipate the possibility of taking in the sights and sounds of Dallas in the evenings without having to drive, this is not your A Train.  If you are an owner of a music venue near the much talked about “arts district” connecting the upcoming rail station on Hickory and the square and long for the chance of drawing crowds from the South, this is not your A Train.

During a meeting with the Citizen’s Advisory Team on Thursday night, DCTA officials unveiled the service plan for the train that is scheduled to connect Denton to Carrollton and beyond by June 2011.  Trains will only run on Mondays through Fridays, with no planned weekend or special event service offered.  And even during the weekdays, “due to budget constraints,” the service will be limited to peak hours (5:30am – 9am, 3:00pm – 9pm) with either no middle day service or some limited mid-day runs (perhaps only offered through bus service, not the train).

No weekend service.  No evening service (at least not long enough to even allow for an early dinner in Dallas).  No special event service (sorry NX35, Arts and Jazz Fest, UNT concerts and games, among other things).  Is this what citizens of Denton signed on for when we agreed to have our taxes raised in order to pay for this service (we have been paying a half a cent increase in sales taxes since 2004)?

According to DCTA Service Plan, which was adopted in 2002 when Denton and other cities voted in favor of it, this is what we were told we could expect from the new rail service:

Rail service is initially conceived as operating at 30-minute headways during peak periods and 60-minute headways during off-peak times and weekends.

Even now, the DCTA website claims that rail service will run on weekdays until 10pm, with some service on Saturdays.  Ask most people if they are excited about a train coming to town and they conjure up memories from visiting urban centers throughout the nation where you can catch a train to take you where you want to go just about any time of day.  And Denton city leaders have not worked to correct this perception about our own train.  For several years, in anticipation of the train coming, plans have been in the works to develop an arts corridor connecting the rail station to the downtown square along Hickory Street.  This last couple of years has seen a boom in development and new businesses in that area.  The demise of Fry Street combined with the upcoming train served to move the cultural center of Denton to the area surrounding the square.  The promise has been, both explicitly and implicitly, that the train would aid in bringing attention and visitors to the cultural life of Denton.  With most venues starting their events after 9pm and many shows happening on weekend nights, the train will offer no boost to the local arts scene.

Not only will our southern neighbors be prevented from visiting us on evenings and weekends in order to boost our local economy, Denton residents who work in town during the week will have no opportunity to utilize this train in order to connect with the cultural, entertainment, shopping, or sporting options of the greater Dallas area.

DCTA officials see this train simply as a means for school and occupational commuters to get to and from Denton during the normal work week.  In fact, DCTA official Jarod Varner, VP of Bus Operations who led the meeting on Thursday night, said that UNT students, faculty, and staff were “our bread and butter.”  He claims that over 50% of the known users of the existing commuter buses that connect Dallas and Denton are UNT students or staff who commute to Denton from southern cities.  It is those stats that are pushing their vision for rail service.  In other words, the rail service set up in Denton which has been voted on and has been paid for by the citizens of Denton since 2004 is set to serve mostly non-Denton citizens.  That might be fine if these visitors were coming to support our local businesses and cultural events.  Instead, it seems, most will arrive at the station and immediately board a bus bound for UNT – all thanks to the Denton taxpayer.

So here’s where we stand… Our own residents who don’t commute out of Denton for work get no conceivable benefit from the train.  Our businesses, our arts community, and our nationally recognized festivals gain nothing of substance from this train, despite the fact that 4th goal of the Service Plan from 2002 is “to promote economic development”.  Is this really our A Train?

If you are concerned about this latest development, please let your voice be heard.  Contact your Denton city council person, contact DCTA, and attend a public meeting on the matter this coming Monday, June 21 at 6:30pm at Denton City Council Chambers on 215 E. McKinney.

ONE NOTE OF QUALIFICATION: I am a huge fan of public transportation in general and DCTA specifically.  I ride the DCTA bus to and from work several times a week and encourage others to do so.  My 2 year old daughter finds no greater joy than when I take her on a bus ride to the square for J and Js pizza followed by Beth Marie’s ice cream.  I have found the DCTA staff to be responsive, progressive, and smart.  They are continually working to make DCTA and its services better for us.  My hunch is that the DCTA Board has concerned themselves with counting pennies to the point of losing sight of what could be a great vision for this new rail line.  We need to urge them to re-focus.