CTroyMathis
21 December 2002, 02:12 PM
Plano: DART hubs creating hubbub
Light rail's advantages have residents hopping on board
12/14/2002
By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
The gray skies and unrelenting rain didn't dampen Mary Montoya's enthusiasm this week as she emerged from a light-rail train at Plano's Parker Road station.
She started making plans for the arrival of light rail three years ago, when she bought a home about five miles from the station.
"I knew it was coming," she said of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's decision to extend its reach to Plano. "I bought a house not far from here partially because of the DART station."
This form of travel has many advantages, Ms. Montoya said. She doesn't have to pay for parking or gas, and her employer, the U.S. Department of Labor, picks up the tab for her daily commute to encourage alternatives to automobile travel.
"I like the fact that it's dependable," she said, remembering another perk of leaving her car behind. "On the train I can read."
Ms. Montoya is one of more than 3,000 people who are expected to catch a ride on the light-rail train each day from the three new DART stations that opened Monday.
Two of the stations are in Plano at Parker Road and in the center of downtown. The other new station – at the Bush Turnpike – borders Richardson and Plano.
Although DART officials have no ridership numbers from the opening days, they say there's often an initial flurry of riders in the first week before leveling off. Eventually, they expect an average of 3,400 riders will commute from the new stations each day.
At the Parker Road station, the crowds are already creating overflow conditions in the station's parking lot, and DART officials are urging commuters to drive a little farther south, to the Bush Turnpike station, to ease the parking woes.
In downtown Plano, merchants say they hope the influx of rail passengers will mean an upswing in business.
Richard Tuttle, owner of Nikki's Mail Center near the 15th Street station, said he has already seen an increase.
"This is the first week, and we've had several customers say they came up from Garland and took the rail up," he said. "The little bit that we've seen [in business] since the trains began running indicates that we're going to see a large increase."
Lyndon Cotter, co-owner of the Old Towne Gallery and Frame Shop, said his isn't the sort of business that lends itself to spur-of-the-moment purchases, so he has yet to see an increase in business.
"It takes time for that to happen," he said, "but having new exposure helps."
Some riders, such as Plano resident Bobbie Clayton, are no strangers to light-rail travel. The Plano resident has been driving to Richardson to catch the trains to work. But on Monday, boarding the train at Parker Road shortened her daily drive.
"It's closer to home," she said. "I get home quicker."
After her first day of commuting from the Parker Road station, she had only one complaint. "The parking is bad," she said. "This lot was full by 7 a.m."
But that inconvenience won't deter her. "I'm a devoted rail rider," she said.
So is Jim Blume, a Dallas attorney who began commuting from the new Bush Turnpike station on Monday.
"Trains are clean, fast and dependable," Mr. Blume said as he walked to his car, which had been sheltered all day beneath the massive overpass at North Central Expressway and Bush Turnpike.
The station is 10 minutes from his home, and he has a 22-minute ride to his office near the Lovers Lane DART station.
"We just moved our office two weeks ago," he said. "One factor for us was the proximity to the Lovers Lane station."
Relocations like that underscore DART's position that light rail is a magnet for economic development.
"It's a whole lot more than moving people from one place to another," said Gary Thomas, DART president and executive director.
He cited developer Robert Shaw's decision to invest $16 million in the two retail-residential developments that have transformed the landscape in downtown Plano and sparked new retail and business investment in the city's historic commercial core.
Now, Plano officials are already planning for similar transit-oriented development to occur around the Parker Road station. The City Council recently approved spending $1.675 million for a 4.6-acre site near the station to hold for future expansion.
In the meantime, Mr. Thomas emphasized the more immediate advantages of speeding by the daily gridlock on Central Expressway.
"Why would anyone want to subject themselves to that?" he said. "Look at all the cars in the [DART] parking lots up and down the corridors. All those cars aren't on Central Expressway anymore."
Light rail's advantages have residents hopping on board
12/14/2002
By WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
The gray skies and unrelenting rain didn't dampen Mary Montoya's enthusiasm this week as she emerged from a light-rail train at Plano's Parker Road station.
She started making plans for the arrival of light rail three years ago, when she bought a home about five miles from the station.
"I knew it was coming," she said of Dallas Area Rapid Transit's decision to extend its reach to Plano. "I bought a house not far from here partially because of the DART station."
This form of travel has many advantages, Ms. Montoya said. She doesn't have to pay for parking or gas, and her employer, the U.S. Department of Labor, picks up the tab for her daily commute to encourage alternatives to automobile travel.
"I like the fact that it's dependable," she said, remembering another perk of leaving her car behind. "On the train I can read."
Ms. Montoya is one of more than 3,000 people who are expected to catch a ride on the light-rail train each day from the three new DART stations that opened Monday.
Two of the stations are in Plano at Parker Road and in the center of downtown. The other new station – at the Bush Turnpike – borders Richardson and Plano.
Although DART officials have no ridership numbers from the opening days, they say there's often an initial flurry of riders in the first week before leveling off. Eventually, they expect an average of 3,400 riders will commute from the new stations each day.
At the Parker Road station, the crowds are already creating overflow conditions in the station's parking lot, and DART officials are urging commuters to drive a little farther south, to the Bush Turnpike station, to ease the parking woes.
In downtown Plano, merchants say they hope the influx of rail passengers will mean an upswing in business.
Richard Tuttle, owner of Nikki's Mail Center near the 15th Street station, said he has already seen an increase.
"This is the first week, and we've had several customers say they came up from Garland and took the rail up," he said. "The little bit that we've seen [in business] since the trains began running indicates that we're going to see a large increase."
Lyndon Cotter, co-owner of the Old Towne Gallery and Frame Shop, said his isn't the sort of business that lends itself to spur-of-the-moment purchases, so he has yet to see an increase in business.
"It takes time for that to happen," he said, "but having new exposure helps."
Some riders, such as Plano resident Bobbie Clayton, are no strangers to light-rail travel. The Plano resident has been driving to Richardson to catch the trains to work. But on Monday, boarding the train at Parker Road shortened her daily drive.
"It's closer to home," she said. "I get home quicker."
After her first day of commuting from the Parker Road station, she had only one complaint. "The parking is bad," she said. "This lot was full by 7 a.m."
But that inconvenience won't deter her. "I'm a devoted rail rider," she said.
So is Jim Blume, a Dallas attorney who began commuting from the new Bush Turnpike station on Monday.
"Trains are clean, fast and dependable," Mr. Blume said as he walked to his car, which had been sheltered all day beneath the massive overpass at North Central Expressway and Bush Turnpike.
The station is 10 minutes from his home, and he has a 22-minute ride to his office near the Lovers Lane DART station.
"We just moved our office two weeks ago," he said. "One factor for us was the proximity to the Lovers Lane station."
Relocations like that underscore DART's position that light rail is a magnet for economic development.
"It's a whole lot more than moving people from one place to another," said Gary Thomas, DART president and executive director.
He cited developer Robert Shaw's decision to invest $16 million in the two retail-residential developments that have transformed the landscape in downtown Plano and sparked new retail and business investment in the city's historic commercial core.
Now, Plano officials are already planning for similar transit-oriented development to occur around the Parker Road station. The City Council recently approved spending $1.675 million for a 4.6-acre site near the station to hold for future expansion.
In the meantime, Mr. Thomas emphasized the more immediate advantages of speeding by the daily gridlock on Central Expressway.
"Why would anyone want to subject themselves to that?" he said. "Look at all the cars in the [DART] parking lots up and down the corridors. All those cars aren't on Central Expressway anymore."