CTroyMathis
03-17-2002, 06:04 PM
Historic status may alter light-rail plan
DART considers other paths as case is made to save Deep Ellum tunnel
03/17/2002
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
State historians have given a mural-covered Deep Ellum tunnel and its notable past a new chance at avoiding demolition for a future light-rail route.
The Good-Latimer Expressway tunnel, one of the gateways into the vibrant neighborhood east of downtown, is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Texas Historical Commission.
"They indicated they believed it was an important part of Dallas' transportation past," said John Hoppie, project manager for DART's southeast rail line planning and development. "Unfortunately, it's in the way of Dallas' transportation future."
While not a permanent reprieve, the state decision means that Dallas Area Rapid Transit must prove there is no other "prudent or feasible" way to run trains through Deep Ellum. The transit agency's first and least-expensive option would be to fill in the tunnel and lay tracks on top of it.
Local merchants have adopted the cause of the tunnel, which has stood for 72 years.
"That throws a wrench in this," said Hurdie Burk, executive director of the Deep Ellum Association, who estimated that about 60 percent of merchants and residents want to save the tunnel. "Nobody in Deep Ellum has said light rail is not a good thing. What we've said is, 'Give us a plan and work with us.' "
Historians value the tunnel not because of the artwork that has graced its walls since 1994 but because of its connection to some of Dallas' first long-range infrastructure plans dating to 1925.
http://a1416.g.akamai.net/f/1416/744/1d/www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/M_IMAGE.ec9b255380.93.88.fa.80.754d69a.jpg
"That's a time when cities started doing major improvements in public works," said Peter Ketter, historian for the Texas Historical Commission. "Before this, it was never really a concerted effort."
The idea of an automobile tunnel under the old Houston and Texas Central Railroad line gained momentum in a 1925 report.
The tunnel has survived as one of few remaining structures linked to that plan and that era, a time when Dallas voters approved $20 million in bonds to improve the city. Much of the money went to levee and flood prevention improvements, and to resolve the growing conflicts between the automobile transportation system and railroads.
In addition, the city fixed most railroad-street conflicts by building tracks over roads. The Deep Ellum underpass is one of only a few tunnels that were built, Mr. Ketter said.
Alternative paths
DART does have at least two other options that would spare the tunnel. Both would require more land and affect more businesses and homes.
The option that includes filling in the tunnel would require DART to buy two parcels of land but would not force out any businesses or homes.
Option B, which would run an elevated rail line immediately west of Good-Latimer and over the tunnel, would force out seven businesses and eight residents. It also could have noise, vibration or visual effects on another historic structure, the Union Bankers building, which would be just southwest of the elevated rail line.
If the Deep Ellum tunnel is spared, it could force DART to build a large column in the median of Good-Latimer to support the rail overpass. That column would sit directly in front of the tunnel when looking from the south, an effect that also must be considered, Mr. Hoppie said.
A late-developing plan known as Option C would run a rail line immediately east of Good-Latimer and take out five businesses. It also probably would force DART to demolish one 24-unit building of a relatively new apartment complex.
"There are impacts associated with all three alternatives. We're trying to weigh them all," Mr. Hoppie said.
Cost comparisons have not been released because of ongoing property negotiations, but Mr. Hoppie said the elevated rail line is more expensive than filling in the tunnel because of the land costs.
Deciding on the best option requires "a lot more paperwork and a lot more coalition building," Mr. Hoppie said.
Artist Frank Campagna, who helped organize the first tunnel-painting event, calls himself a realist about the project. He and Mr. Burk praised DART's offer of $1.5 million to create a new art program at a ground-level station that would replace the tunnel.
The money, approved by DART last fall, would be in addition to the transit agency's policy of providing $50,000 for artwork and decorations at each new station.
"I remain as open as possible on this," Mr. Campagna said. "But it's not the first time the tunnel has been under fire. If DART doesn't get its way, someone else will eventually do it."
What the future holds
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
The decorated tunnel's eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places is not a lasting reprieve from DART's plans.
About 750 people will board or exit trains in Deep Ellum in 2025, according to DART estimates. The entire line, running from downtown to Buckner Boulevard in Pleasant Grove, will attract 38,361 riders, or 19,182 round trips.
The southeast line will have nine stations, including two in the Fair Park area and one at Baylor University Medical Center. The Fair Park station, at the historic main entrance to the grounds, will be designed to resurrect memories of when trolley cars stopped at the main entrance. It also will feature passenger waiting areas with canopies that mirror long-gone ticket booths.
The $400 million line should open in 2007, but parts closest to downtown could open earlier.
Plans for the Deep Ellum station must be resolved in short order to keep the project on schedule. Further study could push plans back a month or two, a delay that could be made up during construction.
The DART board will decide which plan to submit for approval. The Federal Transit Administration will have the ultimate say on which route should be taken.
"We can engineer just about anything," Mr. Hoppie said. "The question is whether it's prudent to do that or not."
DART considers other paths as case is made to save Deep Ellum tunnel
03/17/2002
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
State historians have given a mural-covered Deep Ellum tunnel and its notable past a new chance at avoiding demolition for a future light-rail route.
The Good-Latimer Expressway tunnel, one of the gateways into the vibrant neighborhood east of downtown, is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Texas Historical Commission.
"They indicated they believed it was an important part of Dallas' transportation past," said John Hoppie, project manager for DART's southeast rail line planning and development. "Unfortunately, it's in the way of Dallas' transportation future."
While not a permanent reprieve, the state decision means that Dallas Area Rapid Transit must prove there is no other "prudent or feasible" way to run trains through Deep Ellum. The transit agency's first and least-expensive option would be to fill in the tunnel and lay tracks on top of it.
Local merchants have adopted the cause of the tunnel, which has stood for 72 years.
"That throws a wrench in this," said Hurdie Burk, executive director of the Deep Ellum Association, who estimated that about 60 percent of merchants and residents want to save the tunnel. "Nobody in Deep Ellum has said light rail is not a good thing. What we've said is, 'Give us a plan and work with us.' "
Historians value the tunnel not because of the artwork that has graced its walls since 1994 but because of its connection to some of Dallas' first long-range infrastructure plans dating to 1925.
http://a1416.g.akamai.net/f/1416/744/1d/www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/M_IMAGE.ec9b255380.93.88.fa.80.754d69a.jpg
"That's a time when cities started doing major improvements in public works," said Peter Ketter, historian for the Texas Historical Commission. "Before this, it was never really a concerted effort."
The idea of an automobile tunnel under the old Houston and Texas Central Railroad line gained momentum in a 1925 report.
The tunnel has survived as one of few remaining structures linked to that plan and that era, a time when Dallas voters approved $20 million in bonds to improve the city. Much of the money went to levee and flood prevention improvements, and to resolve the growing conflicts between the automobile transportation system and railroads.
In addition, the city fixed most railroad-street conflicts by building tracks over roads. The Deep Ellum underpass is one of only a few tunnels that were built, Mr. Ketter said.
Alternative paths
DART does have at least two other options that would spare the tunnel. Both would require more land and affect more businesses and homes.
The option that includes filling in the tunnel would require DART to buy two parcels of land but would not force out any businesses or homes.
Option B, which would run an elevated rail line immediately west of Good-Latimer and over the tunnel, would force out seven businesses and eight residents. It also could have noise, vibration or visual effects on another historic structure, the Union Bankers building, which would be just southwest of the elevated rail line.
If the Deep Ellum tunnel is spared, it could force DART to build a large column in the median of Good-Latimer to support the rail overpass. That column would sit directly in front of the tunnel when looking from the south, an effect that also must be considered, Mr. Hoppie said.
A late-developing plan known as Option C would run a rail line immediately east of Good-Latimer and take out five businesses. It also probably would force DART to demolish one 24-unit building of a relatively new apartment complex.
"There are impacts associated with all three alternatives. We're trying to weigh them all," Mr. Hoppie said.
Cost comparisons have not been released because of ongoing property negotiations, but Mr. Hoppie said the elevated rail line is more expensive than filling in the tunnel because of the land costs.
Deciding on the best option requires "a lot more paperwork and a lot more coalition building," Mr. Hoppie said.
Artist Frank Campagna, who helped organize the first tunnel-painting event, calls himself a realist about the project. He and Mr. Burk praised DART's offer of $1.5 million to create a new art program at a ground-level station that would replace the tunnel.
The money, approved by DART last fall, would be in addition to the transit agency's policy of providing $50,000 for artwork and decorations at each new station.
"I remain as open as possible on this," Mr. Campagna said. "But it's not the first time the tunnel has been under fire. If DART doesn't get its way, someone else will eventually do it."
What the future holds
RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / DMN
The decorated tunnel's eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places is not a lasting reprieve from DART's plans.
About 750 people will board or exit trains in Deep Ellum in 2025, according to DART estimates. The entire line, running from downtown to Buckner Boulevard in Pleasant Grove, will attract 38,361 riders, or 19,182 round trips.
The southeast line will have nine stations, including two in the Fair Park area and one at Baylor University Medical Center. The Fair Park station, at the historic main entrance to the grounds, will be designed to resurrect memories of when trolley cars stopped at the main entrance. It also will feature passenger waiting areas with canopies that mirror long-gone ticket booths.
The $400 million line should open in 2007, but parts closest to downtown could open earlier.
Plans for the Deep Ellum station must be resolved in short order to keep the project on schedule. Further study could push plans back a month or two, a delay that could be made up during construction.
The DART board will decide which plan to submit for approval. The Federal Transit Administration will have the ultimate say on which route should be taken.
"We can engineer just about anything," Mr. Hoppie said. "The question is whether it's prudent to do that or not."