New DART Photos

[texcolo]

Hey,

Jack Flack has donated me a whole slew of new DART photos!!

I have tons of Oak Cliff pics. Which leads me to ask this question... which stations are on the median of Lancaster Road? I know the VA station is... but my memory is foggy on the others.

Stay tuned for a TRE photos page!!

Click on the banner below.

Matt

[RobertB]

Hey,

Jack Flack has donated me a whole slew of new DART photos!!

I have tons of Oak Cliff pics. Which leads me to ask this question... which stations are on the median of Lancaster Road? I know the VA station is... but my memory is foggy on the others.

Stay tuned for a TRE photos page!!

Click on the banner below.

Matt
I can't find the DART.org page that used to have all the details about each station, so I'll work from memory.

Let's see, the stations on the Blue Line after the lines split south of 8th Street are:

Morrell: Befinitely not in the road. Near an old historic brick building.

Illinois: I think this station is north of Illinois. The line moves out of Lancaster Rd to cross Illinois on a bridge, so this wouldn't be in the median.

Kiest: In the road near Lancaster-Kiest Shopping Center. That's a place with some real TOD potential, if someone had the vision (and the money) to make it work in a very low-income area.

VA Medical: In the road by the sprawling VA Hospital.

Ledbetter: The rail leaves the median (at ground level, crossing the southbound lanes) to get to this station. How is DART planning to run the line down to I-20?

[texcolo]

Thanks Robert B!!!

[RobertB]

I finally found the DART page with the detailed descriptions of each of the stations. It was under "DART Rail Station Amenities", which you get to by clicking "DART System Maps" from the top menu. Here's the direct URL:
http://www.dart.org/riding.asp?zeon=stationamenities

The pages confirm that Illinois Station (http://www.dart.org/illinoisstation.asp) is indeed north of Illinois, so it's not in the street. Also, the historic brick building is the "Monroe Shops" building, which in a past life was a repair shop for the Interurban rail line between Dallas and Lancaster. While noted as "eligible for the National Register of Historic Places", I don't see any indication that it's "officially" historic -- kudos to DART for preserving it anyway. At least, I hope it's still being preserved -- I haven't gotten a daylight look in over a year.

[texcolo]

Thanks for the info!!!

[Orlando]

DART should have never built that line in the median of Lancaster Rd. It should have been elevated. Too often cars end up on the tracks and delay service for hours.

[RobertB]

DART should have never built that line in the median of Lancaster Rd. It should have been elevated. Too often cars end up on the tracks and delay service for hours.
Keep in mind, though, that we can say that with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. IIRC, the elevated option was both more costly and had little community support -- the last thing the neighborhood needed was to be overshadowed by a miles-long overpass. I think folks were hoping for a streetcar-like ambience.

In fact, the community convinced DART not to build a fence down the median, for aesthetic reasons. This proved to be a tragic choice, as an elementary-school kid was killed when he ran in front of a train while trying to take a shortcut. Opposition immediately evaporated and the fence was built forthwith.

Note that DART will be building a segment of the Fair Park/Pleasant Grove line in the median of Good-Latimer, but this will be a very short segment, from Bryan to the soon-to-be-former Gaston Bridge. I doubt we'll see another long LRT-in-median segment.

[texman]

Keep in mind, though, that we can say that with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. IIRC, the elevated option was both more costly and had little community support -- the last thing the neighborhood needed was to be overshadowed by a miles-long overpass. I think folks were hoping for a streetcar-like ambience.

In fact, the community convinced DART not to build a fence down the median, for aesthetic reasons. This proved to be a tragic choice, as an elementary-school kid was killed when he ran in front of a train while trying to take a shortcut. Opposition immediately evaporated and the fence was built forthwith.

Note that DART will be building a segment of the Fair Park/Pleasant Grove line in the median of Good-Latimer, but this will be a very short segment, from Bryan to the soon-to-be-former Gaston Bridge. I doubt we'll see another long LRT-in-median segment.

Don't you dare question the man who works for DART!
Just kidding. I think your right though. I'm glad Dart hasnt built many at grade street lines, I think they were aiming for a more heavy rail type approach with high speeds and little grade crossings.