WILL DART RAIL COME TO MAIN STREET?

[Presentation at Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture Main Street conference with Roberta Gratz in November 1998]

In 1870, the small town of Dallas had an official population of just 2,960. Founded in the 1840’s, Dallas was still a primitive place with dirt streets and the constant threat of fire. In 1871, “city fathers obtained a city charter for Dallas, lifting it, legally, out of ‘town’ class.” (A.C. Greene) The first passenger train of the H&TC railroad arrived from Galveston in 1872. This was the real beginning.

[Slide #1: The Bow, Visions]

“If Dallas has a real birthday, a true year of decision, this is it: 1873. The times before that, for all their importance, were a period of assembly, a gathering together of possibilities in case opportunity, fate and hope could all be brought into line.” A.C. Greene, Dallas: The Deciding Years – A Historical Portrait, 1973

In 1873 the population was 10,000 – a 300% growth in 3 years! The biggest event was when the T&P railroad began operating in Dallas, bringing goods and people from the East. The T&P’s tracks crossed the H&TC at Pacific Avenue and Preston Road (now Central Expressway).

Greene continues: “The arrival of the T&P was, if anything, more important than the arrival of the H&TC. For one thing, the tide of emigration and trade was sweeping westward, not northward. For another, the crossing of two railroads at a 90* angle was what made Dallas – not just either railroad itself alone. [T]he fact that this was the place where you eventually arrived created overnight a metropolitan situation.” It’s another story how the T&P was persuaded to cross the Trinity River at Dallas – itself an intriguing weave of vision and political pragmatism – but the point here is that this crossroads quickly created the beginning of the city we know today.

I can think of no better image for a look at the possibilities before us today with DART’s new rail system up and running.

But before we talk about DART rail, let’s take a look at Dallas’ growth over that first formative 50 years through the lens of Main Street.

[SLIDE #2: Main Street at Broadway (now Record) looking east in 1875. Note the streetcar turntable and line in the foreground]

[SLIDE #3: Main Street from the banks of the Trinity River in 1877]

[SLIDE #4: Main Street at Akard Street in the 1880’s]

[SLIDE #5: Main Street at Market Street in 1900 looking east]

[SLIDE #6: Main Street at Ervay Street in 1900 with an interesting traffic jam! Neiman-Marcus now stands at the intersection at the center of the picture]

[SLIDE #7: Main Street at Record Street before 1910 – this is the generation of settlement before the automobile began to take over]

[SLIDE #8: Main Street at Akard in 1908 – the popular Elks Arch]

[SLIDE #9: Main Street at Market looking east. The big city was getting bigger and by 1919 horses were gone]

[SLIDE #10: Main Street at Ervay in the 1920’s looking west. Main Street was at the center of things. Neiman-Marcus is in its new store at the left, across from the landmark Wilson Building. Note the towering new headquarters for Magnolia Oil in the background]

Now let’s talk about the future growth of Dallas – imagining fifty years forward from today – and consider the case for building a rail transit tunnel crossing Downtown under Elm Street.

Dallas entered a new era of settlement and development with the opening of DART rail. As with the first coming of the railroads in the 1870’s and 1880’s, rail transit brings a new generation of possibility for growth and prosperity in the Dallas region – something structurally different added to the infrastructure mix – like an interstate highway, for example, or a world class airport. Most significantly for the City of Dallas (and different in its land use impact on the suburbs with which Dallas must often compete for business), completion of the initial 20 mile “starter system” dramatically improved the quality of public transportation throughout the region.

[SLIDE #11: DART rail plan map with highlight on SW/NE line]

Extensions now being completed to Richardson, Plano and Garland will add substantially to DART’s daily ridership which currently exceeds 35,000.

Construction of the initial plan’s final 20 miles – from Pleasant Grove, South Dallas, Fair Park and Deep Ellum, and Baylor Hospital in the southeast through Downtown to the Market Center,

Medical Center, Love Field and Bachman Lake, and on to Carrolton, Farmers Branch, Las Colinas and DFW Airport in the northwest – is now in the final planning and engineering stages and is scheduled to be placed in service in phases over the next 5 – 7 – 10 years. And don’t forget the new Arena, Uptown and Framers’ Market along this SE/NW route. With rail lines extending into every major travel corridor, Downtown Dallas will be reinforced, once again, as the functional center of the region because of its location at the crossroads of a new, high-capacity, county-wide, cost competitive transportation system.

DART Rail has a “city-shaping” potential equal to, if not greater than the greatest public works of Dallas’ past. [SLIDE #12: The 1908 Trinity Flood] building the Oak Cliff Viaduct, the longest concrete structure in the world in 1912 – and the Trinity Levee a generation later – [SLIDE #13: Oak Cliff Viaduct], White Rock Lake which was intended to supply Dallas’ water needs for a century [SLIDE #14: White Rock Dam], Central Expressway which, shortsightedly, was narrowed to two traffic lanes north of Mockingbird Lane when it was constructed in 1953 because planners and politicians underestimated Dallas’ potential for growth to the north. Needless to say, huge changes in development and real estate values also were wrought with construction of the Dallas North Tollway in the 1960’s and DFW Airport in the 1970’s. In this same way, rail transit (whether yesterday’s railroads and trolleys or today’s light rail) changes the character and structure of land uses in areas with direct transit service. Transit expands the potential for growth, allowing for denser use of the land for development by providing higher capacity and more cost-effective systems of movement to support it.

Rail transit is different than busses which are creatures of the roadway – captives all too often of the traffic congestion that transit, mistakenly, is thought to relieve. Access to rail transit affords the potential for density of development while at the same time achieving a high-quality pedestrian environment [SLIDE #15: Transit station entry, Gratz]. This possibility is paradoxical (contradictory?) only to those with a vision of future growth served exclusively by autos. With rail transit available, much of the expense of new highway lanes, service roads, turn lanes, parking lots, garages and the other economic and social costs of exclusive automobile access can be avoided. Cities can develop more efficiently and sustainably -- and grow larger -- with an orientation toward rail transit. This means that real estate development at higher occupant densities – including both small and large scales of buildings, with both commercial and residential uses – is not only economically feasible but, in fact, is preferred in the market. [SLIDE #16: Density and Walking Distance to Transit Relationship, Regional Plan Association] [SLIDE #17: Mixed-use Transit-oriented Development, from Transit Villages]

In a city like Dallas, rail transit will inevitably encourage mixed-use projects with significant residential and commercial components to compliment traditional office uses and, most dramatically, will make new construction economically feasible for the vast sea of land now

committed to surface parking in Downtown. Roberta Gratz has an alternative vision which she describes as the process of “going from parking lot to place” – pedestrians reemerge on the street with transit-oriented development. Pedestrian-oriented land uses and the walkable streets they support will reappear around high-capacity, walk-accessible rail transit stations, especially in the Dallas CBD where existing high-density office occupancies are already the backbone of cost-effective rail service. CBD offices provide an “anchor” further rail expansion.

In my opinion, Dallas’ ability to grow its tax base through transit-oriented development is comparatively unlimited [SLIDE #18: TOD from Toronto], given the strength of the region’s diversified economy and the emerging limits to investment to new “sprawl-type” public infrastructure. On the “plus” side, Dallas is finally beginning to realize many of the benefits to be anticipated with rail transit: from increasing patronage for West End restaurants and the Dallas Zoo to the Adam’s Mark Hotel, Mockingbird Station and Galatyn Park developments. The experience of other North American cities with mature rapid transit systems suggests that this is just the beginning since DART’s passenger-carrying capacity can be increased at an almost negligible unit cost as demand increases if the initial system investment is properly planned and constructed.

[SLIDE#19: CBD aerial with Elm Street alignment and station areas]

No area stands to be more advantaged by expanding DART rail service than Dallas’ CBD – its historic and expanding Downtown. However, this is possible only if the new SE/NW rail line is built squarely through the downtown core (of employment and development density), only if it avoids the inevitable delays on surface streets, and only if it is directly connected to the existing rail mall and bus transfer centers. Speed and convenience of service are keys to expanding system ridership; safety and the perception of safety are essential. [SLIDE #20: DART trains in traffic]. DART cannot afford to build an operations “bottleneck” as it goes through Downtown Dallas. Nor should we miss the opportunity to expand rail’s coverage when locating new rail stations within Downtown. Remember that overall scheduled service speeds will be no faster than the system’s slowest link; regional service quality and financial performance will be no better than the most congested and least cost-effective rail segments. It’s the same way we know to think about our freeways!

The over-arching goals of maximizing walking access to transit, creating opportunities for transit-oriented development, and relieving traffic congestion are shared by DART and the City of Dallas. Since the Starter Line (Oak Cliff to Park Lane) was put into place, the choices for any new alignment Downtown are now more tightly limited, both in location and operation. It is imperative that the 2nd CBD rail line be directly connected to the existing stations to avoid or minimize transfers, decrease station dwell times and maximize pedestrian safety. [SLIDE #21: Station areas with 1,000 foot walking distance shaded]

The potential for new growth around CBD rail stations is both enormous and is of a new form – “walkable”. [viz Antonio Di Mambro DMN 2001 & Neil Pierce update] Both aspects are important. Judging from the history and nature of other transit cities, Dallas’ rail station economic impacts should properly be counted in the thousands of residential units, millions of square feet of commercial space, and billions of dollars of tax-assessed value of the next 10 – 20 years a new generation of development.

Dallas’ leadership would be irresponsible not to insist that this potential for future growth be fairly represented in DART’s 2025 System Update. Specifically, the City of Dallas must update and approve Downtown’s transit-oriented potential for mixed-use development in the TSZ’s (traffic system zones) which are used by NCTCOG in modelling future transportation systems behavior. This travel forecasting (trip generation/mode-split model) is the technical basis for all regional transportation planning and investment decision making. The danger lies in Dallas’ future potential being left out of the planners’ equation!

[SLIDE #22: Chart with development parcel SF at West End Station]

At quick survey of land currently available for future development includes surface parking lots and sites with buildings of marginal value, abandonable streets, etc. Note that smaller sites of 20,000 – 40,000 SF (part or all of a typical city block) and larger sites of 40,000 – 80,000 SF (1 – 2 city blocks) which are located within a 1 – 2 block walk (400 – 600 feet). Sites within 1,000 – 1,250 feet from a rail station are considered easily accessible and attractive to riders (a 5 minute walk or less). There is more than 700,000 SF of available land closer than 1,000 feet from possible station entrances on Main Street – with development rights 20 times that amount! This Elm Street subway alignment also affords direct station entrances from both the existing West End LRT station on Pacific and West Bus Transfer Center at Lamar Street.

[SLIDE #23: Chart with development parcels at City Center Station]

A City Center Station on Main Street between Akard and St. Paul would access more than 1,000,000 SF of historically significant vacant buildings, including the Mercantile Block, the Praetorian Building, and 1530 and 1604 Main. This station would also serve several development parcels totaling more than 400,000 SF within 600 feet walking distance and with direct connections to the existing Akard LRT Station.

[SLIDE #24: Chart with development parcels at East Main Station]

A possible third station located to the east between Pearl Street and Central Boulevard would connect directly to the East Bus Transfer Center and would serve 1,350,000 SF of land within a 600 foot walk, stretching from the Harwood Historic District to the old Deep Ellum district at Good-Latimer Expressway.

As you can see, these three stations together along Main Street would improve or expand walk access to DART rail for more than 2,500,000 SF of development land and numerous buildings in three historic districts. At allowable zoning densities of 20:1 FAR, these parcels represent more than 50,000,000 SF of building rights with the potential to become cost-competitive if direct rail service can be provided.

Unfortunately, these and other benefits for Downtown Dallas are unlikely to be realized without changes in the planning process currently underway. For the past 50 years, Dallas has grown almost exclusively around the automobile. Today’s new vision of the city – with urban, walkable places and neighborhoods, new residents and shopping Downtown – needs to be incorporated more effectively into the regional planning models. Chicago faced these questions more than 120 years ago with a much different vision and determination. Make no mistake, this notion of a truly urban core in Dallas will challenge fundamental assumptions about future growth in the region. And so there will be a political challenge to overcome, not a technical or financial one. It is a “chicken and egg” situation, both self-determinative and self-fulfilling. Without future riders, the cost of high quality stations, vehicles and grade separations is feared to be too great – neither cost-effective to operate, nor permitted under federal capital cost financing standards. But without high quality, high capacity service, transit will not be rapid (and safe) enough to attract new riders and support development at an urban scale. Without more transit use, regional growth may become limited by a failure to meet air quality standards (Atlanta situation with FTA funds) and quality of life and health will certainly suffer along with the economy.

Today, many question the need for investing in grade separation for rail transit (i.e., not running along or crossing surface streets). Is a tunnel under Elm Street cost-effective? Is a tunnel – a direct connection -- into Love Field cost-effective? In any long-term scenario, how can it be cost-effective in any vision of building Dallas’ future not to invest in these improvements today. This is, of course, more a question of self-definition than engineering. Ultimately, this is a debate about shaping our future economy and built environment in Dallas – what of the old to save and how and where to build the new. Do we want a city built almost exclusively around the automobile, or do we want a city with more transportation choices and real urban centers? Rail rapid transit can make possible this very real choice.

DART’s ridership projections through 2025 assume little transit-oriented development and few residents and shoppers Downtown. Officially, DART has maintained that in making transportation choices people will chose transit in ways not too different than they do today – because the form of land use is projected to remain fundamentally the same. The immediate consequence of this view is DART’s intention to route the new SE and NW rail traffic down the

existing Pacific Avenue transit mall. Ridership projections (now and for the past five year debate on this issue) show that traffic warrants requiring construction of a CBD subway will not be triggered. It is not thought justified to use incremental subway funds even to build the direct Love Field terminal connection! However, at the same time, DART has acknowledged that new train operations on Pacific Avenue will be numerous and so frequent in peak hours that preemption of traffic signals in the CBD will be necessary. If this is so, how long will such a compromised solution be acceptable? And at what cost to the public in in travel time and convenience?

If, however, as in many great cities, rail transit proves to be more attractive to more people, and an expanded system of rail and bus service becomes more competitive with the automobile, then Downtown will be a significant amount of residential, retail and commercial space (on top of what will likely remain the largest and most dense concentration of uses in the region) which cannot be served by new roads and surface parking lots. Transit favors density and density favors transit. More people, fewer cars! Great pedestrian environments require both, and sustain both.

Therefore, the character and form of the core of Dallas must change to allow for this growth around rail transit, and Downtown will become even more attractive for its urban scale, texture and diversity. Such an alternative vision for a truly urban heart of the region’s core city easily generates transit ridership which justifies the investment in grade separating new rail lines coming into Downtown today. Funding for a CBD transit tunnel has been included in DART’s financial planning and is required by DART’s Interlocal Agreement with the City. Grade separation Downtown is “triggered” when trains exceed maximum ridership or minimum headway thresholds on the existing mall. I am confident this situation will develop when the Richardson, Plano and Garland extensions are opened in 2002, even if nothing more is built in and around Downtown to add to predicted ridership there. More significantly, addition of the Pleasant Grove/Fair Park trains from the southeast, beginning in 2007 – 08, will literally “swamp the boat” on Pacific. (Curiously, the federally-required adopted locally preferred alternative specifically did not include the planned extension along Buckner Boulevard which would add 24% to the corridor ridership at an increased cost of 10% for the reason – I believe – that it caused the SE line to violate the ILA operating thresholds).

As part of the planning process now underway (11/1998) for the Pleasant Grove/Carrolton rail extensions, including a 2nd alignment for the CBD, we need an over-arching, people friendly vision of Downtown Dallas and its surrounding neighborhoods to guide planners’ assessments of future transit ridership and transit-oriented development. Only then will the true potential for new urban fabric and reduction in auto-generated air pollution – both in an increasingly

walkable and livable city – be recognized and planned for by DART. That would be a revolution of the greatest kind.

A new future is emerging for Dallas which is sustained by the vision of truly urban life at the city’s heart. Because DART will be increasingly recognized for its unique contributions to redevelopment and quality of life in Dallas, DART should now be called on more and more to do its part in that process. If we are to look back from the midpoint of the new century, say 2050, DART may be best understood for this role in city-building:

D – Diversity of peoples, economic opportunity and cultures

A – Air quality that is neither an economic burden nor a risk to our health

R – Redevelopment of traditional and historically valuable buildings and neighborhoods, enriching both our cities and our towns as the new is brought forth

T – Transportation alternatives, real choices to the automobile for people of all means

These are again “deciding years” as A.C. Greene wrote more than a generation ago about the founding 50 years in Dallas. The new transcontinental railroads brought the Sanger Brothers and other “terminal merchants” who built their town so quickly into a major center of business. If DART brings its new rail transit to Main Street, Dallas can expect more of the rich urban life we are beginning to glimpse today. I believe we can grow quickly, then, into a truly international and livable city with is “crossroads of rail transit” again in the core of Downtown.