Cotton Belt-CS081212 Advancing Rail in North Texas Strategy Meeting
Cotton Belt Corridor
Friday, December 12, 2008
Attendance
There were 47 signed -in, with representatives from Addison, Carrollton, Colleyville, Coppell, Dallas, Dallas County,
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Denton County Transit Authority (DCTA), Dallas -Fort Worth (DFW) International
Airport, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Haltom City, Hurst, Irving, North Richland Hills, Plano, Richardson, Fort Worth
Transportation Authority (The T), Tarrant County, Southlake, North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG)
staff, and two consultant companies Dannenbaum Engineering and Ziebarth & Associates, Inc.
Purpose
The main purpose of this meeting was to increase communication for the interested parties along the Cotton Belt
Corridor and help facilitate implementation. A secondary meeting purpose was to gain a consensus for the scope of
work program to employ: eastern segments only, western segments only or full corridor.
Corridor Overview and Status Report
Michael Morris, Director of Transportation for the NCTCOG began by briefly discussing Rail North Texas at the
regional level. There are 250 miles of rail on the current transportation plan there with 215 miles in the Rail North Texas
Plan pending funding identification. The Cotton Belt is unaffected.
Mr. Morris then explained the limits of the Cotton Belt Corridor with areas of destination, potential station locations, the
need for a new type of rail technology, and sensitive corridors through different city limits. Then he moved on to explain
NCTCOG staff has developed fact sheets which were provided as handouts (Full Corridor — Fort Worth to the
Richardson /Plano /East; Western Segments — Fort Worth to DFW Airport; and Eastern Segments — DFW to
Richardson /Plano /East ). He identified several issues and explained the maps on the back of the fact sheets.
Mr. Morris complimented DART on their efforts to solve a national problem and develop a new passenger vehicle that
is compliant for both Tight rail and freight rail corridors. He explained the issue with using the current light rail vehicles in
this predominantly freight rail corridor. Basically, the current light rail vehicles used by DART require an overhead
electrification system which is not compatible with freight rail vehicles. An illustration of a hybrid vehicle currently being
tested in Austin was displayed. The hybrid vehicle may be appropriate for the Cotton Belt Corridor if it receives
approval from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to operate in conjunction with freight rail.
Work Program Discussion
Mr. Morris opened up the floor for discussion about how the region would like to proceed: as one larger group, as sub-
groups, or in a third group to focus specifically on vehicle technology. Mr. Morris stated he has a bias; that by looking
at the corridor as one group on a regional level there will be things everyone can learn that can help both sides of the
region which will allow transit service to be implemented more quickly.
Mr. Morris asked for any other perspectives or views on the corridor, status, or other items regarding the corridor
overview. The next discussion topic focused on additional thoughts for what would be needed to advance the study
and implement passenger service in the Cotton Belt Corridor as quickly as possible.
Nancy Amos, with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, distributed several Southwest -to- Northeast (SW2NE) Rail
Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) Executive Summary. Ms. Amos wanted to ensure those from
the East side of the region understands the current status for the corridor and that the project is not starting at ground
zero. The DEIS has been submitted to the FTA.
Robert Parmelee, Chairman Fort Worth Transportation Authority, does not think splitting the corridor would be a good
idea and feels the corridor should be looked at as a whole in the region. Mr. Parmelee stressed the region should be
aware of what has been done on the West Segments. His personal opinion is this project should be accelerated by the
region to get people to their destinations fast, safe, and more affectingly. He supports the option of combining the
Western and Eastern Segments and working together to implement the project.
Mr. Morris asked the group: "What are the elements of this that you would like to see as part of this effort ?"
Mr. Morris would like to see RTC support DART's effort in developing a cleaner, safer vehicle.
Bill Keffler, City Manager, City of Richardson, was interested in the partnering effort to accelerate the project. He
suggested a public /private partnership could benefit the project. He also stated he thought a full corridor study would
be better and that DART and The T's coordination was important. As a current member of DART (within the DART
service area), he suggested the sales tax DART collects in the coordinating cities be allocated toward this project.
Frank Turner, Assistant City Planner, City of Plano, stated he supports a unified approach to study the corridor and is
encouraged at the open process looking at various technologies, station locations, and termini. He supports the
Eastern terminus to remain flexible for a possible future connection to the DART Red Line. When looking at the
Eastern terminus he would like to ensure the potential extensions, parking, and access all be investigated thoroughly,
due to their importance. He had concerns stemming from several documents which identify the Bush Station as the
Eastern terminus for the Cotton Belt Corridor. Mr. Turner suggested the Parker Road Station may be a more
appropriate Eastern terminus.
Mike Curtis P.E, Managing Director, City of North Richland Hills, stated he was very interested and supports DART's
efforts on the new vehicle technology. His concern was how would this study affect The T's current environmental
process?
Mr. Morris replied that this effort would not slow down the Fort Worth to DFW Airport or the Denton to Carrollton current
efforts.
Loretta Ellerbee, Plano's Representative for the DART Board, stated that she can not speak for the DART Board, but
wants to make sure everyone understands DART owns the right -of -way along the Cotton Belt Corridor, and DART
would like to accelerate progress on the corridor through a cooperative effort. DART wants to use a single vehicle that
is compliant with FRA and LRT standards, though there is not a currently available vehicle that meets all the needs for
this corridor and has been approved by the FRA. The plan is the initial vehicle purchased for the Cotton Belt Corridor
will be similar to the current TRE vehicle with potential to switch to a new technology when it is available. The initial
vehicles would be switched to TRE service when the new technology is implemented.
Wayne Friesner, DART Vice President Commuter Rail stated the DART Board has not discussed the full corridor idea,
but probably would support it. Current LRT vehicle technology is not possible in the Cotton Belt Corridor due to the
presence of freight traffic in the corridor. DART is studying a hybrid vehicle which is compatible with both light rail
vehicle technology and commuter rail vehicle technology. This is the vehicle Mr. Morris discussed in the presentation.
The plan is to eventually have one vehicle operate in the Cotton Belt Corridor from the Western terminus to the Eastern
terminus. FRA is looking at more crash avoidance rather than "crash- resistant" cars, which is been utilized in
European vehicles.
John Hedrick, DCTA President, stated the DCTA service from the City of Denton to Carrollton will be open in 2010 and
that they are currently in the vehicle procurement process. Mr. Hedrick indicated he could not discuss the vehicle type
to be purchased for the service.
David Kelly, Mayor of Colleyville, supports the full corridor idea and would like to see one vehicle be used for the entire
corridor. He wanted to ensure the group did realize there were sensitive areas on the Western side of the corridor, too,
and was wondering if all the sensitive areas have been identified. He would also like to get the word out that this is a
regional corridor not a local one.
Clay Phillips, Deputy City Manager, City of Coppell, supports the regional approach and would like to see one vehicle
being used along the entire corridor. He stated Coppell is not in DART's service area and is worried about the impact
to traffic on local streets. Did not see any grade separations in the DEIS, and would like to make certain to include a
work item to address the issue of grade separations. Mr. Phillips also wanted to include an investigation of traffic
volumes on adjacent streets in the work program. He would also like to discuss proposed station locations in more
detail.
Mr. Morris suggested instead of using the current rail line through Coppell that a new alignment may be built to support
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and avoid, mitigate and enhance some sensitive areas.
Danny Scarth, Fort Worth City Council, supports the regional rail approach. He would also like to have the group look
at the vehicle technology issue in more detail, with the need to agree on a future vehicle technology but to also
consider an interim vehicle technology to not slow down current efforts. He would like to see the corridor be built
in conjunction with TODs where there are groups of people that need access to jobs, which will show benefits to both
employees and employers. Demographics should assist in the placement of stations within the corridor, and public
participation.
William Tsao P.E., Dallas's Representative to the DART Board, stated that the hybrid vehicle technology shown in the
presentation is close to FRA standards and is being tested in Austin. Test results should be available at the end of this
year. He also wanted to ensure the hybrid vehicle technology being tested is not called 'commuter rail' which is
associated with diesel trains and not publicly acceptable. The term 'commuter rail' will make it harder to 'sell' diesel car
technology to North Dallas and other sensitive areas. He suggests calling the new vehicle 'New Light Rail
Technology.' Having a unified vehicle choice will create a market for the vehicle manufacture, especially with other
markets also interested in this technology. He also wanted to make certain the group understood not all Cotton Belt
ROW is owned by DART. DART only owns the track to Center Point. He had questions about the ownership of the
track to downtown Grapevine.
Larry Cunningham, City Manager, City of North Richland Hills (NRH), supports the regional approach to the corridor.
Currently, NRH is not part of The T, but is working toward that and would like to learn about the TOD experience of
other communities, there are many opportunities in NRH for that type of development.
Frank Turner, Assistant City Planner, City of Plano, suggested at the group review the new vehicle technology carefully
and must conform to what the users want. The line should be demand based on headways, because potential demand
may be higher than expected and shortened headways need to support employees and TOD.
Mr. Morris stated the travel demand model shows frequent service may not be viable initially. The freight movement
schedule controls viability and frequency of passenger service. Mr. Tumer would like to ensure the vehicle technology
is able to accommodate future growth.
Steve Salin, DART Vice President of Commuter Rail, stated the rail line characteristics should be specified early in the
process. Vehicle selection and station spacing should be specified at the same time in the process. He also stated
that going 'off -line' will be costly. Grade separations and station spacing should be closely examined in the process.
Ron Whitehead, City Manager of the Town of Addison, supports the regional rail approach. He used the DNT as an
example of how transit and developers can create a 'win -win' situation for cities. The Cotton Belt Corridor project has
the potential to affect the entire region in a positive way.
Greg Royster, DFW Airport Planning, stated the airport has been working with The T and DART to identify a station
location at the airport. This station would be a hub and very complicated to build. A potential location is between
Terminals A and B which would connect the eastern and western sections of the corridor. The launch for design will be
in March to be ready in 2010.
Bill Keffler, City Manager, City of Richardson, stated he was worried about distractions, such as this corridor verses
Rail North Texas, which will take away from the momentum moving this corridor forward. Specifically„ the amount of
different timeframes to coordinate the different corridors is a concern. He feels the station location topic should not be
discussed at this stage of the project and the communities should work together to reduce conflicts. He also
suggested that broad sweeping comments may lead to collateral damage in the future and should be limited or not
made. He would also like to see the communications and overall process transparent to ensure public involvement.
Dave Davis, Traffic Engineer, Farmers Branch, stated the Dallas North Toflway (DNT) corridor may be more important
to ridership then the DFW Airport route. Addison and the Galleria are two big attractions along the DNT corridor that
will affect the ridership. Stakeholders should capitalize on passengers in the DNT corridor. The current Cotton Belt
design is not a walkable distance to these attractions, which will lessen ridership.
Mr. Morris would like a few tasks added to the investigation of this corridor. Ridership when attractions and
employment sheds are connected to the Cotton Belt corridor should be examined. Trackage rights need to be worked
on and we need to figure out how to integrate service rights and ownership into the needs of the region. What is the
appropriate terminus in the West? Examine the access points to DFW Airport in more detail. How will the regions
attractions along the Cotton Belt be included in the corridor?
Cinde Weatherby Gilliland, City of Fort Worth, noticed most Cities involved were present and provided their opinions,
but the City of Dallas was not in attendance. She asked about the City of Dallas's viewpoint regarding the Cotton Belt
Corridor.
Mr. Morris stated City of Dallas Councilman Ron Natinsky, has been instrumental in getting the Cotton Belt up and
running as soon as possible as well as working with public - private partnership coordination. Mr. Morris also indicated
the meeting was being recorded and Mr. Natinsky would review the recording.
Next Step
Mr. Morris stated he would like his team to develop a three to four page work plan including a list of tasks and
assignments of tasks. He would also like the group to share information on TOD and lessons learned and get back
together with this group at the end of January.
DART was tasked with considering closing at -grade crossings and costs associated with them.
Mr. Morris would like his team to look into the grade crossing banking program that was established and present their
findings for this corridor. He would like the cities to look at roadways within their jurisdiction that could be affected by
the corridor. He would also like to have the work plan out in advance of the next meeting for review.
Dave Davis, Farmers Branch, would like to have a clear goal and mission statement in the work plan.
Consensus from the group is the Cotton Belt Corridor should be developed as a full corridor.