Metroplex prepares for Legislative Session
If North Texas is going to have a regional transportation system, area mayors and other elected officials will need to develop a plan by the 2005 legislative session, area mayors said. The mayors of Fort Worth, Denton and Dallas met for a moderated discussion on how regional efforts benefit each city, and they focused mostly on transportation. A proposal is needed before the Legislature convenes again.
Mayors discuss regional transportation, marketing
By Eva-Marie Ayala
Star-Telegram Dallas Bureau Dec. 05, 2003
DALLAS - If North Texas is going to have a regional transportation system, area mayors and other elected officials will need to develop a plan by the 2005 legislative session, area mayors said Thursday.
The mayors of Fort Worth, Denton and Dallas met for a moderated discussion on how regional efforts benefit each city, and they focused mostly on transportation and marketing.
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said local leaders are learning quickly that “we will soon be one, and our problem is our neighbor’s problem.”
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller said the area needs a transit line on which a student in Denton could go to classes at Southern Methodist University in University Park, then to dinner in Fort Worth and back to Dallas.
The mayors, county commissioners and transportation representatives have met recently to develop plans for such a transportation system.
Miller said the group has explored creating high-occupancy vehicle toll lanes on highways to help pay for the system. But, she said, the North Texas Tollway Authority has said that wouldn’t generate enough revenue. The Texas Department of Transportation said that if the cities did so, they would be responsible for the roads’ upkeep.
Miller said she is not convinced that it wouldn’t work and would like to have further discussions with those agencies. But she said a proposal is needed before the Legislature convenes again.
Denton Mayor Euline Brock said the chief obstacle in designing such a system is the large number of commuters.
“In this region, people live everywhere and they work everywhere,” she said. “That’s the problem. That’s why you see one person in a car because nobody is going to the same places.”