Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 09-23-2010, 11:34 AM
 
24 posts, read 81,379 times
Reputation: 21

Advertisements

Recently, the city of Plano, Texas held a public meeting to float the idea of charging parking fees at its DART light rail stations for non-residents. Plano residents would have the opportunity to obtain a free parking pass, but other transit users would have to pay $2-$4 per day, in addition to the cost of purchasing a rail pass.

For many who favor the move, their argument is that member-city residents are shouldering the cost of the transit system by paying an extra 1% in sales tax, while others who use the trains are along for a "free ride".

They a laboring under a misconception that non-residents never pay sales tax in their city. This is far from the truth.

While I live in McKinney, a city north of Plano, I frequently shop and dine in Plano. One of the better cinemas in the area is the Cinemark 24 on Legacy. And there are many good restaurants worth the drive out of town. Granted, there are many alternatives in Allen and Frisco. And it is very likely that Plano residents are spending their tax dollars outside the DART member city.

It is the cities responsibility to generate its own revenue. And the city of Plano is within its rights to impose fees to that end. But let us not be misled by the false logic of the arguments presented. Plano residents are without a doubt paying into the coffers of cities like Frisco, Allen and McKinney. And DART will not receive a dime of that. Should those cities give Plano residents a tax break? Of course not. Is it fair to charge non-residents a parking fee? Questionable.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-23-2010, 01:01 PM
 
326 posts, read 960,396 times
Reputation: 232
When the residents of non-DART cities fill the trains, additional vehicles are needed and higher operating costs result. The best solution would be for additional cities to help the region's transportation situation by joining DART or a transit authority. If not, parking fees or surcharges for non-member riders seem like a reasonable solution. Why should DART member cities shoulder the cost of suburban commuters when they've been paying millions into the system for their own citizens?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2010, 01:22 PM
 
3,810 posts, read 8,720,553 times
Reputation: 5542
Not all the cities CAN join DART at this time. Most are maxed on the Sales Tax they can charge. Most of the smaller cities that opted not to be part of DART originally are now using that $.01 for Economic Development (4A) and Community Development (4B) and cannot just switch over to DART.

In the case of Murphy, the residents voted down DART membership because all they were slated to get for 30 years was one bus stop. Instead that $.01 has helped with tax incentives to bring a developer to build a good sized shopping area to the center of town, market the city to retailers and shoppers, develop infrastucture to help with commercial development. And on the community development side, fun events such as Maize Days (complete with fireworks), assist with park development and will provide the A/V and furnishings for our new Community Center.

I expect that most other non-DART cities are in a similar position where they could not realize the same benefit for that $.01 with DART.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2010, 02:13 PM
 
Location: DFW
12,229 posts, read 21,443,557 times
Reputation: 33266
If the point of public transportation is to get more commuters off the roads, an additional expense to use said transportation may encourage some of them to get back into their cars.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Dallas
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:28 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top