Which Texas city has the largest LRT system? (Houston, Dallas: apartment, car insurance)

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

DART is the most extensive. Metro has a higher ridership per mile.

I personally would much rather have DART than Metro.

[the Instigator]

Originally Posted by peterlemonjello

DART is the most extensive. Metro has a higher ridership per mile.

I personally would much rather have DART than Metro.

No kidding, at where it stands right now, its 7 miles, but if and when Houston catches up to what Dallas has right now I'm wondering how much larger the network will be or if it will stay stagnant.

[stoneclaw]

Instigator, stop instigating. When Houston extends its rail lines, notably the University/Uptown Lines, the ridership will increase because of the way the rail is being built. It will go through the busiest urban clusters of the city. But i still like DART's commuter style rail better.

[TexasTallest]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Thats old info...

and according to the article you posted, Houstons light rail ridership also increased last year, so Houstons numbers should be higher too.. as TheOverdog said, the ridership per mile is still pretty low for Dallas (and WAY lower than Houston). it should be interesting to see how the North, East End, and South East lines affect the ridership of the Houston system when they open, though as Stoneclaw pointed out, the University and Uptown lines are what will really boost ridership on the Houston light rail. its unfortunate that well have to live with BRT down those corridors until we can get the funding. oh well, better than nothing. at least the BRT system will make converting those corridors to light rail very easy.

[binkyman]

Originally Posted by the Instigator

So I know Houston has been catching up lately but how many years before Houston catches up to Dallas?

If you mean when will light rail in Houston finally get connected to its airports, I'd say about fifty years. In contrast, DART already runs next to Love Field and is now in the process of connecting to DFW. And DART already has two trains serving the Southwestern Medical District, one light rail and the other commuter, while downtown is also connected to three other medical centers. A trolley will be connecting downtown to another medical center in Oak Cliff. It also connects with the zoo and Dallas Fair Park. It connects the three largest business centers in the Dallas - Fort Worth area commecting downtown / Uptown,to Richardson Telecom Corridor and Las Colinas.

[TheOverdog]

It connects the three largest business centers in the Dallas - Fort Worth area commecting downtown / Uptown,to Richardson Telecom Corridor and Las Colinas.

I don't think you can say it connects to the telcom corridor as dumping you off in a giant empty field doesn't count as 'connecting' in any sense of the word. Galatyn Station is the worst placed rail station in the DFW area. There is a relatively successful new apartment/retail complex just south of Campbell Road; they should mothball Galaytn Station and build a station next to the apartment complex.

DART's connection to Love Field is pretty weak too; who wants to get on a shuttle bus and then a train? It sort of defeats the purpose but the connection to DFW is going to be done right and imo will be enormously successful.

[ViolentMimes]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

I don't think you can say it connects to the telcom corridor as dumping you off in a giant empty field doesn't count as 'connecting' in any sense of the word. Galatyn Station is the worst placed rail station in the DFW area. There is a relatively successful new apartment/retail complex just south of Campbell Road; they should mothball Galaytn Station and build a station next to the apartment complex.

DART's connection to Love Field is pretty weak too; who wants to get on a shuttle bus and then a train? It sort of defeats the purpose but the connection to DFW is going to be done right and imo will be enormously successful.

Funny you say that because I used to work at the country wide (now boa) complex and I had a ton of co workers use this station (myself included, I used to bike to city place stop because I lived in east Dallas). Once I started working downtown, I moved to Addison and the Arapaho station was always packed in the morning. Usually, by the time we reached mockingbird station, it was too packed for anyone else to get on. This was from 2008-2011

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

I don't think you can say it connects to the telcom corridor as dumping you off in a giant empty field doesn't count as 'connecting' in any sense of the word. Galatyn Station is the worst placed rail station in the DFW area. There is a relatively successful new apartment/retail complex just south of Campbell Road; they should mothball Galaytn Station and build a station next to the apartment complex.

DART's connection to Love Field is pretty weak too; who wants to get on a shuttle bus and then a train? It sort of defeats the purpose but the connection to DFW is going to be done right and imo will be enormously successful.

I don't get what's so bad about Galatyn's location. The station is there for general use, not for your personal use to exactly where you want it. The PGBT station is next to State Farm's huge complex that is under construction. I know people really criticized DART's station approach initially because they emphasized building withing empty lots or slightly away from established development. This is starting to really pay off as a catalyst to new development. Initially though, I think this hurt ridership numbers compared to how Houston's starter line was built. The two Las Colinas stations, for example had nothing in their locations for decades and once the two stations opened, you've seen a huge influx of residential and now two shopping/entertainments areas are about to go up. You also have areas like State Farm at PGBT, Mustang Station, 5th Street Crossing in Garland, Park Lane, Lake Highlands Town Center, Mockingbird Station and the West Village. Of course, in a thriving metro like DFW you likely get those developments, but without nice planning by DART and City, you don't get these more transit oriented type developments if you just go into the heart of older, existing development. With that type of setup, you still have potential huge ridership gains as a place like the Cityplace/West Village area continues to fill in. They still have 3 large empty lots(now 2 since The Richards Group just broke ground on their new HQ. You also have the upcoming ACS complex around that station. I think DART still has its biggest ridership ahead of it.

Also, remember DART is by no means a done system. Now that Tarrant County has declined their part of the Cotton Belt, Dallas and Collin are free to pursue that line themselves. The Orange Line is still under construction. You also have the Oak Cliff streetcar line and the McKinney Ave streetcar extension that will stop one block from St Paul Station. Those represent a ton of additional miles. After those lines, then the next plan has to come online before we know what's in store.

[JaySwelly]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

I don't get what's so bad about Galatyn's location. The station is there for general use, not for your personal use to exactly where you want it. The PGBT station is next to State Farm's huge complex that is under construction. I know people really criticized DART's station approach initially because they emphasized building withing empty lots or slightly away from established development. This is starting to really pay off as a catalyst to new development. Initially though, I think this hurt ridership numbers compared to how Houston's starter line was built. The two Las Colinas stations, for example had nothing in their locations for decades and once the two stations opened, you've seen a huge influx of residential and now two shopping/entertainments areas are about to go up. You also have areas like State Farm at PGBT, Mustang Station, 5th Street Crossing in Garland, Park Lane, Lake Highlands Town Center, Mockingbird Station and the West Village. Of course, in a thriving metro like DFW you likely get those developments, but without nice planning by DART and City, you don't get these more transit oriented type developments if you just go into the heart of older, existing development. With that type of setup, you still have potential huge ridership gains as a place like the Cityplace/West Village area continues to fill in. They still have 3 large empty lots(now 2 since The Richards Group just broke ground on their new HQ. You also have the upcoming ACS complex around that station. I think DART still has its biggest ridership ahead of it.

Also, remember DART is by no means a done system. Now that Tarrant County has declined their part of the Cotton Belt, Dallas and Collin are free to pursue that line themselves. The Orange Line is still under construction. You also have the Oak Cliff streetcar line and the McKinney Ave streetcar extension that will stop one block from St Paul Station. Those represent a ton of additional miles. After those lines, then the next plan has to come online before we know what's in store.

From what I read, either Tarrant or both Dallas and Tarrant decided that it would be better if the two counties built the lines separately. Some Tarrant County residents were worried that building the 62-mile rail in one project would delay the original opening in 2016. The vibe I'm getting is that Tarrant County is able to build its portion, while Dallas County may have to delay it for a while.

Cotton Belt funding bill dies in Legislature

[dollaztx]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

I don't think you can say it connects to the telcom corridor as dumping you off in a giant empty field doesn't count as 'connecting' in any sense of the word. Galatyn Station is the worst placed rail station in the DFW area. There is a relatively successful new apartment/retail complex just south of Campbell Road; they should mothball Galaytn Station and build a station next to the apartment complex.

DART's connection to Love Field is pretty weak too; who wants to get on a shuttle bus and then a train? It sort of defeats the purpose but the connection to DFW is going to be done right and imo will be enormously successful.

I agree. Those numbers are going to shoot up once that station opens. With Dallas being a big convention city, the Convention Center Station for one will see more traffic coming in from DFW.